The Barnaul garrison court handed down a six-and-a-half-year prison term to reserve Major Mikhail Zhilin, stripping him of military rank and placing him in a strict regime colony. In September 2022, fearing deployment to the fighting zone, he tried to leave Russia by crossing the border into Kazakhstan on foot, dodging a checkpoint along the way.
The court official statement identified the charges as Part 3 of Article 338 (Escape) and Part 1 of Article 322 (Illegal border crossing) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The decision has not yet become law.
Investigators say that, anxious about being sent to the operation zone, Zhilin sold his property in September 2022 and misrepresented his health status to command, claiming he was disabled. He then crossed the state border, entered Kazakhstan at a checkpoint on foot, and was detained by Kazakh border guards. He was released on bail. It was reported that Zhilin’s wife and their children proceeded to the other side and entered Kazakhstan through an official checkpoint on September 26.
Seeking asylum in Kazakhstan, Zhilin hoped to stay until his application process concluded. Kazakhstan declined to grant political asylum. Semey received a suspended sentence for illegal entry and was ordered to be deported back to Russia.
On December 6, the man attempted to fly to Armenia but was detained at Astana airport after Russia placed him on an international wanted list. Subsequently a court ordered 40 days in detention for preventive purposes pending extradition.
By December 30, the officer had been moved to a pre-trial detention center in Rubtsovsk, Altai Territory, and a criminal case was opened against him for illegal border crossing and desertion. Reports from Kommersant-Sibir note that the convict previously worked for the Federal Security Service, a detail relevant to the timing of the verdict.
What is known about the accused?
Zhilin spent 18 years in the Federal Security Service. Reports indicate he served as an engineer at the FSO’s Special Communications and Information Center in Novosibirsk, where he was involved in maintaining government communications networks.
Ekaterina Zhilina, his wife, described life in Europe as halted after her husband expressed opposition to the military operation in Ukraine. She said he did not want to participate and learned, in September, of plans to send him on a business trip to newly annexed territories on September 30, a trigger for his decision to depart. She noted that the timing overlapped with partial mobilization in Russia, but stressed the departure was linked to a potential assignment to the contested areas.
Ekaterina recounted that their family initially believed they would not be allowed to depart Russia. She and the children crossed into Kazakhstan through the Koyanbai border crossing, while Mikhail reportedly made his way through forests near the village of Yernazar. She said a contact later informed border authorities about him. Their vehicle was stopped, documents examined, and it became evident that Mikhail had not entered through a standard border checkpoint.
Journalist Evgenia Baltatarova, who is listed as a foreign agent in Russia, reported that Ekaterina Zhilina and her children left Kazakhstan in January 2023 to seek political asylum in France.