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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 five-to-10-year prison sentence. The site is inaccessible, and the case’s evidence and next court steps have not been reported.
A court in Moscow has ordered the arrest of Denis Yeskov and Anatoly Nagornov, administrators of RailGallery, a website for railway photography and information. Investigators accuse the two men of unlawfully accessing and publishing information held at a Russian critical infrastructure facility; the charge carries a possible prison sentence of five to 10 years.
The Dorogomilovsky District Court ordered the men’s arrest on October 14, according to case files published on the court’s website. The Moscow courts’ press service reported the arrests on October 16. The case is being brought under a criminal statute concerning unlawful interference with critical information infrastructure that causes serious consequences.
Investigators allege Yeskov and Nagornov unlawfully obtained a trade secret belonging to an organization, copied information stored “in a critical infrastructure facility of the Russian Federation,” and posted it on RailGallery. These are allegations described by investigators; the available report does not provide the material said to have been copied or establish how the prosecution says the conduct caused serious consequences.
RailGallery stopped loading on the evening of October 15, according to the railway-focused Telegram channel “1520. All About Railways,” and remained inaccessible when the report was published. The site’s editorial board confirmed the administrators’ detentions in a statement shared on Telegram. It said the news had come as a surprise and that its members did not yet know whether the site could continue operating or who might manage it.
A Railway Archive Under Scrutiny
The case has drawn attention because RailGallery was more than a collection of enthusiast photographs. The channel “1520. All About Railways” described it as an extensive database on the history and operation of railway equipment in several countries. Its disappearance leaves users without access to a resource that had brought together images and technical information, while the arrests raise questions about how material related to transport infrastructure may be treated under Russia’s criminal law.
The reported charge carries a substantial potential sentence, but the accusation is not a finding of guilt. The publicly described information does not explain what data investigators consider sensitive, whether it was classified or otherwise restricted, or what consequences they say followed from its publication. Those details will matter to understanding the scope of the case.
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From TrainPix to RailGallery
RailGallery launched in 2022 after the closure of TrainPix, a popular railway photography site. Independent Russian outlet Mediazona reported that TrainPix was created by Ukrainians, who announced its closure after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Its administrators deleted the archive and urged people to support the Ukrainian army.
Yeskov said in August 2022 that the Russian railway community had restored about 150,000 photographs, which he described as half of TrainPix’s archive. By the end of that year, RailGallery had more than 3,200 registered users and 194,000 photographs posted, including 161,500 restored images, according to the figures cited in the report. Those numbers describe the site’s archive at the time, not its current holdings.
RailGallery images have also appeared in reporting beyond the enthusiast community. A 2023 Dossier Center investigation into an armored train that Vladimir Putin presumably uses included a photograph from the site. The investigation reported special communications antennas on the train cars and three locomotives pulling the train. Whether Putin actually rides the pictured train remains unknown, and that reporting does not establish that the current criminal case concerns the same photograph or material.
“They allege that information was copied from “a critical infrastructure facility of the Russian Federation.””
— Investigators, as described in the report
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Evidence and Site Status Unknown
The available account does not identify the organization whose trade secret investigators say was accessed, describe the copied material, or explain what serious consequences prosecutors allege. It also does not report the defendants’ responses to the accusation or indicate whether they have entered pleas. The specific evidence and basis for the charge therefore remain unclear from the reported information.
It is also not clear whether RailGallery is inaccessible because of the arrests, a separate technical issue, or a decision by its operators. The editorial board said it lacked enough information to predict the site’s future. The court’s arrest order and the investigators’ account do not establish the defendants’ guilt.
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Court Proceedings and Site Plans
The case is expected to proceed through Russia’s criminal justice system, but the report does not give a date for a further hearing or describe the next procedural milestone. The next public information may clarify the prosecution’s account of the alleged access and publication, the evidence supporting the charge, and the defendants’ legal position.
Separately, RailGallery’s users and editorial team are waiting to learn whether the site can be restored and who, if anyone, will manage it. The board said it had no conclusions to share about the resource’s future. Until more information is available, both the legal case and the website’s status remain developing matters.
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Key Questions
Who was arrested in the RailGallery case?
Denis Yeskov and Anatoly Nagornov, administrators of the railway photography site, 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 reported information does not detail the material or the evidence.
What prison sentence could they face?
The reported charge carries a sentence of five to 10 years in prison. That is the possible penalty for the charge, not a sentence imposed on the men.
Is RailGallery still available?
The site stopped loading on October 15 and was reported to remain inaccessible. Its editorial board said it did not know whether normal operation could continue or who might manage the site.
Has a court found the administrators guilty?
The report describes an arrest order and criminal allegations, not a finding of guilt. Details of the evidence, the defendants’ responses, and further court proceedings were not provided.
Source: rss
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