Image from the human rights project "First Department." Kazakhstan deported Alexander Kachkurkin to Russia on charges of treason
Kachkurkin, who had been living in Almaty for the past few years, was arrested in Russia after being deported from Kazakhstan as part of a criminal case on state treason.
He was born and raised in Crimea and obtained Russian citizenship in 2014. For political reasons, Kachkurkin left Russia and moved to Kazakhstan.
In his professional field, he worked as a DevOps engineer and IT developer, engaging in various projects, including collaboration with OpenAI, a well-known developer of GPT language models.
According to a statement by the head of the police of the Bostandyk district of Almaty, Didar Akhanov, on January 28, 2026, Kachkurkin was subjected to administrative sanctions for two incidents—crossing the road in an unauthorized place and smoking a hookah in an enclosed space.
Based on these incidents, the police filed a petition with the court for Kachkurkin's expulsion, citing his "disrespect for the laws and sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan" and the need to "prevent offenses."
Upon his arrival in Russia, Kachkurkin was detained and brought to court, where the Meshchansky Court of Moscow on January 31 ordered him to be held in custody under Article 275 "Treason" of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
