Russian state prosecutors have requested an eight-year sentence in a penal colony for blogger and Russian cuisine historian Pavel Syutkin on charges of spreading false information about the country's military.
The demand was presented during closing arguments in the criminal case against Syutkin at the Cheryomushkinsky District Court in Moscow. Defence attorney Evgeniya Grigoryeva confirmed the prosecutor's sentence request, according to a report by Russian state news agency TASS.
State prosecutors told the court that the guilt of the 60-year-old defendant had been fully established under Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The statute penalizes the public dissemination of knowingly false information regarding the deployment and actions of the Russian Armed Forces.
Investigators launched the criminal prosecution against Syutkin over a post published on his Telegram channel regarding events in Bucha. Russian lawmakers established Article 207.3 shortly after military operations began in Ukraine, imposing strict penalties for public commentary that contradicts official military disclosures.
Extremist listing and detention
Syutkin, who describes himself as a specialist in the history of Russian culinary traditions, adopted an anti-Russian stance after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine. Prosecutors also noted that he made negative public statements about war correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, who died in a Saint Petersburg bombing that Russian authorities classified as a terrorist attack.
In mid-October 2025, Russia's financial intelligence agency, Rosfinmonitoring, officially added Syutkin to its registry of terrorists and extremists. The agency maintains the public blacklist to monitor and restrict financial transactions of designated individuals, leading to the freezing of domestic bank accounts. Law enforcement authorities took Syutkin into custody during the same period in October 2025.
Court proceedings in Moscow
The Cheryomushkinsky District Court is a primary trial venue located in the southwest of Moscow that handles major criminal prosecutions. Following the completion of closing arguments from both the state prosecution and the defence, the court will deliberate before issuing its formal verdict and sentencing decision.
