October 02, 2023

Prisoner Returns from War With Fatal Consequences


Prisoner Returns from War With Fatal Consequences
Investigators at the crime scene where a former prisoner-turned-soldier killed his sister in Nizhny Novgorod. Nizhny Novgorod| Novosti NN RU, Telegram.

On September 28, Oleg Grechko, a prisoner serving a prison sentence for murder who was sent to fight in Ukraine, returned home and burned his sister alive in Zavolzhyie, near Nizhny Novgorod. 

Shortly after returning from Ukraine, Grechko committed a robbery. Then he argued with his sister over an "insignificant thing," showering her in gasoline and burning her alive.

His sister died on the spot. Grechko was admitted to the hospital with second-degree burns and confessed his guilt. 

Grechko had been arrested five times, for theft and assault. He was also convicted of murder after getting into a drunken fight with an acquaintance, whom Grechko stabbed 12 times and strangled with wire from a boiler. In March 2022, Grechko was sentenced to 11 years in a penal colony for this crime. But, as Nizhny Novgorod Novosti wrote on their Telegram channel, "However, Oleg was released a year into his sentence." Independent news outlet Meduza speculated that Grechko may have signed a contract with the private mercenary Wagner Group to fight in Ukraine in exchange for his release from prison. 

Grechko's story is part of a larger trend. In 2022, it was revealed that Wagner offered prisoners contracts with pardons and cash payments. Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed he signed decrees handing freedom to those who agreed to fight in Ukraine. The late Yevgeny Prigozhin announced that Wagner had stopped recruiting prisoners in February 2023.

However, convicts returning from the war often go back to the courtroom. Earlier this month, a man in Rostov-on-Don previously convicted of murder who fought in Ukraine was convicted again of a new murder after returning.

The Investigation Committee of Nizhny Novgorod has opened a criminal case for murder against Grechko. If convicted, the former soldier will face life in prison.

You Might Also Like

Notes at the Front

Notes at the Front

Musicians have not been spared from the criminalization of protest and expression. We also share Ilya Yashin's final words.
There Is Only Death There
  • September 28, 2023

There Is Only Death There

New statistics reveal that one in five mobilized Russians did not survive even two months in the Russian war in Ukraine.
From Trenches to Schools
  • September 18, 2023

From Trenches to Schools

Russian soldiers returned from the war in Ukraine will give new practical courses on security and defense for schoolchildren.
Violence Comes Home, Too
  • April 22, 2023

Violence Comes Home, Too

A man from Nizhny Novgorod fought in Ukraine. When he returned to Russia, he killed his wife.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Woe From Wit (bilingual)

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.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
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.
Murder and the Muse

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.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
At the Circus (bilingual)

At the Circus (bilingual)

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

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.
The Latchkey Murders

The Latchkey Murders

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin is back on the case in this prequel to the popular mystery Murder at the Dacha, in which a serial killer is on the loose in Khrushchev’s Moscow...
The Samovar Murders

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.
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.

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