A Russian professor has been arrested in Estonia for allegedly spying for Russia. Vyacheslav Morozov had been associated with the University of Tartu for eight years. It is unclear what exactly he is accused of.
Morozov was arrested in early January and remains in custody. In this way, the Estonian police want to prevent him from fleeing ‘or continuing to commit criminal offences’. The Russian professor taught EU-Russia relations from 2016 to early 2023. He then became professor of international political theory.
According to Estonia, Morozov is just the latest case of Russian espionage in the Baltic state. More than twenty suspected spies have reportedly been unmasked in recent years. “It shows the desire of the Russian intelligence services to infiltrate various sectors of Estonian society, including the scientific sector,” said Margo Palloson, the head of the Estonian security service.
The arrest comes as a big surprise to his colleagues, writes The Moscow Times. According to the newspaper, he wrote on his Facebook page about anti-war rallies of Russians in Tallinn. A large ethnic Russian minority lives in Estonia. He also wrote about political oppression in Russia.
Kristiina Tonnisson, the head of Morozov’s faculty in Tartu, confirms that he has been fired. She investigates Morozov’s work: ‘We had no reasons to question Morozov’s previous work, but with this new knowledge it is important to critically examine it again.
Joram Bolle
Also read: Since the war, the Russian minority in Estonia has had to choose between two worlds
2024-01-16 15:45:00
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