FSB Accuses 76-Year-Old Communist of Spying for Ukraine

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) on Thursday, Oct. 29, accused a 76-year-old former Communist Party leader in the northern Murmansk region of passing documents to Ukrainian military intelligence.Gennady Stepakhno, a former deputy speaker of the regional legislature, allegedly used his position to collect and transfer documents about the Murmansk government and unspecified engineering facilities, Interfax reported, citing the regional FSB.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.The agency claimed the information could be used against Russia’s security and described Stepakhno as an opponent of the war against Ukraine.The allegations have not been independently verified. The FSB statement quoted by Interfax did not identify the facilities involved or explain how the alleged documents were transferred.A court ordered Stepakhno held in pretrial detention for two months, several weeks before the FSB publicly outlined its allegations.Party colleague challenges FSB’s accountAlexander Klementyev, who leads the Communist Party faction in the Murmansk regional legislature, challenged the allegations and the characterization of Stepakhno’s political position.“He took an active part in the ‘Crimean Spring’ and did a lot to help our servicemen. I don’t believe this story,” Klementyev told Vedomosti.“Crimean Spring” is a Russian term for the seizure and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014.Vedomosti reported that the Murmansk regional court rejected a defense appeal against Stepakhno’s detention on Oct. 16. It did not provide a detailed response from his lawyers to the substance of the accusations. Other Topics of Interest ‘Dark Days for Ukraine and Europe’: Nahaylo Warns Ahead of US Midterms | Bohdan Nahaylo Bohdan Nahaylo, editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Post, says the upcoming peace talks in Abu Dhabi have almost no chance of ending Russia’s war against Ukraine, giving their prospects just two out of ten. Stepakhno headed the Murmansk regional Communist Party organization from 2004 until 2021 and served four consecutive terms in the regional legislature from 2007 to 2026. He did not retain his seat in the September election.Reports point to pharmaceutical projectSources close to Stepakhno cited by the outlet Arktichesky Obozrevatel suggested the case could concern information he shared with a relative abroad about a proposed pharmaceutical plant involving Indian partners.The Insider reported that the regional authorities had publicly announced that project in June 2023. In February 2026, the regional Arctic development ministry said it remained at the business-concept stage.Whether the treason allegations concern that project has not been established. The FSB’s public account did not name a pharmaceutical plant.The Insider also reported an effort to expel Stepakhno from the Communist Party shortly before his detention. It traced a longstanding dispute between him and a local party official, but said no connection between that conflict and the criminal prosecution had been established.Other Communist figures detainedThe case follows the detention of another prominent Communist politician, former State Duma member Oleg Mikhailov, on allegations of publicly justifying terrorism.Vedomosti reported that his arrest became public on Oct. 22 and that Russia added him to its terrorism and extremism register the following day. Those allegations carry a separate potential sentence of up to seven years.Earlier in October, about 60 people were detained at an authorized Communist Party rally in Moscow after demonstrators chanted for fair elections, political freedoms and an end to repression.The party remains broadly aligned with the Kremlin on major foreign-policy issues, including support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, despite criticizing some domestic policies.On Oct. 26, rights group First Department reported that a treason defendant had died after transfer from pretrial detention to a Moscow hospital. The group counted the death of 52-year-old production designer Aleksandr Kondratov as at least the 11th that year among defendants in cases it considers politically motivated. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 90% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.