The St. Petersburg Pushkin District Court has ordered the two-month arrest of local resident Alexei Gribanov, who has been accused of hooliganism fueled by political hostility. According to investigation reports, Gribanov attempted to set fire to the historical and literary museum on April 26 using combustible liquid. The incident occurred in the city of Pushkin.
Sources report that the attempted arson was politically motivated and was carried out by a group of people who conspired beforehand. The court has not identified any accomplices, but Gribanov was taken into custody near the scene of the crime.
Gribanov has denied the charge and claimed that telephone scammers forced him to commit the offense. These individuals promised to assist him with loans taken out under his name by other criminals. At first, the scammers asked Gribanov to burn down the local military registration and enlistment office and the vehicle belonging to the military commissar. Gribanov refused, so the scammers ultimately suggested he set fire to the museum, which happened to be located opposite the facility of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Gribanov now faces a potential prison sentence of up to seven years.
Recent reports have highlighted 16 other instances of arson in Russia. Most of these cases have involved scammers targeting elderly people, stealing their money, and then forcing them to commit crimes such as burning down military enlistment offices and banks. They promise to return the stolen money in exchange for carrying out these criminal activities.