A Russian court sentenced an engineer to three years in a general regime colony for illegally transferring drawings of parts of diesel generators of Varshavyanka project 636.3 submarines to a foreign organization. The case materials are at the disposal of TASS, the message was published on March 17. The court found that in 2021–2022, the convicted person acted as part of an organized group: for a monetary reward, he searched for, copied and transferred technical documentation subject to export control. The engineer did not admit guilt.
Drawings of Varshavyanka diesel generators of project 636.3: what was transferred and how the scheme was hidden
The subject of the transfer was factory drawings of parts of diesel units of submarines of project 636.3 — military documentation subject to export control. The case materials show that the foreign customer explicitly demanded factory drawings: previously transferred materials were deemed "insufficient for the result", and without full documentation "manufacturing is impossible".
The participants in the scheme were aware of the illegal nature of the actions and took conspiracy measures. The correspondence, which the court regarded as direct evidence of intent, discussed that "it is impossible to send directly", and the transfer through third parties and foreign postal services "will exclude unnecessary questions". Sent letters were ordered to be deleted after confirmation of receipt.
Engineer's case: defense position and court decision
The convicted person insisted that he considered the transferred files to be simplified graphic images for repairing equipment and did not know about the final foreign recipient and the export control regime. The court rejected these arguments. The decision states that the engineer had significant professional experience, had access to specialized documentation and was aware of the military purpose of the diesel units of submarines of project 636.3. The consistency of the group's actions and the nature of the correspondence refute the defense's version of the accident.
It is noteworthy that the foreign company — the recipient of the documentation — has not been officially recognized as conducting activities against the security of Russia. The court, however, indicated that this circumstance does not exclude criminal liability for the illegal transfer of military products.
"Varshavyanka" project 636.3: Tactical and technical characteristics of submarines
- Generation: third, large diesel-electric submarines
- Length: 74 m
- Displacement: more than 3,900 tons
- Operating immersion depth: 240 m
- Maximum depth: 300 m
- Cruising range: up to 7,500 nautical miles
- Main armament: Kalibr-PL missile system
- Feature: are among the quietest submarines in the world
"Varshavyanka" project 636.3 is one of the most popular export submarines of Soviet and Russian construction: the boats are operated in the Russian Navy, Algeria, Vietnam and China. The unique low noise makes the documentation for diesel units of submarines of project 636.3 an obvious target for foreign technical intelligence.
