A prosecutor in Bashkiria has requested 22 years in a strict-regime penal colony for a 68-year-old local resident accused of burning his wife and mother-in-law to death.
The regional prosecutor's office told Lenta.ru that the court is expected to deliver its final verdict in the criminal trial in the near future.
Investigators said the fatal incident occurred in May 2025 after the pensioner consumed alcohol and got into a heated argument with his wife. During the dispute, he poured gasoline over his wife and the corridor of their apartment before setting the entire premises on fire.
Neither his wife nor her 86-year-old mother survived the blaze. Authorities noted that the elderly mother was unable to leave the apartment on her own because of her advanced age and health problems, which severely limited her physical mobility.
Property Damage and Plea
The blaze completely destroyed the family apartment and caused significant structural damage to a neighbouring property. Official estimates submitted in court placed the overall monetary damage from the fire at more than 720,000 rubles.
Throughout the court proceedings, the 68-year-old pensioner has consistently refused to plead guilty to the charges surrounding the deaths of the two women and the destruction of the homes.
Regional Context and Penal System
Bashkiria, officially known as the Republic of Bashkortostan, is a federal subject of Russia located in the region between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Under Russian criminal court procedure, state prosecutors present formal sentencing recommendations during closing arguments before judges deliver their binding verdicts.
A strict-regime penal colony is one of the harsher categories of correctional facilities within the Russian prison system. These high-security colonies are reserved for individuals convicted of particularly grave offences, featuring strict isolation measures, minimal visitation privileges, and heavily regulated inmate movement.
The court in Bashkiria is currently reviewing the evidence and sentence request, with a final decision on the case scheduled to be handed down shortly.
