Moscow court keeps ex-seminarians jailed in plot to kill 'Putin's confessor'

A Moscow appeals court has rejected defense challenges to the continued pretrial detention of Denis Popovich and Nikita Ivankovich, two former Sretensky Theological Seminary graduates accused of plotting to assassinate Metropolitan Tikhon, widely known as Vladimir Putin's confessor. The pair have now been held for over 16 months, with detention extended until August 12, 2026. Their lawyers cite serious evidentiary inconsistencies, including DNA evidence that allegedly places one defendant at a scene while he was simultaneously under administrative arrest.

A Moscow appeals court has dismissed defense lawyers' attempts to challenge the latest extension of pretrial detention for Denis Popovich and Nikita Ivankovich, two former graduates of the Sretensky Theological Seminary accused of conspiring to kill Metropolitan Tikhon, the senior Russian Orthodox cleric widely described as Vladimir Putin's personal confessor.

The Alleged Plot

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on February 28, 2025, that it had disrupted a plan to attack Metropolitan Tikhon, born Georgiy Shevkunov. The two men arrested were Popovich, who had served as the metropolitan's own aide, and Ivankovich, a fellow cleric. Both were reported to have initially confessed to the charges.

According to the FSB, the suspects were recruited by an officer of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate in mid-2024, with Ukrainian intelligence allegedly threatening to harm a relative of one of the detainees. The stated aim of the planned assassination, per the FSB, was to sabotage ongoing Russia-U.S. negotiations over Ukraine.

A Case Full of Contradictions

Defense lawyers have raised pointed questions about the integrity of the evidence. Popovich's attorney Maria Eismont highlighted a striking inconsistency at a recent hearing: FSB forensic analysis found traces of Popovich's DNA on a juice carton that investigators claim concealed an explosive device intended for the attack. A QR code on that carton shows it was purchased on February 10, 2025, yet Popovich had been continuously held under a series of back-to-back administrative arrests since January 13, 2025.

«How were traces of Popovich's DNA found on a juice carton that was purchased while he was under administrative arrest?» Eismont asked the court.

Eismont also argued that «the court must verify, rather than take at face value, what the investigator puts in his motion,» according to reporting by the Russian business daily Kommersant. Ivankovich's lawyers raised a separate timeline problem: a forensic examination concluded the explosive device was assembled between February 10 and 12, 2025, yet investigators claim Ivankovich moved it between hiding places on February 9, a day before it even existed.

Detention Extended Amid Procedural Concerns

The court has now ordered both men held until August 12, 2026, meaning they will have spent 18 months in pretrial detention by that point. Under Russian law, investigations into particularly complex cases may run for up to 12 months; the statutory limit has already been exceeded, with the investigation running since February 12, 2025. Ivankovich's lawyers allege that prosecutors are deliberately opening new criminal cases against the defendants to justify continued detention.

Popovich and Ivankovich were initially charged with illegal possession of explosives and facilitating terrorist activity. In May 2025, however, prosecutors added new charges: participation in a terrorist community, terrorism training, and unauthorized computer access.

Defendants Recant, Allege Torture

Though both men initially confessed, they subsequently recanted at court hearings, declaring their innocence. Both allege that physical evidence was planted during searches of their premises and that their confessions were extracted through torture involving electric shocks.

The defendants also contest any motive. They say they held Shevkunov in high regard and considered him a mentor. Popovich, as independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo reported, had served as the metropolitan's aide and appeared publicly alongside him at events since at least 2018.

In November 2025, new searches were conducted in Moscow, the Pskov region, and occupied Crimea in connection with the case, leading the FSB to claim it had identified other individuals potentially involved, though their identities and legal status remain unclear.