Russia is reeling from a series of arson attacks and explosions which swept across the country over the weekend.

Several public institutions and infrastructures were targeted in the acts of violence.

These included bank ATMs, police vehicles and departments, military recruiting offices, shopping malls and government service centres.

Remarkably, many of the attackers were elderly people in their sixties and seventies.

In Saint Petersburg, a 76-year-old woman brought powerful pyrotechnics to a bank branch and lit the fuse.

Thirty-five charges damaged the ceiling, furniture and objects in the room.

A 70-year-old pensioner sparked panic after detonating fireworks at the Fort shopping mall in Moscow.

Furthermore, a 63-year-old man launched fireworks at the Helios shopping mall in Korolev before attempting to torch a local police station.

Russian authorities claim the perpetrators are acting on behalf of “Ukrainian telephone scammers”, promising sums of money in return for carrying out the attacks.

More than ten arson incidents were reported within 24 hours as police struggled to deal with the crime wave.

Police vehicles were themselves the target of some of the violent attacks, with a number being set ablaze.

In Saint Petersburg, an underage girl was arrested on suspicion of arson after a police car was set alight.

While in Tver, a man approached a police vehicle and poured flammable liquid over it before striking a match.

A man was filmed by members of the public carrying out a brazen arson attack in broad daylight on an army recruitment office in Saint Petersburg on Friday.

The attacker approaches the office on the first floor of a building and throws a Molotov cocktail through the window.

As the office catches fire, the young man is filmed jogging away from the crime scene.