Russian political adviser escapes jail until 2024

A political adviser to Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party who mowed down two pedestrians in her car triggering a backlash against Russia’s elite has been told she does not need to go to jail until 2024.

Anna Shavenkova, 28, caused a national outcry earlier this year after a video of the horrific December 2009 traffic accident went viral on YouTube.



Ms Shavenkova lost control of her car and mounted the pavement, hitting two sisters who were walking in central Irkutsk, Siberia, at the time. One of the sisters later died of her injuries, while the other was crippled for life.

On Tuesday, a local court found her guilty of manslaughter and sentenced her to a three-year jail term. But in an almost unheard of exemption, it said she would not have to start the sentence until 2024 when her newly-born child will be fourteen years old. The decision is likely to fuel ordinary people’s suspicions that there is one law for them and another for the Russian elite. Both sides said they would appeal.



Ms Shavenkova, whose mother is the head of the local election commission, sparked fury at the time due to her apparent indifference to what she had done. She showed no interest in the two women she had just run over but instead rushed to inspect damage to her own car and phone someone (not an ambulance).

Police were later accused of giving her special treatment because of her political connections. They only pressed charges against her months later after a public outcry about the case on the internet and, for some strange reason, she was never tested to find out whether she had been drink driving.