The case of an extremist group of Volgograd teenagers has reached court.

The case of a 17-year-old student who organized the arson of cars with license plates from national republics in Volgograd, motivated by interethnic hatred, has been referred to court. The case of his accomplices will be heard separately.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," in June, a 17-year-old Volgograd college student was taken into custody on suspicion of creating an extremist group, and three other minors were placed under house arrest. Two more alleged members of the group, 15-year-old schoolchildren, escaped prosecution due to their age. Investigators believe they set fire to five cars with license plates from national republics in Volgograd and also "desecrated a symbol of Russia's military glory by setting fire to a replica of the Victory Banner." During a search of a garage where teenagers were gathering, security forces discovered explosives. Investigators cited interethnic hatred as the motive for the young men's actions; they found calls for violence based on religion and nationality in the online posts of the 17-year-old group organizer.

The Volgograd Investigative Committee announced today that the case against the alleged organizer of an extremist group had been referred to court. The young man faces five criminal charges: organizing extremist activity, public calls for such activity, rehabilitation of Nazism, illegal trafficking of explosives, and intentional destruction of property.

The indictment against the organizer of the criminal group has been approved; he will remain in custody pending sentencing. The case against the remaining members of the group has been separated into separate proceedings; the investigation is "in its final stages," the investigators reported.

Investigators concluded that the 17-year-old student, adhering to a radical ideology, planned to hold a series of "illegal public events in Volgograd aimed at discrediting government authorities and inciting social and ethnic hatred."

The arson attacks on cars belonging to people from ethnic republics in neighboring countries "were planned and clearly extremist in nature," the department's official Telegram channel noted.

According to a video surveillance recording distributed by the Volgograd Region Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the arrest of the young men, at least one of the burned cars belonged to a Chechen national – the footage shows license plates with region code 95.

After the arrest of the teenagers, the Investigative Committee also distributed a video surveillance recording, which shows that the group committed not only arson but also attacks, according to the Nazi Video Monitoring project, which tracks the activity of neo-Nazi groups. However, the charges brought against the organizer of the Volgograd group do not include any charges that suggest such attacks. “These incidents were likely not included in the case due to the difficulty in finding the victims,” the project noted in a publication dated June 30.