A Second Kazakhstan-Born Individual Convicted of Treason in Russia This Month

According to investigators, he assisted a terrorist organization, Orda.kz reports, citing TASS.

The Second Western District Military Court has sentenced 47-year-old Pyotr Gorbunov, a native of Kazakhstan and a Russian citizen.

He was charged under three articles of the Russian Criminal Code: Article 275 (High Treason), Part 2 of Article 205.5 (Participation in the Activities of a Terrorist Organization), and Part 4 of Article 222.1 (Illegal Acquisition, Transfer, Sale, or Storage of Explosives or Explosive Devices).

According to investigators, Gorbunov made contact with a terrorist organization and, acting on their instructions, retrieved explosives from a forest stash, which he later stored at home with the intention of passing them on to members of the group.

By the verdict of the Second Western District Military Court, he was found guilty of the charges and sentenced to 17 years in prison and fined 600,000 rubles, TASS reported, citing the press service of the FSB Directorate for the Belgorod Region.

The article does not specify which terrorist organization was involved. However, in June, Turan Ustyugov, Kazakhstani national, was convicted in Russia on terrorism-related charges for allegedly corresponding with members of Ukrainian groups — the Azov Brigade and the Russian Volunteer Corps.

According to the Russian registry of terrorists and extremists, Pyotr Gorbunov was born on July 11, 1977, in the village of Shortandy, Aqmola Region. He was added to the extremist list on February 13, 2025.

Gorbunov is the second Kazakh-born individual to be convicted of treason in Russia in the past month.

In late June, the same court sentenced Nadezhda Rossinskaya (also known as Nadine Geisler), a native of Temirtau, to 22 years in prison.

Original Author: Igor Ulitin