May 23, 2023

Thank You For Your Service


Thank You For Your Service
The supersonic missile Kinzhal mounted on a MIG-31. The Presidential Press and Information Office, Wikimedia Commons

Valery Zvegintsev, Alexander Shiplyuk, and Anatoly Maslov, three scientists at the Novosibirsk Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITAM) who were engaged in the creation of hypersonic weaponry, have been arrested for treason.

Novaya Gazeta Europe journalists report that the case is classified. It is only known that the interest of law enforcement officers in Zvegintsev was caused by his publication of an article in an Iranian magazine. According to Academ.info, Maslov might be suspected of transferring data related to hypersonic technologies to China. At the same time, colleagues at ITAM noted that Zvegintsev’s work, as well as scientific publications by Maslov and Shiplyuk, "were repeatedly checked by the expert commission for the presence of restricted access information in them, and such information was not found."

The Moscow Times reported that Shiplyuk and Maslov have been engaged in hypersonic missile development for over a decade. Such missiles fly at speeds of at least Mach5, are highly maneuverable, and are able to change course during flight.

In 2018, President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of the weapons during a message to the Federal Assembly. Putin showed deputies, senators, and officials, the anti-ship missile Zircon, the intercontinental ballistic missile Avangard, and the hypersonic missile Kinzhal (which means "Dagger"). According to the president, the Kinzhal is "guaranteed to overcome" the existing air defense and missile defense systems.

However, on May 4, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that it had shot down Kinzhal missiles with Patriot air defense systems that Kyiv received from Germany and the Netherlands. Later, this information was officially confirmed by the Pentagon.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the detention of scientists involved in hypersonic weapons.

Nevertheless, the arrests set the scientific community on edge. Scientists at the Siberian Branch of the RAS have written an open letter to authorities saying that they are worried about the fate of their colleagues and do not understand how they are to continue working. "We see that any article or report can cause accusations of treason. What we are rewarded for today, for which we are held up as an example to others, tomorrow becomes the basis for a criminal prosecution," the letter reads.

In total, 16 scientists in the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been prosecuted. This branch is particularly well-known for its strengths in physics and mathematics. One of the scientists, 54-year-old Dmitry Kolker, head of the Laboratory of Quantum Optical Technologies at Novosibirsk State University, died in a Moscow pre-trial detention center.

Russia's article of the Criminal Code on treason is applied quite often. According to the human rights initiative "Team 29," between 1997 and 2017, about a hundred persons were convicted of treason and espionage. Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the law has been applied even more frequently. 

You Might Also Like

The Threat from Abroad
  • December 28, 2022

The Threat from Abroad

Putin has issued a call to hunt down spies and saboteurs. The State Duma has prepared new “anti-sabotage” laws.
Screws are Tightening
  • April 12, 2023

Screws are Tightening

March has seen a serious tightening of the screws of repression by the Russian regime.
Subversion Subverted
  • March 14, 2022

Subversion Subverted

Putin's attempt to undermine Ukraine backfired ... due to corruption.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.
Fish: A History of One Migration

Fish: A History of One Migration

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Russia Rules

Russia Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955