Russian historian, who received France's Legion d'Honneur, sentenced for butchering girlfriend

A Russian historian and Napolean enthusiast was sentenced to 12-and-a-half-years imprisonment on Friday for murdering and dismembering his young student lover.

A court in Saint Petersburg announced the sentencing of Oleg Sokolov on the charges of murder and the illegal possession of firearms, reports news agency AFP.

"He was aware of his actions at the time of the crime," Judge Yulia Maximenko said while reading out the verdict, adding that the intent to kill came up "suddenly".

The trial of Sokolov, a history lecturer and recipient of France's Legion d'Honneur in 2003, caused an uproar by the activists in Russia over the rising number of domestic abuse incidents.

The history lecturer was arrested in November 2019 after officials pulled him out of freezing Moika River in Saint Petersburg.

Sokolov during the time of his arrest was drunk and carrying a backpack containing a woman's arms.

He admitted his crime of killing 24-year-old Anastasia Yeshchenko, who was her former student and lover, but said that the murder was committed in the heat of the moment during an argument.

The historian's lawyer Sergei Lukyanov said he "does not agree" with the sentence but added that he will decide the future course of action after receiving a copy of the ruling.