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

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

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.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Moscow and Muscovites
November 26, 2013

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. 

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

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.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, 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