Murders in Russia: – The worst stories of Wagner returnees

The Russian authorities never concealed that thousands of Russians recruited from prisons by the Wagner mercenary army were sent to war. In July 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally pardoned her. In October 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense also started signing contracts with detainees. Many of the mercenaries are now free men – and are once again committing crimes at home, often characterized by particular brutality. The independent Russian news portal ‘Meduza’ has collected the eleven most violent stories of the past six months.

Alexander Mamaev
Mamaev went into battle as a volunteer. After the contract expired, he returned home to his wife and two children (aged six and seven). He wanted to celebrate his arrival there. A neighbor stated that the man, together with his wife and brother, had been drinking alcohol for about three to four days. While he was taking a short nap, Mamayev woke up because his wife was playing with his pocket where his money was. He pulled out a knife and rammed it into her chest – in front of the children. The woman succumbed to serious injuries on the spot. The 44-year-old is now in prison. The children had to go to an orphanage because none of their relatives wanted to take them in.

Ramil Asanov
Asanov was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the murder of his parents. This happened in 2010: he came home drunk and his father accused him of not paying alimony for the two young children. Asanov then killed his father with a crowbar and a little later choked his mother. The man buried the bodies in a forest strip. From August 2022 to March 2023, Asanov fought in the ranks of the Wagner mercenary army in Ukraine. Then he returned to Russia. Once there, he broke into a store and threatened a saleswoman with a knife. Now he faces a prison sentence of up to ten years in a penal colony.

Ivan Rossomachin
Rossomachin was sentenced to 14 years in prison in 2020 for the murder of his roommate. There he signed a contract with the Wagner mercenary army and fought his way free. When he came back to Russia, he made his entire native village unsafe. He roamed the streets with a pitchfork, hit cars with an ax and threatened that he would “kill everyone”. A short time later, he proved how serious he was: he stabbed an 85-year-old pensioner to death. He subsequently reported the incident to the police and confessed to the heinous crime.

Sergei S.
According to his confession, in May of this year, the returned Wagner mercenary met two schoolgirls aged ten and twelve. He threatened them with a grenade and gun, saying that if they screamed he would “blow them up.” The man took the two girls and raped the younger of them. The fact that Sergey S. was deployed for Wagner’s private army was confirmed by her former boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who recently passed away.

Artyom Gretschkin
The 22-year-old was arrested again for robbing and then murdering a pensioner. Before his military service, Grechkin had received a suspended sentence for sexual assault.

Igor Sofonov
Igor Sofonov was in prison for attempted murder, robbery and robbery and fought his way out of the ranks of the Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine. When he got home, he started drinking heavily. Six bodies were discovered in August. Igor Sofonov and his friend killed two men in one house and a woman and three men in the other. After the atrocities, they burned houses to cover their tracks.

Andrej K. and Fyodor P.
After the contract with the Wagner mercenary army expired, the two men returned to Russia. Moments later, they attacked their 43-year-old neighbor together. They beat him and stole about 30,000 rubles (about 300 euros). They also stole camouflage clothing and combat boots.

Alexei Khlebnikov
Khlebnikov was sentenced to eleven years in a penal colony for theft, robbery and murder of an acquaintance. There he was recruited by Wagner’s private army. After returning from Ukraine, he raped his 13-year-old niece in a wooded area and threatened her with a knife.

Alexei Kostromin
Kostromin worked until his incarceration in the penal system. The murder of a twenty-year-old acquaintance even put him in prison: he hit her on the head with a hammer until she died. When the war in Ukraine started, he volunteered for the front and fought for Prigozhin. After returning to Russia, he beat and raped a 26-year-old woman in his native village. She suffered an open traumatic brain injury, a brain contusion, stab wounds to the neck and broken bones. The young woman is still in intensive care and the search for the former Wagner fighter is still ongoing.

Alexey G.
Alexej G. was serving a prison sentence for murder and aggravated assault and fought as a Wagner mercenary in Ukraine. After returning to Russia, he moved into the dacha (Russian wooden house, note) with his sister. Alexei G. kept quiet while his sister was with him. He tried to control his alcohol addiction and even found work. But then the sister moved to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia. One day he met a nine-year-old girl who was friends with the man’s nephew. Alexej G. invited her for an ice cream. He then hit her head first on the floor several times, dragged her into the bathroom, poured cold water over her, and continued to beat her. The girl survived the ordeal. Alexej G. now risks a prison sentence of twelve years. As for his motive, he told the police officers that he himself did not know what led him to do this.

Sergey U.
Sergej U. was serving a prison sentence for murder and theft. After returning from Ukraine, the man stabbed his drinking buddy. His body was covered with numerous knife wounds, two knives and a bottle of vodka were lying next to it.