The head of a research institute that supplies communication systems to the Russian military set himself ablaze on Red Square Friday, media outlets reported, citing anonymous sources.
Mash, a Telegram news channel with purported links to Russian law enforcement, said eyewitnesses saw a man douse himself with a flammable liquid and then ignite in flames.
“Police officers promptly intervened by throwing the man to the ground and extinguishing the fire,” Mash wrote.
The Moscow-based broadcaster 360.ru, citing an anonymous source, reported that police managed to stop the self-immolation and took the man for questioning.
The tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets later identified the man as Vladimir Arsenyev, president of the Volna Central Research Institute, which develops communication systems for Russian warships, aviation and infantry.
Arsenyev, 74, suffered “minor burns,” according to Moskovsky Komsomolets.
The tabloid, without citing sources, reported that Arsenyev previously filed a defamation lawsuit over accusations by the state defense and industrial conglomerate Rostec that Volna had broken state contracts.
A Federal Security Service (FSB) investigation did not turn up any wrongdoing at Volna, Moskovsky Komsomolets wrote. It added that a retaliatory lawsuit against Arsenyev had been brought before a Moscow court.
“This morning, [Arsenyev] seemed to arrive at work, but then said he would step out. Then he went to Red Square,” the tabloid wrote on its Telegram channel.
It was not immediately clear whether the attempted self-immolation was an act of protest or self-harm.
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