'Satanist' teenager burns down historic 250-year-old wooden church built by Catherine the Great

A teenage “Satanist” has been detained after he allegedly confessed to destroying one of Russia’s most historic churches in an arson attack.



The wooden Dormition orthodox church on the shore of Lake Onega was erected in 1774 by Catherine the Great - and burned down in a raging inferno last week.



Schoolboy Ignat Sharapov, 15 - whose social media is full of Satanist signs and images - has told police he set fire to the structure by using five litres of petrol to ignite its dry timber.



An expert said it will cost £1 million to reconstruct the 138 ft church - as tall as a 12 storey building - at Kondopoga in Karelia republic in northern Russia.



A law enforcement source said: “He classifies himself as a Satanist. Allegedly he just did not like the church.”