Yaroslavl man sentenced to 14 years for allegedly sending photos of soldiers’ graves to Ukrainian intelligence — Russia’s first known treason conviction of its kind
The Yaroslavl Regional Court sentenced Nikolai Shcherbakov, 48, to 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony for treason over photographs he took of soldiers’ graves.
According to the court’s press service, beginning in October 2024, Shcherbakov “systematically visited a memorial cemetery,” where he “covertly photographed and filmed the graves of military personnel.” He allegedly sent the material to representatives of Ukrainian security services.
The independent Russian news outlet 7×7 says that this is the first known treason conviction for photographing soldiers’ graves.
News of the treason case against a Yaroslavl resident who photographed soldiers’ graves first emerged in early August. Around the same time, Dmitry Treshchanin, an editor at the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona, said that Russian authorities had increasingly detained people who photographed graves. Police officers subsequently forced residents in several regions to apologize on camera.
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