World · 5 d ago
Russia opens a treason case against a 76-year-old former Murmansk Communist leader
The FSB's regional office says Gennady Stepakhno, a former deputy speaker of the Murmansk regional legislature, cooperated with Ukraine's military intelligence. A court has already ordered him held.
What we know
- FSB alleges he passed documents to Ukraine
- He was detained in early October
- A court has arrested him
Not yet
- What evidence the FSB holds
- Whether the plant tip-off sparked the case
The FSB says he used his position to collect and pass on documents about the regional government's work and engineering sites. Local reports suggest the case began after he told a relative abroad about a pharmaceutical plant being built with India's participation.
Stepakhno was elected to the regional legislature four times between 2007 and 2026 and led the Communist Party group. He is not in the new legislature.
