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While wartime Russia has seen a rise in treason cases, the arrest of three Russian academics working on hypersonic missile technology at the same faculty in Siberia for treason sparked a rare public outcry in the Russian scientific community.
In an open letter published on Monday, Russian scientists protested the academics’ arrests, claiming the incidents had fueled fear and warning that it could “collapse” weapons research.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that the men had “very serious allegations” but declined to give further details. Peskov confirmed that he saw the open letter and that Russian security services are still working on the case.
The uproar over the scientists’ case follows Ukraine’s claims that it downed six of Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic missiles in a barrage of missiles on Kiev on Tuesday. The weapons are a type of air-launched ballistic missile previously described by Russia as unstoppable and capable of defeating all forms of air defense.
An intelligence update report from the UK Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that Ukraine’s air defenses had revealed an “apparent vulnerability” that “is likely to come as a surprise and an embarrassment to Russia.”
Valery Zvegintsev, Anatoly Maslov and Alexander Shiplyuk – all employees of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Siberian branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Novosibirsk – are accused of high treason. The cases were shrouded in secrecy and details about the nature of their cases were scarce. Under Russian law, anyone found guilty of leaking state secrets faces up to 20 years in prison.
In Monday’s open letter, colleagues of the scientists called for an “urgent solution”, maintained the scientists’ innocence and claimed their arrest would cause serious harm to Russian science.
“They are all known for their brilliant scientific results. … [They have devoted] dedicating their lives to the service of Russian science. “Our colleagues have always remained loyal to the interests of the country,” the letter said. “We know each of them as patriots and decent people who are incapable of doing what law enforcement suspects they are doing.”
Maslov was reportedly arrested last July and accused of sending classified data on hypersonic research to China. His colleague Shiplyuk was arrested a month later.
The news of Zvegintsev’s arrest was first published in the open letter. Meanwhile, Russia’s state-run Tass news agency has reported that Zvegintsev was arrested last month and is under house arrest. Zvegintsev, who has published more than 300 scientific papers, was arrested in connection with an article he wrote in an Iranian journal on gas dynamics, according to Tass.
A fourth colleague from another research institute in Novosibirsk, Dmitry Kolker, was also arrested last summer on suspicion of high treason. He reportedly had pancreatic cancer and died while in custody.
In the open letter, the scientists wrote that the scientists had been presenting their results publicly for years and that their work had been repeatedly reviewed in accordance with non-disclosure protocols. The scientific work “did not harm the security of our fatherland, but on the contrary increased the reputation of Russian science worldwide,” said colleagues.
“Scientific organizations and their collaborators need a clear, law-based understanding of where the line lies between working for the good of the motherland and treason,” the letter reads.
Since the beginning of this year, there has been an increase in cases of high treason in Russia. In the past, such cases have typically involved military personnel or scientists who have been investigated and kept top secret for years. But in recent months, charges have been leveled against ordinary citizens, many related to Ukraine.
Dmitry Zair-Bek, head of the human rights group First Department, which monitors such cases, says the number has increased sharply in the first few months of the year compared to previous years. Thirty cases could be confirmed by open sources, he said, but the number is likely much higher.
The Novosibirsk cases are not the only recent case of treason against Russian scientists. In October, a Tomsk court sentenced scientist Alexander Lukanin to seven years and six months in a prison colony. He was accused of high treason for allegedly transferring secret Russian developments related to alternative energy sources to China.
In an interview, Zair-Bek described treason cases against scientists as “a game of Russian roulette” that was “counterintuitive.”
“God knows why they are apparently imprisoning innocent scientists of world renown who are developing Russian science and actually working for the benefit of the Russian military-industrial complex,” he said.
“Research in the field of aerogas dynamics has practical applications in many areas. But among them, planes and missiles, including military ones, are particularly important for the leadership of the country.”
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