Igor Rogov. Photo: Facebook
A former member of pro-democracy organisation Open Russia, who was arrested for espionage in Poland along with his wife in July 2024, has admitted being in the pay of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Polish media outlet Wirtualna Polska reported on Monday.
Igor Rogov, 30, who moved to Poland with his wife fearing that he would be drafted into the Russian military following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, confirmed that he had been a paid informer for Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, describing in court documents how the FSB knew everything there was to know about him, Wirtualna Polska wrote.
“I infiltrated the Russian opposition, met new people and reported back to the FSB. I thought I was doing more good than harm,” Igor Rogov was quoted as saying.
Rogov first told his wife, Irina Rogova, that he was an FSB informer while at university, revealing that he sent back reports after attending Open Russia events and that he had a separate phone to contact his handler, whom he named simply as Yevgeny.
While living in Poland, Rogov asked his wife to post a parcel containing a flash drive with an encrypted report on it while she visited family in Russia, Wirtualna Polska wrote, adding that the report, which never reached its destination, contained data on supporters of the Russian opposition in Poland, including staff at the Polish Foreign Ministry.
In the summer of 2024, Rogov received a parcel by courier containing explosive components, according to Polish law enforcement agencies, and was subsequently charged with planning to directly endanger the lives and well-being of a large number of people, as well as planning to cause significant property damage through acts of subversion.
During the investigation, Rogov said that he had picked up the parcel, the contents of which he said he had not known, at the request of another Russian opposition figure living in Poland. Polish law enforcement found photos of a gas pipeline on Rogov’s phone.
The Rogovs are due in court on 8 December in the southern Polish city of Sosnowiec. If found guilty, the couple could be facing anywhere between eight years and life in prison.
