Russian man fined for sharing Zelenskyy dream on Instagram "This is idiocy"

A Russian man has been fined for sharing on his Instagram account a dream that he said he had about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ivan Losev, a 26-year-old resident of the city of Chita in Russia's far-eastern Zabaykalsky region, was fined 30,000 rubles ($477) under a stringent law that cracks down on dissent over the war in Ukraine, Newsweek reported on December 12.

The measure, passed by Russia's parliament in March, imposes jail terms of up to 15 years for intentionally spreading "fake news" about the Russian army.

He was found guilty on December 8 by the Central District Court of Chita, local news outlet Sibir.Realii reported.

Losev recounted his dream on his social-media account, and then made references to the partial mobilization order in Russia that was announced in September.

"Last night, I dreamed about being mobilized and brought to some kind of a boot camp. Suddenly, AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) fighters led by Zelenskyy burst in, rounded everyone up, and were about to execute us by firing squad," Losev posted on Instagram, unaware that officers from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) were monitoring his page.

Losev added: "At this moment, Zelenskyy walks past me and says: 'Ah, I've seen your stories on Instagram. Glory to Ukraine!' I reply: 'Glory to the heroes!' Zelenskyy pats me on the shoulder approvingly and says: 'Let this one go, and execute everyone else.'

"So there we are, me and him, standing side by side, watching, and I tell him: 'Can I get a selfie with you for my Instagram?' Zelenskyy says: 'Sure,'" he wrote.

Losev said authorities called him on his work phone and revealed, "there is reason to believe that you are engaged in discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation." The authorities then suggested that he go to his local police department.

Losev has blasted the case against him as "idiocy."

"I struggle to imagine how a Zabaikalsk FSB officer in his forties re-typed my post with a straight face to add it to the case file. The thought is ridiculous!"

Losev told Sibir.Realii that he has always loved to "share all sorts of nonsense" on his Instagram page.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin announced mobilization, there was stress everywhere, that they might come for you, and then I had such a dream, I remembered it in detail," Losev said.

"I thought: well, at least something funny, funny in the whole agenda. My subscribers laughed, said it was a cool dream. I didn't even think that it [would attract the attention of the FSB]."