A military court sentenced a nuclear physicist from Sarov to 18 years in prison for treason.

      October 9, 2025, 08:19

      Incidents

      The verdict of the 2nd Western District Military Court in the case of Ruslan Shadiyev, a first-category research engineer at the Russian Federal Nuclear Center (RFYaTs-VNIIEF, Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod Region), has entered into legal force. He was found guilty on charges of "High Treason" and "Assistance to Terrorist Activity" in the form of financing.

      According to Kommersant-Privolzhye, in 2023 Shadiyev transferred 1,200 rubles from his crypto wallet to the "Freedom of Russia Legion" and the "Russian Volunteer Corps" (both organizations are recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation). Part of the sum, as stated in the verdict, was directed to the "Go to the Woods" project (recognized as a foreign agent in 2025), which helped people evade the partial mobilization announced in Russia.

      For the cryptocurrency transfers to banned organizations, the court sentenced him to 18 years of imprisonment: the first four years in prison, the remaining 14 in a strict-regime penal colony.

      At trial Shadiyev pleaded for leniency. He claimed he acted rashly, did not know that the mentioned groups had been included in the register of terrorist organizations, and believed he was helping people in a difficult situation.

      To atone for his guilt, the convict's relatives sold property and transferred several million rubles in support of the special military operation. The appeal left the harsh sentence unchanged.

      The defense said it intends to appeal the decision to the Military Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.

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