A 16-year-old resident of Russia’s Leningrad Region has been sentenced to six and a half years in a juvenile penal colony in a case involving the arson of a cell tower and preparation to set fire to an electrical substation. Russia’s Investigative Committee reported the ruling.
The teenager was found guilty in a case classified as a terrorist attack causing grave consequences, as well as preparation for a terrorist attack. In addition to the main sentence, the court imposed one year of restricted freedom.
According to investigators, in November 2025 the minor set fire to a cell tower in the village of Daymishche in the Gatchina district. The investigation says he acted on instructions from a contact on Telegram who promised payment in cryptocurrency.
The Investigative Committee said the telecom operator that installed the tower suffered significant material damage. Prosecutors also argued that the teenager had been preparing to burn down an electrical substation, but was detained by Interior Ministry officers before he could carry out that plan.
According to the case materials, the alleged preparation consisted of “searching for means and tools to commit the crime.” After his arrest, the teenager was placed in pretrial detention.
Based on available information, the ruling was delivered on June 22 by the 1st Western District Military Court. In the court database, the defendant’s first and last name are concealed. The case materials reached the court in late May.
The convicted teenager is believed to be Alexey Nazarov, a 16-year-old from the Gatchina district. On June 11, his details, marked with an asterisk indicating prosecution under a terrorism-related article, were added to Rosfinmonitoring’s list of “extremists and terrorists.”