Maxim Lyutyi had 60,000 followers and a paid course called 'The Living Man.' He taught clients that human beings could absorb nutrition directly from sunlight. When his son was born, he decided to prove it.

The boy was named Kosmos. He was born at home in Sochi because Lyutyi refused to allow his partner, Oksana Mironova, to give birth in a hospital. From the first days of Kosmos's life, Lyutyi prohibited Mironova from breastfeeding him. The infant would be nourished by the sun instead. Lyutyi believed this would give the child superhuman strength through what he described as a 'vegan prana diet,' and he intended to use Kosmos as a living advertisement for the practice.

What Happened Inside That Household

Lyutyi would take Kosmos away from his mother for a full day at a time. He poured cold water on the newborn to 'harden' him. Mironova's family described her as a 'slave' to Lyutyi, saying he ran what amounted to a sect around his lifestyle ideology. Lyutyi provided no food money for the baby, so Mironova's own mother secretly sent her daughter money from her pension so Mironova could buy food without Lyutyi knowing.

Kosmos was one month old when he was rushed to a medical facility. He died on the way, from pneumonia and emaciation.

The Sentencing

Maxim Lyutyi, 44, was convicted of intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death. He was sentenced to eight years in a penal colony and fined the equivalent of approximately $1,072. Oksana Mironova received a two-year sentence.

What Lyutyi Was Eating by the Time He Went to Prison

This is the detail that reframes everything about the case. By the time Lyutyi was imprisoned, he had already abandoned the sunlight diet entirely. He was eating meat and pasta. The ideology he used to justify denying his newborn son any food was one he had quietly walked away from himself, while the consequences for Kosmos were permanent.

His course, his follower count, and his philosophy outlived the child he used to promote them.