Denis Taranov, a young man accused of setting the door of the Murmansk Oblast government building on fire, died in the war in Ukraine. This information was shared by the Monchegorsk town administration on April 18.
Arsonist of the Murmansk Oblast Government building died in the war zone in Ukraine. In the message published on April 18, the Monchegorsk town administration expressed their condolences and specified that Denis Taranov 'perished while performing his military duties.'
In May 2022, the young man was found guilty of an attempted arson. The court determined that Taranov threw two Molotov cocktails at the government building door in the autumn of 2021, when he was 18 years old. He was sentenced to one year of community service and a 9-month period when the state withheld 10% of his monthly remuneration.
Through the arson, Taranov expressed his disagreement with the results of 2021 regional elections, specifically the percentage of votes garnered by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF).
During the trial, Taranov’s mother stated that she did not talk with her son about politics and the state. She suggested that "his father might have imposed some critical views on the authorities [to Denis], as he is currently unemployed and dissatisfied with his financial situation."
Taranov’s relatives informed journalists that Denis had voluntarily signed a military service contract with the Ministry of Defense.