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Russia Sets Record for Treason and Espionage Convictions in 2025: 224 Cases in Just Six Months
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
Russian courts handed down a record 224 convictions for state treason, espionage, and collaboration with foreign states in the first half of 2025—the highest figure in modern Russian history. The data comes from analyst Kyrylo Parubets’ research center, prepared for the First Department project and released on September 24.
In total, 232 people were prosecuted under these articles between January and June.
With 117 working days in that period, Russian courts averaged nearly two guilty verdicts per day—1.98. For comparison, 167 people were convicted on the same charges throughout 2023, and 143 in the first half of 2024. Every case ended in conviction, with all defendants receiving prison sentences.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 774 people have been convicted in Russia for treason, espionage, or confidential cooperation with foreign countries. In 2025, for the first time, courts ordered compulsory medical treatment for three defendants in treason cases, First Departement reported.
Before the invasion, such trials were rare, with only about one per month. That number has since exploded: 14 per month in 2023, 30 in 2024, and already 39 per month in the first half of 2025.
The majority of convictions—177 people, or 76%—were for state treason, up from 68% the previous year. A growing wartime trend involves combining treason (Article 275) and terrorism (Article 205) charges in the same case. Prior to 2023, no such cases existed; in 2023 there were 12, in 2024—104, and in the first half of 2025—already 83, making up 36% of all defendants.
According to First Departement, for the first time, verdicts were recorded in Kamchatka Krai, as well as in the Kostroma, Kurgan, Penza, and Sverdlovsk regions, and in Udmurtia and Yakutia.
Another notable trend is the growing secrecy surrounding these trials. Since 2023, Russian courts have concealed the names of roughly 60% of defendants, replacing them with the phrase “Information hidden.” Data from occupied territories are not included in these statistics.
Analysts project that by the end of 2025, Russia will have convicted more than 500 people for treason and espionage, and around 1,500 for terrorism-related offenses, First Department reports.
Earlier, the partisan movement ATESH reported that a Russian soldier deployed on the Kherson front has contacted them, seeking a safe evacuation in exchange for intelligence on Russian occupation forces.
According to ATESH, the serviceman is part of the so-called “Dnepr” military group and described the conditions at the front as “inhumane,” noting that soldiers are treated as disposable.
