Saint Petersburg woman sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly setting fire to military enlistment office
Saint Petersburg woman Elena Komaricheva was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allegedly trying to burn down a military enlistment office, a city court ruled on June 21.
According to the court, Komaricheva received instructions from an unknown source on how to acquire flammable materials and create an improvised Molotov cocktail.
Komaricheva then threw three of the homemade incendiary devices at a recruiting office in September 2023, reportedly causing around 37,000 rubles ($418) of damage.
At least 11 military enlistment offices were set on fire in Russia following the beginning of the general mobilization campaign in September 2022, in which hundreds of thousands of reservists were brought into the army.
A 17-year-old was sentenced to six years in a penal colony in November 2023 for attempting to burn down enlistment centers in Kirovsk and Saint Petersburg.
Even as the peak of mobilization subsided, arson attacks against enlistment offices continued.
The independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported in August 2023 that there had been at least 28 attempts to set fire to enlistment offices over the previous five days.
Dmytro Basmat
