The Soviet District Court of the southwestern Voronezh region has sentenced Yevgeny Kopytov, 35, to 7 1/2 years in a prison colony for fatally beating his common-law wife after she "accidentally knocked over a bottle of vodka," spilling its contents, Interfax reported.

Using a hammer as well as the emptied bottle of vodka, Kopytov landed "about 60 hits to the head and body" of his girlfriend, whose name was not disclosed, in August last year, according to court documents.

Kopytov was found guilty of "intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm, resulting in the death of the victim," in accordance with Russian Criminal Code Article 111.

A woman is beaten to death by her husband or boyfriend every hour in Russia, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, the official newspaper of the federal government, reported Jan. 20, citing the National Center for the Prevention of Violence.

About 10,000 women died at the hands of their significant others last year in Russia, a figure that averages out to one woman dying every hour.

In the United States, about 3,000 women died as a result of domestic violence, the newspaper reported.