Ex-coordinator of Open Russia admitted to working for the FSB

Igor Rogov and his wife face up to life imprisonment

Russian opposition activist Igor Rogov , a former coordinator of the Mordovian branch of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's Open Russia and a former employee of Alexei Navalny's headquarters in Saransk, admitted to Polish investigators of collaborating with the Russian FSB, the Polish publication Wiadomosci claims, citing investigation materials.

Rogov and his wife Irina were detained in Poland in 2024. After the start of the war in Ukraine, the couple moved and soon received political asylum. In the Russian-speaking diaspora, Rogov positioned himself as an oppositionist and claimed that he organized actions against the regime of Vladimir Putin in Silesia.

The Polish authorities provided him with housing in a hostel, training to become an IT specialist and monthly assistance in the amount of about 5,000 zlotys (approximately $1,350 at the current exchange rate).

In order not to miss new texts from “Layout”, subscribe to our telegram channel

“I had to join the ranks of the opposition”

According to Wiadomosci, the case file states that Rogov admitted to working for the FSB and collecting information about the Russian opposition in Poland.

“I had to do what I liked, join the ranks of the Russian opposition, meet new people and ultimately report everything to the Russian Federal Security Service. It seemed to me that I was doing more good than harm,” Rogov said in his testimony.

According to the activist, he was pressured and blackmailed with the threat of mobilizing his father if he stopped carrying out orders.

Espionage, encrypted reports and suspicion of sabotage

The investigation believes that from February to August 2022, Rogov provided the FSB with information about Russian oppositionists living in Poland, as well as information about employees of the country’s Foreign Ministry and teachers at the University of Silesia. When his wife was getting ready to go to Russia, he gave her gifts - a bottle of vodka and a box of cookies, in which, according to the Wiadomosci publication, a flash drive with encrypted reports for the FSB was hidden.

They became interested in Rogov after his wife’s stories

The Polish intelligence services became interested in the couple after their quarrel. According to Irina, her husband cheated on her, and in revenge, she began to tell her friends that Igor had been collaborating with the FSB since the days of Open Russia. This information reached Polish investigators, who soon found photographs of the gas pipeline and other infrastructure on Rogov’s phone. In addition, Rogov received messages demanding that he urgently return to Russia, since his Polish visa was expiring. Investigators considered this to be preparation for an escape.

In addition to espionage, Rogov was charged with preparing sabotage. According to investigators, he participated in organizing the shipment of a parcel containing components of an explosive device - liquid explosives, fuses and a power supply. The package was found in the warehouse of a courier company in the Lodz Voivodeship.

The first hearing in the couple's case is scheduled for December 8 at the Sosnowiec District Court. If the guilt of Igor and Irina Rogov is proven, they face from 8 years to life imprisonment.

Earlier, “Verstka” wrote that 32 people were detained in Poland on suspicion of sabotage . Warsaw connects them with Russian intelligence services. Among the detainees are citizens of Russia and Ukraine, as well as a citizen of Colombia.

Photo: Emblem of the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW), Warsaw, July 25, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

Support “Vestka” - it’s important and safe →