A local historian from St Petersburg faces a sentence in an open prison colony under charges of rehabilitating Nazism.

The St Petersburg local historian Dmitry Vitushkin is facing a year and a half in an open prison colony on charges of rehabilitating Nazism, according to Mediazona.

Vitushkin is accused of spreading knowingly false information about the USSR’s actions during the Second World War (section ‘v,’ part 2, article 354.1 of the Criminal Code), because of a comment about the Finnish sniper Simo Häyhä, who fought in the Soviet-Finnish War. The comment attributed to Vitushkin stated: “Häyhä did not kill a single soldier of his own Homeland, but rather defended it from the occupiers, the Nazi Germany allies (according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact). He succeeded. A worthy example to follow.” The case is being heard by the St Petersburg City Court.

Vitushkin had been held in custody since October 2023. In April 2024, he was released under restrictions on certain activities. In April 2025, the charge of disrespecting days of military glory (part 4, article 354.1 of the Criminal Code) was dropped against the historian. That charge was based on a comment in the “Ingermanland” community on VKontakte: “Take your ‘Leningrad land’ to other GROUPS. We don’t welcome glorification of terrorism here.”

18 June On the same day, the St Petersburg City Court, straight after closing arguments, reopened the judicial investigation in Vitushkin’s case, Mediazona reported. This time, the prosecution requested one year and three months in an open prison colony for the local historian. As mitigating factors, they cited his admission of guilt, the presence of illness, and his assistance to his parents.