The Bulgaria had more than 200 passengers including children on board when it sank during a storm, with many victims trapped in a music room on the middle deck, in the country's worst boat disaster in recent memory.
Svetlana Inyakina, whose company operated the ship, was sentenced to 11 years in a prison camp for failing to follow safety regulations, a spokeswoman for the court in the central Russian city of Kazan told AFP.
The 78-metre Bulgaria sank in just a few minutes in July 2011, three kilometres from the nearest bank.
Of the 201 passengers on board, only 79 were rescued.
The vessel, which was more than 50 years old, was operating without a licence and was in use despite a series of technical problems.
