“In Russia, at least five participants in the war against Ukraine are on trial for treason, part of a record wave of criminal cases in 2025, when hundreds of people have already been convicted on such charges without a single acquittal”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
Four more defendants are Oleksandr Firstov, Georgy Bordzov, Nikita Bogomolov and Artem Kharin.
Oleksandr Firstov is 30 years old, he was born in the village of Mykolo-Pavlivske, near the city of Nizhny Tagil in the Sverdlovsk region. After finishing school and serving in the army, Firstov entered the Sverdlovsk Regional Medical College, which he graduated in 2019, and then spent another year undergoing retraining courses to become an emergency physician. In February 2022, he was sentenced to one year of probation and the same probationary period under the article on the purpose of bodily harm – during a fight, he bit off part of the opponent’s nose. According to the “Memorial” human rights center, Oleksandr Firstov was a mercenary of the “Wagner” PMC, and served as a medic. The “Peacemaker” website states that Firstov “in the period from February 2022 to May 2023 was awarded the medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland”. Sibir.Realiya journalists could not confirm this information from other sources.
It is not known when Firstov returned from the front. In January 2025, he was arrested in a criminal case of treason and participation in a terrorist organization, “Memorial” reported. He is accused of trying to join the “Freedom of Russia” Legion. Other details of the case are unknown.
24-year-old Georgy Borzdov is a native of the city of Yasinuvata in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, currently controlled by Russia. In 2019 or 2020, Borzdov received Russian citizenship (charges of treason cannot be brought against a foreign citizen) and moved to the Rostov region, according to sources. Sibyr.Realiya did not find any information about how Borzdov got to the front. But the case file on the website of the Southern District Military Court states that a criminal case was opened against the arrested Borzdov on three counts: attempted treason and attempted participation in a terrorist organization, as well as voluntary desertion. The last article cannot be incriminated against a person who is not a military serviceman.
Mykyta Bogomolov from Kirov is also charged with treason, voluntary desertion, participation in a terrorist organization and aiding terrorist activities. It is not clear when exactly he was detained. Details of the case are unknown. It is known about the 35-year-old Bogomolov that he graduated from Vyatka State University and served in the army.
Another serviceman from the Kirov region is 23-year-old Artem Kharin. He is charged under articles of treason, sabotage and participation in terrorist activities. He was born in the small village of Kumeny. In 2017, he was prosecuted twice for theft.
Harin was probably mobilized. His mother published information about her son in one of the search groups for those missing in war. In January 2024, Kharin was included in the list of extremists and terrorists. The case came to court on January 14 of the same year, but there is no information on whether a verdict was passed. It is not known what the essence of the accusations is.
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.