It might have been a badge of honour for some of Moscow's elite when travel sanctions were first imposed by the EU, US and Australia on Russians deemed close to President Vladimir Putin, with one of those hit by the restrictions joking that he would have liked to have seen a kangaroo but it was ok because he could visit a white tiger at the Sochi zoo.

Well, what a difference a year makes. Perhaps, as the crystal blue seas of the Mediterranean become a dim and fading memory and the realization that the relentless Russian winter is almost upon them, some appear to be getting itchy feet.

One of the most controversial figures whose movements abroad have been hampered, Dmitri Kiselev (pictured above), is taking the European Union to court to get the sanction against him lifted. He is arguing that it represents a violation of freedom of speech.

Too many mushrooms

Kiselev, a Kremlin propagandist who runs the media outlet Rossiya Sevodnya (Russia Today or RT), is well known for his outrageous diatribes. Two of the most memorable include reminding viewers on his weekly television program that Russia is still the only country in the world capable of reducing the United States to 'radioactive dust.'

To drive his point home he stood in front of a giant screen showing a mushroom cloud produced by a nuclear explosion. That was in response to America's condemnation of Russia's referendum on the future of Crimea. Prior to that, he had advocated that gay men's hearts should be buried or burned because they were unfit to prolong life if used in organ donation.

Kiselev was one of a group of about a dozen Russian business leaders or influential figures who were sanctioned after the annexation of Crimea. The sanctions ban travel to many Western countries, and freeze any assets that may be held in the EU or US. Kiselev claims that he isn't high profile enough to warrant such an action against him, and that no reason was given for the imposition of the sanctions on him in particular.

Confirming his lawsuit against the EU, he said: "Yes, we want to challenge the EU's unjustified decisions infringing on the freedom of speech. I believe this precedent should be abolished in the name of Europe itself."

His lawyers are arguing that the sanctions "restrict his ability to exercise his right to freedom of expression as well as the operation of the news agency."

RT's consistent denials under his leadership of Russian troop involvement in Donbass and claims of a lack of evidence of Russian involvement in the downing of the Malaysian Airlines flight, MH17, may end up weakening his argument.

His decision comes hot on the heels of Putin's intervention to get a humanitarian visa for Iosef (Joseph) Kobzon, a member of parliament and Russia's answer to Frank Sinatra, so he could get treatment for his prostate cancer in Italy.

Hypocrisy

Kobzon, whose toupee rivals that of Donald Trump's hair-do, was a supporter of banning US adoption of Russian children, many of whom are disabled or HIV positive and could have benefited from medical treatment in America. Last week he called for diplomatic ties to be broken with the US completely. He is an active supporter of the pro-Russian forces in Donbass in Ukraine and is originally from that area.

The granting of the visa has sparked outrage among ordinary Russians who are clearly seeing that some people are definitely more equal than others. They've labelled Kobzon a hypocrite as they are condemned to endure treatment in under-resourced and antiquated Russian hospitals, while he gets first-class treatment in a foreign country.

A survey by the radio station Ekho Moskvy found that 82 percent of listeners thought Kobzon should not be allowed to travel abroad for treatment.

Travelling circus

Travel abroad for health reasons is nothing new for Russia's elite. Germany and Israel are usually the countries of choice. Raisa Gorbachev, the wife of the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, was treated for cancer in Germany.

But an online Russian newspaper, Lenta.ru, has published a long list of politicians who have sought treatment abroad more recently - usually at about the same time as investiagtions against them for various alleged crimes are launched.

It says in 2014 a member of the Russian parliament (Duma), Alexei Mitrofanov, disappeared abroad for treatment for an unspecified condition in an unspecified country and remains at large. At the time, the lawyer was under investigation for extortion. Since his departure, the Duma has rejected the first reading of a bill banning state officials from travelling abroad for medical help.

Another, a governor from the east of Russia, Artush Khachatryan, also wanted by the law, fled to Korea for chemotherapy and hasn't been seen since. Sergei Kravchenko, a member of Putin's United Russia party from Tomsk, was given permission to leave the country to have heart treatment in Cyprus despite being under investigation for fraud.

And the former Agriculture Minister, Elena Skrynnik, who was under investigation for theft from her ministry, was allowed to travel with Putin's permission to the French Riviera for the birth of her children. She remains on the Cote D'Azur soaking up the sun in the villa she owns there.

But the plummeting ruble means such travel health luxuries are an impossible dream for the average Russian, even as double-digit inflation and rising costs make it more difficult to get treatment within Russia. Not surprisingly social media is full of comments saying Kobzon should stay put and suffer the same quality of medical treatment as his fellow countrymen.

Maybe Kiselev could make use his formidable propaganda skills to cure Russia's elite of their fear of the Russian health system - then perhaps people like Kobzon wouldn't feel the need to seek treatment abroad.

Fiona Clark is an Australian journalist currently living in Russia. She started her career with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a TV reporter in the mid-1980s. She has spent the past 10 years working on publications such as The Lancet and Australian Doctor and consumer health websites. This is her second stint in Moscow, having worked there from 1990-92.