An Estonian court has handed down a six-year prison sentence to citizen Svetlana Burtseva for treason and breaching international sanctions, as reported by ERR.
Prosecutors had previously sought this same prison term. Her sentence will be calculated from her arrest date in February 2024.
The court found that Burtseva had collaborated for years with RIA Rossiya Segodnya, a Russian state media outlet led by Dmitry Kiselyov, who is sanctioned by the EU. Through this association, she allegedly enabled the sanctioned entity to access economic resources.
Investigators also revealed her ties to Roman Romachev, a former FSB officer and head of private intelligence firm R-Techno, accused by prosecutors of conducting information warfare for Russia. Their collaboration resulted in the book *Hybrid War for Peace*, which the court ruled sought to erode trust in Estonia's government and create social unrest.
The verdict remains open to appeal.
Burtseva gained Estonian citizenship in 1994 through naturalization. She previously worked as a journalist for Sputnik Eesti, an outlet that shut down in Estonia in 2019 due to sanctions.
Between 2020 and 2023, she contributed to Baltnews.ee under the alias Alan Torm. From 2019 to 2021, she pursued a master's degree at Sevastopol State University, specializing in information and hybrid conflicts. Since 2023, she has been affiliated with Koos, a pro-Russian political party in Estonia.