The Russian president views the prospect of an army returning en masse as a potential risk he wants carefully managed to avoid destabilising society, three sources close to the Kremlin said.
The six-month battlefield stint didn’t diminish Azamat Iskaliyev’s appetite for violent revenge against women.
The 37-year-old was sentenced to nine-years in jail after he killed his wife by stabbing her in his car in the summer of 2021 because she wanted a divorce.
Soon after returning to civilian life, he knifed an ex-girlfriend more than 60 times in the shop where she worked in October 2024 after she rejected his advances.
For that crime, he was jailed for more than 19 years, according to court records in the city of Saratov.
This case is one shocking example of the social problems that could await Russia as thousands of prisoners turned soldiers return home following an eventual end to the war.
Verstka, an independent Russian media outlet, reported that by October 2024 almost 500 civilians had become victims of soldiers returning from fighting in Ukraine.
The report said at least 242 people had been killed, and a further 227 were gravely injured, citing data from Russian court records.
Russia about to perform the miracle of becoming an even shittier place.
Russia about to perform the miracle of becoming an even shittier place.