Polyakov Artyom Aleksandrovich

On November 1, 2023, in Moscow, 16-year-old Mikhail Demin, a student at the Synergy College, 17-year-old Artem Polyakov, a first-year student at the Russian Technological University, and 15-year-old Dmitry Sergeev, an eighth-grader, were detained. The teenagers were accused of attempting a terrorist act as part of a group of persons by prior conspiracy. The young people allegedly planned to carry out an explosion in one of the buildings of the student dormitory of the Peoples' Friendship University of Russia with the aim of "intimidating the population" and "causing property damage." It is claimed that during a search in a garage, security forces found camouflage uniforms, berets, and chevrons with Nazi symbols, cartridges, as well as a set of chemical substances for making a homemade bomb. According to the security forces' version, in mid-October 2023, Mikhail Demin decided to carry out an explosion. He shared his idea in a closed Telegram chat, which was supported by Artem Polyakov and Dmitry Sergeev. Artem and Dmitry were supposed to observe the RUDN dormitory and the students living in it, as well as find a place to plant explosives. Mikhail was supposed to purchase chemical substances and prepare components for its manufacture. During interrogations, the defendants claimed that they indeed experimented with homemade explosives but did not intend to attack the dormitory. They called the discussion of the explosion in the chat a joke. On November 2, 2023, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow sent the teenagers to a pre-trial detention center. Later, another defendant appeared in the investigation - 17-year-old Dmitry Vovk, a second-year student at the RTU MIREA. On September 11, 2025, the 2nd Western Military Circuit Court found the defendants guilty and sentenced Mikhail Demin to 9 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony and a fine of 40 thousand rubles, Artem Polyakov to 7.5 years of general regime, Dmitry Vovk to 7 years of imprisonment in a general regime colony, and Dmitry Sergeev to 6 years of imprisonment with serving in an educational colony. Dmitry was taken into custody in the courtroom.