Former U.S. consulate employee arrested in Russia for 'conspiracy'

A former employee of the American consulate in Russia was arrested and charged with conspiracy by Russia’s FSB security service, a move that the State Department “strongly condemned.”

Robert Shonov was detained in the eastern city of Vladivostok and was “charged with committing a crime under Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (‘Cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization’),” reported the state news outlet Tass on Monday. 

Shonov is currently being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison, which is generally used for serious crimes. He faces up to eight years in prison. 

The State Department issued a statement condemning Shonov’s arrest, calling the move “without merit.”

“The United States strongly condemns the reported arrest of Robert Shonov, a former employee of U.S. Mission Russia. The allegations against Mr. Shonov are wholly without merit,” the statement said. 

Shonov is a Russian national that had worked for a company contracted to provide services with the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok for over 25 years, “in strict compliance with Russia’s laws and regulations” after the Kremlin prohibited the U.S. from hiring Russian staff in 2021.

“Mr. Shonov’s only role at the time of his arrest was to compile media summaries of press items from publicly available Russian media sources,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. 

“His being targeted under the ‘confidential cooperation’ statute highlights the Russian Federation’s blatant use of increasingly repressive laws against its own citizens,” he said.

The arrest comes as the relationship between Russia and the United States has declined since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine last February. Last March, Russia detained Wall Street Journalist Evan Gershkovich and charged him with espionage. Gershkovich is being held in the same prison as Shonov and faces up to 20 years in prison. 

Two other Americans are also imprisoned in Russia: Paul Whelan, who has been wrongfully detained for more than four years on espionage charges, and Marc Fogel, a teacher at the Anglo-American school in Moscow that was sentenced to 14 years of hard labor.