Russian Court Jails Canadian-Russian National for Seven Years in Treason Case
The court said Nikolai Zyuzev received $2 million from 12 foreign organizations to back a project aimed at undermining Russia’s sovereignty.
- On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the Komi Republic sentenced Russian-Canadian academic Nikolai Zyuzev to seven years in a penal colony for treason, convicted of training leaders of "national liberation movements" among Russian ethnic minorities abroad.
- Zyuzev developed the project beginning in February 2022 and received $2 million from 12 foreign organizations, including some designated as "undesirable," according to Russia's Federal Security Service.
- A philosophy doctorate holder, Zyuzev taught at Ukhta State Technical University in Komi before moving to Canada in 2008, where he earned a law degree and taught near the University of Toronto until returning to Russia in 2015.
- Held in custody since June 2026, Zyuzev initially faced charges of "confidential cooperation with a foreign state" under Article 275.1 before the verdict upgraded the charge to treason under Article 275 of Russia's Criminal Code.
- Russia's dozens of indigenous minorities, including Muslim Tatars and Buddhist Buryats, were the focus of Zyuzev's alleged project, though his response to the treason charge was not reported and he had left Russia after the full-scale war began.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Russia sentences professor with dual Russian-Canadian citizenship to seven years for treason
The Supreme Court of the Komi Republic sentenced Nikolai Zyuzev, a Russian and Canadian citizen, to seven years in prison on charges of preparing a “project against Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” using foreign grants.
Russian court jails Canadian-Russian national for seven years in treason case
MOSCOW, Sept 16 (Reuters) - A Russian court has convicted a Russian-Canadian national of treason and sentenced him to seven years in a penal colony for work he did for for separatist movements based outside Russia, the RIA state news agency reported...
The court sentenced Nikolai Zyuzev, a citizen of Russia and Canada, to seven years in prison in the case of treason, the FSB reported
The court sentenced Nikolai Zyuzev, a citizen of Russia and Canada, to seven years in prison in the case of treason, the FSB reported. ""In February 2022, Zyuzev developed and began implementing a project that provided for work in 12 areas, "including...
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