Russia sentences woman to 27 years for war blogger's death

A St. Petersburg court sentenced a Russian national to 27 years in prison for a bomb attack that killed a prominent Russian military blogger and injured a dozen more people at a cafe in April 2023. 

The court found Darya Trepova guilty of terrorism and other charges last year. Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky died when a miniature statue handed to him as a gift by Trepova exploded.

Tatarsky was killed while hosting a talk at the cafe in the country's second-biggest city. He was handed the figurine with the bomb while meeting members of the public, Russian media had reported.

With more than 560,000 followers on Telegram, Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, was a very well-known military blogger and a strident supporter of the war in Ukraine. He also sometimes criticized Russia's frontline failures.

Russian officials had blamed Ukraine immediately following the explosion. Senior Ukrainian officials have neither claimed responsibility nor denied involvement in Tatarsky's death. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak had described the attack as "international terrorism."

Trepova said she had been set up

Trepova is a resident of St. Petersburg and had previously been arrested for her involvement in anti-war protests. She was 26 years old when she was arrested last year.

During her trial last November, Trepova said she had been set up and had thought the figurine contained a listening device, not a bomb.

She said she was acting under orders from a man in Ukraine whom she knew as "Gestalt." The man had been sending her money and instructions for several months before the blast at the cafe.

Trepova said she had followed Gestalt's instructions because she assumed the purpose of eavesdropping on Tatarsky was to find out more of what he knew about the war.

Trepova said she had panicked after the bomb went off and stayed the night with an acquaintance, Dmitry Kasintsev, at his apartment.

Kasintsev, 27 as of last year, was also charged last year with concealment of a grave crime. Kasintsev said in court last year he was willing to plead guilty to a lesser charge of not reporting a crime.

He was sentenced Thursday to one year and nine months for helping Trepova hide.

rm/wmr (Reuters, AP, AFP)