Grigory Skvortsov's support group reported that during the proceedings, the prosecution requested 18 years of imprisonment for him. The case is being heard in Perm behind closed doors.
According to the investigation, Skvortsov, the founder of the industrial group Jagath and a photographer for the agency AD HOC, sent the American journalist Matt Schwartz scans of Dmitry Yurkov's book "Soviet Secret Bunkers," which allegedly contained diagrams of classified infrastructure, including the so-called "Metro-2." The publication was not banned from distribution and is available online.
Skvortsov himself does not plead guilty and claims that the case against him is fabricated, accusing investigators of falsifying evidence.
Grigory Skvortsov is a photographer from Perm who specialized in shooting industrial sites. In 2022, he gave an interview to the German publication Sonic Seducer, in which he spoke out against the war in Ukraine. Subsequently, a criminal case for 'treason' was initiated against Skvortsov for sharing open information with a journalist.
In an interview with the "First Department"*, Skvortsov stated that he bought photographs of declassified archival documents as additional materials for the book "Soviet 'Secret Bunkers': Urban Special Fortification of the 1930s-1960s" and sent them to the American journalist. After that, he was detained by the FSB.
* Recognized as a 'foreign agent' in Russia.