A former war participant from Yakutia was sentenced to 20 years in a high-security penal colony for murdering his neighbor and a relative, as reported by the republic’s Supreme Court on October 10.
In addition to imprisonment, the court also partially granted the victims' civil claims and ordered 36-year-old Viktor Savvinov to pay nearly 4.3 million rubles in compensation for moral and physical damages.
In 2023, Savvinov returned from the war in Ukraine to the village of Kutana in the Suntarsky District. On February 24, he struck his 34-year-old neighbor, with whom he had been drinking, in the head with a crowbar, killing him. He then broke into the home of his uncle’s widow, 64-year-old teacher Valentina Fedorova, murdered her, and set the house on fire.
The day before, on Defender of the Fatherland Day, Fedorova had refused to let Savvinov into her home while he was intoxicated. Earlier, he had "wandered around the village, complaining that he wasn’t being shown the respect he deserved."
The victim’s daughter told SakhaDay journalists that the prosecutor had sought a 24-year sentence, but the judge only imposed 20 years. She believes that “this is too little for a repeat offender,” noting that he is young enough to commit further crimes after serving his sentence.
Savvinov had previously been convicted of causing grievous bodily harm, robbery, car theft, and banditry. In 2020, he was found guilty of murdering a woman and sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony, from which he was later sent to fight in Ukraine.