The St. Petersburg City Court will hold a closed-door hearing for the case against police colonels Oleg Kolesnikov and Alexei Malyshev, who are accused of abuse of power. The proceedings are classified as “Top Secret,” according to Daria Lebedeva, head of the joint press service of the St. Petersburg courts.

The case is connected to the investigation of the murder of Alexander Viktorov, the rector of the St. Petersburg University of Service and Economics.

Oleg Kolesnikov, the former head of the St. Petersburg Criminal Investigation Department, was detained in the fall of 2024. Prior to his arrest, retired colonel Alexei Malyshev was also taken into custody. Both are charged under the same article.

Operatives from the FSB conducted the detentions of both Kolesnikov and Malyshev. Fontanka reporters were present during the selection of the measure of restraint for Oleg Kolesnikov, where former colleagues greeted him with applause. Like Malyshev, Kolesnikov’s arrest hearing was also held behind closed doors.