<\/p>\n
Sofya Rozenfeld has spent her life studying Arctic birds: traveling to\u00a0Russia\u2019s Far North on\u00a0expeditions, following flocks of\u00a0geese in\u00a0a\u00a0seaplane, and fighting to\u00a0protect rare species. Now the scientist, one of\u00a0Russia\u2019s leading ornithologists with a\u00a0doctorate in\u00a0biological sciences, has been sentenced to\u00a0three and a\u00a0half years in\u00a0a\u00a0penal colony for two donations of\u00a01,000 rubles each to\u00a0the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK). Rozenfeld admitted guilt in\u00a0part, saying she had been unable to\u00a0cancel her recurring payments because she was on\u00a0an\u00a0expedition and out of\u00a0contact. T-invariant examined<\/a> why she refused to\u00a0leave Russia, how her trial unfolded, and what Russian science stands to\u00a0lose with her imprisonment. Meduza is\u00a0translating the article with minor edits.<\/p>\n \u2018They put on\u00a0quite a\u00a0show\u2019<\/p>\n Sofya Rozenfeld learned of\u00a0the criminal investigation on\u00a0December 5, 2025, shortly after returning from Israel, where she had been visiting her father. The 50-year-old scientist was charged with financing an\u00a0\u201cextremist\u201d organization over two transfers of\u00a01,000 rubles each to\u00a0the Anti-Corruption Foundation in\u00a0August and September 2021.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was here in\u00a0Israel visiting\u00a0me. And she went back to\u00a0Moscow sometime in\u00a0late November. Literally the next day or\u00a0the day after, they searched her home and made her agree in\u00a0writing not to\u00a0leave town without permission. They did leave her passports, though, and took copies of\u00a0them,\u201d Sofya\u2019s father, Boris Rozenfeld, told T-invariant.<\/p>\n During the search, officers seized her phone and two laptops. Then came months of\u00a0waiting. Rozenfeld continued working and going on\u00a0expeditions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe first hearing was scheduled six months later. But the witness didn\u2019t show up, so\u00a0it\u00a0was postponed. The next one was, too. Then they read out the charges. It\u00a0was all very pleasant. Nice young women read out the charges, and the lovely investigator kept calling, asking how she was doing, how her health was, what was\u00a0new. Everything was more or\u00a0less civil. And there was no\u00a0sign that anything terrible was coming. Though I\u00a0think they\u2019d decided everything long before. They put on\u00a0quite a\u00a0show,\u201d said Sergey, a\u00a0friend of\u00a0Sofya Rozenfeld\u2019s whose name has been changed.<\/p>\n Before each hearing, Rozenfeld packed a\u00a0bag in\u00a0case she was taken into custody in\u00a0the courtroom.<\/p>\n \u201cShe knew a\u00a0prison sentence was possible. But she thought a\u00a0fine or\u00a0forced labor was much more likely. The lawyers thought so, too. That\u2019s where they went wrong. I\u00a0suspect there are general instructions for cases like these. This is\u00a0already the third recent case in\u00a0which women have been given prison time,\u201d Boris Rozenfeld said.<\/p>\n \u201cOf\u00a0course it\u00a0was stressful. But for some reason, we\u00a0went to\u00a0the last hearing feeling relaxed. They\u2019d even let her go\u00a0on\u00a0an\u00a0expedition before that, beyond the Arctic Circle, to\u00a0the Polar Urals, to\u00a0tag musk oxen. There was a\u00a0TV\u00a0report about\u00a0her. She only got back on\u00a0October 2,\u201d Sergey said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u00a0last spoke a\u00a0few weeks\u00a0ago. She wasn\u2019t making any plans, just waiting to\u00a0see what would happen next. There was one hearing after another, and she came to\u00a0every one with her things packed. But they kept being postponed. The last one ended with her being put in\u00a0handcuffs,\u201d Rozenfeld\u2019s friend and former university classmate, science journalist Ilya Kolmanovsky, told T-invariant.<\/p>\n Rozenfeld\u2019s friends said the court was unhappy that she had admitted guilt only in\u00a0part.<\/p>\n \u201cThe judge and the prosecutor were extremely unhappy that Sonya had only partly admitted guilt. Here\u2019s the situation she was in: She\u2019s a\u00a0field biologist who spends six months or\u00a0more a\u00a0year on\u00a0expeditions. And most of\u00a0those expeditions are to\u00a0the Far North, where they\u2019re working out in\u00a0the field with only satellite communications. She had all the evidence showing that she was away on\u00a0a\u00a0research trip when FBK was declared an\u00a0extremist organization \u2014 there was confirmation from the institute. But none of\u00a0that mattered to\u00a0the court. The lawyer even asked: Why go\u00a0after\u00a0her? The banks were transferring the money, knowing those payments had been deemed criminal, even though they\u2019re perfectly capable of\u00a0blocking unwanted and suspicious payments and regularly do\u00a0so\u00a0in\u00a0other cases. Why not go\u00a0after the bank? The judge let that pass. You could see that long speeches irritated him, period. It\u00a0seemed none of\u00a0the defense\u2019s arguments had any bearing on\u00a0his decision. He\u2019d already received his instructions, and he\u00a0wasn\u2019t interested in\u00a0the circumstances of\u00a0the case,\u201d said Anna, a\u00a0friend of\u00a0Sofya Rozenfeld\u2019s whose name has been changed.<\/p>\n \u201cIf\u00a0she\u2019d admitted guilt in\u00a0full, they\u2019d have knocked a\u00a0couple of\u00a0months\u00a0off. There were three sentences like that this week. Before this, though, they\u2019d left women alone. I\u00a0think they\u2019re all trying to\u00a0curry favor\u00a0now. I\u00a0can\u2019t see any other reason for such terrible sentences, literally \u2018for three ears of\u00a0grain\u2019 [an allusion to\u00a0a\u00a01932 Stalin-era law under which people were imprisoned for taking a\u00a0few ears of\u00a0grain from collective farm fields],\u201d Sergey said.<\/p>\n In\u00a0court, Rozenfeld did in\u00a0fact admit guilt<\/a> only in\u00a0part: \u201cI\u00a0categorically deny, first, that I\u00a0share extremist views and, second, that I\u00a0had any criminal intent. When I\u00a0decided to\u00a0start supporting FBK, my\u00a0sole motivation was to\u00a0fight corruption. I\u00a0believe we\u00a0need all the help the public can give. Because even in\u00a0my\u00a0own work, in\u00a0scientific research and conservation, I\u2019ve seen the monstrous forms this evil can take. And I\u00a0felt that any help in\u00a0fighting corruption would be\u00a0a\u00a0good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n She acknowledged signing up\u00a0for recurring donations to\u00a0FBK. Because she was on\u00a0a\u00a0lengthy scientific expedition with no\u00a0access to\u00a0communications when the foundation was declared \u201cextremist,\u201d she canceled her donations as\u00a0soon as\u00a0she returned. Her lawyers even submitted a\u00a0letter she had sent to\u00a0FBK requesting the cancellation. But this did not reduce her sentence. On\u00a0October 7, Rozenfeld was taken into custody<\/a> in\u00a0the courtroom at\u00a0Moscow\u2019s Gagarinsky District Court.<\/p>\n She is\u00a0now being held at\u00a0Moscow\u2019s Pechatniki pretrial detention center. She was not allowed to\u00a0take her packed bag from the courthouse, so\u00a0she initially had none of\u00a0her personal belongings.<\/p>\n \u2018Geese are my\u00a0thing\u2019<\/p>\n Sofya Rozenfeld holds a\u00a0doctorate in\u00a0biological sciences and is\u00a0a\u00a0senior researcher at\u00a0the Russian Bird Ringing Center at\u00a0the Russian Academy of\u00a0Sciences\u2019 Institute of\u00a0Ecology and Evolution. She is\u00a0one of\u00a0the best-known specialists in\u00a0Arctic waterfowl.<\/p>\n Rozenfeld has said<\/a> she decided to\u00a0become a\u00a0biologist when she was just 5. She grew up\u00a0in\u00a0a\u00a0Moscow family: Her father, Boris Rozenfeld, is\u00a0a\u00a0mathematician; her mother is\u00a0an\u00a0engineer; and her grandfather, Iosif Rozenfeld, was a\u00a0full member of\u00a0the Academy of\u00a0Sciences with a\u00a0doctorate in\u00a0chemistry. Sofya attended a\u00a0school specializing in\u00a0French. In\u00a0the late 1980s, the family moved to\u00a0Israel, but a\u00a0year and a\u00a0half later, Rozenfeld, then 15, returned to\u00a0Moscow.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u00a0didn\u2019t think I\u00a0had the right to\u00a0force a\u00a015-year-old to\u00a0stay. When we\u00a0were leaving, she said she didn\u2019t want to\u00a0go. And really, why would she want to\u00a0leave? Everything was great, she had friends at\u00a0school, and it\u00a0was a\u00a0good school with an\u00a0intensive French program. And anyway, why the hell are you going anywhere? You have everything: an\u00a0apartment, a\u00a0car, jobs. I\u00a0worked at\u00a0the Academy of\u00a0Sciences. And I\u00a0told her, \u2018Listen, we\u00a0can\u2019t leave you here on\u00a0your\u00a0own. But if\u00a0you want to\u00a0come back, I\u00a0won\u2019t stand in\u00a0your way.\u2019 I\u00a0promised her that. And a\u00a0year and a\u00a0half later, she did come back. Of\u00a0course we\u00a0were worried, especially during the coup. That was 1991. Yes, fun times. But then everything was fine,\u201d Boris Rozenfeld said.<\/p>\n \u201cHer parents talked her into going for at\u00a0least a\u00a0year, to\u00a0see what life was like there. She went. And a\u00a0year later, she packed her suitcase and said, \u2018I\u2019m leaving. I\u00a0don\u2019t want to\u00a0abandon my\u00a0country at\u00a0a\u00a0difficult time.\u2019 She came back, finished school, and enrolled in\u00a0the biology department. She\u2019s a\u00a0very determined person,\u201d Anna said.<\/p>\n In\u00a0Moscow, Sofya lived with her grandmother and aunt and, by\u00a0her own account, was constantly bringing animals home. Besides a\u00a0dog, the apartment housed snakes, frogs, fish, and birds. In\u00a01993, Rozenfeld enrolled in\u00a0Moscow State University\u2019s biology department, choosing zoology.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u00a0met in\u00a0our first year. I\u00a0heard about her before I\u00a0saw her: People were saying there was someone very unusual in\u00a0our class. You could tell there were, well, students, and then there was someone you already knew was a\u00a0scientist. For her, science was a\u00a0calling, something she was deeply committed to,\u201d Ilya Kolmanovsky said.<\/p>\n At\u00a0university, Rozenfeld took up\u00a0photography because she wanted to\u00a0photograph birds in\u00a0the Arctic. She also played guitar, studied languages, and pursued show jumping at\u00a0a\u00a0professional level. But polar birds remained her greatest passion from her student years onward.<\/p>\n \u201cGeese are my\u00a0thing. These birds amazed me: Their unique social behavior sets them apart from other birds. Geese are like people. All geese and swans are monogamous. Pairs stay together for many years, sometimes even for life. The young always make their first migration with their parents, who show them where to\u00a0fly. Those bonds sometimes last for many years, too,\u201d she said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Rozenfeld began traveling to\u00a0the Arctic for fieldwork while she was still a\u00a0student.<\/p>\n \u201cShe was the master of\u00a0those enormous expanses, where there isn\u2019t another person for thousands of\u00a0kilometers. She could go\u00a0somewhere in\u00a0Kazakhstan and sleep in\u00a0a\u00a0tent where, on\u00a0a\u00a0spring night, it\u2019s minus 16 Celsius [about 3 Fahrenheit]. And see 15,000 geese through her binoculars that no\u00a0one before her had seen. Make a\u00a0discovery, find out that there\u2019s a\u00a0huge population stopping there during migration. She\u2019s a\u00a0scientist of\u00a0enormous stature. From day one, you could tell she was working on\u00a0something extraordinarily significant. And anyone who has ever met her has enormous respect for that,\u201d Kolmanovsky said.<\/p>\n In\u00a01998, Rozenfeld began doctoral studies at\u00a0the Russian Academy of\u00a0Sciences\u2019 A. N. Severtsov Institute of\u00a0Ecology and Evolution, where she still works. Her main research areas are waterfowl ecology and migration, as\u00a0well as\u00a0migratory bird conservation. During migration, birds travel tens of\u00a0thousands of\u00a0kilometers, crossing borders between countries with different conservation laws.<\/p>\n In\u00a02016, Rozenfeld and her colleagues began following flocks of\u00a0birds in\u00a0a\u00a0homemade seaplane, photographing and counting them. The light aircraft can fly at\u00a0the same speed as\u00a0the birds and take off from and land on\u00a0water, ice, and small patches of\u00a0ground. The data allow scientists to\u00a0estimate population sizes, identify threats to\u00a0their survival, and develop recommendations for protecting migratory species.<\/p>\n \u201cSonya has devoted her whole life to\u00a0migratory birds. She actually followed them by\u00a0plane. She\u2019s an\u00a0incredible expert in\u00a0this field. That\u2019s the kind of\u00a0person she\u00a0is. There was no\u00a0point talking politics with\u00a0her. Of\u00a0course she understood everything. All the terrible injustice around\u00a0her. But her priority is\u00a0migratory birds. That\u2019s what she lives for, and she can talk about nature for hours,\u201d Andrey Rostovtsev, a\u00a0friend of\u00a0Sofya Rozenfeld\u2019s father and a\u00a0co-founder of\u00a0the independent online community Dissernet, told T-invariant.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s a\u00a0very well-known biologist who worked on\u00a0joint projects in\u00a0the U.S. and Canada, and French researchers took part in\u00a0her expeditions. She presented at\u00a0all the most important conferences in\u00a0her field. Sonya is\u00a0devoted to\u00a0wildlife conservation. She\u2019s a\u00a0real patriot, not a\u00a0fake\u00a0one. She fought to\u00a0protect all the rare animal species in\u00a0the Red Data Book and to\u00a0eliminate exemptions in\u00a0hunting laws. In\u00a0the end, she managed to\u00a0convince the State Duma that she was right. She\u2019s an\u00a0incredible fighter,\u201d Anna said.<\/p>\n Rozenfeld was the first to\u00a0count migratory birds systematically. Previously, researchers had estimated their numbers by\u00a0counting individual birds in\u00a0one area, then extrapolating the results across the entire territory. Accurate counts are essential both to\u00a0understanding species\u2019 spatial ecology and to\u00a0conserving their populations, said Alexandra Panyutina, a\u00a0researcher at\u00a0Tel Aviv University\u2019s School of\u00a0Zoology: \u201cSay you have a\u00a0place on\u00a0the ocean coast where huge numbers of\u00a0migratory birds gather. And it\u2019s a\u00a0crucial site. If\u00a0something is\u00a0disrupted there, it\u00a0will affect bird populations in\u00a0many countries, across an\u00a0enormous area. Disrupting migration routes and stopover sites changes where a\u00a0species lives and how many birds there\u00a0are. That\u2019s why research in\u00a0this area is\u00a0so\u00a0important.\u201d<\/p>\n Waterfowl are a\u00a0difficult group to\u00a0study: They are hunted, which affects their population sizes and reproduction. Many species also live in\u00a0remote northern regions where field research is\u00a0difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a\u00a0strong Russian group there working on\u00a0shorebirds. And the people we\u00a0called the \u2018goose people.\u2019 That\u2019s\u00a0it. Sonya is\u00a0the scientific mind behind all this work on\u00a0waterfowl. And you can\u2019t replace someone of\u00a0that caliber. She\u2019s the person who designs the research, who has the whole thing in\u00a0her head. You can\u2019t replace her with a\u00a0robot. When a\u00a0researcher leaves, no\u00a0one automatically takes over their work. And an\u00a0education isn\u2019t enough \u2014 you need to\u00a0understand where research on\u00a0that particular problem stands and know who else is\u00a0doing what. And of\u00a0course, no\u00a0one will be\u00a0able to\u00a0take over her research in\u00a0three and a\u00a0half years,\u201d Panyutina said.<\/p>\n Sofya Rozenfeld had big plans for the coming months: filming \u201cGusi Rossii\u201d (\u201cThe Geese of\u00a0Russia\u201d) and working on\u00a0an\u00a0atlas of\u00a0geese.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a\u00a0comprehensive atlas with descriptions, illustrations, and maps. It\u2019s supposed to\u00a0cover every goose species found in\u00a0Russia. She left us\u00a0all her contacts. We\u00a0have to\u00a0finish this work without her,\u201d Sergey said.<\/p>\n \u2018You can\u2019t study geese from prison\u2019<\/p>\n Rozenfeld\u2019s friends and colleagues said she adamantly refused to\u00a0leave Russia.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are things she\u2019s completely unbending about. Leaving is\u00a0one of\u00a0them. For her, it\u00a0was absolutely not up\u00a0for discussion, non-negotiable. She understood all the risks, but nothing was more frightening than leaving and finding herself unable to\u00a0return to\u00a0the birds she studies. She can\u2019t do\u00a0her research anywhere else, because the species she studies live only in\u00a0the Russian Arctic,\u201d Kolmanovsky said.<\/p>\n Alexandra Panyutina tried more than once to\u00a0talk to\u00a0Rozenfeld about leaving Russia, but Rozenfeld avoided the subject.<\/p>\n \u201cTo\u00a0me, the situation was perfectly clear from the start. But in\u00a0all that time, I\u00a0never managed to\u00a0talk to\u00a0her about\u00a0it. She was very afraid of\u00a0being set\u00a0up. Especially since her lawyers were telling her the outlook was good, because she was only required to\u00a0get permission before leaving town, and she was a\u00a0woman with a\u00a0doctorate,\u201d Panyutina said.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Panyutina, serious research into waterfowl migration is\u00a0currently possible in\u00a0Russia and Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cUntil relatively recently, you could work freely in\u00a0Russia. That\u2019s not the case in\u00a0most other countries. Scientists face restrictions at\u00a0every turn \u2014 any work requires an\u00a0incredible number of\u00a0permits and licenses, and special funding for specific tasks. Besides, moving to\u00a0another country almost always means a\u00a0huge step down for a\u00a0scientist. Here, you\u2019re a\u00a0leading specialist; there, you\u2019re basically nobody. You start working as\u00a0an\u00a0assistant in\u00a0some\u00a0lab. No\u00a0one\u2019s going to\u00a0give you your own lab right away. It\u2019s very hard to\u00a0get the chance to\u00a0do\u00a0your own research. But then again, you can\u2019t study geese from prison either,\u201d Panyutina said.<\/p>\n The administration of\u00a0the Russian Academy of\u00a0Sciences\u2019 A. N. Severtsov Institute of\u00a0Ecology and Evolution is\u00a0not commenting on\u00a0Sofya Rozenfeld\u2019s sentence.<\/p>\n \u201cThey gave the court a\u00a0good character reference. But after the sentence, they decided to\u00a0save their own skins. Of\u00a0course I\u00a0think they\u2019ll fire\u00a0her. How can they not fire her if\u00a0she isn\u2019t coming to\u00a0work? They\u2019ll fire\u00a0her. Maybe they\u2019ll wait for the appeal,\u201d Boris Rozenfeld said.<\/p>\n Alexandra Panyutina has little hope for the appeal. In\u00a0her view, Rozenfeld will not be\u00a0the last scientist to\u00a0face political persecution.<\/p>\n \u201cFortunately, the FSB [Russia\u2019s Federal Security Service] hasn\u2019t come for biologists\u00a0yet. Things are already very bad in\u00a0physics. I\u00a0don\u2019t know a\u00a0single sane person who would go\u00a0into hypersonics today. You\u2019d have to\u00a0be\u00a0suicidal. In\u00a0Sonya\u2019s case, we\u00a0can\u2019t say she\u2019s being persecuted as\u00a0a\u00a0scientist. We\u2019re talking about the persecution of\u00a0a\u00a0citizen who cares about her country\u2019s future. What\u2019s more, she was simply a\u00a0victim of\u00a0circumstances. When FBK was banned, she was on\u00a0a\u00a0remote expedition with no\u00a0access to\u00a0communications and couldn\u2019t even find out about the ban on\u00a0donations, let alone cancel them. As\u00a0soon as\u00a0she returned, she canceled all the payments. So\u00a0she didn\u2019t break any Russian\u00a0law. There\u2019s some hope that on\u00a0appeal, the court will take into account the importance of\u00a0Sofya\u2019s research and her important role in\u00a0the Russian Academy of\u00a0Sciences,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u00a0feel like this state is\u00a0now devouring everything alive, at\u00a0home and abroad. The regime sees a\u00a0threat in\u00a0people who can put two and two together and refuse to\u00a0compromise their judgment. Scientists have things they value above all else: science, nature, geese, and zoology. Many people can compromise, but scientists can be\u00a0extraordinarily stubborn in\u00a0this respect. What happens next to\u00a0Russian science? I\u00a0think it\u00a0faces what the late ayatollah called a\u00a0\u2018jihad of\u00a0knowledge,\u2019 in\u00a0which every scientist has to\u00a0prove their usefulness to\u00a0the Islamic Revolution in\u00a0its struggle against the West. Now all scientists and all fields of\u00a0science have to\u00a0prove their usefulness in\u00a0the war Russia has declared on\u00a0civilization,\u201d Kolmanovsky said.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0Haaretz, Israel declined<\/a> to\u00a0intervene in\u00a0Rozenfeld\u2019s case, despite her having an\u00a0Israeli passport. After she was charged, she sought help from the Israeli Embassy in\u00a0Moscow, but was told that Israeli authorities could not intervene in\u00a0decisions by\u00a0Russian law enforcement because she also holds Russian citizenship.<\/p>\n At\u00a0Meduza, we\u00a0are committed to\u00a0transparency about our use of\u00a0artificial intelligence in\u00a0the newsroom. The story you\u2019re reading was written by\u00a0one of\u00a0our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an\u00a0AI\u00a0model configured to\u00a0follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is\u00a0the result of\u00a0extensive testing and refinements to\u00a0ensure our English-language coverage is\u00a0timely and accurate. A\u00a0Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.<\/p>\n If\u00a0you find any errors in\u00a0this translation, please contact us\u00a0at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n