A Russian court on Nov. 1 sentenced Robert Shonov, a former employee of the U.S. consulate in Vladivostok, to four years and 10 months in prison for “secret collaboration with a foreign state.” Shonov, a Russian national who worked at the consulate for over 25 years until 2021, became a private contractor after Moscow restricted local staff from working at foreign missions, gathering public Russian media reports for the U.S., according to the U.S. State Department. Shonov was detained in 2023, accused of passing information on Russia’s war in Ukraine to the U.S. in exchange for payment. Primor…