A court in Tallinn has sentenced former professor of the University of Tartu, Russian citizen Vyacheslav Morozov to 6 years and 3 months in prison. This is reported by ERR with reference to the press service of the court.
According to the court's press release, Morozov was found guilty of acting against the Republic of Estonia on behalf of foreign intelligence.
According to the court's version, Morozov collected information about Estonia's domestic, defense and security policies, as well as people and infrastructure related to these spheres.
Among other things, he allegedly provided foreign intelligence with information about the political situation in the Republic of Estonia, its relations with the EU, and the country's integration situation.
According to the Director General of the Security Police, Morozov shared the collected information with representatives of Russian intelligence services for a fee. The meetings with Russian security services took place in Russia, where Morozov traveled "with some regularity," ERR wrote.
"The current case is an addition to more than a few dozen previous cases and illustrates the desire of Russian intelligence services to penetrate various spheres of Estonian life, including the academic sphere," Margo Palloson, director general of the Estonian Security Police, said after Morozov's arrest in January.
Morozov worked as a professor of political science at the Schutte Institute of the University of Tartu. From 2016 to 2023, he researched European Union-Russia relations, and from September 2023 he held the position of professor of international political theory.
Morozov was detained in early January 2024. Shortly afterwards, the University of Tartu terminated his contract without waiting for the verdict.
