The Harju District Court convicted Estonian and Russian dual citizen Nikita Kuzmin, whom the Prosecutor’s Office charged with intelligence activities against Estonia and supporting thereof, under the plea agreement procedure. The court imposed a sentence of 4 years of actual imprisonment on the accused.
According to the charges, Nikita Kuzmin created ties targeted against Estonia with an officer of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU) while Kuzmin resided in Russia, in 2024 at the latest. Kuzmin collected information about civil and military objects in Narva and its vicinity at GRU’s request and in its interest.
Prosecutor Margaret Beres said that participating in intelligence activity directed against Estonian security and cooperating with Russian security and intelligence institutions is punishable without exception. “Russia may use all kinds of information collected from Estonia to harm Estonian security. This is why we act decisively to investigate and prosecute criminal offences against the state and request punishments for committing them,” said Beres.
The Estonian Internal Security Service has repeatedly highlighted the dangers that accompany studying in Russia. “Nikita Kuzmin was recruited at a Russian institution of higher education. There are undercover officers of Russia’s special services at Russian institutions of higher education, and one of their tasks is recruiting foreign students who are not restricted from travelling to Western countries. Studying abroad with the help of the Russian Federation’s funding is very expensive, payment is often demanded in the form of future cooperation and if a student says no, they may find themselves on the front lines instead,” said Taavi Narits, Deputy Director General of the Estonian Internal Security Service.
The Estonian state does not recommend travelling to Russia or studying in Russia. Estonian residents may be detained, and as there is no rule of law in Russia, Russian laws may be applied in an unpredictable manner.
The pre-trial investigation was conducted by the Estonian Internal Security Service; the proceedings were directed by the Office of the Prosecutor General.