In Dolgoprudny, an unknown person set fire to the office of “United Russia”

In the city of Dolgoprudny near Moscow, on the evening of February 16, an unknown person threw several bottles of incendiary mixture into the building of the local branch of the United Russia party. Telegram channel “Baza” claims that a ninth-grader made the arson attempt, and he was detained. “United Russia” claims that the motive for his actions was “revenge for Alexei Navalny” – the oppositionist died in the colony, according to official information, earlier on the day when the arson attempt was made.

The arrest of the suspect and his identity have not yet been officially announced.

“Baza” published a video of the arson, which had previously appeared in anonymous Telegram channels. On the video, an unknown person utters the words “Freedom of Russia” and “This is my choice”, after which he throws Molotov cocktails into the building. The visor above the roof lights up.

In the press release of “Edynoi Rossii” it is confirmed that, published on the evening of February 19, it is said that in a video distributed on the Internet, “an unknown man in a mask explained his concession as revenge for Alexei Navalny.” In the video published by “Baza”, however, there are no words about Navalny.

United Russia claims that the fire did not cause significant damage to the building, but the party considered the incident an act of terrorism.

“Baza” claims that the suspect was detained on February 20 – according to the publication, he is a 9th-grade student at a school in Khimki. It is confirmed that a criminal case has been initiated under the article on hooliganism.

Since the beginning of the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine, cases of arson of military enlistment offices and other state buildings have increased dramatically in Russia. There were no victims as a result of these fires, and in the vast majority of cases only minor damage was done to the buildings. However, the investigation and courts, as a rule, qualify these arsons as acts of terrorism, and the accused receive long prison terms. Among those convicted are minors – in particular, in St. Petersburg, schoolboy Egor Balazeykin was convicted of two attempts to set fire to military enlistment centers as a sign of protest against mobilization.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to official data, died in the colony on February 16. The cause of death has not yet been named, and his body has not yet been given to his relatives. Spontaneous memorials in memory of Navalny arose in many cities of Russia. Under various pretexts, more than 400 people who came to honor his memory were detained.