In the city of Vyazma in the Smolensk region, the police detained a 15-year-old teenager suspected of attempting to set fire to the patriotic education center "Dolg", where the Museum of the Unknown Soldier is located. The incident occurred on the night of March 13, 2025, and the next day the young attacker was in the hands of law enforcement officers. During interrogation, he admitted that he committed the crime for the sake of a reward of 320 thousand rubles, which he was promised through a Telegram group. However, as the detainee himself said, after completing the task, he was never paid the money, but was offered a new "mission" instead. A criminal case was opened on the fact of the incident under Article 205 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Terrorist act"), which provides for serious punishment even for minors.

According to investigators, the teenager received instructions via an anonymous messenger chat. He initially hesitated, but eventually agreed to the offer, counting on a large sum. On the night of the arson, he entered the center, broke a window and threw a bottle with a Molotov cocktail inside, after which he disappeared. The fire did not have time to spread and the damage was minimal, but the fact of the attack on a patriotic object caused a wide resonance. The teenager was identified thanks to the prompt actions of the police and data from CCTV cameras.

According to Baza, the incident in Vyazma is part of an alarming trend: in recent months, Russia has seen cases of teenagers being recruited via social networks to commit acts of sabotage. In particular, at the beginning of 2025, 21-year-old Maxim Kim, suspected of setting fire to the SVO History Museum, was detained in Saratov, and Denis Karaev was arrested in Tambov for preparing a terrorist attack. According to Telegram channels, recruiters often use financial promises and psychological pressure to involve young people in illegal activities.