Repeat offenders Thousands of Russian prisoners joined the army in exchange for an early release. Many have gone back to crime upon their return.
Content warning: This story contains descriptions of violence.
The Russian authorities have been open about the fact that Wagner Group has recruited thousands of Russian prisoners — Russian President Vladimir Putin personally pardoned them in July 2022. Four months later, in October 2022, Russia’s Defense Ministry began to offer contracts to convicts. Many of the mercenaries and volunteers have already returned home and have gone back to their life of crime. Meduza is publishing 11 stories of repeat offenders from the past half year.
Since the start of 2023 alone, Russian courts have received at least 64 rape cases where military serviceman (this does not include Wagner Group mercenaries) were the defendants. In 2022, there were 110 such cases. Every second victim was a minor. Regions with the highest number of cases are Primorsky Krai, annexed Crimea, Moscow, Rostov, and Altai Krai.
Artem Grechkiy
22 years old, Bekeshevskaya, Stavropol Krai
Arrested for robbery and murder of a senior citizen
Before being sent to Ukraine, Grechkiy was under probation in a sexual violence case. Police didn’t follow him too closely, however. That’s what allowed him to volunteer for the Terek battalion and go to Ukraine in October 2022.
According to the Telegram channel Baza, Grechkiy robbed a dacha and killed a 71-year-old woman upon his return in March 2023. He was convicted of murder and robbery. The police officers who had been tasked with tracking him are now being charged with negligence.
Ivan Rossomakhin
28 years old, Novyi Burets, Kirov region
Arrested for murdering an 85-year-old woman
In 2020, Rossomakhin was sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony for killing a resident from his village of Novyi Burets. While he was serving out his sentence, he signed a contract with Wagner Group and was sent to the front. He then returned to Novyi Burets.
According to local residents, Rossomakhin walked down the street armed with pitchforks, hitting cars with axes and threatening to “kill everyone.” The police arrested him on charges of hooliganism and promised the village’s residents that he would be put on a train “with all his belongings so he’d get out of here” upon his release on March 28. He never went anywhere. According to Baza, the very next day, he stabbed an 85-year-old woman to death in the neighboring town. He then turned himself in and was arrested.
Alexander Mamaev
44 years old, Zavolzhye, Nizhny Novgorod region
Arrested for murdering his wife
Mamaev volunteered to fight in the war, serving as a deputy leader of a platoon. After his contract ended, he returned home to his wife and two children (six and a seven-year old sons). On April 17, Mamaev, his wife, and brother got together to drink and celebrate. According to local outlet Nn.ru, citing a neighboring family, they “drank heavily, for about four days.”
According to Mamaev, he fell asleep during a meal and then woke up from the feeling of his wife “pulling at his pocket,” where he kept his money. He grabbed a knife and stabbed his wife in the chest right in front of their children. She managed to call an ambulance, but died before it arrived. Mamaev called the police and admitted to the murder. A criminal case was opened against him and he was arrested. Their relatives refused to take in the couple’s children and they were sent to a boarding school.
Ramil Asanov
43 years old, Ulyanovsk, Ulyanovsk region
Accused of robbing a saleswoman
Asanov was serving a 19-year sentence in a penal colony in the Ulyanovsk region for killing his elderly parents. In 2010, Asanov came home drunk, and his father blamed him for not paying child support for his two young children. Asanov then hit him with a crowbar and later strangled his mother. He buried his parents’ bodies in the woods.
Between August 2022 and March 2023, he fought in Ukraine as part of Wagner Group, before coming to Lipetsk. According to the investigation, Asanov broke into a hardware store. He threatened the 28-year-old saleswoman, stole her phone, and ran away. Police were able to quickly arrest Asanov and open a criminal case against him for robbery. He now faces up to 10 years in a penal colony.
Sergey S.
42 years old, Berdsk, Novosibirsk region
Accused of raping a 10-year-old girl
According to the confession from the former prisoner, who fought with Wagner Group in Ukraine, Sergey met a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl at a school in Berdsk. He began to threaten the girls with a grenade and a gun, and said that he would “blow them up” if they screamed. Then, he took them behind a garage and raped the younger girl. After being detained, Sergey admitted to the crime. Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin confirmed Sergey’s participation in the mercenary organization. The former mercenary is now facing between five and 12 years in prison for sexual violence.
Alexey G.
39 years old, Zhigulevsk, Samara region
Accused of battery of a nine-year-old girl
Alexey was serving a sentence for murdering and causing grievous bodily harm, when he was sent to Ukraine as part of Wagner Group. After his contract finished, he resettled at his sister’s dacha to the north of Tolyatti in the Samara region. While his sister was there, he behaved normally. He tried to kick his alcoholism and find a job.
Then, Alexey’s sister went to annexed Crimea. According to the investigation, when a nine-year-old girl who was friends with Alexey’s nephew came by, he invited her in for ice cream. Then, he beat her head against the floor, dragged her into the bath, poured cold water over her, and continued to beat her. The girl survived and Alexey was arrested. He is now facing between five to 12 years in prison for kidnapping. He was unable to explain his actions.
Igor Sofonov
37 years old, Derevyannoe, Karelia region
Arrested for murdering six people
Sofonov was serving time for murder, robbery, mugging, and burglary. In 2022, he was sent to the front lines to fight with Wagner Group. According to local residents of Derevyannoe, he started drinking heavily upon his return.
On August 1, the bodies of six people were found at two houses in the village of Derevyannoe. According to the investigation, Sofonov and his 38-year-old accomplice Maksim Bochkarev killed two men, a father and son, in the first house. In the second house, they killed a woman and three men. All of them died of stab wounds. Sofonov and Bochkarev burned down the houses in order to conceal the crime and then ran away. They were both detained six hours later. Karelia’s regional investigative committee opened a criminal murder case involving two or more people. In court, Sofonov repeatedly said that he fought in Ukraine and was injured. Bochkarev pleaded not guilty. On August 2, as requested by the investigator, the court placed both of them in detention for two months.
Andrey K. and Fedor P.
28 years old and 39 years old, Tyukhtet, Krasnoyarsk Krai
Accused of beating and robbing a neighbor
Andrey and Fedor returned to Tyukhet after finishing their contract with Wagner Group in May 2023. The local police immediately put them under police observation due to their criminal records. Andrey had a drug possession charge, while Fedor had been charged causing grievous bodily harm.
According to the investigation, together with 32-year-old Ratiborom K. from Krasnoyarsk, they attacked their 43-year-old neighbor. They beat him and then stole 30,000 rubles (around $305) from him. They also stole two sets of camouflage uniforms and boots. They were charged with robbery and arrested.
Alexey Khlebnikov
35 years old, Rozhnovsky, Volgograd region
Accused of raping his 13-year-old niece
In 2008, Khlebnikov was prosecuted for theft and robbery. In 2018, he was sentenced to 11 years in a high-security penal colony for murdering an acquaintance. He signed a contract with Wagner Group and then returned to Rozhnovsky.
According to the investigation, he raped and threatened his 13-year-old niece with a knife in a forest not far from Rozhnovsky. On August 15, 2023, Khlebnikov was put on a wanted list. On August 29, a court website showed that he is to be detained until October 28. He has pleaded not guilty.
Aleksey Kostromin
24 years old, Sozimskiy, Kirov region
Suspected of raping a woman
Kostromin is a former Federal Penitentiary Service officer who was serving a sentence for beating a 20-year-old acquaintance to death with a hammer in December 2020. After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he joined Wagner Group and went to the front lines. Upon his return, he brutally beat and raped a 26-year-old woman, according to the investigation. She was taken to the hospital with an open traumatic brain injury, cerebral contusion, stab wounds to her neck, and fractures. Kostromin is now wanted by the police. The woman is in intensive care.
Sergey U.
28 years old, Beryozovsky, Keremovo region
Accused of killing an acquaintance
According to the investigation, Sergey is a former Wagner Group mercenary who was previously serving time for murder and robbery before being sent to Ukraine. On August 29, he stabbed his “drinking buddy,” 37-year-old Roman M., to death. The police found the body with numerous stab wounds, with two knives and a bottle of vodka next to it. A criminal case has been opened against him. It is unknown whether he has been arrested or not.