Courts in the Russian Federation have issued, in the first six months of the current year, 224 convictions in cases involving treason, espionage, and confidential collaboration with foreign states, the highest number recorded in the entire modern history of Russia. According to data from Kirill Parubets’ Analytical Center, prepared for the “First Department” project, 232 people have been implicated in these cases, reports The Moscow Times.
Considering that the first semester had 117 working days, it turns out that Russian courts have issued, on average, almost two convictions per day — 1.98.
For comparison, during the year 2023, 167 people were convicted under the same articles, and in the first half of 2024 — 143. All sentences were enforceable, and all those convicted received real punishments.
Evolution of cases and special measures
Since the beginning of the war, 774 people have been convicted in Russia for treason, espionage, and confidential collaboration with foreign states. In 2025, for the first time, three cases were reported in which people involved in treason cases were subjected to coercive medical measures.
Until the beginning of the large-scale invasion in Ukraine, such cases were rare: until 2022, courts issued, on average, one conviction per month for treason or espionage. The pace, however, has accelerated dramatically: 14 convictions per month in 2023, 30 per month in 2024, and already 39 in the first half of 2025.
Distribution of convictions and combination of charges
The overwhelming majority of the accused — 177 people, or 76% — were convicted of treason, a proportion increasing from 68% in 2024.
During the war period, it became a common practice to combine articles 275 (treason) and 205 (terrorism) into a single criminal case. If until 2023 such cases were non-existent, in 2023 there were 12, and in 2024 — 104, representing 29% of the total. In the first half of 2025, the number of defendants accused under the two articles reached 83, or 36%.
In the first six months of the year, convictions for treason and espionage were issued in 57 courts: eight military, 43 regional, and six in occupied territories, including Crimea. A year earlier, however, these cases were tried in 47 courts.
In 2025, for the first time, sentences were also issued in the regions of Kamchatka, Kostroma, Kurgan, Penza, and Sverdlovsk, as well as in Udmurtia and Yakutia.
Military courts issued 37.5% of the total convictions (87 people), compared to 33% in the previous year.
High level of data secrecy about convictions
A characteristic element of recent years is the high level of secrecy. Since 2023, Russian courts hide the names of about 60% of the defendants, replacing them with the phrase “information is hidden“. Data from courts in occupied territories are not included in this statistic.
The number of convictions for treason and espionage continues to increase, in parallel with those of a terrorist nature. After a gradual increase in the period 2020 – 2022, the years 2023 – 2024 marked a sudden explosion of these. According to analysts’ estimates, by the end of 2025, the number of people convicted of treason and espionage will exceed 500, and in terrorism cases — about 1,500, notes the “First Department”.
In December 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin asked the FSB (Federal Security Service), in a message addressed to security structure employees, to “more actively identify spies and traitors“. He stressed that the country needs to “significantly improve the quality of special services activities“, to quickly stop the activity of foreign intelligence services and to “fight those who organize sabotage and terrorist attacks“.
According to him, special tasks fall to military counterintelligence and the border service, as well as activities to prevent extremism and economic crimes.
