Alexander Rimov
On July 22, 2026, Nikita Nikolayevich Zezin, a distinguished agricultural scientist and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, died at the age of 67.
The official cause of death was a heart attack.
But his colleagues, friends, and public figures across Russia believe something far more sinister happened: they say Zezin was killed.
Not only by a brutal physical assault, they argue, but by the vicious accusations and humiliation inflicted upon a man whose only apparent offense was trying to help a group of children.
What Happened?
On July 13, 2026, Nikita Zezin, head of the Ural Federal Agricultural Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was inspecting experimental fields outside Yekaterinburg with his deputy, Alexander Shanin.
It was an ordinary workday. The scientists were checking experimental crops.
Then they came across five children, between eight and ten years old, riding ATVs directly through the fields.
The children were destroying experimental pea crops of the “Meteor” variety — the product of years of scientific research. One of the ATVs had become stuck in mud swollen by heavy rain.
Zezin and Shanin tried to handle the situation as humanely as possible.
Zezin contacted the children’s parents, explained what had happened, and offered to bring the children to the research center so they could be handed over to their families.
The parents agreed.
The researchers put the children into a UAZ service vehicle and drove them to the institute.
What happened next is difficult to describe without horror.
The Attack
At approximately 6 p.m., four SUVs pulled up outside the institute.
Several physically imposing men got out.
According to witnesses, the confrontation immediately turned violent.
One of the men, who identified himself as Arkady, allegedly spat in Zezin’s face and began repeatedly striking him — targeting his head and legs.
Zezin lost consciousness.
The attackers then turned on his deputy, Alexander Shanin, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan.
And all of this happened in front of the children — the same children Zezin had just tried to help.
Witnesses say the children even encouraged the attackers.
The Blow That Came After the Beating
But according to those close to Zezin, the physical assault was not the only trauma he suffered.
The real nightmare, they say, began at the police station.
Zezin spent half a day there trying to file a complaint against his alleged attackers.
His statement was not formally accepted until midnight.
Then came the accusation that devastated him.
Zezin learned that the children’s parents had filed a counter-complaint accusing him of kidnapping minors.
A scientist who had devoted more than four decades to his profession was suddenly being accused of a crime against children.
Under enormous psychological stress, Zezin wrote to regional legislator Vyacheslav Wegner:
“Can you imagine? They are ignoring my case, but they have opened a criminal case against me for kidnapping children.”
He also reported that the police officer who accepted his complaint was allegedly being threatened with dismissal.
“I have never experienced such humiliation in my life,” Zezin reportedly said during his final days.
“They Killed Him”
On July 22, Nikita Zezin died in a hospital.
Officially, the cause was a heart attack.
But Vyacheslav Wegner, a member of the Sverdlovsk Regional Legislative Assembly and a close friend of the scientist, insists that Zezin was, in effect, killed by what he endured.
Wegner argues that the scientist’s heart could not withstand the physical assault, humiliation and accusations that followed.
“Some reporters are now writing that he died from heart disease,” Wegner said. “He did not die from heart disease. I want everyone to know this. They killed him. They killed him.”
A Nation in Shock
News of the scientist’s death triggered an outpouring of grief across Russia.
A spontaneous memorial appeared outside the Russian Academy of Sciences. People brought flowers, candles and handwritten notes expressing condolences to Zezin’s family and demanding justice.
On July 27, a farewell ceremony was held in Yekaterinburg.
A funeral service was conducted at the Church of St. Panteleimon, the Great Martyr and Healer. A civil memorial ceremony followed, and Zezin was buried at the Siberian Cemetery.
Nikita Nikolayevich Zezin was more than a scientist.
He was a major figure in Russian agricultural science.
He held a Doctor of Agricultural Sciences degree and was a professor at the Ural State Agrarian University. He was also a recipient of the P.A. Stolypin National Award, “Agrarian Elite of Russia.”
In 2024, he was awarded the title of Honored Agricultural Worker of the Russian Federation.
Over the course of his career, Zezin authored or co-authored more than 260 scientific papers, monographs and books.
Varieties of barley, wheat and potatoes developed with his participation are reportedly cultivated across approximately two million hectares of farmland throughout Russia.
The Investigation
Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case into the assault.
Investigators say the case has been placed under the personal supervision of Alexander Bastrykin, Chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee.
The identities of all participants in the confrontation have reportedly been established.
Two suspects have been charged with hooliganism and placed in pretrial detention.
A forensic medical examination has been ordered to determine the precise cause of Zezin’s death and whether it was connected to the assault.
If investigators establish a causal connection between the attack and his death, the charges could be upgraded to a substantially more serious offense — potentially including homicide.
Attorney Vadim Bagaturiya has said the suspects could face up to 15 years in prison.
“So What? He Just Slapped Him.”
Public outrage intensified after comments attributed to Svetlana Reveruk, the wife of one of the alleged attackers.
Referring to the assault, she reportedly said: “So what? He just slapped him.”
The remark triggered an angry reaction across Russian social media.
Meanwhile, the agricultural damage caused by the children riding through the experimental fields has been estimated at approximately 130,000 rubles.
But no amount of money can restore what was lost.
A scientist who devoted four decades of his life to Russian agriculture is gone.
The Question Russia Is Asking
The death of Nikita Nikolayevich Zezin is no longer simply a story about the loss of a distinguished scientist.
It is a story about what can happen when, in a matter of hours, a person’s professional achievements, dignity and reputation are placed at risk — and when an act intended to protect children ends with the person who tried to help them lying dead in a hospital.
The investigation is ongoing.
The forensic examination may determine whether the assault contributed to Zezin’s death.
The courts, ultimately, will determine criminal responsibility.
But one question remains: Who is responsible for the death of Nikita Zezin?
Russia is waiting for an answer.
Flowers continue to appear outside the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Thousands of people are demanding the same thing: Justice.
They want those responsible to face the full consequences of their actions.
They want Nikita Nikolayevich Zezin’s death not to be forgotten, and not to go unanswered.
And above all, they want the truth.
May the memory of Nikita Nikolayevich Zezin — an outstanding scientist and, above all, a decent human being — endure.
Yuri Chekalin
Andrey Vedyaev
Kamil Askerkhanov
