TL;DR
A Moscow court ordered the arrest of Denis Yeskov and Anatoly Nagornov, administrators of the railway photography site RailGallery. Investigators accuse them of unlawfully accessing and publishing information from a Russian critical infrastructure facility; the charge carries a possible five-to-10-year prison sentence. The site is inaccessible, and the case’s evidence and future court schedule have not been made public in the cited reporting.
A Moscow court has ordered the arrest of Denis Yeskov and Anatoly Nagornov, administrators of RailGallery, a Russian website for railway photographs and information, in a criminal case involving alleged access to protected infrastructure data. Investigators accuse the men of unlawfully obtaining and publishing information held at a Russian critical infrastructure facility; the charge carries a possible five to 10 years in prison.
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The press service of Moscow’s courts reported the arrests on October 16. Case files on the court’s website indicate that the arrest order was issued two days earlier, on October 14. The men are charged under a statute addressing unlawful interference with critical information infrastructure that causes serious consequences.
According to investigators, Yeskov and Nagornov gained unlawful access to a trade secret belonging to an organization, copied information stored “in a critical infrastructure facility of the Russian Federation,” and posted it on RailGallery. Those are allegations in the criminal case; the source material does not report a court finding that the men committed the offense or detail the information said to have been copied.
The specialist Telegram channel “1520. Vse o zh/d” reported on the evening of October 15 that RailGallery had stopped loading. The site remained inaccessible in the reporting. The site’s editorial board also confirmed the detentions in a statement carried by Telegram channels, saying its members lacked enough information to assess what would happen to the site or who might manage it.
A Railway Archive Faces Disruption
The arrests put the future of a widely used railway enthusiast resource in doubt while exposing its administrators to a serious criminal penalty. RailGallery was more than a photo-sharing site: according to “1520. Vse o zh/d,” it had developed into a database covering the history and operation of railway equipment from several countries.
The case also raises questions about how material collected and shared by hobbyists may be treated when investigators say it relates to a critical infrastructure facility. The public information available so far does not identify the organization involved or explain which specific records investigators consider protected. That limits what can be concluded about the alleged conduct and its potential effect on railway operations.
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From TrainPix to RailGallery
RailGallery launched in 2022, after the popular railway photography site TrainPix closed. Independent Russian outlet Mediazona reported that TrainPix was created by Ukrainians, who announced its closure after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its administrators deleted the archive and urged support for the Ukrainian army.
Yeskov said in August 2022 that the Russian community had restored about 150,000 TrainPix photographs within six months. By the end of that year, RailGallery had more than 3,200 registered users and 194,000 posted photographs, including 161,500 restored images, according to the source report. In 2023, the Dossier Center used a photograph from RailGallery in an investigation of an armored train that Vladimir Putin presumably rides. The reporting said journalists identified special communications antennas and three locomotives, but whether Putin rides the train pictured remains unknown.
““At the moment, the situation remains uncertain.””
— RailGallery’s editorial board, in a statement carried by Telegram channels
Evidence and Case Details Unreleased
The public reporting does not specify what information was allegedly copied, which organization’s trade secret is involved, or what investigators mean by “serious consequences” in this case. It also does not describe evidence presented in court or report a response from Yeskov or Nagornov. The allegations have not been established as facts in a reported verdict.
It is also unclear whether RailGallery will return, who could take over its administration, or whether the site’s archive is accessible to its operators. The editorial board said it did not have enough information to make predictions. The separate question of whether Putin rides the armored train shown in the 2023 investigation remains unconfirmed.
Court Proceedings and Site Status
The next developments to watch are any further court decisions or public information about the charge and evidence, as well as updates from RailGallery’s editorial board about access to the site and its management. The source reporting does not give a date for a subsequent hearing or say when more case details may be released.
Until further information becomes available, the allegations should be distinguished from a finding of guilt, and the site’s long-term status remains uncertain.
Key Questions
Who was arrested in the RailGallery case?
Denis Yeskov and Anatoly Nagornov, administrators of the Russian railway photography website, were ordered arrested by Moscow’s Dorogomilovsky District Court.
What are the men accused of doing?
Investigators allege they unlawfully accessed a trade secret, copied information stored at a Russian critical infrastructure facility, and published it on RailGallery. The public reporting does not identify the specific information or organization.
What prison sentence could they face?
The charge carries a possible sentence of five to 10 years in prison. The allegations are not a finding of guilt.
Is RailGallery still online?
The site was reported inaccessible on October 15 and remained down in the reporting. Its editorial board said it did not know whether normal operations could continue or who might manage it.
Has the case established that the data harmed railway operations?
No such finding is reported in the available material. Investigators allege unlawful interference causing serious consequences, but the source does not describe the alleged consequences or report a court ruling on them.
Source: rss
