Ivan Safronov (1990)

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Ivanovich and the family name is Safronov.
Ivan Safronov
Born (1990-05-18) 18 May 1990
Moscow, USSR
Alma materHigher School of Economics
OccupationJournalist

Ivan Ivanovich Safronov (Russian: Иван Иванович Сафронов; born 18 May 1990) is a Russian journalist. He was arrested in July 2020 on charges of treason related to allegedly disclosing state secrets. A Kremlin spokesman claimed following the arrest that "As far as we know this is not linked to his prior journalistic activity in any way." Kommersant called the charges of treason "absurd".[1]

Journalism and Roscosmos

Ivan Safronov worked on military reporting for Kommersant[2] until 2019.[3] He later became a journalist at the daily newspaper Vedomosti.[2]

In May 2020, Safronov started work at the Russian space agency Roscosmos as a public relations advisor to Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos.[1][3]

Safronov was arrested in June 2020 and leading journalist Taisia Bekbulatova was arrested on the same day in relation to the case.[4]

In June 2019, Kommersant was accused in Russian courts with disclosing state secrets; according to BBC News, the case was based on an article co-authored by Safronov[1] about Russian sales of fighter jets to Egypt.[3] Safronov was later fired from Kommersant over a separate article. The entire politics desk of Kommersant resigned in protest.[1]

Safronov was arrested in July 2020 on charges of treason. Kommersant called the treason charges "absurd".[1] The charges were of collecting secret information about Russian armed forces and giving the information to Czech spies. Safronov stated that the charges were false and that he was being prosecuted for his journalism.[3][b]

In a court hearing in late August/early September 2022, Safronov refused a plea bargain of a 12-year sentence in return for a guilty plea.[3]

On 5 September 2022 Safranov was sentenced to 22 years in prison in relation to the treason charges.[2] Safronov's legal team said that it would appeal the verdict.[3]

In February 2023, Ivan Safronov was dismissed from the position of adviser to the Director General of Roscosmos in accordance with the court verdict, under paragraph 4 of part one of Article 83 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation.[21]

Safronov's legal team stated that the trial included legal violations and that prosecution witnesses had stated that Safronov had not violated the law.[3]

Among Safronov's lawyers, a criminal investigation for allegedly revealing secret information was opened against Ivan Pavlov as a suspect, and Pavlov left Russia in 2021; and Dmitry Talantov was arrested for allegedly "discrediting" Russian armed forces.[3]

Analysis

Proekt published the details of the charges and said that the "state secrets" allegedly published by Safronov were mostly available on the Internet.[3]

Support for Safronov

Early on 5 September, prior to the court hearing, Meduza, TV Rain, Novaya Gazeta Europe, and The Moscow Times called for Safronov to be released, arguing that he was being persecuted for his journalism, not treason.[3]

Opposition to Safronov

Russian officials stated that the legal case was unrelated to Safronov's journalism.[3]

Family

Safronov's father, also named Ivan Safronov, (16 January 1956 – 2 March 2007) was a Russian journalist and columnist who covered military affairs for the daily newspaper Kommersant. He died after falling from the fifth floor of his Moscow apartment building. There were speculations that Safronov senior might have been killed for his critical reporting: the Taganka District prosecutor's office in Moscow initiated a criminal investigation into Safronov's death, and in September 2007, officially ruled his death a suicide.[22]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ FSB General Nikolai Alexeevich Oleshko (Russian: Николай Алексеевич Олешко; born 1949)[6][10] is Russia's main spy hunter beginning 1999 when he headed the first "espionage" department of the Investigative Directorate of the FSB which is located at Lefortovo Prison.[6][11][12] Previously, in the early 1990s, Oleshko headed the investigation department of the Directorate of Special Departments Groups of Soviet troops in Germany.[6][10][12] Under Oleshko, Lubyanka with support from Vasily Petukhov became more active in espionage cases by capturing and sending to Lefortovo Prison famous "spies" of those years: diplomat Valentin Moiseev or Moiseyev, US Navy's military-technical intelligence specialist Edmond Pope (Russian: Эдмонд Поуп), the scientists Valentin Danilov and Igor Sutyagin (Oskar Kaibyshev received probation).[6][11][12][13][14] By 2003, Oleshko became the deputy head of the Investigative Directorate of the FSB, and later headed the Investigative Directorate of the FSB in December 2004.[6][10][12] According to Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan "By 2004, Nikolai Oleshko's influence had gone beyond the walls of Lefortovo, where the FSB Investigation Department is located. He managed to achieve a de facto restructuring of the system of investigating espionage cases throughout the country and put under the control of his people the supervision of such investigations" (Russian: «К 2004 году влияние Николая Олешко вышло за стены „Лефортова“, где располагается Следственное управление ФСБ. Ему удалось добиться фактической перестройки системы расследования шпионских дел по всей стране и поставить под контроль своих людей надзор за такими расследованиями»).[6] Prior to Oleshko, the fourth department handled important espionage cases but, with support from the deputy director FSB General Vyacheslav Nikolaevich Ushakov (Russian: Вячеслав Николаевич Ушаков; born 28 January 1951, Samara, USSR),[15][16][17][18] Oleshko had the first department handle the high profile cases.[6] At the end of 2009, the 60 year-old Oleshko retired from the FSB and co-founded the firm Yurinformservice (Russian: «Юринформсервис») which is a company engaged in support of the field of law.[6] Allegedly, Oleshko brought Vasily Petukhov to the first department of the Investigative Directorate of the FSB in 1998.[6]
  2. ^ FSB General Vasily Vladimirovich Petukhov (Russian: Василий Петухов; born 1968 or 1969, Yekaterinburg, USSR) graduated from the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union.[5][6][7] In 2021, Petukhov headed the FSB Investigation Department (Russian: главы Следственного управления ФСБ) after Mikhail Shishov (Russian: Михаил Шишов) resigned due to senority on 5 August 2020.[8] Petukhov investigated the cases against Safronov and journalist Bekbulatova.[6][9] FSB General Vasily Petukhov's wife is Elena Petukhova (Russian: Елена Петухова; born one year younger than Vasily Petukhov, Krasnodar, USSR).[6] With support from Russia's main spy hunter, FSB General Nikolai Oleshko,[a] Petukhov, as a 29 year-old, handled terrorism cases in 1998, and, in 1999, began interrogating "spies".[6][19][20]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Rainsford, Sarah (5 September 2022). "Russian space official Safronov charged in treason probe". BBC News. Archived from the original on 12 July 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Liffey, Kevin; Faulconbridge, Guy (5 September 2022). "Russian ex-journalist Safronov gets 22 years in prison for treason". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Tenisheva, Anastasia (5 September 2022). "Russia Jails Journalist Safronov for 22 Years on Treason Charges". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Officials raid the home of former 'Meduza' correspondent Taisiya Bekbulatova". Meduza. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Василий Петухов: Начальник "шпионского" отдела Следственного управления ФСБ" [Vasily Petukhov: Head of the "espionage" department of the FSB Investigative Department]. Agentura.Ru (in Russian). 2025. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Семья генерала ФСБ, курирующего дело Сафронова, оказалась совладельцем "Библио-Глобуса"" [The family of the FSB general in charge of the Safronov case turned out to be a co-owner of Biblio-Globus]. Открытых медиа (openmedia.io) (in Russian). 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  7. ^ "Структура бизнеса семьи генерала ФСБ Василия Петухова" [Business structure of the family of FSB General Vasily Petukhov]. Открытых медиа (openmedia.io) (in Russian). 22 September 2020. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  8. ^ "Начальник Следственного управления ФСБ Шишов уходит в отставку" [Head of the FSB Investigation Department Shishov resigns]. «Коммерсантъ» (in Russian). 5 August 2020. Archived from the original on 12 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  9. ^ Пушкарская, Анна (Pushkarskaya, Anna); Горяшко, Сергей (Goryashko, Sergey) (6 August 2020). ""Связать руки, заткнуть рты". ФСБ просит наказать защитников Сафронова" ["Tie your hands, shut your mouths." FSB asks to punish Safronov's defenders]. Би-би-си (in Russian). Archived from the original on 30 August 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ a b c "Николай Олешко: Руководитель Следственного управления ФСБ" [Nikolay Oleshko: Head of the FSB Investigation Department]. Agentura.Ru (in Russian). 2025. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Шпионо-money: Сначала дела "ученых-вредителей" были полезны для карьерного роста. Затем сотрудники ФСБ научились извлекать из них чистую прибыль" [Spy-money: At first, the work of the "saboteur scientists" was useful for career growth. Then the FSB officers learned how to make a net profit from them]. «Новая газета» (novayagazeta.ru) (in Russian). 12 April 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d Бороган, Ирина (Borogan, Irina); Солдатов, Андрей (Soldatov, Andrey) (2004). "Шпионов будет больше: Террористов просят не беспокоиться: Следственное управление ФСБ, скорее всего, возглавит мастер по шпионским делам" [There will be more spies: Terrorists are asked not to worry: FSB Investigation Department, rather in total, will be headed by a master of espionage affairs]. "Московских Новостях" №43 (in Russian). Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025 – via Agentura.Ru.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ Бороган, Ирина (Borogan, Irina) (11 February 2002). "Генералы шпионских карьеров: Если на погонах зажигают звезды, значит это кому-нибудь нужно" [Generals of the Spy Quarries: If stars are lit on shoulder straps, it means that someone needs it]. Версия (in Russian). Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025 – via Agentura.Ru.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Шпионские процессы: Фигуранты и участники" [Espionage Processes: Defendants and participants]. Agentura.Ru (in Russian). 2025. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  15. ^ "Ушаков Вячеслав Николаевич: Личное дело" [Ushakov Vyacheslav Nikolaevich: Personal matter]. «Коммерсантъ» (in Russian). 22 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  16. ^ Собянин, Александр (Sobyanin, Alexander) (22 February 2011). "Генерал-полковник Ушаков Вячеслав Николаевич: биография, партнеры, участие в политике (ПМР, РА, КР)" [Colonel-General Ushakov Vyacheslav Nikolaevich: biography, partners, participation in politics (PMR, RA, KR)]. "Центр стратегической конъюнктуры" (conjuncture.ru) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Вячеслав Ушаков: Заместитель директора ФСБ до 21 февраля 2011 года" [Vyacheslav Ushakov: Deputy Director of the FSB until February 21, 2011]. Agentura.Ru (in Russian). 2025. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  18. ^ Прибыловский, Владимир (Pribylovsky, Vladimir) (11 January 2016). "УШАКОВ Вячеслав Николаевич" [Ushakov Vyacheslav Nikolaevich]. "Антикомпромат" (anticompromat.panchul.com) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ КОЛОМЫЦЕВА, Тамара Павловна (Kolomytseva, Tamara Pavlovna) (31 March 1998). "МОЙ СЫН – НЕ ПРЕСТУПНИК!" [My Son Is Not a Criminal!]. Завтра (zavtra.ru) (in Russian). Archived from the original on 9 July 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  20. ^ "Следственное управление ФСБ" [FSB Investigation Department]. Agentura.Ru (in Russian). 2025. Archived from the original on 15 September 2025. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  21. ^ "Сафронова уволили из Роскосмоса". tass.ru (in Russian). 9 February 2023.
  22. ^ Prosecutors rule the case a suicide, Kommersant, 12 September 2007
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