Low-cost Russian airline Pobeda is to sue the Novaya Gazeta newspaper for a satirical article comparing their flights to a gameshow.
The piece, based on the personal experiences of journalist Anastasia Egorova, challenged readers to battle through the seven levels of the Pobeda “quest” by booking tickets, boarding, and surviving the flight itself.
“You start hating everything before you've even taken off,” Egorova wrote. “Get used to this feeling, along with the general sense of absurdity and humiliation. You'll be constantly faced with infringements on your rights.”
If found guilty, the newspaper will be forced to pay 2 million rubles ($32,000).
The case is the latest in a string of legal woes for the newspaper, who lost a libel case filed by Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin on Monday.
The piece claimed that Sechin's wife regularly made long trips aboard one of the world's most expensive yachts, worth an estimated $190 million.
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