Historian of Russian cuisine Pavel Syutkin sentenced to six years in prison over antiwar statement

Source: Mediazona

The Zyuzinsky District Court in Moscow has sentenced Pavel Syutkin, a 61-year-old writer and historian of Russian cuisine, to six years in prison on charges of spreading “fakes” about the army, the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reported.

The trial was held behind closed doors, and prosecutors had sought an eight-year sentence for Syutkin.

Syutkin was arrested in October 2025. The case stemmed from an April 19, 2022, post on his Telegram channel: “Kyiv was bombed — Putin’s war had direct parallels with Hitler’s. Now he has his own Babi Yar. Bucha — more than 200 civilians shot dead — women, the elderly, children.” Z activists filed public denunciations against him.

Syutkin did not plead guilty. “My case is unquestionably political in nature. And there isn’t much to prove in cases like this. People are punished for their words and for an openly antiwar position. And I don’t hide mine. Moreover, after months in prison, I’ve become even more convinced that many Russians share it,” he wrote in letters about his case and trial.

Pavel Syutkin and his wife, Olga Syutkina, have co-written several books on the history of Russian and Soviet cuisine and gastronomy, including Nepridumannaya istoriya russkoy kukhni “The True History of Russian Cuisine” and CCCP CookBook: True Stories of Soviet Cuisine. Before his arrest, Syutkin was a regular guest expert on television and radio cooking programs.

At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.

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Historian of Russian cuisine Pavel Syutkin sentenced to six years in prison over antiwar statement

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Historian of Russian cuisine Pavel Syutkin sentenced to six years in prison over antiwar statement

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