Russian mathematician Semyon Krasotkin charged with treason over $26 in paid Telegram reactions to Ukrainian and opposition channels
Semyon Krasotkin, a 27-year-old mathematician and journalist from Moscow, has been jailed on treason charges, the news outlet Vot Tak reported.
Moscow-based mathematician and journalist Semyon Krasotkin, 27, has been charged with treason, according to Vot Tak. He was apprehended at Domodedovo Airport in mid-August 2026 following a trip to Kyrgyzstan. Border officials discovered "stars" — virtual currency for Telegram reactions — on his phone that he had left on posts in opposition and Ukrainian Telegram channels.
Krasotkin was subsequently held in custody for a series of jail terms for the administrative offense of "petty hooliganism." Before his release on September 17, he faced the threat of treason charges, torture, and violence. Authorities took him to the Moscow office of the Federal Security Service on September 19, launching a treason investigation.
A court ordered him held in pretrial detention for two months, with investigators listing "star" reactions worth a total of 2,200 rubles. Krasotkin holds a master's degree from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and has worked as a mathematician at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Trapeznikov Institute of Control Sciences.
He also served as one of nine administrators for Russian Wikinews, having published over a million news items. Criminal investigations into Telegram "stars" have been reported since early 2026, initially alleging financing terrorism. Human rights advocates have called on Telegram founder Pavel Durov to make paid reactions to posts anonymous due to Russian criminal prosecution.
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