Deadly Farmer Dispute in Siberia

A video posted on Twitter has shocked and disgusted viewers, as it shows the corpses of several horses lying in the snow. The video was posted from  Altai region, after Nikolai Drokov lost an entire herd of horses to a violent attack. 

The herd consisted of primarily foals and mares, and 53 horses were slaughtered in the attack. According to Drokov, each horse was shot twice, once in the heart, and once in the shoulder. It was clearly a premediated, articulate, and violent attack.

But who would commit such an act, and why? There are currently no suspects, and no concrete motive. The murder of the horses was estimated to have taken place between January 1 and 8. Local police are examining bullet casings and data from nearby cell towers.

Sergei Serov, deputy of the Altai regional assembly, said he believes revenge by a rival farmer is the cause. Yet Drokov said he doesn't feel it was another horse breeder, since there are only three or four in the area, and they never bother one another. 

Drokov didn't only lose his horses. It also cost him financially: R5 million ($67,000). He lost seven other horses in a separate incident in 2021. The perpetrator was never found. Although in this case, lawmakers hope to find justice at the federal level.