As Russia prepares to raise its retirement age, a Pension Fund office in Kaluga is bombed

On August 3, around 4 a.m. in the city of Kaluga, somebody set off a small bomb outside the front entrance of the local Pension Fund office, damaging the door and the building’s exterior. Video posted online shows that the front window was blown out and some of the outside tiling destroyed. According to preliminary reports, the blast was caused by standard ammunition, not a homemade explosive device.

A source in the city’s police department told the news website Kaluzhskie Novosti that officials will press felony hooliganism charges, “or something like that.” Despite the bomb, the Pension Fund office operated normally on Friday, welcoming visitors through a back emergency exit. The regional television station NIKA TV initially reported that spent AK-47 rounds were discovered at the blast site, but the network later deleted this story.

In mid-July, the State Duma adopted the first reading of controversial legislation that would raise Russia's retirement age from 60 to 65 for men by 2028, and from 55 to 63 for women by 2034. Public opinion polls show that Russians largely oppose this proposal.