Estonian prosecutors demand 6 years in prison for russian propagandist

Svetlana Burtseva, who obtained Estonian citizenship in 1994 by naturalization.

During the debate in Harju District Court, the state prosecutor's office requested a 6-year prison sentence for the defendant. Instead, the defense requested acquittal. The verdict is scheduled to be delivered on June 11.

According to the investigation, since 2017, Burtseva has been working for the Russian media group Rossiya Segodnya, whose CEO is propagandist Dmitry Kiselev, and various Estonian online publications associated with this propaganda resource.

According to the prosecution, Burtseva continued to cooperate with Russian resources even after they were banned. Thus, as law enforcement officers found, in 2020-2023, she produced media content for the propaganda portal Baltnews.ee, associated with Rossiya Segodnya, under the pseudonym Alan Torm.

The investigation also revealed that from 2019 to 2021, Burtseva studied in the occupied Crimea for a master's degree at the Russian-founded Sevastopol State University, said state prosecutor Eneli Laurits.

According to the prosecutor, the curriculum on information and hybrid conflicts was led by the head of a private intelligence company registered in Russia and a former FSB counterintelligence officer. In collaboration with him, Burtseva published a book entitled “Hybrid War for Peace,” in which she described a global hybrid war that she believes Russia should win.

In addition, since 2023, Burtseva has been a member of the Koos (“Together”) party, one of whose leaders, Ivo Peterson, is currently under investigation for treason. He traveled to occupied Donetsk and Mariupol.

Source: ERR