The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against economist Konstantin Sonin, University of Chicago professor and ex-prorector of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics (HSE), for “fakes” about the Russian army in his Telegram posts, MSK Agency reports, citing its source.
TASS also reports that Sonin is now targeted by a criminal case. According to the investigation team, the posts that prompted the move were published between April and July 2022.
“The Investigative Committee’s Moscow office representative Yulia Ivanova did not name the defendant in the criminal case but the information we have suggests that its former professor of the Higher School of Economics Konstantin Sonin,” the article reads.
“Konstantin Sonin, a person who for a long time has been opposing internal and international policies carried out by the leadership of Russia, created three posts in his personal Telegram channel ‘Konstantin Sonin’ which contain information about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces according to the analyses conducted by experts,” the agency was told.
The economist himself did not report about a criminal case against him in his social media accounts.
Sonin held the post of the HSE prorector between 2013 and 2014. In 2022, he was fired from the university. He now resides in the US.
Sonin is a professor at the University of Chicago and co-founder of the joint bachelor degree program of the HSE and Russia’s New Economic School. He also was a member of the Science Council under the Russian Education Ministry between 2013 and 2017.
Moreover, Sonin is a regular contributor for Novaya Gazeta Europe.
