T-invariant releases its latest press release, “Chronicle of the Persecution of Scientists” No. 33, dated May 31, 2026. The major event of the past month was the conclusion of the “hypersonics case.” On May 5, 2026, a Novosibirsk court handed down sentences to physicists Valery Zvegintsev and Vladislav Galkin. Both scientists were sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in a maximum-security penal colony under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (high treason).
T-invariant published an article headlined “The Old to Prison, the Young to the Exit: The Final Verdict in the Hypersonic Scientists Case,” in which it summarized the 11-year-long case against Russian physicists. Formally, the case is not yet over, as the sentences for the last two defendants, Valery Zvegintsev and Vladislav Galkin, have not yet entered into force — an appeal in cassation is pending. However, both scientists have been found guilty of high treason and sentenced to 12 years and 6 months in a maximum-security penal colony, while the minimum term under Article 275 of the Criminal Code is 12 years. It is unlikely that the cassation court will reduce the sentence, but it could increase it; we are aware of such cases.
In total, 11 scientists have been prosecuted in cases related to hypersonics over the past 11 years. Lawyer and human rights activist Ivan Pavlov, in an interview with T-invariant, draws attention to an unusual detail: “What is surprising in the Zvegintsev and Galkin cases is that they were under house arrest, and it is even more surprising that they remained under house arrest even after the guilty verdict was handed down with such a long prison term. Usually, people are taken into custody immediately in the courtroom after such sentences. I think the authorities have started to wonder: is everything moving in the right direction? Zvegintsev is 82 years old; he might not survive the transfer and the colony, and this is bound to worry the security services. These scientists are people who served the regime faithfully, forged its military might, and they got caught in the crossfire of the system. The regime may be starting to wonder: are we persecuting the right people? Are we making enemies out of the wrong ones? The problem is that the propaganda and security machine has been set in motion and is not so easy to stop anymore. It mows down its own people, too.”
Following the delivery of the verdicts, the list of the ten longest prison terms handed down to scientists for “high treason” has changed. The top ten now looks as follows:
Artem Khoroshilov — 21 years
Alexey Vorobyov — 20 years
Ruslan Shadiev — 18 years
Aleksandr Shiplyuk — 15 years
Anatoly Maslov — 14 years
Dmitry Kizhmenev — 13 years
Valery Zvegintsev — 12 years and 6 months (*)
Vladislav Galkin — 12 years and 6 months (*)
Valery Golubkin — 12 years
Anatoly Gubanov — 12 years
(*) — The sentence has not yet entered into legal force.
New Files
May 26, 2026. The Savyolovsky District Court of Moscow granted a motion for the arrest of political scientist Mariya Snegovaya, who is accused of “disseminating knowingly false information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” (Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The arrest warrant in absentia is two months from the date of actual detention, reports TASS.
May 25, 2026. The Zyuzinsky District Court of Moscow sentenced mathematician and Higher School of Economics assistant professor Andrey Dymov to three and a half years in a penal colony in a case involving donations made to the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF established by Alexey Navalny). Dymov was found guilty of financing extremism (Part 1 of Article 282.3 of the Criminal Code), reports T-invariant. According to Mediazona, he set up a recurring donation on August 5, 2021, and donated a total of 3,500 rubles [$48] to the ACF. He pleaded guilty. His criminal case went to trial in late April.
May 21, 2026. The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow, at the request of an investigator from the Interior Ministry, placed Svetlana Mesyats, a senior researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, under house arrest. She is accused of fraud on an especially large scale (Part 4 of Article 159 of the Russian Criminal Code), reports Vedomosti.
May 15, 2026. The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included sociologist Sergey Erofeev in the register of “foreign agents.” The ministry claims that Erofeev disseminated materials from foreign agents, participated in the creation and distribution of messages from organizations deemed “undesirable” in Russia, and also broadcast, according to the statement, “fakes” about the government and spoke out against the hostilities in Ukraine, reports Vedomosti.
May 14, 2026. The Tverskoy Court of Moscow sentenced former Lebedev Physical Institute (FIAN) researcher Evgeny Onishchenko to 1.5 years of compulsory labor in a case involving a transfer of 5,000 rubles [$70] to the ACF, reports Mediazona.
May 8, 2026. The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included philosopher Mikhail Epstein in the register of “foreign agents.” According to the Ministry of Justice, “M. N. Epstein disseminated misleading information about the decisions made by the public authorities of the Russian Federation and the policies they pursue,” reports TASS, citing the ministry’s website.
May 8, 2026. The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included biophysicist Igor Efimov in the register of “foreign agents.” According to the Ministry of Justice, “I. R. Efimov took part in disseminating, to an unlimited audience, messages and materials from foreign agents and organizations included in the list of foreign and international organizations whose activities have been recognized as undesirable in the Russian Federation,” reports TASS, citing the ministry’s website.
Updates
May 5, 2026. A Novosibirsk court sentenced Vladislav Galkin to 12 years and 6 months in a maximum-security penal colony under Article 275 of the Criminal Code (“high treason”), reports RBC. Before the verdict, the scientist was under house arrest. The preventive measure will remain in place until the verdict enters into force.
May 5, 2026. A Novosibirsk court sentenced Valery Zvegintsev to 12 years and 6 months in a maximum-security penal colony under Article 275 of the Criminal Code (“high treason”), reports RBC. Before the verdict, the scientist was under house arrest. The preventive measure will remain in place until the verdict enters into force.
May 4, 2026. Azat Miftakhov reported that he had been subjected to torture at the Polar Owl penal colony in Kharp. Miftakhov stated that he was tortured upon arrival in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug — the Polar Owl special-regime colony in Kharp. His account was obtained and published by The Insider.