September 12, 2024

A "Veteran" Killer and a Father's Tears


A "Veteran" Killer and a Father's Tears
Vladimir Alexandrov (left, face blurred) detained at a police station. 66 RU | Novosty iz Yekaterinburga, Telegram.

On August 31, a former convict who fought in Russia's War on Ukraine raped and killed an 11-year-old girl in Nizhny Tagil. On September 5, it was revealed that the victim's father was arrested for allegedly trying to stab him.

On August 31, Anastasia Yakina went missing in Nizhny Tagil. A few days later, her body was found in the flooded basement of a house. The girl presented signs of suffocation and traces of blood. Her hand was partially gnawed off. The killer was quickly identified as Vladimir Alexandrov, a family acquaintance and former convict drafted to fight in Russia's War on Ukraine.

Alexandrov lived in the building next door. The day before Anastasia disappeared, Alexandrov called her father, Alexander Yakin, to "eat meat." On August 31, he kidnapped the girl from her room. Days later, traces of blood were found in Alexandrov's apartment. The 40-year-old was caught in Moscow trying to go to back the front. He was sent to a pretrial detention center and plead guilty to murdering and raping a minor.

According to Vazhnye Istory, Alexandrov had several previous convictions. From 2002 to 2013, he was sentenced for hooliganism, death threats, assault, robbery, armed robbery, and involving minors in a crime. In 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, Alexandrov was in prison. It is unknown when his prison term was supposed to expire.

When police raided Alexandrov's apartment, they found a military uniform with a patch reading, in English, "Our business is death, and business is going well." Wagner Group mercenaries usually wear such emblems, suggesting the killer might have fought alongside them in Ukraine. 

On September 5, 66.RU revealed that Anastasia's father arrived with a knife at an investigation site where the murderer was present and that police arrested him. Anastasia's father denied attacking Alexandrov. According to him, he "came to the yard," where the police confiscated his knife, put him in a car, and handcuffed him. Regardless, he spent the night in jail and was released in the morning.

Alexandrov is part of a concerning trend of prisoners and former convicts serving in the war and committing more crimes when they return. According to Vazhnye Istory, Alexandrov wants to return to the front to escape his sentence. Yakin has asked that Alexandrov be forbidden from returning to the front. 

On September 5, after the first court hearing on his daughter's murder, Anastasia's father broke down in tears, saying, "The daughter I had was the best. She studied well. I can't speak anymore. She was the best child I had."

You Might Also Like

  • February 10, 2024

"I Breathed a Sigh of Relief"

The war has increased cases of domestic abuse, yet in one instance things went in an entirely different direction.
Returning Home to Kill
  • April 29, 2024

Returning Home to Kill

More than 100 persons have been killed by returning Russian soldiers since the beginning of Russia's War on Ukraine.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Survival Russian

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

Life Stories: Original Fiction By Russian Authors

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955