A Russian senator gets litigious with those who mocked her Putin fixation

Senator Elena Mizulina has filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office, claiming that Internet users and certain news media outlets spread “deliberately false information” about her remarks earlier this week on a television talk show.

On March 27, Mizulina appeared on Rossiya 1 and expressed her condolences to the families who lost loved ones in a deadly fire in Kemerovo. She also called the incident “a stab in the president’s back”and offered special condolences and support to Putin. Mizulina’s comments drew outrage from many in Russia’s opposition, where people thought her appeal to Putin in the tragedy’s aftermath was inappropriate.

The senator says her critics took her remarks out of context, claiming in news stories and blog posts that she cares only about the president and not about the victims or their relatives. Her appeal to the Attorney General’s Office singles out Alexey Navalny and the website Znak.com, which she accuses of defamation, hate speech, and insulting a state official.