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

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.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

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.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

Woe From Wit (bilingual)
June 20, 2017

Woe From Wit (bilingual)

One of the most famous works of Russian literature, the four-act comedy in verse Woe from Wit skewers staid, nineteenth century Russian society, and it positively teems with “winged phrases” that are essential colloquialisms for students of Russian and Russian culture.

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.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

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.

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. 

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