TALLINN - He was a gleeful looter who became the face of the Bronze Soldier riots after he was photographed stealing armfuls of junk food from a Tallinn kiosk.
But Jevgeni Kazakov had nothing to smile about on June 27 when the Harju County Court sentenced him to serve two months in prison.
Kazakov, 21, was found guilty of rioting, failing to follow police orders and stealing during the tumultuous events of April 26 and 27.
His shopping list included a half-liter bottle of Sprite, a pack of Orbit chewing gum, a painting from a nearby art gallery and two packs of Libresse female sanitary pads.
Kazakov was sentenced to one year in prison, but the court reduced his custody period to two months, followed by 18 months' probation.
In many ways, Kazakov came to represent the riots. His photograph, published widely across Estonia and the world, set the perception that the rioters had little interest in the complicated history or politics surrounding the Bronze Soldier, but were merely opportunistic hoodlums.
Kazakov's career as a chef was also jeopardized by his actions. He was fired from the kitchen of popular eatery Cafe VS the morning after the riots, and will no doubt find it hard to gain employment after his release from prison.
The Harju County Court has already sentenced 13 other rioters, with six of them ordered to serve actual jail time. One man, Vjatseslav Zjuzin, was imprisoned for two years and four months for taking part in the riot while on probation for earlier offenses.
A further 20 people have been charged and are awaiting sentencing, and some of them remain in police custody after being refused bail. And prosecutors said a further 200 people were under investigation and could face court in the coming months.
Prosecutors have been assisted by hundreds of pictures taken during the riots depicting looters cleaning out trashed stores.
Two days after Kazakov's sentencing, the owners of the affected businesses finalized their compensation claims with the Estonian Finance Ministry.
Already 9.64 million kroons in compensation has been paid to 178 affected parties, mostly to businesses around Tonismagi and Freedom Square. A further 29 claims were rejected, while 14 cases remain to be decided.
The money will come from the taxypayers' purse after the Estonian government agreed to cover the cost of the damage.
"The government felt that, as a priority, people should get their money back as quickly as possible," a Finance Ministry spokeswoman told The Baltic Times.
"There were some concerns about people who didn't have insurance. It was done for the convenience of these people."
In fact, many of the trashed businesses could have been left empty handed had the government not stepped in.
Most insurance contracts have an exclusion clause that leaves the customer unprotected in the event of a riot, according to Kristjan Miinemaa, manager of the Estonian Insurance Association.
"Riot exclusion is pretty standard if you look at any general insurance terms," said Miinemaa, whose association represents Estonia's major insurers.
He said some businesses would still be left with empty pockets because the government had not offered to cover the cost of business disruption 's another event many businesses fail to insure against.
Insurers are now likely to take the April riots into account when assessing the risk of covering property in central Tallinn, meaning premiums could increase when contracts are renewed, he said.
