“In Russia, the number of prosecutions of scientists on charges of treason is growing rapidly: in 2025 alone, 468 people were sentenced, and dozens of researchers are under investigation or in pretrial detention centers, according to data from human rights defenders and journalists”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
According to journalists’ calculations, in four years, from 2019 to 2022, five Russian scientists were accused of treason, while in 2023 alone, there were already seven such cases, and in 2024 and 2025, three and four scientists were charged, respectively.
Ten of them have already been sentenced. These people received from seven to 21 years – Artem Khoroshilov has the longest term. Valery Zvehintsev, Vladyslav Galkin, Vadym Saltykovskyi are in pre-trial detention center, there is no information about Leonid Pshenychnov.
Also, three students – Hleb Verdiyan, Mykyta Menshov, Leonid Kats, and two research engineers – Andriy Ver’yanov and Valery Kachyna were accused of treason.
In total, since 2022, 115 representatives of science have experienced repression in Russia, the publication calculated. 24 scientists are recognized as extremists or terrorists, 39 are on the list of “foreign agents”. 34 persons are in pre-trial detention centers or colonies.
According to the human rights project “First Department”, 2025 became a record year for the number of convictions in cases of treason, espionage, confidential cooperation with foreigners and providing assistance to the enemy. Since the beginning of the year, 468 people have been convicted on such charges. At least 420 are still under investigation, and the case files of 179 people have already been submitted to the courts. There were no acquittals.
By the end of the year, the article about high treason became the most popular in political affairs in Russia, reported the project “Support for political prisoners. Memorial”. Every fifth new political persecution in the third quarter was based on this article, according to human rights defenders.
Accusations of treason are usually associated with various options for interaction with Ukrainians (in particular, with money transfers to private individuals: one such case was the case of Oleksandr Vechirk, who transferred 600 rubles in cryptocurrency to his daughter in Ukraine).
From the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine until the end of 2024, 792 people were convicted under the article on treason, the “First Department” previously calculated.