Accused of treason, espionage or 'helping Ukraine'

• First and most important: talk about the case, and about anything you might be suspected of, only with a lawyer. Don't discuss it with family on the phone, in chats, with new acquaintances or with cellmates. Security services use messages, recordings of 'informal chats' and undercover officers. Don't delete or throw anything away without a lawyer: records stay with the bank and with the other person, and deleting things can be used against you.
• Lawyer. First Department specialises in treason and espionage cases: write to their bot @deptonebot or ask someone close to you to do it. Investigators often offer a state-appointed lawyer. By law you can refuse one in writing and bring in your own. It is better to sign an agreement with a lawyer in advance and keep their number on paper. In these cases the lawyer signs a non-disclosure undertaking, so your family may not learn the details for a long time.
• What people are tried for. Treason (art. 275 of the Criminal Code) carries 12 to 20 years or life. It is charged for sending money to Ukrainian foundations and the army, including in cryptocurrency, for messages with Ukrainian 'representatives', and for photos of military and industrial sites. For 'confidential cooperation' (art. 275.1, up to 8 years) the contact itself may be enough. Cases are opened over transfers made as far back as 2022.
• How people are found. The FSB learns about transfers from Russian cards through Rosfinmonitoring, and about transfers from foreign cards often through phone checks at the border. Cryptocurrency does not make a transfer anonymous: exchanges hand over data when security services ask. Many cases start with a set-up: officers pose as 'Ukrainian military' or 'Ukrainian intelligence' and write to people who left anti-war comments, asking them to photograph something or send money. Don't reply to such offers.
• What to expect. According to First Department, at least 478 people were convicted under these articles in 2025, the median sentence under art. 275 was 15 years, and there has not been an acquittal since 1999. Cases are almost always classified. A note to art. 275 frees from liability someone who reported to the authorities voluntarily and in time, but it is unclear how it is applied, and a confession made without a lawyer stays in the file. Don't write a 'confession' without a lawyer. For family: First Department's guide for relatives; Solidarity Zone helps with parcels and letters; First Line has psychologists.

current as of 26 September 2026. More: First Department: data on treason and espionage cases in 2025 (foreign agent); First Department: who was tried for transfers to Ukraine in 2025 (foreign agent); First Department: how people are provoked into 'treason' (foreign agent); First Department: shades of treason (arts. 275 and 275.1) (foreign agent); First Department: how to find and choose a lawyer (foreign agent); First Department: guide for relatives (foreign agent); Criminal Code, art. 275 and notes (ConsultantPlus, in Russian); OVD-Info: how anonymous are crypto donations (extremist); Mediazona: FSB officers posing as Ukrainians (the Gordey Nikitin case) (foreign agent)