{
  "id": 12187227,
  "title": "Sochi’s former mayor reportedly left to fight in Ukraine. Authorities brought him back, and a court has now sentenced him to 15 years for bribery.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/sochis-former-mayor-reportedly-left-to-fight-in-ukraine-authorities",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-05T16:27:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/news/2026/10/05/sochi-s-former-mayor-reportedly-left-to-fight-in-ukraine-authorities-brought-him-back-and-a-court-has-now-sentenced-him-to-15-years-for-bribery"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Sochi Mayor Alexey Kopaygorodsky has been sentenced to 15 years in a high-security prison for accepting 248 million rubles in bribes, according to Meshchansky District Court in Moscow. The court also imposed a 500 million ruble fine, barred him from holding civil service leadership positions for 14.5 years, and confiscated his Medal of the Order \"For Merit to the Fatherland,\" Second Class. His wife, Yanina, was sentenced to nine years in prison and fined 500 million rubles. Both defendants pleaded not guilty. Kopaygorodsky, who became mayor in September 2019, resigned in May 2024 to fight in the war against Ukraine, allegedly while under investigation. Prosecutors had sought a 21-year sentence for Kopaygorodsky and a 16-year sentence for his wife, but the defense sought acquittals. The couple was accused of accepting bribes from local business owners in exchange for preferential treatment for their businesses. Assets worth over 1.6 billion rubles were confiscated from the Kopaygorodskys.",
  "summary": "Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court sentenced former Sochi Mayor Alexey Kopaygorodsky to 15 years in a high-security prison after finding him guilty of accepting 248 million rubles in bribes.",
  "key_points": [
    "Former Sochi Mayor Alexey Kopaygorodsky sentenced to 15 years in prison for bribery.",
    "Wife Yanina Kopaygorodsky sentenced to 9 years in prison and fined 500 million rubles.",
    "Assets worth over 1.6 billion rubles confiscated from the Kopaygorodskys."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Euromaidan Press",
        "title": "What if Russia uses nuclear weapons? Can we say Ukraine brought peace to world? Norwegian professor who nominated Zelenskyy and Ukrainians for 2026 Nobel Peace Prize takes on tough questions",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/05/what-if-russia-uses-nuclear-weapons-can-we-say-ukraine-brought-peace",
        "published": "2026-10-05T17:48:50.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}