A resident of Abakan, a city in southern Siberia, was given a one-year suspended sentence for insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland.

On 5 September, Denis Savostyanov, a 49-year-old resident of Abakan, the capital of Khakassia in southern Siberia, was given a suspended sentence of one year for “insulting the memory of defenders of the Fatherland” (Part 4, Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the regional Investigative Committee.

Savostyanov was also given a two-year probation period and banned from posting materials online for three years.

According to the Investigative Committee, the convicted person had published “messages with a negative assessment of Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, insulting the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland and degrading the honour and dignity of Great Patriotic War veterans.”

The case was opened in May 2023 and, in July of this year, it reached the Supreme Court of Khakassia.

As reported by the Telegram channel Uznik Abakana, Savostyanov “repeatedly spoke out against the special military operation [in Ukraine] on his VKontakte page, posted Ukrainian symbols, and made statements against the Russian authorities and their supporters.” The channel calls Savostyanov a “supporter of Navalny” and “a follower of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, which is banned in Russia as an extremist organisation.”

• This is not the first criminal case against Savostyanov. In 2021, he was given a two-year suspended sentence with a two-year probation period for “public calls for extremism” (Part 2, Article 280 of the Criminal Code). The reason for that prosecution is unknown.
• Savostyanov is the son of the well-known agronomist from Khakassia, Vadim Savostyanov. The scientist died five years ago.