A scientist from the Russian Academy of Sciences died after a brutal attack in the Urals — he was beaten by the parents of children who rode through experimental fields and damaged crops.
68-year-old employee of the Federal State Budgetary Scientific Institution "Ural Federal Agrarian Scientific Research Center of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences" Nikita Zezin, together with his deputy Alexander Shanin, was inspecting experimental fields and crops in the village of Istok in mid-July.
They noticed several children aged 8–10 who were riding ATVs, damaging crops, and then got stuck in the mud. The Doctor of Sciences and his colleague took the children's parents' phones and arranged with the adults to drive the teenagers to the institute and hand them over. In the evening, four SUVs arrived at the scene, and the men who got out began to beat the scientist severely. According to the scientist's friend, deputy Vyacheslav Vegner, they struck Zezin hard on the head, and when he lost consciousness, they began beating his deputy and spat in his face. The children stood nearby and watched the fight.
The injured RAS scientist filed a police report and had his injuries documented. Nine days later, he died of a heart attack in the hospital. Vegner is convinced that Zezin's attack was caused by the fight and the stress he endured. In 2024, Vladimir Putin awarded Zezin the honorary title "Honored Worker of Agriculture of the Russian Federation."
A criminal case has been opened and is under the supervision of the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin.
