Journalists identify Russian teen arrested for arson attacks as son of regular participant in State Duma events

A Russian 14-year-old arrested in January for setting fire to a railway relay cabinet and throwing a Molotov cocktail into a government building has been identified as the son of a woman who frequently appears at roundtable discussions in the country's parliament.

The teenager’s arrest was first reported on April 1 by Eva Merkacheva, a member of Russia's Presidential Council for Human Rights, in an article for Moskovsky Komsomolets. According to Merkacheva, the boy, Danila, was deceived by scammers posing as representatives of the Education Ministry, who invited him to register for an academic competition. They asked him to send a verification code, which they then used to access his parents’ government services account. Afterward, they began blackmailing him, claiming he was “saving the motherland” and “helping Russia.” They eventually instructed him to carry out the arson attacks, which he did. He was arrested on January 28.

The independent outlet Agentstvo Media has since identified the teenager by his full name, Danila Rogozhin, and reported that his mother, 54-year-old Marina Rogozhina, regularly takes part in State Duma roundtables as the president of Russia’s National Association of Metaphysical Practices. Despite her son’s arrest, she has continued to attend public events. In April, she participated in a working group of the State Duma Committee on Family Protection.

Speaking to Agentstvo, Rogozhina said she is actively working to influence the course of the case and has already succeeded in having the original investigator replaced, claiming he had a “very negative” attitude. She also criticized the investigator for limiting visitation and failing to properly consider evidence that her son had been manipulated. Rogozhina added that she is discussing with lawmakers how terrorism charges are being applied to minors and plans to send a letter to Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin.

On April 15, the Moscow City Court rejected an appeal to overturn Danila Rogozhin’s detention, according to his mother.