Spymania has seized post-Soviet Russia like never before. Articles 275 (‘Treason’) and 276 (‘Espionage’) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code are traditionally considered exotic offences in Russian legal practice. But they are back in the news, and regularly – five cases in the last two weeks.
The former investigative prison of the KGB, Lefortovo prison in Moscow, is again the centre of attention. Just like 50 years ago, suspected spies are being locked away in Lefortovo – now under the jurisdiction of the FSB. The nearby district court is also proving popular with the media: it’s this court that issues arrest warrants for Russian citizens suspected of espionage. But as the charge sheet for one Muscovite reads (‘Accused of transferring secret information to a Western country’), espionage can mean anything nowadays.
‘New and improved’
On the initiative of Vladimir Putin, the Russian parliament expanded the legal definitions of ‘State Treason’ and ‘Espionage’ in 2012. In the ‘new and improved’ definition, ‘international organisations’ were added to the list of contacts harmful to the state, and the epithet ‘external’ was removed from the definition of national security, which is now potentially threatened by a Russian citizen who associates with foreigners.
