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According to a study by the publication T-Invariant, the Russian authorities have intensified repression against scientists on political charges, including treason.
Between 2019 and 2022, five Russian research staff were charged with treason; in 2023 there were seven such cases, in 2024 three, and in 2025 four.
In total, ten of these individuals have already been sentenced to actual imprisonment for terms from 7 to 21 years; the longest term went to Artem Khoroshilov.
Currently in pre-trial detention are Valeriy Zvegintsev, Vladislav Galkin and Vadim Saltikovsky; there is no information on Leonid Pshenichnov.
In addition, three students are implicated in treason – Gleb Verdian, Nikita Menshov and Leonid Katsiv – as well as two engineer-researchers – Andriy Veryanov and Valeriy Kachin.
Scale of Repression and Its Consequences for Science
Since 2022, repression against science professionals in Russia has affected 115 people; 24 of them have been classified as extremists or terrorists, 39 have been placed on the “foreign agents” list, and 34 remain in pre-trial detention or in prisons.
According to the human rights project “First Department,” 2025 set a record for the number of convictions in treason, espionage, confidential cooperation with foreigners, and providing assistance to the adversary. Since the start of the year, 468 people have been convicted on such charges; more than 420 are under investigation, and case materials for 179 people have already been submitted to courts. No exonerating verdicts have been recorded.
By the end of the year, the treason article had become the most common charge in Russia’s political cases, according to the project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial.” According to rights defenders, one in five political prosecutions in the third quarter was linked to this article.
Accusations of treason are usually linked to various forms of interaction with Ukrainians, in particular money transfers to private individuals: one such case involved Oleksандр Vechirko, who transferred 600 rubles to his daughter in Ukraine in cryptocurrency.
According to “First Department,” from the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine until the end of 2024, 792 people were convicted of treason.
Overall, the trend points to a systemic pattern of prosecuting scientists in Russia and a high level of criminalization of political cases.
