A resident of Rubtsovsk, a major city in Siberia, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for allegedly setting fire to a military recruitment office.

The 2nd Eastern District Military Court has sentenced 26-year-old Vitaly Pirogov to 18 years in prison for allegedly setting fire to a military recruitment office in Rubtsovsk, a major city in Siberia. This was reported by the court’s press service.

The first four years of his sentence will be served in prison, with the remaining term in a high-security penal colony. After his release, he will face a further year and a half of restrictions on his freedom, and is banned from publishing materials online for five years.

Pirogov was convicted on 1 August under articles related to terrorism (Part 1, Article 205 of the Criminal Code), incitement to terrorist activity (Part 1.1, Article 205.1), training for terrorist activities (Article 205.3), and calls for terrorism online (Part 2, Article 205.2). According to the court, he made three homemade incendiary devices and threw them at the local military enlistment office, though the timing of the incident was not specified. The court claims Pirogov had previously studied “guidelines” with instructions on setting fire to enlistment offices and making incendiary devices, and tried to persuade an acquaintance to join him. According to prosecutors, he did this “because he opposed the foreign and domestic policy of the Russian Federation.” The charge of incitement to terrorism was brought against him over a certain online comment.

In June 2024, Pirogov had already been convicted under charges of inciting terrorism online. The specific sentence from that case is unknown, but the new sentence was issued by adding it to the previous one.

The man was included in the Russian financial monitoring agency’s list of terrorists on 29 February 2024.

On 12 April 2024, the Rubtsovsk City Court fined him 30,000 rubles (approximately US$330) for painting the slogan “No to war” on a public transport stop (Part 1, Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offences Code). The court decision stated that at the time it was issued, Pirogov was being held in a PFRSI at Penal Colony No. 9 in Rubtsovsk. The ruling said the offence was identified on 22 February 2024 and the protocol was drawn up on 8 April, but it did not specify when exactly the slogan was painted. On 21 May 2024, he was also held accountable under an article on inciting violations of territorial integrity (Part 2, Article 20.3.2 of the Administrative Offences Code), but this decision has not been published.