The invasion of Ukraine, which this Tuesday, December 23, reached a new peak of violence with the launch of more than 650 Russian drones against the Ukrainian energy grid, could have been an opportunity for military pride for Vladimir Arsenyev. But for the 75-year-old scientist who heads the Volna Institute, a maker of critical tank components, the pressure to fuel the Russian war machine turned into a “poisoned chalice” that nearly cost him his life.
According to Reuters, in a report supported by interviews and court documents, Arsenyev’s despair culminated in a public act of protest: in July 2024, the businessman set himself on fire in Red Square, next to Lenin’s mausoleum. This extreme gesture came at a time when the Russian defense industry is buffeted by impossible deadlines, frozen accounts and the constant threat of prison sentences of up to 10 years for those who fail to meet state targets.
A climate of “iron fist” and internal purges
The pressure on men like Arsenyev is fueled by rhetoric that harks back to the darkest times of the Soviet Union. Dmitry Medvedev, vice-president of Russia’s Security Council, has used telegrams from Josef Stalin to warn factory directors that failure will be punished as a crime. This industrial “witch hunt” coincides with a climate of growing insecurity at the heart of Russian power: even today, December 23, 2025, Moscow was shaken by the death of a top general, victim of the explosion of a device placed in his car.