From Russia with Fear

In this episode of From Russia with Fear, we examine the shocking murder of seven-year-old Amelia in Sochi. Igor Savvateev — a previously convicted criminal and participant in the war in Ukraine — was found guilty of beating the child to death with a leather belt. Investigators say the abuse lasted for months and included brutal beatings and cigarette burns. Even more disturbing, Amelia’s mother allegedly waited nearly a week before calling an ambulance as the girl slowly died from her injuries. Neighbors had repeatedly reported screaming and suspected violence, and child protection services had visited the apartment — yet nothing stopped...

n this episode of From Russia with Fear, we tell the tragic story of Olga Ponomareva, a woman from Bashkortostan who died after a brutal attack by her partner, Arthur Matveev. What started as an online romance slowly turned into years of jealousy, violence, and fear. Despite repeated abuse and several attempts to seek help, Olga continued to believe her partner would change.

But one violent outburst ended in tragedy. After beating Olga so severely that her internal organs ruptured, Matveev refused to call an ambulance. For three days she lay dying while he watched and did...

A dispute inside a communal apartment in Saint Petersburg turns into a chilling murder plot. School accountant Galina Lysenko allegedly hired a homeless man to kill her neighbor Tatiana Tanik over a long-running housing conflict. But the supposed hitman chose to go to the police instead. In this episode, we explore how property disputes inside Russia’s communal apartments can escalate into violence — and how another pensioner in the Leningrad region tried a similar plan, only to be caught in a police sting operation. Two murder plots, two communal apartments, and one disturbing question: how far will people go for...

In this episode of From Russia with Fear, we tell the story of two elderly pensioners who say they are living in constant fear inside their own apartment. Their son-in-law, Alexey Vasilevich, was once convicted of murder, later received a presidential pardon, and fought in the war as a Wagner mercenary. After returning from the front, he obtained a share of the family apartment and, according to the pensioners, began threatening and terrorizing them.

Igor Tedeev, who suffers from cancer, and his wife now hide in a small bedroom of their two-room apartment to avoid conflict. The...

In this episode of From Russia with Fear, two shocking crimes reveal the darker reality of violence and impunity in modern Russia. In Sverdlovsk region, a repeat offender murders his ex-wife — a nurse and mother of six daughters — inside the hospital where she worked. In Kemerovo region, businessman Alexey Mukharev kills a married couple to avoid repaying a debt that grew to five million rubles. The accused killer now hopes to escape prison by volunteering for the war. The episode explores the crimes, the victims, and the growing controversy around the mass recruitment of prisoners for military service.

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A shocking medical fraud case has emerged in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region. Doctors from a state hospital are accused of targeting elderly patients, convincing them they were about to lose their eyesight, and pushing them into expensive “urgent” surgeries at a private clinic. Many of those operations were unnecessary — and some patients lost their vision instead of saving it. At the center of the case is ophthalmologist Tatyana Sokolova, owner of the Vision Protection Center and head of the ophthalmology department at City Hospital No. 33. Investigators believe she and her father, hospital chief doctor Pavel Zubeev, created a system t...

A brutal double murder in the Kemerovo region has shocked the local community. Alexey Mukhaev, a former convict and SVO veteran, killed a teacher and her husband over a debt dispute. After the murders, Mukhaev tried to cover his tracks, but his efforts failed. As the investigation unfolds, questions arise about the recruitment of criminals for the Special Military Operation and the justice system that allowed Mukhaev to escape prison once before. This case reveals the chilling consequences of violence, greed, and a broken system.

In this shocking episode of From Russia with Fear, we investigate two brutal domestic murders that reveal a disturbing trend. In Kazan, Dinar Mingaliev strangled his wife Dina Grigorieva and nearly killed their three-year-old son, breaking both of the child’s arms. In Volgograd, former sailor Sergey Orlov shot and dismembered his ex-wife Galina over a minor domestic argument. Both men, after committing horrific crimes, expressed a desire to avoid prison by signing military contracts and going to the front.

Why are accused killers asking for war instead of serving time? How does the system allow such re...

In Syktyvkar, seven members of an organized criminal group were sentenced for large-scale fraud after posing as gas service workers and deceiving more than 2,000 residents — mostly elderly people. Wearing fake uniforms and showing forged IDs, they pressured victims into replacing perfectly working gas equipment with cheap parts, sometimes even creating gas leaks to frighten them. Investigators warned that their actions could have led to a deadly explosion, similar to the 2023 tragedy in Novosibirsk that killed 15 people. In this episode of From Russia with Fear, we examine how fear became a business model — and how close the Komi Republic came to c...

A 24-year-old SVO veteran from Kabardino-Balkaria was sentenced to 15 years for the rape and murder of 86-year-old Nina Selezneva in Nalchik. The court rejected claims of insanity and found him fully responsible for a crime marked by extreme brutality. But the story does not end with the verdict. As more former convicts and war veterans return home, journalists report over a thousand civilians killed or injured. In this episode, we examine the case of Rustam Nogmov and the wider pattern of violent crimes linked to returning SVO participants.

In Gorodets, Nizhny Novgorod region, an elderly woman who was tortured for days by teenagers has died from her injuries. The attackers filmed more than 50 videos of the abuse, beating her with bats, shaving her head, and locking her inside her own home. Investigators later revealed that an adult woman allegedly encouraged the crime in order to seize the victim’s house.

In Ufa, a teenage gang calling itself “OPG Eighth of March” is on trial after terrorizing schoolchildren for years. One of their victims, 16-year-old Tikhon, suffered a broken spine after a brutal beating and may remain...

In Nizhny Novgorod, pensioner Andrey Rumyantsev believed a neighborhood boy had vandalized his car. Without evidence, he grabbed a shovel handle, attacked 10-year-old Makar Karpov on a playground, shattered his leg, and dragged him away while other children screamed. The boy was innocent. Doctors say he may never return to sports. Prosecutors demanded 15 years in prison — but the court gave Rumyantsev a suspended sentence. In this episode of From Russia with Fear, we examine violent self-justice, generational trauma used as an excuse, and a verdict that left a family fighting for real accountability.

A shocking knife attack in Chelyabinsk has left a woman fighting for her life. The attacker — 60-year-old Alexander Kondakov, a previously convicted man who was pardoned after serving in the Special Military Operation — tried to stab his partner to death in front of neighbors and her children. Surveillance cameras captured the brutal assault. This case raises serious questions about the growing number of former prisoners returning from the front lines and committing new violent crimes. In this episode, we break down what happened, who Alexander Kondakov is, and what the statistics reveal about rising violence linked to pardoned ex-convict sold...

A 13-year-old student stabbed his classmate inside a school in Alexandrovsk, Perm region, leaving the victim in critical condition. Investigators say the attack may have followed a personal conflict, possibly linked to an argument after a computer game. The teenager was disarmed by teachers and detained. But this is not an isolated case. Since the beginning of 2026, at least seven attacks have taken place in Russian schools, including stabbings, shootings with pneumatic weapons, arson, and hammer assaults. In this episode of From Russia with Fear, we examine the latest incident, the alarming rise in school violence, the role of...

A 15-year-old schoolboy armed with a knife stormed a dormitory at Bashkir State Medical University in Ufa, targeting foreign students. Shouting nationalist slogans, he stabbed four students from India and injured two police officers before being detained. Investigators say the teenager held neo-Nazi views and even drew a swastika in blood on a dormitory wall.

The attack comes amid a documented rise in hate-motivated violence in Russia, with human rights groups warning about increasing brutality and the growing involvement of minors in extremist movements. Experts say armed attacks on educational institutions are becoming disturbingly frequent.

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In Yakutia, a man twice convicted of murder and twice pardoned after joining the war has been detained again — now suspected of a fourth killing. Viktor Savinov, known locally as “the Butcher from Suntar,” built a long criminal record that includes theft, robbery, assault, and multiple murders. Each time he received a lengthy sentence, he avoided serving it in full by signing a military contract and going to the front.

After fighting with Wagner and later under a Ministry of Defense contract, Savinov returned home — and, according to investigators, killed again. Among his victims was 64-year-old Valentina Fyodorov...

On January 28, a former SVO serviceman in Irkutsk stormed into a charity foundation looking for his estranged wife. When he could not find her, he grabbed a completely unrelated woman and took her hostage. Despite police negotiations at the scene, the situation ended in murder.

The victim — a mother of two and an orphan from Kemerovo — had just received her first apartment with the help of the “Obereg” foundation. That same day, she was supposed to be handed the keys to her new home. Instead, she became a random casualty of a violent domestic conflict.

In this...

In November 2024, a quiet farming community in the Krasnoyarsk region was shaken by a brutal crime. Former farm worker Igor Zykov, fired for negligence, returned to his employers’ property armed with a knife and a wooden log. Instead of attacking livestock as he later claimed he intended, he encountered 17-year-old Milena Sheveleva, who was alone on the farm while her parents were away. What followed was a violent assault and murder that investigators say was driven by long-held resentment and rage.

Initially believed to be a tragic accident involving farm animals, the case took a dark turn wh...

In the Moscow region, a foster guardian who received public praise and state awards is now on trial for allegedly abusing disabled children for ten years. Former foster daughters describe hunger, confinement, surveillance cameras, and years of fear behind the walls of a two-story house near Pavlovsky Posad. The case only came to light when one young woman found the courage to go to police after turning eighteen.

This episode examines how the abuse allegedly remained hidden for so long — and what it reveals about oversight failures and the vulnerability of children in state care.

A 17-year-old student opened fire at the Anapa Industrial Technical College, killing a security guard and injuring others. The teenager had posted warnings online and may have planned the attack for weeks. This is already the sixth attack on an educational institution in Russia since the start of the year. In this episode, we examine what happened in Anapa, the possible motives, the role of security failures, and the wider pattern of youth violence spreading across the country.

Last week, the heartbreaking and shocking murder of 9-year-old Pasha from Saint Petersburg left the community devastated. The young boy became the victim of a pedophile, who is now in custody. As more details emerge, it becomes clear that Pasha's tragic death was influenced by the failure of several adults to intervene in his life. Social services and educators, who were aware of his family's struggles, did nothing to step in. A new criminal case for negligence has been launched in light of this tragedy.

A former Special Military Operation (SVO) veteran, Vitaliy Manannikov, was sentenced to three years for attempting to kidnap a girl in the Moscow region. Despite claiming he acted out of concern for the child, the court found his actions intentional. Manannikov, a former Russian Guard member, had a criminal record and was intoxicated at the time of the incident. This episode explores how veterans, including those with violent pasts, are reintegrated into society and continue to pose serious threats to public safety, shedding light on the dark side of war veteran reintegration.

A dramatic police shootout on Moscow’s elite Rublyovka Highway exposed a disturbing reality behind Russia’s war-time pardons. Two former Wagner mercenaries — both convicted killers released from prison to fight — carried out a double murder in Penza and Moscow before opening fire on police during their arrest. One suspect was killed, the other arrested and now faces life imprisonment, yet has already asked to return to the war. This episode examines how violent offenders are recycled through the battlefield and released back into society, with deadly consequences.

A shocking case from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport has ended with an unexpected legal outcome. Vladimir Vitkov, who violently attacked a two-year-old child and caused severe spinal and skull injuries, has been declared legally insane and sent for compulsory psychiatric treatment. In this episode of From Russia with Fear, we reconstruct the events of that day, examine how an intoxicated man was able to pass airport security, and explore the consequences for the victim’s family — refugees who believed they had escaped violence. A story about responsibility, systemic failure, and a child whose life was forever changed in a place...

A Russian court has sentenced Alexander Sergeev to life imprisonment for the murder of 13-year-old schoolgirl Violetta in the Tver region. The crime, committed in March last year, deeply shocked a small rural community and drew attention across the region due to the scale of the search operation and the background of the convicted man.

Sergeev was a repeat violent offender with multiple prior convictions who had been released early after signing a military contract. In this episode, we carefully reconstruct the events leading up to the girl’s disappearance, the week-long search involving hundreds of volunteers an...

The disappearance of a nine-year-old boy in Saint Petersburg triggered a massive search involving hundreds of volunteers and police officers. Days later, the search ended in tragedy when the child’s body was found in a pond in the Leningrad region. Investigators detained a suspect who confessed to the crime and now faces life imprisonment. This episode examines the investigation, the search effort, and the questions this case raises about child safety and prevention of violent crimes.

In this episode, we talk about one of the darkest consequences of Russia’s war: violence against children committed by former fighters and pardoned convicts. From a knife attack on a sleeping 12-year-old boy in southern Russia to the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, these cases show how men with violent pasts return from the front and continue to kill. Experts warn that mass pardons, secrecy, and the erasing of criminal records make repeat crimes almost inevitable. This is a story about impunity, silence, and children who paid the highest price.

A shocking tragedy in Stavropol. A nine-year-old girl was mauled to death by a pack of dogs near her home. The animals had long roamed the neighborhood, fed and kept by a local woman despite repeated complaints. Surveillance footage captured the final moments of the attack. This episode explores how negligence, denial, and years of inaction led to a child’s brutal death — and why the danger still remains.

A brutal crime in the Moscow region ends with murder, a heroic act, and suicide. A man kills his former lover in front of her child, brutally stabs a neighbor who tried to save the boy, and then jumps from the 13th floor. At the same time, another family in Moscow narrowly survives a knife attack after a husband mixes alcohol with psychiatric drugs. Two cases that expose the deadly consequences of stalking, untreated mental illness, and domestic violence.
From Russia with Fear — real crimes, real victims, and the warning signs that were ignored.

In Moscow, 46-year-old Alexandra Shalina strangled her five-year-old son with a belt and drowned him in a bathtub. She later told investigators she wanted to “send him to heaven.” As the case unfolded, police discovered disturbing details from her past: false accusations, family conflicts, threats, and signs that she was also preparing to kill her teenage daughter. Investigators believe the motive was her new relationship — and an ultimatum to choose between a man and her children. This episode explores a long chain of violence, manipulation, and obsession that ended in a brutal child murder.

In Yekaterinburg, a mother of four survived a brutal acid attack that investigators say was ordered by her former husband. The assault left her with severe burns and years of recovery ahead. This episode uncovers a story of long-term domestic violence, hired attackers, and a failed attempt to destroy a woman’s life after she chose to leave. Arrests have been made, but the case exposes how revenge, control, and impunity can turn into an attempted murder.

A shocking case from Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. A drug-intoxicated man violently attacked a two-year-old child in the baggage claim area, throwing the boy to the floor and causing severe spinal and skull fractures. The child fell into a coma, and doctors fought for his life. The attacker, Vladimir Vitkov, was later declared legally insane, but investigators charged him with attempted murder of a minor. The court has now extended his arrest, while the child’s family continues to deal with the long-term consequences of the trauma.

A long-running conflict between neighbors in a quiet apartment building ended in an unthinkable crime. In the Komi Republic, 37-year-old Alexey Levkovsky shot and killed 14-year-old Yulia Rodina — not because of anything she did, but out of hatred for her parents. For years, residents complained about Levkovsky’s threats, harassment, surveillance cameras, and violent behavior, but authorities ignored the warnings. This episode tells the story of a girl who never made it home from school, a family failed by the system, and how unchecked aggression turned into murder.

A horrifying crime in Chelyabinsk shocked even seasoned investigators. Recently released repeat offender Oleg Pelenev beat 54-year-old funeral business owner Olga Sokolova to death with a crowbar inside her own home, then sexually abused her corpse for hours. After the murder, he robbed her apartment and workplace, spending the stolen money on electronics and clothes. This episode examines the crime in detail, Pelenev’s criminal past, the failure of parole supervision, and how a man previously convicted of murder and rape was able to kill again.

A Russian SVO veteran from Volgograd beat his own grandmother to death with a wooden chair — and received only seven years in prison. The court treated his participation in the war in Ukraine as a mitigating factor.
This episode explores how returning veterans terrorize their families: wives and mothers describe alcohol abuse, uncontrolled aggression, beatings, and constant fear. With no real rehabilitation system in place, war trauma spills into civilian life, fueling domestic violence and violent crime. Experts warn that Russia is facing a new wave of trauma — and its consequences are already deadly.

In this episode of From Russia with Fear, we investigate a series of brutal crimes committed by participants of Russia’s so-called “special military operation” after returning from the front. A serviceman strangles his partner and burns her body, another murders his wife on their wedding night, a veteran attacks a family with a small child, and a repeat offender nearly kills a taxi driver after deserting his unit. These cases reveal a disturbing pattern of violence, impunity, and repeat crimes by former convicts who use the war to escape real punishment. Court records show that more than a thousa...

Alexander Lipatov murdered his own family in Moscow, throwing his two-year-old son and his wife from a 16th-floor window. Both died instantly. Diagnosed with an acute psychotic disorder and long-standing mental illness, Lipatov avoided prison by signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Instead of serving a sentence for double murder, he was sent to the war zone as part of a medical evacuation unit. This episode exposes how violent criminals and mentally unstable killers escape justice by joining Russia’s war.

An acid attacker from the Moscow region, officially declared criminally insane, is trying to reduce the compensation he must pay to his victim by seven times. While undergoing compulsory psychiatric treatment, Andrey Suleymanov — known as the “Monino acid maniac” — is appealing a court ruling that ordered him to pay three million rubles to Anastasia Loboda, the woman whose face and eyesight he destroyed with sulfuric acid. With the active support of his mother, he has already paid only a small fraction of the sum, while his victim continues a painful, expensive fight for recovery. This episode tells the full story of...

An elderly man in Obninsk died after being scalded by boiling water in his own shower. Instead of warm water, a lethal stream poured from the tap, leaving him trapped, burned, and helpless for hours. After two weeks of agony in hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. Investigators are now examining whether коммунal services and management companies ignored long-standing complaints about dangerous water temperatures. This episode exposes deadly коммунal failures, shifting blame, and a system where negligence repeatedly costs elderly residents their lives.

At least eleven infant deaths are now linked to Maternity Hospital No. 1 in Novokuznetsk. Nine newborns died within just a few days during the January holidays, and two more cases were later confirmed. Investigators suspect medical negligence, possible infections inside the hospital, and attempts to conceal information from parents. The hospital’s chief doctor and the head of neonatal intensive care have been detained, while families say authorities have offered no support. This episode examines the details of the tragedy, witness accounts, and the ongoing criminal investigation.