SARATOV, March 13 - RAPSI. A garrison court martial declared on Tuesday Pvt. Andrei Popov guilty of desertion and sentenced him to two years in custody.

The Popov case had a wide public response. In August his sister stated that Popov, who was drafted into the Armed Forces in January 2000 and later went missing, returned home on August 17.

Investigators probed into Popov's desertion and also had to find out if he really worked as a slave at a brickyard in Dagestan, as Popov claimed.

Popov was charged with desertion from his military unit from December 25, 2000 to December 24, 2010, when he turned 29.

The indictment says that after abandoning his unit Popov illegally worked in the Saratov Region for some time and then "continued his criminal intent" and went to Dagestan where he worked at factories under a false name concealing that he was a serviceman.

Popov said on many occasions that he pleaded not guilty refuting what investigators said, but before the trial he confirmed to journalists that he had admitted to his crime.