If You Fight in the War, We'll Forgive You

On December 27, Mediazona reported that a soldier from Kaluga stabbed a woman 42 times over an insult. Even though the court issued a 10-year sentence for murder, his participation in Russia's War on Ukraine was considered a mitigating circumstance.

Before being deployed, Alexey Aulov had run-ins with the law. In 2019 and 2020, he was issued administrative penalties for drunk driving. In 2022, he received a fine for theft.

According to court documents, Aulov and an unnamed female acquaintance visited a man. All of them drank alcohol. The soldier decided to drive with the woman to a nearby village, but noticed the tires of his Volkswagen Golf were flat. Aulov called his brother, who changed the tires on the car.

The soldier then drove while intoxicated, with his brother and an acquaintance in the car. Aulov stopped the car near a forest to urinate. The woman got out of the car with him, while his brother remained in the vehicle. A few minutes later, a commotion ensued, and the woman screamed for help, saying, "What have you done?" Aulov responded, "Close your eyes!" 

Aulov's brother became frightened, exited the vehicle, and ran away. A short while later, Aulov called his brother and asked to meet at his uncle's house. The soldier told him not to talk about what happened, because it would be bad for the family. Aulov asked his brother to help him bury the woman's body, but he refused.

Shortly afterward, police apprehended the murderer at his uncle's house. The former soldier attempted to hide in the cellar. The body of the woman was found 17 meters (56 feet) from the highway. 

According to Aulov, he and the woman had a conflict on the side of the road over an insult. Aulov pulled a utility knife and stabbed her 42 times. The woman was found with stab wounds in her heart, lungs, neck, and elsewhere.

A medical examiner determined that Aulov has an "emotionally unstable personality disorder, which is explained by the consequences of participating in military actions." Aulov confessed to committing the murder. The judge's decision read, "Participation in the [war] and the sincere repentance of the defendant are recognized by the court as circumstances mitigating punishment."

Women's rights groups in Russia have denounced a spike in domestic violence and femicide (murder motivated by gender) in soldiers returning from Russia's war in Ukraine.