Russian activist held in Poland admits he worked as FSB agent, court papers say | Poland

A Russian opposition activist arrested in Poland and expected to stand trial next month has admitted to working as an undercover agent for Russia’s FSB security service and providing information on other opposition figures, according to court documents.

Igor Rogov, 30, is reportedly associated with various opposition movements in the Russian city of Saransk, including Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and Open Russia, which has links to exiled businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

According to court documents, Rogov and his wife left Russia in 2021, received a visa to Poland in 2022, where they arrived a few days after the all-out invasion of Ukraine and settled in the city of Sosnowiec.

Rogov was arrested by Polish authorities last summer, initially due to suspicions about the explosives package. Poland suffered a wave of arson and other sabotage attacks involving one-time officers in the field and believed to be directed by Russian intelligence officers.

Later, Rogov’s wife, Irina Rogova, was also arrested and the couple was accused of collaborating with the FSB to provide information on other Russian opposition activists.

Poland has arrested many people in the last two years on charges of preparing or carrying out sabotage on behalf of Russia. Many are thought to be Polish, Ukrainian or Belarusian nationals who are believed to have been recruited for one-off paid jobs via Telegram. Rogov’s case is unusual in that he is a Russian citizen and has been in direct contact with the FSB for several years.

The Guardian has obtained an anonymised copy of the indictment against Rogov and his wife from the Polish court. Under local law he is referred to only as Igor R, but exiled Russian media and other sources identified the defendant as Rogov.

The files point to a long history of cooperation with the FSB. Rogov admitted to interrogators that several years ago, while he was still in Russia, he was approached by the security service and forced to infiltrate the local branch of the opposition movement.

He said he was given a phone and SIM cards that he could use to contact the FSB officer, and that “when cooperation reached a higher level” he held face-to-face meetings in an unmarked flat near the local FSB headquarters. According to the indictment, “At that time, he also started receiving money in exchange for cooperation.”

Rogov told his wife that he was hired by the FSB, according to the indictment, which quotes his wife as saying “she probably got paid for it, because she wasn’t working at the time but had money.”

Later in Poland, Rogov asked his wife to help him transfer to his handlers an encrypted USB stick containing reports about Russian activists and others in Poland who might be of interest to the FSB. He gave her the USB stick and the address to send it to visit Russia, which was hidden in a package with souvenirs from Poland.

Details of the indictment were previously published by Polish publication Wirtualna Polska; It was also stated here that Rogov was blackmailed by the FSB to cooperate while in Poland, and that if he did not do so, he was threatened that his father would be drafted to serve in the Russian army.

Leonid Volkov of the Anti-Corruption Foundation said he did not remember meeting Rogov, but the case showed typical methods used by Russian authorities.

“This is not surprising. The FSB has always done this, is still doing this and will continue to do this: finding vulnerable young people, recruiting them and then sending them to opposition organizations,” wrote X.

Another part of the case against Rogov relates to a package he reportedly handled. The package contained components of an explosive device and was addressed to Rogov, but he did not receive it. He said he agreed to buy the package as a favor to a friend. A Ukrainian woman was also arrested because of the package, but was later released.

Since 2022, Poland has made it difficult for Russians to obtain visas, with exceptions made only for those in dire need of humanitarian assistance or those with a history in opposition movements, such as Rogov.

The first hearing of the Rogovs’ case will be held on December 8.

Additional reporting by Ada Petriczko