Officers of the Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia prevented a terrorist attack that was being prepared at a concert of comedian Pavel Volya at the Sofia Palace of Culture in Pyatigorsk. According to the Telegram channel Baza, 24-year-old Tajik citizen Isroiljon Kurbonov planned to set fire to the building during a performance scheduled for April 16, 2025. The attacker, who acted on instructions from curators from the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS), banned in Russia, was detained on the day of the concert. Three bottles of Molotov cocktails wrapped in tape, two knives, an axe and a sapper shovel were confiscated from him. Pavel Volya's concert was cancelled several hours before the start, officially for "technical reasons", which caused confusion among the audience, who were not aware of the prevented threat.

According to the investigation, Kurbonov received the task via Telegram from foreign ISIS emissaries. To prepare the terrorist attack, he made three Molotov cocktails and conducted reconnaissance a week before the event, taking photos and videos of the Palace of Culture. The arrest took place without the use of weapons, and the suspect confessed to his intention to set fire to destabilize the situation. A criminal case has been opened against Kurbonov under articles on preparation for a terrorist attack (Part 1 of Article 30, Subparagraph "a" of Part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The FSB continues to establish connections between the detainee and possible accomplices, and is also checking his plans to leave Russia after the attack to participate in military operations in Syria.

The incident was yet another signal of the continuing terrorist threat in Russia. According to RBC, in February 2025, the FSB had already prevented a series of attacks in the Stavropol region, where another ISIS supporter was planning to set fire to administrative buildings using incendiary mixtures.