Russia jails scientist Alexey Soldatov who pioneered country's internet

Alexey Soldatov, a prominent scientist known as the "father" of the Russian internet, has been sentenced to two years in a labor colony by a Moscow court. The 72-year-old was convicted of abuse of executive authority for allegedly transferring rights to several IP addresses to a Czech company without permission. Soldatov and his co-defendants, Yevgenny Antipov and Andrei Shkittin, denied the charges, which were initially framed as large-scale fraud before being downgraded. His son, Andrei Soldatov, an exiled journalist, described the accusations as absurd and suggested that the case is a form of punishment for his father's refusal to cooperate with the Kremlin regarding the nationalization of internet infrastructure. He noted that the judge issued a harsher sentence than prosecutors requested and disregarded his father's terminal illness, which typically would exempt him from prison under Russian law. Alexey Soldatov played a crucial role in developing the Russian internet during the late Soviet era and served as deputy communications minister under Dmitry Medvedev. His son believes the case is linked to a dispute over the .SU domain name and reflects the Kremlin's increasing control over internet governance since 2014. The younger Soldatov expressed concern that the harsh sentence aims to tarnish his father's legacy and reputation, emphasizing the significant contributions his father made to the country.