News
Retired army captain Vladimir Arsenyev, who currently heads the Volna Central Research Institute, a contractor for Russia’s Defense Ministry, tried to set himself on fire on Moscow's Red Square earlier today, according to reports by the Russian publications Mash and Moskovsky Komsomolets.
On Friday afternoon, the 74-year-old man walked up to the Lenin Mausoleum in the center of Red Square and set himself on fire after dousing himself with flammable liquid. “Police officers quickly intervened, throwing him to the ground and extinguishing the flames,” Mash wrote.
The man, later identified as Arsenyev, was reportedly unharmed. He suffered “minor burns,” as per Moskovsky Komsomolets, and was subsequently taken in for questioning.
According to reporting by the independent investigative outlet Important Stories, Russia’s Rostec State Corporation accused Arsenyev of disrupting a state defense order related to the war against Ukraine in 2023. The prosecution alleged that Arsenyev had stolen paperwork related to another company's developments.
However, a Federal Security Service (FSB) investigation did not turn up any wrongdoing at Volna, as per Moskovsky Komsomolets. The publication added that Arsenyev had filed a retaliatory lawsuit defending his “honor and dignity,” which is now being considered by a Moscow court.
It remains unclear whether Arsenyev’s attempted self-immolation was an act of protest or self-harm.
The Volna Central Research Institute is known for developing communication systems for warships, aviation, and infantry.
Mash is a Telegram news channel with purported links to Russian law enforcement. Moskovsky Komsomolets is a popular Moscow-based daily tabloid newspaper.