- Russian Internet pioneer Alexey Soldatov has been sentenced by a court to two years of hard labor for “abuse of power.”
- He is terminally ill, and his family argues that the decision is essentially a death sentence.
OUR TAKE
Soldatov, a nuclear physicist by training, began his career at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, the Soviet Union’s leading nuclear research facility during the Cold War. He was accused of abusing his power while managing a pool of ip addresses for an organization for which he had no position. This legal absurdity was enough to get him jailed, even if the court knew of Soldatov’s illness, meaning the court has no legal right to pass a custodial sentence. His family argued that the decision is essentially a death sentence.
–Zora Lin, BTW reporter
What happened
Russian Internet pioneer Alexey Soldatov, founder of the country’s first Internet service provider, has been sentenced by a court to two years of hard labor for “abuse of power.” Soldatov, 72, has been detained by a Moscow court. He has been terminally ill.
Soldatov was accused of abusing his power while managing a pool of ip addresses for an organization for which he had no position. This legal absurdity was enough to get him jailed, even if the court knew of Soldatov’s illness, meaning the court had no legal right to pass a custodial sentence. His family argued that the decision is essentially a death sentence.
Soldatov is known for using computers more than anyone else at the Kurchatov Institute. In 1990, his team began to think about how to connect the institute with other research centers in the country. They called the network Relcom.
On August 28, 1990, the Soviet Union first established contact with the global Internet when Kurchatov’s programmers exchanged emails with a university in Helsinki, Finland. The isolated Soviet Union was connected to the global Internet thanks to Relcom. Relcom expanded rapidly, and many people began to use the word Relcom as short for Internet or email.
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Why it’s important
The case against Soldatov, one of the pioneers of the development of the Internet in Russia, may have a political background. In Russia, some judicial cases are considered politically driven, especially those involving social elites or public figures, which can have a negative impact on freedom of expression and civil rights.
Soldatov makes important contributions to Soviet science and defense as a nuclear physicist during the Cold War, and his legal predicament and illness have shown the different treatment and challenges of scientists and public figures in society in different historical contexts, which has triggered moral and legal reflection in society.
The incident attracted widespread attention from the international community and the media because it involved human rights and justice issues for a well-known figure. Such attention is likely to prompt the Russian government and judiciary to face international criticism and pressure, as well as calls for reform of the legal system.
