Metro 2033 author Dmitry Glukhovsky is sentenced to eight years in prison for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian military in online posts.
Background
The charges arose from a March 12 Instagram post in which the author invoked the city of Mariupol and called for an end to the war. The author, whose book Metro 2033 is known to gamers through the FPS based on the novel, faces a maximum of ten years in prison.
Glukhovsky, who is currently based in Paris and is critical of the invasion and Russian ruler Vladimir Putin despite the charges and being declared a “foreign agent,” had previously said that even if he was arrested, he would not offer any explanations or apologies to Russian authorities.
“I will say only this: stop the war, withdraw troops from Ukraine, free all political prisoners, and allow us to be what we want to be – free people,” he says.
Glukhovsky also pays tribute to victims of Russia’s crackdown on dissent and those who have spoken out in support of Ukraine.
“I know many of you will be afraid. I know because I was afraid, too. I know what it means to have the Federal Security Service knock on your door in the middle of the night, to have them read out the charges, to have them confiscate your computer and phones, to have them disappear you.
“I know because it happened to me. And I know that many of you will choose to remain silent. But I ask that you not forget the dead, and that you not forget your own dignity. And I ask you to remember that we are many. And we are strong. And we are right. And we shall win.”
Glukhovsky was sentenced in absentia as his current whereabouts are unknown.
Sentencing
A court in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don says that Glukhovsky, who has over a million Instagram followers and posts about politics regularly, is guilty of accusing Russian soldiers of committing crimes in Ukraine on social media. Prosecutors dismiss his allegations as fake.
Glukhovsky is also charged with “spreading false information about the activities of the Russian Armed Forces,” referring to his post on Instagram.
The sentence was announced in court on March 9, but it became known only now.
Metro 2033 and Glukhovsky's Status
Glukhovsky is known to gamers through the FPS based on his novel Metro 2033. Developed by Ukrainian studio 4A Games and released in 2010, Metro spawned two sequels, Metro: Last Light and Metro Exodus. Glukhovsky worked on the Last Light script and is credited with “inspiring” Exodus, which was developed by 4A Games without Glukhovsky’s creative input.
While Metro 2033 was a Russian-made game, made by Russian developers, and set in part in the Russian Federation, the author has not been a Russian citizen since 2011.
It is not clear where Glukhovsky, who has been a vocal critic of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Kremlin’s actions, was when he was sentenced. He does not appear to have been in Russia at the time his verdict was handed down.
Glukhovsky is said to be currently living in France and is not a Russian citizen. However, it is not clear if he was in France when he was sentenced in Russia.
