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On December 16, a shocking incident erupted in Tikhvin, Leningrad province, where a ninth-grade student attempted to set fire to a post office. Then, mere days later, an elderly woman unleashed firecrackers in a bank office in Saint Petersburg. As if that weren’t alarming enough, just last Saturday, another retiree employed the same technique to target an administrative management center in Korolyov, which neighbors Moscow, before boldly heading to a police station, intent on bringing it down in flames. Over the weekend, several unknown individuals even torched a police car in Yekaterinburg.
This isn’t just isolated chaos; it’s evidence of a wave of microattacks sweeping through Russia, destabilizing both our major cities—Moscow and Saint Petersburg—and creating a climate of unrest.
The Targets Are Growing Bolder
The variety of targets is jaw-dropping: from bank offices and ATMs to shopping centers, police stations, and even residential buildings, these aren’t your average crime sprees. Since last Friday alone, authorities have recorded around twenty arson cases, with an alarming spike of at least seven more in just two previous days!
“In recent days, there has been a massive wave of scammers who end up forcing victims to commit destabilizing actions,”
warned the Cyber Directorate of the Russian Ministry of the Interior. With the government observing a sharp rise in these distressing incidents, it’s clear something sinister is afoot.
Disturbing Trend: 30% Surge in Attacks
Shockingly, recent investigations by law enforcement sources relayed to the Tass agency reveal that these attackers are often manipulated by scammers offering financial rewards online. Surveillance footage suggests that these suspects are filming their destructive acts, turning their crimes into performance art for their puppet masters.
According to Sberbank, a mainstay of the Russian financial system, the surge in fires at administrative buildings and banks has exploded by a staggering 30% over the past week. “We understand that people commit such actions under strong psychological pressure from manipulators,” explained Deputy Chairman of Sberbank, Stanislav Kuznetsov.
The Three Faces of Deception
Why are these citizens engaging in such reckless behavior? There are three disturbing reasons:
- Some believe they are aiding Russian intelligence.
- Others who had previously been scammed are coerced into committing these microattacks with promises of regaining their lost money.
- Lastly, there are those who actively choose to accept these nefarious tasks for immediate financial gain.
Take the case of the 63-year-old chiropractor who, under the manipulation of a swindler, planned to orchestrate an arson attack at a police station—all to reclaim a supposed debt of 700,000 rubles!
“Invisible Forces” at Work
In a twist of irony, the “swindlers” have been framed as mere scammers, but many experts suspect a more insidious hand at play—Ukrainian intelligence services operating from the shadows. Political strategist Mikhail Pavliv stated,
“These tasks are not conducted by ordinary employees of Ukrainian call centers; they are handled by agents of the Ukrainian special services.”
Georgi Bovt, a well-known political scientist, coined the phenomenon “telephone zombification,” explaining,
“The enemy employs sophisticated methods—this scale of zombification is an unprecedented form of hybrid warfare.”
With each passing day, the European theater becomes increasingly more volatile. Since President Vladimir Putin dispatched troops to Ukraine, these attacks have been growing bolder, especially around military recruiting offices. The timing of these terrorist-style actions has only intensified during unpopular mobilization efforts ordered by the Kremlin in late 2022.
The question looms: how many more will fall prey to this ongoing nightmare of manipulation as our cities burn? As events unfold, we must remain vigilant against these destructive forces lurking both inside and outside our borders.
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