The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has placed economist Konstantin Sonin on the federal wanted list. The appearance of his card in the database of the Ministry of the Interior caught the attention of Mediazona*.
Sonin is wanted under an anonymous article of the criminal code, according to the database.
In March 2023, the Investigative Committee announced the opening of criminal proceedings against a 51-year-old man for having discredited the Russian army (part 2 of article 207.3 of the criminal code), his name has not not been mentioned. TASS Agency writing that we are talking about Sonina.
The reason for opening the case was the telegram messages containing “knowingly false information” about the activities of Russian military personnel during the military operation in Ukraine. The review found in these messages “linguistic and psychological signs of incitement to hatred and enmity against the Russian military”. According to the United Kingdom, the author has published articles from abroad.
Sonin, in a conversation with Radio Liberty*, called the charges against him “absolutely false”. “Of course, I did not post fakes, but only posted well-documented facts. And there is no need to explain – the trial will be fictitious and a sentence will be given,” he said.
Konstantin Sonin is an economist and publicist, professor at the University of Chicago. From 2007 to 2022, he worked at the Graduate School of Economics (HSE), and in 2013-2014 he was its Vice-Rector. After leaving this post, he continued to work at the university.
The Economist opposes Russian military operations in Ukraine. In early July 2022, he told The New Times magazine that he saw no problem working at a Russian state university, despite opposing the military operation. He noted that he spoke about these events “quite clearly and loudly enough” and that teaching at a state university did not interfere with him. Soon after, Sonin was fired from the HSE.
Sonin left Russia in 2015. In an interview with the BBC, he said the last time he was in the country was March 2022.
- recognized by the Ministry of Justice of Russia as foreign agents
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