The case of physicist Igor Baranov

On May 18, 2013, an investigation was closed in St. Petersburg in the criminal case of the St. Petersburg theoretical physicist Igor Yaroslavich Baranov.

Igor Baranov (born in 1952) professor at the Department of Technology of structural materials and the production of rocket and space equipment of the Baltic State Technical University "Voenmekh" named after D.F. Ustinova, Doctor of Technical Sciences, a specialist in Lazer physics. He published more than 150 scientific works on topical issues of laser technologies.

The last 18 years of his life, Professor Baranov has been engaged in the synthesis and re -use of waste nuclear power plants using laser equipment. He is the author of the project of an electrogazodynamic co-laser. Its technique in Russia did not get to the mainstream: once a choice was made in favor of processing nuclear waste by centrifung or (which, as a result and prevailing) their burial. However, in the world, especially in the United States, laser processing of nuclear power plants is more and more interested in years. Igor Baranov began to be invited to international conferences.

In April 2012, on the way to one of these conferences in the United States, Professor Baranov was detained at Pulkovo-2 International Airport. And in July 2012, the FSB in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region opened a criminal case against Igor Baranov under Article 226 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (smuggling of radioactive substances, radiation sources, nuclear materials, firearms or its main parts, explosive devices, ammunition, weapons of mass destruction). Note that this article is new in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, there are no precedents for the persecution of physicists and nuclear technicians on it yet.

According to the investigation, the text of his report in English in English served as the “materials” of the “weapons of mass destruction” in the professor’s weapons. I must say, this text passed the “Secret Strip”, was agreed in all necessary authorities and published in Russia. But the St. Petersburg Chekists, inspired by victories in criminal cases against two St. Petersburg scientists - Evgeny Afanasyev (sentenced to 12.5 years for “espionage in favor of China) and Svyatoslav Bobyshev (convicted of 12 years), Igor Baranov’s colleagues according to the“ military ”did not stop. After the conviction of E.V. Afanasyeva and S.V. Bobyshev against four more physicists of the "military", including against I.Ya. Baranova, criminal cases were instituted.

Since September 2012, Igor Baranov’s defense has been conducted by St. Petersburg Lawyer, Chairman of the Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information Ivan Pavlov. Ivan Pavlov managed to get the closure of the case of Professor Baranov for lack of corpus delicti. In the era of mass hunting for “foreign agents”, this victory of common sense is especially important. It should be noted that this is a rare precedent-just the second case after the victory of the defense in the case of Grigory Pas-Ko (lawyer Ivan Pavlov also represented his interests).

Now Igor Baranov achieves rehabilitation from the FSB and recognition of the falsity of the accusations.

In early June 2013, a press conference of Igor Baranov and his lawyer will be held in St. Petersburg. We will tell you more about this case in the following issues of the TRV-hunger.

Tatyana Kosinova, editor of cogita.ru (St. Petersburg), especially for the TRV-hobby