A top scientist has been sentenced to seven years behind bars for charges of state treason, according to a spokesperson for St. Petersburg’s judiciary service. Alexander Kuranov, the former head of a state research institute in St. Petersburg, oversaw the Soviet-era Ayaks hypersonic aircraft program. Daria Lebedeva, the head of the city’s judicial press service, mentioned that it took two trials to reach a verdict.
The scientist, Alexander Kuranov, had been living on and off in Manchester after serving a prison sentence. During his time in Manchester, he struggled to find affordable housing and at one point was homeless. He maintained a reclusive lifestyle, spending most of his time in his room.
Recently, he expressed his intentions to start a new life in Spain, then Turkey, and later mentioned a teaching assistant job offer in Russia.
