‘Yes, I regret going’: Russian IT specialist returned to Russia to visit his ailing father and was charged with treason over €30 sent to his ex-girlfriend in Ukraine.
A court in Russia’s Komi Republic recently sentenced philosophy instructor Nikolai Zyuzev to seven years in a penal colony. He left Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began but returned to his home village in 2025. He was detained there and charged with treason. Zyuzev is far from the only Russian who has returned home and ended up behind bars. Memorial has counted at least 40 such…
Russian IT specialist Nikolai Zyuzev returned to his home village in Komi Republic in 2025 to visit his ailing father. He was subsequently detained and charged with treason over €30 sent to his ex-girlfriend in Ukraine. Zyuzev was a philosophy Ph.D. who taught in Canada but returned to Russia to work on an educational platform focusing on Indigenous peoples.
He had received grants for this project and it was seen by the Federal Security Service as an attempt to undermine Russia's sovereignty. Zyuzev lost his job, money and apartment after returning to Russia and is currently serving a seven-year sentence at a penal colony.
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