In Moscow, prosecutors seek 8-year prison term for historian Pavel Syutkin
In Moscow, state prosecutors of Russia, an aggressor state, asked the court to sentence culinary historian and former columnist Pavel Syutkin to eight years in prison. He is accused of spreading so-called false information about Russian military personnel, the human rights group For Human Rights reported, according to The Moscow Times.
The case is being heard behind closed doors
Syutkin was arrested in October 2025 over Telegram posts about alleged crimes against civilians in Bucha, Kyiv region, during the first weeks of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia denies committing war crimes in Bucha and claims that visual evidence was allegedly staged by Ukraine. As The Moscow Times notes, this claim has repeatedly been debunked by independent fact-checking organizations.
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According to Mediazona, the closing arguments in the case were held behind closed doors at Moscow's Zyuzinsky District Court. A verdict is expected next Tuesday.
Syutkin's position
Syutkin does not admit guilt. In April, he wrote that he considered the case against him political and that, in his view, such proceedings punish people for statements and open opposition to the war.
Pavel Syutkin has written several books on the history of Russian and Soviet cuisine and hosted television and radio programs about food history. In 2015, he represented Russia as an official ambassador at the World Expo in Milan. Together with his wife, Syutkin wrote a weekly food column for The Moscow Times until Russian authorities designated the outlet an “undesirable” organization in July 2024.
