In the Shilkinsky district of the Trans-Baikal Territory, a local resident assaulted a church employee and took a box containing donations collected from parishioners, according to the district police press service.
The incident occurred in the village of Pervomaisky at St. Ambrose Church. An unknown woman is said to have gone to St. Petersburg in Optina. She entered the church and approached the candle shop worker to make a donation. The employee removed the box at the parishioner’s request, but the situation quickly escalated as the person who came to help began to act in a troubling way.
“Suddenly the woman started putting the box into her bag. The worker tried to intervene, but the attacker struck him several times and then disappeared along with the other woman’s belongings,” an observer noted.
Officials report that the box contained about 20 thousand rubles at the time of the theft.
Law enforcement officers acted promptly, detaining the suspect shortly after the incident. It was established that the accused is a 36-year-old resident of a nearby village, with a prior criminal record. During questioning, she confessed to the theft, stating that she spent the money on her own needs and discarded the box not far from the scene. A criminal case has been opened against the suspect on charges of theft.
In a related report from Irkutsk, another theft case involved a person who stole an ancient icon from a local church, highlighting ongoing concerns about property crimes targeting religious sites in the region.