A former "Kremlin troll'' is suing her old employer to shut down what she describes as a "factory'' churning out Internet propaganda defending Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Lyudmila Savchuk said Tuesday that the trial opened Monday in St. Petersburg but was immediately delayed until June 23 because the defendant failed to show up.
In an interview in April, Savchuk told The Associated Press how she and hundreds of colleagues in St. Petersburg managed several social media accounts, flooding the Internet with pro-Putin commentary and doctored images that landed on Russian and Western news websites.
In her lawsuit, Savchuk, who worked there for two months, seeks moral damages and demands the closure of the company, Internet Research, since the employees there did not have proper Russian employment contracts.