Penkin Pavel Valerevich

On December 21, 2023, unknown individuals set fire to a relay cabinet in the Tenisty neighborhood of Voronezh. They broke into the cabinet, doused it with lighter fluid, and stuffed a sweater inside. Two days later, on December 23, two local residents—34-year-old Pavel Penkin and 23-year-old former military serviceman Denis Popov—were arrested on charges of arson. Both men were detained around 7 p.m. Police raided Pavel Penkin's home. According to him, during his arrest, they suffocated him with a bag and beat him to force him to give a "normal" statement. They eventually wrote it in their own way, and Pavel was forced to confess. Popov was detained (effectively kidnapped) by Voronezh FSB officers at a bus stop. Unknown individuals ran up to him without showing identification, forced him face down on the pavement, and then forced him into a car. In the car, a bag was placed over Popov's head and he was asked for his phone password. He was asked various questions, including what he was doing on the railroad tracks. Denis was taken to an unfamiliar building in the woods. Through the bag over his head, he could see people wearing balaclavas and tactical gloves. One of them landed a powerful kick to the young man's leg. Denis fell, was grabbed by the arms, and led down the stairs into the building. While being led, they punched him in the ribs, slammed his head against the walls, and suffocated him with a bag. Denis was taken into a room, thrown onto the concrete floor, and ordered to undress. While he blindly removed his clothes, they continued to beat him on various parts of his body and shouted at him to move faster. After he stripped down to his underwear, they handcuffed his hands behind his back and ordered him to lie on the floor, face down. After this, the criminals in uniform ripped off Denis's underwear and began dousing him with water, kicking him, and shocking him in the groin. The abuse was accompanied by shouts and questions from all sides. "There were many voices, each interrupting the other with their own questions. On top of all this, they tortured me, beat me, doused me with water, shocked me with electric shocks. I was at a loss and didn't know what to say. You tell the truth, they don't believe you," Denis later wrote in a letter. Denis doesn't remember how long the beating lasted. He was told that if he lied during questioning, they would stick a stick in his anus. They demanded that he confess to other arsons, but Popov insisted that "he had no arsons other than this one." After some time, Popov was taken to a different floor, the bag was removed, and he began interrogating. During the interrogation, they continued to beat him on the head. According to Denis, the investigator who questioned him didn't touch him, but he was beaten by men in balaclavas, "possibly detectives." That same night, Popov was taken to the investigative department, where he was recorded making a "video confession," after which he was taken back to the building where he had been tortured. There, he spent the night handcuffed to a bed in a basement. The next morning, he was transferred to the military investigation department, where he was interrogated again. The young man was charged with sabotage committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy and desertion. According to investigators, the day before the arson, Denis Popov received an offer via Telegram for a reward of 13,000 rubles to burn a relay box "for subsequent replacement" and record a video as evidence. Popov offered his friend, Pavel Penkin, the opportunity to earn extra money. An unknown person sent them the coordinates of the cabinet, after which the men set the fire. The desertion charge stems from Popov's emotional signing of a contract with the Ministry of Defense in September 2023, following his divorce from his wife. He was wounded at a training ground during training. He was supposed to bring his leave and rehabilitation documents to the medical unit, but failed to do so and went home without completing the paperwork. The Voronezh Region Investigative Department charged Penkin with sabotage committed by a group of persons acting in concert. On December 25, the court remanded Popov and Penkin to pretrial detention. On September 12, 2024, the 2nd Western District Military Court found the defendants guilty and sentenced Pavel Penkin to 12.5 years in prison and Denis Popov to 16 years and 2 months. They will serve the first three years in prison, and the remainder in a maximum-security penal colony. On January 15, 2025, the Military Court of Appeals upheld the sentence.