Russian 'Spy-Mania'

Danilov is being released three years early from his high-security prison in the Krasnoyarsk region for good behavior and health reasons. It is unclear what ails him, although he wrote in a blog for RFE/RL's Russian Service that he was frail and had lost most of his teeth in prison.

Danilov's case was one of a dozen espionage trials to take place in the early 2000s during Vladimir Putin's first term as president. The cases were widely denounced as a "spy-mania" aimed chiefly at deterring Russian academics from forming ties with other countries.

As with many other Russian scientists, low wages and a lack of domestic demand had persuaded Danilov to work under contract with foreigners. ​​The director of the Thermo-Physics Center at Krasnoyarsk State Technical University at the time of his arrest, Danilov claimed he had received official clearance to collaborate with a Chinese firm on building equipment designed to model the impact of the space environment on satellites. During his court trial, he displayed documents seemingly proving that the data he passed to the Chinese were declassified and available from public sources.

State Secrets?

At the time, a string of human rights campaigners and scientists in Russia and abroad had called for Danilov's acquittal, including Russian veteran activist Lyudmila Alekseyeva and Nobel Physics Prize laureate Vitaly Ginzburg. Both are members of Russia's Committee to Protect Scientists, a group created more than a decade ago to defend scientists targeted by espionage and treason charges. Both said the information Danilov gave to China was available in "school textbooks."

Alekseyeva -- who befriended Danilov after her committee helped secure his first release in 2002 -- said she believed his professions of innocence due to both a lack of convincing evidence against him and his candid personality. "He came across as a very sincere, trusting person," Alekseyeva said, "but this played a fateful role in his case, because he may not have taken all the possible precautions to shield himself from such a twist of fate." Alekseyeva said Danilov's personable character earned him the respect of both prison guards and inmates, who quickly nicknamed him "Professor."

But the letters he sent her from prison, she said, showed that his inability to practice science deeply demoralized him. "He's a born scientist. His head is always brimming with ideas that he wants to put into practice," Alekseyeva said. "Back then, he was obsessed with an idea he had developed that consisted in recovering the large amounts of heat released by aluminum-producing factories that operate in Krasnoyarsk and elsewhere to heat cities. He euphorically tried to explain his scheme to me, but of course I couldn't understand any of it."

Dashed Hopes

His chances of reviving his career, however, appear slim. Most scientists who served time for espionage have been unable to find jobs in their field in Russia. While Danilov was legally eligible for parole, his early release is seen by some as a Kremlin attempt to appease public opinion over a controversial new law broadening the definition of treason. Opponents say the new legislation will put almost anyone who has contact with foreigners at risk and could be abused to silence critics. Putin signed the bill into law on November 14 -- one day after a court ordered Danilov's release.





This post appears courtesy of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.