Anatoly Maslov, a Russian physicist, has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his alleged involvement in researching super-high flight speeds, a field that is crucial for Russia’s development of hypersonic missiles. Maslov was a top scientist at the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in Novosibirsk, where he worked on projects related to hypersonic technology. This case is part of a broader trend in Russia, where scientists working in this sensitive field have been targeted with treason charges. The Russian government has been particularly aggressive in pursuing cases against researchers involved in the development of hypersonic technology, likely due to the strategic importance of such advancements for the country’s military capabilities.
Maslov is not the only scientist to have been targeted by the Russian government for his work in the field of hypersonic technology. Other researchers, including Alexander Shiplyuk, Valery Zvegintsev, Vladislav Galkin, and Alexander Kuranov, have also been arrested and charged with treason in recent years. Shiplyuk, Zvegintsev, and Maslov were all top scientists at the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, while Galkin worked at a different university in Siberia. Kuranov, on the other hand, was the general director of a research facility in St. Petersburg that was working on a new version of a Soviet-era hypersonic aircraft. These cases highlight the Russian government’s crackdown on researchers involved in hypersonic technology research and development.
In addition to Maslov and his colleagues at the Khristianovich Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, scientists at other research institutions in Russia have also been targeted for their work on hypersonic technology. Anatoly Gubanov and Valery Golubkin, who worked at TsAGI, the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute near Moscow, were both arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for allegedly passing state secrets to foreign entities. Viktor Kudryavtsev, Roman Kovalyov, and Vladimir Lapygin, who worked at TsNIIMash, a scientific subsidiary of Roscosmos, also faced treason charges. Kudryavtsev ultimately died of lung cancer before his trial, while Kovalyov passed away from cancer after being sentenced to seven years in prison. Lapygin, however, was released early in 2020 after serving part of his seven-year sentence.
The Russian government’s crackdown on scientists involved in researching super-high flight speeds and hypersonic technology reflects its commitment to maintaining a strategic advantage in the development of advanced military capabilities, particularly hypersonic missiles. The cases brought against researchers like Anatoly Maslov and his colleagues underscore the sensitive nature of this field and the lengths to which the Russian government is willing to go to protect its national security interests. These prosecutions have raised concerns among the scientific community in Russia, with some colleagues of the accused scientists speaking out against the allegations and describing them as damaging to Russian science. The targeting of researchers in this field highlights the challenges faced by scientists working in sensitive areas of research in Russia, where government scrutiny and potential legal consequences loom over their work.
