While Russia has been waging a brutal war of aggression against its neighbor for almost two years now, the population in the aggressive state is slowly going crazy. Courts in the world’s largest country are recording more and more horrific crimes traced back to disputes over attitudes towards ‘military special operations’. The television news is even said to have led to fatal stabbings.
“Every fifth ruble goes to special military operations,” proclaims a poster on the door of a pub in the city of Berdsk in Novosibirsk Oblast, which has a population of almost 100,000. Next to it: a typical Russian sauna, also called “Banya”. A year ago, in November, Nikolai B. died a terrible death there, according to research by the Russian opposition media ‘Mediazona’ and ‘Nowaja kladka’. The perpetrator turned out to be a 30-year-old soldier who had looked too deeply into the glass during the sauna visit. He was therefore accused of beating up Nikolaj B. and ramming a knife into his chest. The terrible conclusion was that he had punctured the lung.
The shocking act of bloodshed was preceded by a heated discussion about the war in Ukraine. ‘What are you doing there (in Ukraine, mind you)?’ Nikolaj B. would have asked, thus pronouncing his own death sentence. Shocked eyewitnesses said that after the cold-blooded killing, the mobilized people simply got into a taxi and returned to their camp. They were later transferred to a facility that originally served as a holiday camp for children. It wasn’t prudish there; there was a lot of alcohol. At one point a conscript went crazy and stabbed a comrade. A month later the last hour of another soldier arrived. According to the “official version”, he was “pushed” and hit a chair with such force that he died on the spot.
Even veterans with disabled status are under attack
Anyone who believes that violence in hardline Russia is only directed against soldiers and opponents of the war is wrong. Veterans of ‘military special operations’ are also repeatedly victims of crimes. According to the investigation, former Wagner mercenary Mikhail T. was beaten up in a small village in Transbaikalia. He was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony in 2020 because he wanted to kill three people with a firearm over a parking dispute. In the dark prison he was recruited by the infamous Wagner group and fought at the front for his freedom. He returned from the battle scene as an invalid and was now missing a leg. In the summer of this year he went to a café with the “deserved” medals on the front of his chest. According to the information, his behavior there was not met with much decency. He allegedly threw his stool at the waitress several times. Opponents of the war did not want to simply accept this behavior. They say they beat him up and ripped off all his medals. According to the police, the angry people could not be stopped. They then rammed the returning soldier’s car, smashing the windows and slashing the car’s tires.
Corpse with bloody ‘Z’ on the stomach
Police officers made a particularly gruesome discovery in a house in Irkutsk Oblast. There, a body was discovered with dozens of wounds and a “Z” painted in blood on the stomach. The letter is considered a symbol of support for “special operations” in Russia. According to the information, farmer Maxim H., described by acquaintances as ‘responsible and kind’, had visited his neighbor for a few glasses of vodka. When the fifth bottle (!) of the liquor was emptied, the subject of the army and war continued. A serious mistake. The farmer said he would like to fight in Ukraine. “What kind of army does that have to be if you even have to buy your own uniform?” the neighbor reportedly laughed at him. The farmer apparently didn’t find the comment funny at all. Apparently he hit the neighbor in the face with his fist, hit him with a poker and finally killed him with a knife with a handle decorated with the colors of the Russian tricolor. He used the bloody poker to draw the letter “Z” on the body’s abdomen, the documents say. The confession cited by the court states that the heinous act of bloodshed occurred because of “different political and ideological views on the special military operation conducted by Russia in Ukraine.” “I was in favor, he was against,” the farmer explained matter-of-factly. The court considered the ‘immoral behavior of the victim’, which was explained as a motive for the crime, as an ‘extenuating circumstance’.
A horrific act that took place in the southern Russian city of Orenburg is no less scandalous. Poultry farm employee Anton R. asked a friend to help him repair his car. After the work was done, they treated themselves to a “few bottles of vodka”, according to the material available to “Mediazona” and “Nowaja kladka”. A few hours later, the drunken Russians started philosophizing about the war in Ukraine. “Every man must defend his country,” the man who worked on the poultry farm wanted to say to his friend. However, he only spoke very badly about Russia and the Russians. Anton R. lost his patience. He hit his friend so hard that it was no longer possible to determine ‘where the blood flowed from’. At one point, it is said, he noticed that the victim was no longer resisting, but was merely panting miserably. He felt sorry and called for help. However, before emergency services arrived, he is said to have quickly taken a video of his half-dead friend covered in blood. “This will happen to everyone who does not share my opinion,” threatened Anton R. The friend died a short time later in hospital from serious injuries.
Domestic violence because of the war
Different attitudes towards the war in Ukraine are also leading to an increase in domestic violence. For this reason, Vladimir T. is said to have shot his cousin in the kitchen in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky with a hunting rifle in March 2023. During an argument, he shot his relative in the stomach from just two meters away.
In the city of Yegoryevsk in Moscow Oblast, an angry man attacked his son with a knife over differences over the war – even though both had already fought at the front, it is said. The young man was stabbed in the stomach and chest and drove to his mother covered in blood. The frightened woman immediately called the emergency services and then told the police that her poor son had not actually agreed to this – so the father did not have to go to prison.
Women become criminals too
Russian women also become criminals in ideological disputes. In the Altai region, Anna T. was repeatedly beaten by her husband. According to the available documents, she did not want to file a complaint. At Easter, she and her husband looked too deeply into the glass. Anna T. told her husband that she would like to travel to Ukraine. The man lost his mind: “I’ll kill you, you bastard,” he allegedly shouted and attacked her. Anna T. then grabbed the kitchen knife and rammed it into the attacker’s stomach.
Even the celebration of achievements in the war is getting out of hand. According to information, Alexandr S. from the Russian city of Bryansk celebrated the award his son earned at the front with an acquaintance. When the drinking buddy made a disparaging remark – “the soldiers only fight for the money and your son is also one of them” – Alexandr S. attacked him with a knife.
Even television conjures up bloody clashes
Things are so bad in Russian society now that even following the news together leads to fatal stabbings. In the Russian city of Zlatoust, Viktor K. is said to have drank vodka with his friend while watching TV news. While reporting on the war in Ukraine, the two men became involved in heated arguments. When his friend sided with the war-torn country, Viktor K. lost his patience and attacked him with a knife.
According to the documents, Mikhail W. treated himself to a few drinks with his girlfriend in the city of Ivanovo in Moscow Oblast. They read the news and started debating the ‘special military operation’. A heated argument ensued in which the Russian woman insulted her partner as a ‘Nazi’. Michail W. jumped at the woman’s throat and shortly afterwards hit her with, among other things, a metal chair. The woman had to be taken to hospital with serious injuries and the man is now in a penal colony.
In Krasnoyarsk, news of the war in Ukraine reportedly led to a fatal stabbing. There would already be a group of people happily sitting in front of the TV. One of the men solemnly announced his willingness to take part in the special operation, grabbed a knife and waved it wildly around. He unintentionally brushed the leg of his friend Sergei I. Sergei I threatened that he had to stop immediately or he would “stick the knife up his ass.” When that didn’t help, he took the knife and rammed it into the future soldier’s back. According to available information, the attack ended fatally.
Crimes reflect deep divisions in society
Well-known Russian sociologist Andrei Pozdnyakov told ‘Mediazona’ and ‘Novaya Kladka’ that these types of crimes show how divided Russian society is: ‘On the one hand there are people who agree with current developments and there are people who don’t do that. I don’t agree.” In fact, it is the state’s job to ensure that such conflicts do not escalate. Instead, confrontations would be fueled. “And this is probably a feature of any war where the participants moving the ideological to an almost animal level – with a certain degree of intolerance, as well as the willingness to maim and kill,” the expert concluded.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
