Bastrykin ruled out an increase in the number of sabotage on the railways in Russia

The head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, said that there were no grounds for talking about an increase in the number of incidents, including sabotage, on railways in Russia. At the same time, according to Mr. Bastrykin, the desire to change the system is not always the motive for such crimes. In his opinion, it is often the “fragile teenage psyche” that prompts sabotage in the conditions of “the palette of ongoing events.”

“We systematically analyze the level and nature of crime. And today there are no objective grounds to assert that the number of such crimes has increased, ”said the head Alexander Bastrykin, answering the question of RIA Novosti if there has been more sabotage on the railways recently.

The head of the TFR noted that sometimes such crimes are committed on the instructions of the Ukrainian side. He mentioned the criminal case against Sergei Belavin, who, according to the intelligence services, in 2022, on the instructions of the Ukrainian security forces, blew up the railway track with the Gomel-Moscow freight train. His actions were qualified as a terrorist attack.

“However, I would like to note that in the course of the investigation, versions about the presence of a motive for changing the political system or destabilizing public order are not always confirmed by those involved,” the head of the ICR said.

As an example, he cited the case of arson of relay and battery cabinets at the Ivanovo-Tekstilny railway line by 15-year-old teenagers. Their actions were qualified as deliberate damage to property out of hooligan motives. Alexander Bastrykin believes that often the cause of sabotage is the “fragile teenage psyche”, which, in his opinion, “under the conditions of such a palette of ongoing events” cannot always correctly respond to “proposals of an illegal nature.”

At the end of 2022, criminal penalties up to life imprisonment were introduced for sabotage. The arson of relay cabinets is also considered sabotage.

By data National Anti-Terrorism Committee, 123 “terrorist crimes” were prevented in Russia last year, including 64 terrorist attacks. At the same time, the number of extremist crimes from January to November 2022 increased by 43%, which was a record figure for three years.

Anastasia Larina