Russian Prosecutors Seek Life Sentence for Nationalist Writer’s Alleged Attacker

Russian prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Alexander Permyakov, who is accused of trying to assassinate pro-war nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin, the independent news website Mediazona reported Friday.
Permyakov was arrested last May after a car bomb wounded Prilepin and killed his security guard in the Nizhny Novgorod region. According to his lawyer, Permyakov pleaded guilty and has cooperated with investigators, who claim he acted on instructions from Ukrainian special services.
Investigators allege Permyakov communicated with a Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) handler, who reportedly located Prilepin’s whereabouts through anonymous conversations with Prilepin’s son.
Prosecutors requested that Moscow’s Second Western Military Garrison Court sentence Permyakov to life in a “special regime” penal colony, citing his “anti-social attitudes and dangerous interests.” Special regime colonies are notorious for their harsh conditions.
Prilepin declined to attend the hearing, asking the court to impose a punishment according to the law.
Permyakov, a native of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, had initially fought for pro-Russian rebels in 2015 but later fled to western Ukraine. He reportedly traveled to Russia via Poland and Latvia in August 2022.
Prilepin, known for his novels based on his experiences fighting with Russian forces in Chechnya, has been a vocal supporter of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
After Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the writer helped lead efforts against Russia’s “anti-state” cultural elite, calling for the resignation of unpatriotic cultural figures.
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