Former US Consulate Worker Sentenced to Almost Five Years in Russia
Former U.S. consulate employee Robert Shonov was sentenced to four years and ten months in jail for "secret collaboration with a foreign state." Vladivostok Russian officials charged him of transmitting confidential information about Russia's war in Ukraine to the United States in order to make money.
Shonov spent more than 25 years working at the embassy until 2021, when the Russian government limited local personnel assigned to overseas missions. As stated by the U.S. State Department, he worked as a private contractor following his departure, assigned to compile press accounts from publicly available Russian media sources.
Allegations that he sent private information about the crisis in Ukraine to U.S. officials in return for about 400,000 roubles (about €4,000) and an electronic device connected to his claimed transgressions resulted in his detention this year. This case fits a larger trend whereby several Americans have been imprisoned in Russia in recent years, frequently subject to long prison sentences.
Russia fired two U.S. ambassadors in September 2023 alleging they served as Shonov's middleman. According to the U.S. authorities, Shonov was just keeping regular check of publicly accessible Russian media for the consulate.
With claims that Moscow plans to use U.S. captives for prisoner swaps, the tensions between the U.S. and Russia have escalated as Washington keeps supporting Ukraine among the continuing conflict. Although there was a noteworthy conversation in August over the publication of Wall Street Journal writer Evan Gershkovich, many U.S. citizens and dual nationals still find themselves imprisoned in Russia.
