Russian McDonald's Bomber Jailed For 15 Years

MOSCOW (Reuters) -- A Russian man who bombed a McDonald's restaurant in St. Petersburg a year ago, injuring six people, has been jailed for 15 years, Russian news agencies reported.

Fyodor Kovalchuk was reported by Russian media to have said during his trial last year that his attack was triggered by Western media criticism of a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he warned of a new Cold War.

Putin made his comments 10 days before the restaurant was attacked on February 18, 2008.

McDonald's restaurants have been frequent targets of antiglobalization protesters and often identified with the United States, where the fast food chain has its headquarters.

Along with Kovalchuk, a second defendant was sentenced to a seven-year suspended sentence for his role in the bombing in Russia's second city, Interfax news agency reported.