October 28th 2023.
Professor Anatoly Gubanov, one of the world's leading hypersonic scientists, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison in Russia. This sentencing comes as a shock to many as Gubanov had been granted permission to share technology with the West.
The 66-year-old physicist is an expert in hypersonic aviation technology and high speed missiles and was arrested during a swoop by Russia's Federal Security Service in December 2020. Following his arrest, Gubanov was put through a secret trial and sentenced to a strict regime, maximum security prison for 'high treason'.
Gubanov was the head of the secretive Aerodynamics of Aircraft and Rocket Department at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in Zhukovsky, Moscow Oblast. He was given permission three times to share details of Russian research with a project coordinated by the European Space Agency, called Hexafly-INT: High-Speed Experimental Fly Vehicles International. This project was a collaboration between specialists from Britain, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Australia.
Similarly, another hypersonic scientist, Valery Golubkin, 71, was jailed for 'high treason' in June this year for allegedly leaking 'secrets' to a NATO country. He too was sent to a strict regime penal colony after being accused of handing state secrets involving aerodynamics to scientists from the Netherlands. He insisted that no secrets were involved and he only shared information cleared by the Russian authorities.
These cases serve as evidence of the Putin regime's increasing paranoia towards scientific cooperation with foreign countries. Many senior scientists have warned that these treason cases against scientists will have a chilling effect on young researchers.
Gubanov is known as an expert on supersonic solid rocket engines and is from a dynasty of scientists which included his father-in-law professor Leonid Shkadov, a leading Soviet aviation designer. Two of his daughters and one son - all physicists - also work at TsAGI.
Interfax reported that Gubanov is suspected of passing 'information consisting of state secrets abroad' or committing 'other acts aimed against the security of Russia in the interests of a foreign state, organisation or representatives'. His colleagues were 'surprised' by his arrest as he was 'respected by his students'.
Three hypersonic scientists - Anatoly Maslov, Alexander Shiplyuk and Valery Zvegintsev - were arrested on suspicion of high treason in May this year after Russia's Kinzhal missiles were 'shot down' by Ukraine.
Gubanov is one of many Russian scientists to either have been arrested, jailed or died under Vladimir Putin's regime since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Ilya Sachkov, 37, founder of pioneering Group-IB, was once awarded by Putin but was now jailed for 14 years for 'passing secrets to foreign spies'. Acclaimed laser scientist Dr Dmitry Kolker, 54, died last year two days after he was seized from his cancer hospital bed and shut away in one of Russia's most notorious jails as a 'spy'. In August, writer Dmitry Glukhovsky was sentenced to eight years in jail for his opposition to the Ukraine war. Last month, one of Russia's top space scientists died after he was allegedly poisoned with mushrooms.
These cases have left the scientific community in shock and fear, as the Putin regime continues to crackdown on scientists and increase its paranoia towards scientific cooperation with foreign countries.
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