On February 17, the Moscow Presnensky Court imposed a restraining measure on the defendants in the hostage incident at a flower shop on Taganskaya Street in Moscow. The court ordered detention until April 17, 2023, following the position expressed by the Moscow prosecutor’s office.
The 41-year-old plumber Andrei Safronov pleaded not guilty and did not participate in the arrest. He is charged under several provisions of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for hostage taking and for injuring the head of Moscow’s criminal investigation department during the attempted release of the hostages.
The second defendant, 44-year-old Alexey Goryunkov, was detained until April 17. He faces charges of holding hostages, with potential penalties up to 15 years in prison. Safronov could face life imprisonment if convicted.
Repentance and claims of poisoning
Although Safronov did not acknowledge guilt, he expressed remorse to the florist during a courtroom interview with journalists. He stated that he had known the seller for a long time and had purchased flowers from her on several occasions.
In discussions with the press, Safronov acknowledged that he did not fully understand his actions. He also claimed to have been poisoned with a substance he described as Novichok, suggesting a possible poisoning incident. A correspondent for KPru reported that Safronov described a sensation of crawling skin and asked who poisoned him, without offering a clear answer.
Hostage taking details
On the afternoon of February 17, Safronov and Goryunkov arrived at the Taganskaya Street flower shop in an armored vehicle and entered the premises with firearms, preserving control over two female staff members. One hostage was released prior to the arrival of special forces.
During the operation to secure the hostages, Safronov fired at a police officer. Reports from SHOT and Zvezda cited authorities indicating that the head of Moscow’s criminal investigation department, Police Major General Sergei Kuzmin, was among the injured. It was claimed that Safronov used a Grand Power T-10 traumatic pistol. Sources noted that Safronov possesses a gun license but had a prior conviction in 2020 for threats to kill under Article 119 of the Criminal Code.
After the events, the florist described that Safronov sought a metaphorical green corridor to flee because someone had harmed his child. He also indicated that Safronov forced Goryunkov to the floor and dragged him into a back room before the release of the other hostage.
Safronov could not explain the idea of a green corridor to reporters in court. When asked where he wanted to go, he replied that it should be somewhere unspecified.
Notable references
The term Novichok gained notoriety after an attempted assassination of former GRU officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England in March 2018. Passersby called for help as the Skripals were found unconscious; authorities linked the incident to a nerve agent, a claim Moscow denied. Later reports suggested the Skripals relocated to New Zealand under new identities. The public discourse around the case often framed it as a contentious, international dispute over chemical weapons usage.
The second well-known incident discussed involves Alexei Navalny. During a flight from Tomsk to Moscow on August 20, 2020, Navalny felt unwell and was taken for emergency medical care in Omsk, where doctors diagnosed a metabolic issue. He was later moved to Germany for treatment at the Charité clinic, where doctors stated that Navalny had been poisoned with substances from the Novichok group, though no conclusive evidence was presented to Russia. Moscow has repeatedly denied involvement in Navalny’s poisoning. The OPCW later produced a report, which drew consistent attention and sparked debates between Moscow and Western countries about the interpretation of the findings. Navalny returned to Russia on January 17, 2021, and was detained for violating probation. A court subsequently replaced his suspended sentence with a real one, and he remains incarcerated in a penal colony in the Vladimir region.