MOSCOW, July 18 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by Igor Podporin against his sentence for damaging Ilya Repin’s painting “Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan 16 November 1581” at the Tretyakov Gallery, RAPSI reported from the courtroom.

The court refused to mitigate the sentence as was asked by Podporin and his defense.

In late April, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow gave Podporin 30 months in a penal colony. A prosecutor earlier asked the court to imprison him for 3 years.

Podporin was charged with damaging or destructing most valuable objects of cultural heritage. In February, his detention was extended until August 14.

The incident took place on the evening of May 25, 2018, just five minutes before the museum’s closing, the Tretyakov Gallery’s press service said. The man ran into the empty hall of works by Repin and bashed the painting using a metal stanchion. Podporin broke through the glass encasing the well-known work of art depicting the horrified tsar and his dying son and ripped the canvas in multiple places, the statement read.

According to case papers, damage caused by Podporin is estimated at around 500,000 rubles (about $8,000); the restoration cost will range from 5 to 10 million rubles ($80,000 – 155,000).

The defendant pleaded guilty in court.