Court sentences woman to six years in prison for treason

The Tallinn-based Harju County Court on Wednesday found Svetlana Burceva guilty of violating international sanctions and treason and sentenced her to six years imprisonment.

The start of the sentence is the date of Burceva's detention, Feb. 28, 2024.

The court rejected the defense attorney's request for compensation for damages caused by the criminal proceedings.

According to the indictment, Burceva violated an international sanction by working for the Russian media company RIA Rossiya Segodnya, whose head, Dmitry Kiselyov, is on the financial sanctions list. By writing articles and taking photos for the RIA Rossiya Segodnya/Baltnews online publication, Burceva made economic resources available to a sanctioned individual.

Burceva was also accused of having established and maintained a relationship with a foreign national, Roman Romachev, that was antagonistic to the Republic of Estonia, as well as assisting him and the Russian Federation organization R-Techno in non-violent activities aimed against Estonia's independence and sovereignty.

The court accepted all submitted evidence, deemed it admissible, and found that Burceva's guilt was fully proven.

The court established that Romachev is a reserve officer of the FSB and the head of the private intelligence company R-Techno. One of the company's tasks is to contribute to the development of a reserve system being established in the Russian Federation for countering information warfare and psychological operations. The company has operated in this field for over 20 years.

The services of the company and Romachev in the domain of hybrid warfare, including information influence operations, have been utilized by Russian state organizations to advance the goals of the Russian Federation's security strategy. Romachev's role at the Sevastopol State University master's program in «Information and Hybrid Conflicts» was not limited to that of a guest lecturer -- he also recruited future influence agents from among the students.

According to the court, the purpose of the relationship between Romachev and Burceva was to begin publishing joint writings aimed at supporting the Russian Federation's foreign and security policy goals and carrying out influence operations, including in the so-called «near abroad».

With Romachev's knowledge, Burtseva wrote a book titled «Hybrid War for the World: Where its Battle of Kursk Will Take Place», which is a propagandistic work lacking the characteristics of independent analysis. The book manipulates historical facts, spreads false information, and creates distrust towards state authority. The content of the book splits Estonian society and discredits Estonia. The court established that Burceva, in collaboration with Romachev and the private company R-Techno, published the book via the Kuum-Liin Telekom publishing house. After the book's publication, Romachev immediately began promoting it with the aim of maximizing its distribution, including in Estonia and other Baltic countries.

In imposing the sentence, the court took into account the fact that Burceva was accused of intentionally violating international sanctions for several years. While her contributions to the media outlets associated with Kiselyov can be deemed as significant, it must also be taken into account that the number of articles was not very large compared with the time period. Taking into account the fact that the offense is of average gravity, that there are no mitigating or aggravating circumstances, and taking into account the circumstances in which the offense was committed, as well as the person of the accused, the appropriate sentence was two years' imprisonment.

According to the court, Burceva committed treason intentionally, but her level of guilt was assessed to be close to the minimum. The offense involved a single book, and the amount of time for it to have an impact on the general public was limited. The court also took into account that Burceva had no prior criminal convictions. Given that the crimes were committed within the same time period and were to some extent similar in nature, the court imposed a cumulative sentence of six years of imprisonment on Burceva, equal to the length of the sentence sought by the prosecutor for the crime of treason.

Burceva must pay 2,215 euros in procedural costs, and the costs of the attorneys must also be entirely borne by her.

The judgment has not come into force and can be appealed in the Tallinn Circuit Court within 30 days.