A local historian from St Petersburg has been sentenced to one year in a penal settlement for a comment about a Finnish sniper.

The St Petersburg City Court has sentenced local historian Dmitry Vitushkin to one year in a penal settlement for spreading knowingly false information online about the USSR’s actions during the Second World War (subparagraph “v,” part 2, article 354.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the city courts’ unified press service.

After subtracting the time Vitushkin spent in pre-trial detention, he will spend just one day in the penal settlement, Vitushkin’s lawyer Anastasia Pilipenko told OVD-Info.

According to the court, in December 2022, Vitushkin posted a comment on the group “Ingermanlandia,” which he administers on VKontakte, about Simo Häyhä, a Finnish sniper who fought in the Soviet-Finnish war. The comment read: “Häyhä did not kill a single soldier of his homeland; on the contrary, he defended it from the occupiers who were allies of Nazi Germany (according to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact). He succeeded in this. A worthy example to follow.”

The court considered this a statement claiming there were “allied relations” between Germany and the USSR during the Second World War.

Dmitry Vitushkin pleaded guilty in the case. In addition to the penal settlement term, the court banned him from administering websites on the internet for three years.

The local historian had been in custody since October 2023. In April 2024, he was released with restrictions on certain activities.

He also faced charges under an article about disrespecting days of military glory (part 4, article 354.1 of the Criminal Code) for commenting: “With your ‘Leningrad land,’ go to other GROUPS. We do not welcome the glorification of terrorism here.” However, in April this year the accusation was dropped.

The prosecutor requested a sentence of one year and three months in a penal settlement for the local historian. As mitigating circumstances, the prosecution noted his admission of guilt, existing health condition and support of his parents.

Information about the planned length of Dmitry Vitushkin’s stay in the penal settlement has been updated.