Margarita Reutt, a 32-year-old resident of Sochi, has been accused by Russian authorities of planting a bomb that killed Robert Shageev, the deputy commander of a Russian Black Sea fleet submarine brigade, in Sevastopol on 13 August. The explosion, equivalent to about 500g of TNT, detonated from a rubbish bin as Shageev, a former Ukrainian submarine commander who defected to Russia in 2014, walked past in naval uniform. He was killed on the spot.
Investigation and confession
Police detained Reutt within hours of the attack. During a search, investigators said they found a remote control believed to have been used to detonate the bomb. According to the security service, Reutt confessed and said a handler linked to Ukrainian intelligence had promised her a large payment in cryptocurrency and documents to leave Russia afterwards. The FSB also said she showed no remorse.
These assertions could not be independently verified, and Russian security agencies have previously publicised purported confessions before cases reached court. However, several people previously accused by Russia of similar attacks were later found by reporters to have been involved in the operations Moscow had accused them of conducting.
Portrait of the accused
Interviews with a dozen friends and acquaintances, along with years of her social media activity, paint a picture of a determined and adventurous woman whose attitude toward her country hardened gradually, with signs of a striking change in the months before the attack. A longtime friend said, "Rita believed that the country was going in the wrong direction. But I am still shocked she went so far."
Reutt, born Margarita Yakovleva, grew up in Yaroslavl and took her grandmother's surname. Friends recalled a largely unremarkable childhood, remembering her as warm and sociable, but also drawn to adventure and risk. "Margarita was fearless. She would climb trees, jump off cars, do things most boys were scared of," recalled a childhood friend.
In Novosibirsk, she studied management, joined a parachuting club, won prizes in go-karting, and played water polo for the university team. Her coach said, "Margarita was so talented and never afraid of the ball." She also joined a patriotic volunteer group that searched for remains of Soviet soldiers from the second world war.
Life in Sochi and growing dissent
After graduating, Reutt moved to Sochi, where she ran a travel agency before joining Vitauct, an alternative medicine company. Gennadiy Garbuzov, the company's founder, said, "She was the most ordinary person. There was nothing to indicate she would do this. She must have fallen under someone's influence."
Her online life was unremarkable, with posts about health and animal rights, and travels to Turkey, Thailand, and Sri Lanka. In October 2025, she attended her sister's wedding in Minsk. Friends said she increasingly expressed concerns about environmental problems in Sochi and joined volunteer initiatives, including cleaning mazut from beaches after an oil spill in December 2024.
Her anti-war feelings became public in July 2025 when she was fined under Russia's law against "discrediting" the armed forces after reportedly shouting "Serves you right, Russians!" following a Ukrainian drone strike. In February, she posted a genetic test showing she was 98% Russian, adding a hashtag declaring she was "ashamed to be Russian".
Changes before the attack
In late spring, friends noticed her behaviour change. "She became more withdrawn," recalled one friend. She declined to join a planned autumn trip, and another friend remembered her acquiring a second phone in the spring, explaining she needed it for work. "Margarita was hiding something," the friend added.
By the summer, Reutt spent more time in Crimea, explaining the trips as scouting locations for video shoots. What she was actually doing there, and when she might have come into contact with Ukrainian intelligence, remains unknown. If Russia's allegations are true, she joins a group of Russian citizens accused of being enlisted by Ukrainian intelligence for sabotage and assassinations.
For those close to Reutt, there is no easy explanation. A friend of two decades recalled her stubborn determination: "If she had a plan in mind, she would do it. Even if it was something like this."
