Criticized Russia's war in Ukraine, the 70-year-old Russian suffers badly

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, thousands of Russians have been prosecuted under new laws aimed at quashing criticism of the country's war effort.

Orlov, who is 70 years old, is on trial on suspicion of breaking one of these laws. He expects to face up to three years in prison for repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian military with his criticism of the war in Ukraine.

In addition to discrediting the military, Russia's criminal code now punishes what it calls "the public dissemination of deliberately false information about the Russian armed forces."

Often referred to as the "Counterfeit Law", it has been used to jail such vocal critics of the Kremlin as Ilya Yashin. Last year, he was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

Russian theater director Zhenya Berkovich, who wrote and posted anti-war poetry, has been accused of "justifying terrorism" in one of her shows. She risks up to seven years in prison.

In April, Kremlin critic and anti-war activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was convicted of treason and sentenced to 25 years in prison.