MOSCOW: A Moscow court on Thursday ordered the detention of a Russian man accused of trying to set fire to the mausoleum of the former Soviet leader Lenin on Red Square.

According to Moscow’s Tagansky court, quoted by Russian press agency RIA Novosti, Konstantin Starchukov was put in pre-trial detention for two months.

According to Russian media, Starchukov was stopped by police on Monday after having thrown a Molotov cocktail in the direction of the tomb.

The court did not mention a possible motive for the suspected firebombing attempt, for which Starchukov could face up to seven years in prison for “hooliganism”.

In May 2023, a suspect attempted a similar attack on the mausoleum, while in February an intoxicated man sought to steal Lenin’s mummified corpse. The future of the Bolshevik leader’s remains is a hotly debated question in Russia, even after President Vladimir Putin came out against the idea of burying the Soviet leader in 2019.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2023