Scholar Nikolai Zyuzev sentenced to 7 years in prison for treason
The researcher, who has dual Russian and Canadian citizenship, was detained during a visit to his home region of Komi, northern Russia, in the summer of 2025.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Komi has sentenced philosopher and sociologist Nikolai Zyuzyev, who holds both Russian and Canadian citizenship, to seven years in a maximum-security prison. Security services accused him of “high treason”.
The verdict was reported by TASS, citing the FSB. The security service claims that the academic admitted his guilt and provided evidence against other people.
According to the security services, Zyuzyev began working on a project in February 2022 which investigators deemed to be aimed against Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The FSB claims that the project comprised 12 areas of activity.
Among them, the agency lists the training abroad of representatives of national movements of Russia’s small ethnic groups, the distribution of materials deemed extremist by the Russian authorities, and the collection of information at the request of foreign government agencies and analytical organisations.
TASS also published an article in which Zyuzyev allegedly told the news agency about the “mechanisms for undermining the sovereignty of the Russian Federation”:
“And the goal, of course, of all these foundations and the forces behind them is to destabilise Russia by developing national movements that should promote the idea that the small and indigenous peoples of Russia are in a disadvantaged position,” Zyuzyev allegedly told the agency.
The FSB also claims that the project was funded by 12 foreign organisations, with total funding exceeding €2 million. Among those named are the Hanns Seidel Foundation, the Prague Civil Society Centre, the Swedish Institute, the British think tank Chatham House and other organisations. Russian authorities have designated several of these organisations as “undesirable”.
Nikolai Zyuzyev is a Doctor of Philosophy and a researcher of the legacy of Russian-American sociologist Pitirim Sorokin. He taught at universities in the Republic of Komi and conducted research in sociology and philosophy.
In the late 2000s, Zyuzyev moved to Canada, where he subsequently obtained Canadian citizenship. He later returned to teaching in Russia. After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the academic moved back to Canada, although he continued to make occasional visits to Komi.
Zyuzyev was detained in the summer of 2025. A criminal case was initially opened under an article concerning confidential cooperation with a foreign state. The charge was later changed to the more serious offence of high treason.
Nikolai Zyuzyev is from the Republic of Komi, where he was educated and began his academic career. Much of his scholarly work concerns the legacy of Pitirim Sorokin, the Russian-American sociologist and one of the prominent theorists of social stratification and mobility. In the mid-2000s, Zyuzyev undertook a research fellowship at Harvard University, where Sorokin had established the Department of Sociology.
For many years, Zyuzyev taught philosophy, sociology and cultural studies at universities in Komi, including Syktyvkar State University named after Pitirim Sorokin. His research focused on the history of sociological thought, social philosophy and Sorokin’s legacy.
In 2008, Zyuzyev moved to Canada, where he later obtained citizenship. At the same time, he maintained professional links with Russia’s academic community and travelled to Russia to teach and take part in research projects.
After the outbreak of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, Zyuzyev returned to Canada, although he continued to visit Komi from time to time. He was detained during one of these visits in the summer of 2025.
The article of the Criminal Code covering high treason is the most serious criminal offence in Russia. It carries a sentence of up to life imprisonment.
