Prosecutors said Alexander Koptsev, 20, who stabbed 10 people in a synagogue in central Moscow on January 11, should be sent to prison, even though doctors found that he was suffering from schizophrenia.
Koptsev is on trial for the attempted murder of two or more people for ethnic or religious reasons and committing acts designed to denigrate a group of people based on their religious or ethnic background.
State Prosecutor Kira Gudim said Koptsev should serve his sentence in a strict-regime prison camp and be forced to undergo psychiatric treatment there.
Gudim said the attack had only lasted about three minutes but had triggered broad public debate and encouraged the spread of ethnic hatred.
"Koptsev became a hero for rogues like himself," she said, adding that this had been his goal.
Gudim said Koptsev's choice of weapon was not an accident and called the attack brutal, humiliating, and cynical.
Noting that his knife was inscribed with the phrase "Have a good hunt!" Gudim said: "Koptsev went on the hunt in the true sense of the word, a hunt for people of a different religion."
"Whether Russian and foreign citizens feel safe in Russia is contingent on the judges' treatment of Koptsev's case," the prosecutor said.
On February 28, Koptsev pleaded not guilty on grounds that the Criminal Code had been written by Jews and the Jewish mafia. Gudim said he had thereby partially admitted his guilt.
