24.01.09

Six young Russian nationalists who are said to worship Old Slav deities are suspected of organizing a series of explosions and attacks on foreigners in Moscow over recent months, Russian television has reported.

One of their targets was an Orthodox church.

Moscow police chief also linked them to a recent beheading of a Tajik man. Several group members, including a 17-year-old girl believed to be its leader, have been arrested. A Ministry of Sport official was detained as part of the investigation but released later; he is back at work and denies involvement. The following is text of report by international stream of Gazprom-owned Russian NTV on 21 January:

(Presenter) Moscow's Zamoskvoretskiy Court today issued an arrest warrant on Yevgeniya Zhikhareva.
She is suspected of involvement in several terrorist acts in Moscow and preparation of more explosions. Investigators maintain that the 17-year-old girl headed a community of so-called Rodnovery (word derived from the Russian phrase meaning "native faith"), pagans who worshipped the deities of the Old Slavs.

(Second presenter) Police believe that in recent months the Rodnovery killed several foreigners, staged terrorist acts in a church and at a railway, and tried to blow up a McDonald's restaurant. Two people were already arrested in this case early in the week, while another detainee, an official from the Ministry of Sport, was set free today, having undertaken not to leave the city. Nikita Anisimov spoke to him.

(Correspondent) Their apprehension was shrouded in total secrecy: even the arrest ruling was made without witnesses. While journalists waited at Moscow's Kuzminskiy Court, an underage girl whom the investigators regard as the leader of the group of saboteurs was being taken to Zamoskvoretskiy Court.

It has now transpired that six very young people, including students, carried out 11 explosions and attempted murders in recent months; they even brought explosives into an Orthodox church.

(Vladimir Pronin, chief of Moscow's main police directorate; addressing a briefing) They carried out an explosion in a church in (Moscow's) Southern District, one at Prazhskaya (metro station, southern Moscow), and then at McDonald's. This is where they committed crimes. We are, I must say, currently working with them on the case in which a Tajik was killed and his head was planted - do you remember this waste collection vehicle in Mozhaysk District? We're working on it, the investigation continues.

(Correspondent) It appears that these explosions in various parts of the city were seen as a gauntlet by all the capital's special services.

The young saboteurs were finally caught through the joint efforts of the Federal Security Service and the Interior Ministry. It was the failed explosion at McDonalds in Kuzminki that helped track them down.

It turned out after the detentions that the saboteurs worshipped Old Slav deities and saw themselves as members of a neo-pagan cult. Alongside members of other ethnic groups, they also listed priests among their enemies.

Today the underage female ringleader of this gang of heathens was arrested on the charges of attempted murder motivated by ethnic and religious hatred.

(Anna Usacheva, head of the Moscow City Court press service) According to the investigation, Yevgeniya Zhikhareva is charged with a crime covered by Articles 30 and 105 of the Criminal Code of the RF (preparation of a crime, and homicide).

(Correspondent) It is not yet clear how many people suffered at the hands of this group of neo-pagans, but there may have been dozens of crimes.

One of the intriguing details of the last few days' detentions was a report saying an official from the Ministry of Sport - no less than the head of section for drawing up state policy in this area - who is related to one of the main saboteurs, was behind bars alongside skinheads and pagans. Today's Kommersant (daily) even says that saltpetre and other components of explosive devices were found when the flat where the official lives was searched. Petr Bashelutskov himself, however, whom the court has released from custody upon undertaking not to leave the city, denies any wrongdoing. He was at the Ministry of Sport today and we got in touch just by calling the work number given on its website.

(Petr Bashelutskov, speaking by telephone) I am at the office, doing my job, and everything's fine. I have the (court) order at hand, and I can read it to you: no evidence to confirm Petr Pavlovich Bashelutskov's involvement in the above crime was found during the search; he should be released from custody.

(Correspondent) One theory is that it was his cousin, David Bashelutskov, who could have kept explosives at Petr's flat. The court has already issued a warrant for his arrest for two months. In this period, investigators promise to sort out the case, which may become one of the high-profile successes of the Russian special services.

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Source: BBC Monitoring