Comparative analysis of the problems of implementation of the freedom of speech in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine before and after their annexation by the Russian Federation

The article analyzes the problem of implementing freedom of speech in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as compares the actual situation of observing the human right to freedom of speech before and after Russia’s annexation of four regions of Ukraine in 2022. During the study, cases of arbitrary restriction of this freedom by the occupation administration of the Russian Federation were characterized and the reasons for such restrictions were determined. The article emphasizes that the real purpose of establishing restrictions on freedom of speech and other human rights and freedoms by the aggressor state is to ensure the internal stability of the Russian authoritarian regime. In order to achieve this goal, the Russian political nomenclature resorts to the practice of underestimating or excluding the role of representative institutions, as well as canceling or significantly limiting the political rights and freedoms of residents of the territories controlled by Russia. The article states that due to the effective control of certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions by the Russian Federation since 2014, the Russian establishment managed to spread its autocratic practices on the territory of the self-proclaimed «republics» even before their annexation. In order to realize this goal, the occupation administration created formal grounds that allowed it to significantly limit the rights of residents in the territories under its control, although arbitrary restrictions on human rights, in particular the right to freedom of thought and speech, to the free expression of views and beliefs, were observed in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions from the first days of their transition under the control of Russian militants. As a result of conducting a comparative legal analysis of the real situation of freedom of speech in the occupied territories of Ukraine before and after their annexation by the Russian Federation, it was concluded that the annexation by Russia of four regions of Ukraine in 2022 made it more difficult for residents to exercise their right to freely express their views and beliefs. The deterioration of the situation with civil space and fundamental freedoms in the occupied regions of Ukraine is explained by the fact that, as a result of the violent and illegal temporary rejection of part of the territory of Ukraine, Russia extended the effect of its administrative-delict and criminal legislation to these territories, in particular the so-called «fakes laws», by which the Russian Federation introduced military censorship on its territory in March 2022. Compared to the territory of the Russian Federation, in the occupied Ukrainian regions the realization of human and citizen rights and freedoms is further complicated by the introduction of martial law by the Russian occupation administration, which gave Russia a formal opportunity to continue arbitrarily restricting a number of rights and freedoms in the aforementioned territories. Taking into account these and other arguments presented in the article, the conclusions were reached that improving the situation of freedom of speech in the respective regions is possible only in the case of restoration of Ukrainian sovereignty over the temporarily occupied territories and the prevention of any form of interference of the Russian authoritarian regime in the public and political life of Ukraine.