In Russia, Old Guard of Scientists Fear Prison

It's a dangerous time to be a scientist in Russia, the Wall Street Journal reports. By its count, at least a dozen leading researchers have been arrested in the last six years, including six since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. One common denominator: Many of the detained scientists have worked in hypersonics, a field closely watched by the Kremlin because of Vladimir Putin's emphasis on hypersonic missiles. Russia's fear is that these scientists might be sharing information with their foreign colleagues, meaning those who have attended international conferences are at particular risk.

"Spy mania reigns in Russia right now, a sort of besieged fortress concept," says Sergei Davidis of Memorial, a human-rights organization founded in Russia. "There is such hyper-security on the part of the state, hyper-concern that nothing leaks out." The Kremlin acknowledges the arrests, but a spokesman says he cannot provide details because it's seen as a matter of national security. The BBC, which reported on the wave of arrests earlier this year, notes that treason cases are tried behind closed doors, making it difficult for journalists to make sense of the charges.

Both outlets point out that most of the detained scientists are older, including 58-year-old Alexander Shiplyuk, who was sentenced to 15 years last month, and 78-year-old Anatoly Maslov, sentenced to 14 years in May. Generally speaking, those behind bars have not been directly involved in weapons systems, but their research years earlier—often in tandem with international peers and with the blessing of Putin at the time—provided the framework for them. Yevgeny Smirnov, an attorney who has represented three jailed scientists, tells the Journal ominously that Russia's Federal Security Service continues to investigate "which scientists can be imprisoned," based on their previous international collaborations. (More Russia stories.)