A family dispute sparked suspicions: A Russian man accused of espionage and conspiracy in Poland.

 

Europe

A family dispute sparked suspicions: A Russian man accused of espionage and conspiracy in Poland.

Polish and European circles have recently been discussing a prominent issue, after formal charges were brought against exiled Russian activist Igor Rogov, 29, for spying for the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and participating in a sabotage plot to send parcel bombs in Europe.

The case began as a family dispute in a university dormitory, and today it has become one of the most serious espionage cases since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, according to the American newspaper "The New York Times".

The story dates back to April 2023, when Rogov's wife, Irina Rogova, sent a text message to their fellow Russian exile in Poland, Daniela Bozhanov, alleging that her husband was reporting on Russian exiles to the Federal Security Service (FSB). Although the couple later tried to downplay the message, claiming it was "a joke during a family argument," suspicions arose within the Russian opposition in Europe, before the case took a criminal turn more than a year later.

In July 2024, Polish authorities discovered a package containing explosives in a warehouse in central Poland, addressed to Rogov. The indictment stated that the investigation into the package revealed collaboration between Rogov and the Russian security services. The investigation also linked the case to a broader Russian scheme to send incendiary packages via European shipping companies, a scheme that was linked to fires at freight centers in Britain and Germany last year. This development comes at a time when European intelligence agencies indicate that Russia has intensified its use of "hybrid warfare" operations against EU countries, including cyberattacks, drones, and acts of sabotage.

Despite the seriousness of the accusations, Rogov's friends expressed profound astonishment. Some suggested he might have been naive or easily manipulated, but the idea of ​​him planning an attack inside Poland struck them as "unbelievable." His former colleagues in the opposition group Open Russia maintain that his political activism was unremarkable, and that he only gained notoriety in 2020 when he appeared on television being beaten by security forces in Belarus.

After moving to Poland with his wife on a scholarship, he seemed to distance himself from politics and focus on his new life. However, some of his colleagues later noticed that he was asking for help transferring small sums of money from Russia, and he frequently complained of financial hardship before traveling abroad, raising questions about the source of his income.

The turning point came when his ex-wife sent a group message in April 2023 confirming that he had been recruited by Russia years earlier and that his opposition activism was merely a "cover." She later stated that she retracted her statement, but Polish authorities also accused her of espionage and of helping her husband pass information to Russian security services.