Russian photographer gets a draconian sentence for sending open source materials abroad

July 31, 2025

Grigory Skvortsov, a Russian musician and urban explorer from Perm, was sentenced to 16 years in a high-security penal colony for state treason after emailing publicly available archives about Soviet bunkers to an American journalist. The materials in question came from historian Dmitry Yurkov's book "Soviet 'Secret Bunkers'" and its supplementary archive pack, which had been publicly sold and remained accessible online even after Skvortsov's arrest. Despite the information being previously declassified and widely available, Russian authorities claimed Skvortsov had shared sensitive military infrastructure information with a foreign national.

Who is affected

Grigory Skvortsov, the sentenced musician, photographer, and urban explorer
Dmitry Yurkov, the historian whose reputation was tarnished by the case
Members of Russia's urban exploration community
Citizens who may unknowingly share retroactively classified information
First Department, the legal advocacy group defending Skvortsov
Individuals following or supporting Skvortsov through his Telegram channel

What action is being taken

Skvortsov is awaiting appeal in a Perm pre-trial detention center
First Department is providing legal defense for Skvortsov
Skvortsov is actively maintaining a Telegram channel called "Traitor" where he shares stories of people unjustly accused of crimes against the state
Skvortsov regularly sends content from detention, including notes from his time in Moscow's Lefortovo Prison
Global Voices is reaching out to Mattathias Schwartz for comment on the case

Why it matters

This case exemplifies a disturbing trend in Russia's legal system where declassified materials can be retroactively reclassified without public notification, creating legal traps for ordinary citizens. The 16-year sentence for sharing what was publicly available information demonstrates the severity of Russia's crackdown on information sharing, particularly with foreigners. The case highlights the opaque nature of Russia's classification system, where the same document might be declassified in one archive while considered "top secret" in another, placing citizens at risk of serious criminal charges for actions they reasonably believed were legal.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: Global Voices