The Supreme Court of the Komi Republic sentenced Züzev, a Russian and Canadian citizen convicted of treason, to seven years in a strict-regime penal colony followed by one year of restricted liberty.
Russia’s Federal Security Service said Züzev received more than €2 million from 12 European organizations for a project directed against Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Project developed in February 2022
According to the FSB, Züzev developed and launched the project in February 2022. The project envisaged training leaders abroad for national liberation movements among Russia’s small ethnic groups, disseminating extremist materials, and collecting and analyzing information in line with instructions from state institutions and think tanks affiliated with the European Union.
The FSB said the organizations that provided funding included the H. Seidel Foundation, the Prague Civil Society Centre, the German Association for Foreign Policy Research, the Swedish Institute, IREX Europe, Chatham House and the Black Sea Regional Cooperation Fund.
The statement said the 12 organizations had been designated undesirable organizations in Russia.