Affiliated media: Kommersant, Newspaper
Incident date: November 24, 2025
Attack type:
- prosecution for violation of the honour, dignity and business reputation; violation of privacy following civil lawsuit
Who attacked: Non-authorities
Source: Mass Media Defence Centre
Location: Russia, Moscow, Moscow
Additional information:
Alexander Zapesotsky, former rector of the St. Petersburg University of Humanities and Social Sciences, has filed a lawsuit in the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow against the newspaper Kommersant to protect his honor, dignity, and business reputation. The lawsuit concerns an article published on October 13, 2025, which claimed that the court sided with the Prosecutor General’s Office regarding Zapesotsky’s alleged illegal loans of 48 million rubles from university funds to his son, Yuri, between 2022 and 2025.