This chapter presents analysis of an original dataset that contains close to 2000 defamation civil complaints against media outlets, adjudicated by Russian courts between 1997 and 2011. The data allows us to check whether different types of plaintiffs have different probabilities of winning in court. Do politicians win more often than ordinary plaintiffs? The analysis takes into consideration the significant changes in the media environment and legislative innovations in the area of defamation law. The findings present a nuanced picture of Russian civil justice. On the one hand, there is evidence that suggests that defamation cases are not foregone conclusions and the likelihood of victory is not obvious to litigants before they go to court. On the other hand, there is reason to believe that defamation cases may have become more politicized over time; ordinary citizen plaintiffs and plaintiffs without access to substantial political or legal resources tend to win less often in court. If we put the last finding in a broader, comparative context, it appears that Russian civil justice is not unique after all: research on American courts has also found evidence that plaintiffs with access to better legal resources tend to win more often in court.