Why di top physicists for Russia dey go prison
In di past six years, di FSB wey come afta di Russian KGB don accuse plenti physicists dem of treason.
Dem don dey prison since 2018 wen Vladimir Putin start to dey tok for outside about how dem dey make new hypersonic missiles for Russia.
Di men dey accused say dem dey transfer secret weapons information abroad.
But dia co-workers claim say dem no dey work for di field of military development and dia work na just theoretical scientists.
Di BBC torchlight di state secrets wey di FSB wan find for dis international projects, and don follow di family members of di imprisoned scientists tok.
Hypersonic weapon
"For di first time, we don create offensive strike weapon systems wey di world neva see bifor," na how oga Putin brag for one 2020 interview wit State news agency TASS.
"Today di US dey catch up. Na unique situation wey neva happun bifor. First and foremost, I dey tok about hypersonic attack weapon systems."
Di tori pesin ansa wit joke wey partially quote Chekhov say, "hypersonic gun wey dey hang for wall for di first act suppose fire for di second".
Two years later, Russia go start war for Ukraine and go dey use di hypersonic missiles.
For 2005, Putin first tok about weapon complexes wey go "operate for hypersonic speed".
For 2018, e reveal am "wey no get equal for di world" wen e dey give im speech to di Federal Assembly. Di pipo for di speech watch video wey show simulations of how dat kain missile fit dey fly to towards di USA.
E declare say, "dem go dey almost invulnerable and dia speed go dey hypersonic. E go be like meteorite."
Dem call di new silo and ground-based strategic missile system, "Avangard" and di aviation system na "Kinzhal", or "Dagger".
Putin finish im speech wit threat to di West say, "Nobody bin dey listen to us. Listen to us now!"
E also thank di weapons designers say, "na dem be di true heroes of our time."
Since dat time Putin don mention hypersonic weapons for im speeches at least 70 times.
In dat same time period, plenty Russian scientists wey get link to to di hypersonic work don find demselves for prison wit accuse of treason.
Di FSB arrest plenty pipo from di Central Research Institute of Mechanical Engineering (TsNIIMash) and di Central Institute of Aerohydrodynamics (TsAGI) wey dey just outside of Moscow and also from di Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (ITPM) of di Serbian branch of di Russian Academy of Sciences for Novosibirsk.
"Hypersonics don turn wetin dem dey put pipo for prison for," na wetin Evgenly Smirnov from di legal and human rights organisation wey dem dey call First division tok. Di joinbodi dey help pipo wey dem accuse of espionage.
Bifor dem pursue am comot Russia for 2021, oga Smirnov don defend plenti cases of treason by imself, including di ones wey involve scientists.
E don claim say for private tok, FSB officials don tok say dem open cases of selling hypersonic secrets abroad "to satisfy di wishes of di ogas at di top."
Di lawyer, Yevgeny Smirnov also claim say none of di dozen scientists wey dem don arrest in recent years say dem expose, "di secrets of Russian hypersonics" get anytin to do wit di defense sector.
Di scientists wey dem arrest for di "Novosibirsk case" only be specialist on di aerodynamics of hypersonic flows.
Smirnov explain say, "scientists study di physical processes. Make we say dem get research topic: how some kain metals fit scata for hypersonic speeds or wetin turbulence zones fit look like, e no be about how to build rocket, na to learn di physical processes."
E say, afta di study, anybodi fit use di results, including di military organizations wey dey make di weapons.
But for treason cases, na di primary research and basic science wey di defendants do no be weapons development.
Smirnov explain say wetin FSB dey try do na show say spies want Russian missile secrets, e say, "to flatter di ego, to show say Russia missiles na di best and dem wan steal dem".
Alexander Kuranov
Alexander Kuranov wey be 76 year old scientist and wey don contribute for one hypersonic aircraft project, bin chop seven year imprisonment for closed trial wey happun for just two sessions for April 18, 2024.
Di FSB bin arrest di old scientist for August 2021.
One colleague of one of di scientists wey dey accused of treason tok say, "wit dis kain approach, e go affect oda scientific fields."
For now, dem don choose di most "fruitful" kind of research. But dem no really understand am, and dem dey confuse "hypersonic" wit sometin wey dey completely different".
Kuranov collaborate wit investigators.
According to Kommersant newspaper and BBC source wey dey follow di case documents, say e testify against 77 year old Alexander Maslov wey dem bin dey run im own treason trial afta di same time for di same courthouse.
Im na professor of physics and e bin dey work as di director of di St. Petersburg Scientific Research Enterprise for Hypersonic Systems.
Valery Zvegintsev
For 2023, afta dem don arrest di third pesin from di Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IMT), na im di scientists for dia write open letter for am wey reveal im name Valery Zvegintsev say im bin dey under house arrest.
Di oda two scientists wey bin dey work on aerodynamics, Anatoly Maslov and Alexander Shiplyu bin dey for pretrial detention since di last year.
For di open letter, di scientists hail di scientists say, "dia experience and professional reputation fit don carry dem to get ogbonge well paid jobs abroad. But dem no comot di motherland. Dem don dedicate dia lives to Russian science."
E still dey house arrest for Sergei Meshcheryakov.
One ITPM source tell state news agency TASS say di case against Zvegintsev fit dey linked to one article wey e bin write for di Iranian journal for 2021.
Anatoly Maslov
77 year old Anatoly Maslov bin dey work for MPI and dem dey keep am for Lefortovo.
Dem finish di investigation for im case and e don dey trial for one St Petersburg court.
Im lawyer Ola Dinze don tok say im case no dey dey run wit oda cases becos wetin e dey do no concern hypersonics.
She say, "im scientific field don always dey for turbulences and no get anytin to do wit hypersonics."
Alexander Shiplyuk
Alexander Shiplyuk na di director of di I'ITPM and dem dey for di FSB detention centre for Lefortovo, Moscow.
E don dey dia for 18 months according to im family.
E don see im wife only three times and im pikin dem only once in di last one year. E don call im family ten times.
Im pikin, Mikhail say im papa bin love im work sotay e bin dey live for work.
Infact, e bin like snowboarding but go combine am wit wen e dey attend di winter physics conferences.
But now im pikin say e no dey even read science books for jail.
Shiplyuk lawyer say di scientists don dey maintain say im dey innocent.
Vladislav Galkin
Vladislav Galkin na associate professor in di oil and gas department for Tomsk Polytechnic Institute wey bin dey work for di field of hypersonic technology.
Family members wey hide dia identity sake of safety tok say dem scata everytin and tok say dem comot di floor if na drugs dem dey find.
"Dem seize all di papers wey get scientific formulas inside plus mountains of files."
One of Vladislav Galkin family members tok say dem bin put di 60 year old for solitary confinement but today e dey wit ten oda inmates.
Im wife say FSB no allow am to tok about di case as e dey go on. She say until dem arrest am im just dey write articles, e go finish dis one and get anoda idea. She say, "na so technician mind dey work."
She tok say wen e no dey work na chess competitions e dey organise wit im grandpikin dem wey don dey ask wia dia grandpapa dey. She dey tell dem say e travel.
Vladimir Kudryavtsev
Vladimir Kudryavtsev bin dey arrested for 2018 for treason. Bifor im case go go court, e don die.
Im widow, Olga tok say dem enta im house early mor-mor, by dat kain five or six.
She say, "e bin dey fumy. We bin no get anytin to hide. Dem carry computer but noting else dey. I get letters wey we bin write give each oda wen we dey young and one FSB agent bin just dey study am carefully, e blush wen I ask am weda e see anytin interesting for inside."
She say di security guards start to dey ask am wia dem keep di gold and diamonds.
Kudryavtsev widow bin reveal say dem bin give am plea deal say make im confess and point anoda pesin to investigators. E no gree.
FSB investigators bin find shape of rocket for di research wey Kudryavtsev send to di von Karman Institute for Belgium.
As im widow remember, di institute bin dey study di behaviour of turbulent flows of model wey look like pointed cone.
Wen di experiment no work, di physicists come round di cone shape so dem go get di turbulent flow dem bin dey find.
Di study dey successful but FSB find say di rounded tip resemble rocket.
Roman Kovalev
Roman Kovalev bin dey work for di TsNIIMash bifor dem arrest am.
Im wife die wen im still dey prison and e imself die one month afta dem free am from prison.
Anatoly Gubanov and Valery Golubkin
Anatoly Gubanov and Valery Golubkin na TsAGI scientists wey gbab 12 years for "strict regime" penal colony.
Gubanov don appeal against di verdict and dem dey hope say im sentence go dey reduced.
On April 17, di Russian Supreme Court don overturn di Golubkin sentence and order for review.
E go di hearing personally afta dem transfer am from colony for Petrozavodsk to Moscow.
Sergei Meshcheryakov
Sergei Meshcheryakov of TsNIIMash collect suspended pesin sentence for 2021.
According to oga Lapygin, e get cancer. E bin wan reject di suspended sentence and fight.
Vladimir Lapygin
Di physicists wey dem arrest for Novosibirsk no get anytin to do wit "Kinzhal", na wetin one former TsNIIMash employee, Vladimir Lapygin.
E bin dey convicted of treason and dem release am for early 2020.
E say, "Dem bin dey work on theoretical research and development. Evri bodi wey dem arrest say dem get link wit hypersonic weaponry no even near di subject."
Dmitry Kolker
Wia dis foto come from, KREMLIN.RU
Dmitry Kolker bin dey work as di director for di Quantum Optics Laboratory for Institute of Laser Physics.
Im die shortly afta dem arrest am. Dem bin carry am go hospital say im get fourth stage pancreatic cancer and na dia e die afta two days.
20 years ago, oga Kolker bin get opportunity to ask oga Putin weda goment go chook eye for scientific research.
Putin bin tok yes, but na di FSB pay attention to science pass.
Wetin connect di scientists wey dem arrest for treason
Oga Galkin na author of plenti scientific papers, some of which dem publish for foreign journals from 2002 to 2021. Valery Zvegintsev follow write nine.
Tomsk Polytechnic University archive wia Galkin bin dey work show 20 of im works including di ones im do wit Zvegintsev and wit Alexander Shiplyuk of ITPM.
Once ITPM source tell di state news agency TASS say di case against Zvegintsev fit be becos of one article wey dem publish for Iranian journal for 2021. Galkin bin also publish for dis journal.
No be only work link di three men wey dem arrest but say dem participate for do "FP7" wey be European Union's Seventh Framework Program - a grant fund for space research..
Dis program na di Belgium-based von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics dey manage am. Di oda two scientific joinbodi wey we don tok about, TsAGI and TsNIImash, follow join di program.
FSB also visit dem and don put six of dia employees for prison on treason charges.
All di physicists dem sabi each oda.
Even as one IPTM worker wey no wan tok im name for security reasons say, "dem carry di most honest ones, di ones wey get di best reputation for di whole history for di institute."
Hundreds of Russian scientists don comot di kontri since dem start di war for Ukraine. But even bifor den di brain drain don dey plenti.
Official study from 2018 show say about 800,000 Russians wey get higher education don go abroad.
In all, na 12 scientists, Russian authorities don arrest for treason. All of dem get link wit di study of physics for hypersonic speeds. Three of dem don die.
