A Russian military court in St Petersburg has sentenced a local resident named Bogodarov to 18 years in custody on charges of high treason, terrorism and manufacturing explosives.
The First Western District Military Court ruled that Bogodarov will serve the first five years of his sentence in a prison before being transferred to a strict-regime penal colony for the remainder of his term.
According to local news portal 78.ru, citing the regional Directorate of the Federal Security Service (FSB) for St Petersburg and Leningrad Region, security forces detained the man after monitoring his activities. Operational footage published by the agency shows special forces officers arresting Bogodarov after he was filmed walking through a forest with a shovel and digging up a buried bomb.
Espionage allegations and explosive device
FSB officials stated that Bogodarov was collaborating with a Ukrainian special service and conducting reconnaissance activities on its instructions across St Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. Investigators said he also manufactured a homemade explosive device, which he handed over to security officers during a search.
The court found him guilty under three articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation covering treason, terrorism and illegal weapons manufacture. In Russian jurisprudence, state treason cases involving foreign intelligence services are prosecuted under strict confidentiality, with hearings held before military tribunals.
Military court system and penal regime
The First Western District Military Court, based in St Petersburg, holds jurisdiction over serious security and military cases across northwestern Russia. Its rulings on terrorism and espionage frequently impose multi-stage sentences, combining an initial term in a specialized prison with subsequent transfer to a penal colony.
Under Russian criminal law, strict-regime penal colonies subject prisoners to high security, mandatory work requirements and restricted communication. The preliminary prison phase separates individuals convicted of grave state offences before they enter the main colony system.
St Petersburg is Russia's principal Baltic port and second-largest urban center, surrounded by the administrative territory of Leningrad Region. The FSB acts as the country's primary domestic security and counter-intelligence organ, overseeing counter-terrorism enforcement across all federal subjects.
The conviction follows other recent counter-espionage arrests announced by Russian security organs. The FSB previously reported detaining a security guard at the British Embassy in Moscow who was allegedly preparing a terrorist attack against foreign diplomats under directions from Ukrainian intelligence.
