A Russian lawyer has become the first person in the country to be fined for promoting a hotel on Instagram, which is banned under Russian law.

Lawyer and blogger Evgenia Tutushkina was ordered by a court in Krasnodar to pay a fine of RUB 30,000 (GBP 277) for a post in which she told her followers about a hotel where she had stayed, local media reported on 21st October.

Tutushkina said she arrived at the hotel and found it "half-empty" before deciding to tell her followers about the location.

She said: "To be honest, I felt really bad for the hotel, because it's really nice. I suggested they record a reel and tell everyone about this wonderful place.

"And, to encourage people to go, I asked the hotel to provide a discount link."

Evgeniya Tutushkina poses in undated photo. A court fined blogger and lawyer Evgenia Tutushkina from Krasnodar, Russia for advertising on Instagram. Note: Private photo taken from social media. (@tutushkinaevg/newsX)

A third party complained after the post gained wide attention online, prompting an investigation by Roskomnadzor, Russia’s media and communications watchdog.

Tutushkina said the post had been published before 1st September, the date when a new law banning advertising on prohibited websites came into effect.

She said she disagreed with the court’s ruling and intends to appeal.

The law bans the distribution of advertising on websites and platforms belonging to organisations designated as extremist or undesirable in Russia.

Meta Platforms, the owner of Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Oculus, has been recognised as an extremist organisation, and its activities are banned within the country.

Roskomnadzor and the Federal Antimonopoly Service have previously said that any advertising materials remaining on banned platforms after the law took effect would still be treated as violations.

Tutushkina’s fine is the first known case of its kind under the new regulation.

(Joe Golder/ newsX)