Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Scientist Accused of Passing Tech Secrets to China – Reports

Alexander Lukanin is the latest Russian academic to be accused or convicted of cooperating with foreign states in recent years. Sergey Vedyashkin / Moskva News Agency

A Russian scientist has been arrested in southern Siberia on suspicion of passing tech secrets to China, the MBKh Media news website reported Thursday.

Federal Security Service (FSB) officers from Moscow reportedly searched the apartment of Alexander Lukanin, 64, in the city of Tomsk 3,500 kilometers east of the Russian capital. Lukanin is currently in pre-trial detention, his friend Nikolai Krivopalov told MBKh Media.

“As far as we understand, [Lukanin is accused of] something like treason, that he transferred some technologies to the Chinese,” he said.

Lukanin had moved to China after his retirement and worked on high-voltage power supplies, fracture mechanics and other forms of engineering at Shenyang University, Krivopalov said. 

According to the Tomskpolit Telegram channel, Lukanin returned to Russia over the New Year holidays and, after being unable to travel back to China due to the coronavirus pandemic, took up a job at Tomsk State University. 

“As we understand it, there’s nothing in [the charges against Lukanin] that relates to defense,” Krivopalov told MBKh Media.

Lukanin is the latest elderly Russian academic to be accused or convicted of cooperating with foreign states in recent years. Critics have dismissed the charges as manifestations of the state’s paranoia.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more