Time to read: 24 minutes(s)

Musician Anatoly Berezikov posted anti-war leaflets in Rostov. and was caught by security forces. He was detained in May of this year, and a month later, on June 14, he died in a detention center. Police say he committed suicide. His lawyers disagree. Anatoly repeatedly complained to them about threats and torture with a stun gun. They suspect that the security forces were building a case against the musician for "treason" and "overdid it" in extracting the desired testimony.

For video clip In 2016, a cyclist cruises along a snowy road in Rostov. He has shoulder-length red hair and is wearing only shorts and a Santa Claus hat.

"Aren't you cold?" people shout from a passing car. "It's December!"

There you go! — the cyclist gives a thumbs up.

"Fire!" the fellow travelers exclaim in admiration.

The man on the bicycle was named Anatoly Berezikov.

Six years later, in 2022, while driving past a column of military vehicles, he no longer gave the thumbs up. Instead, he shouted, "Fascists!" Anatoly's friend is certain that he was only spared because of his flamboyant appearance.

When a guy drives past you in shorts in the winter, shouting something… What can you expect from him? They probably thought he was stupid.

But Anatoly Berezikov was not a “fool”.

He attended protest rallies and volunteered at Navalny's Rostov headquarters. He knew how to fix household appliances. and made a living from it. Anatoly was also into noise music (an experimental genre that uses artificial sounds - прим. ред.). Berezikov made electronic synthesizers and performed with them under the pseudonym Ryk. In mid-June, he was expected at the Moscow festival "Noise and Fury," after which he dreamed of taking on a "synth opera"— a genre that he invented himself.

These plans did not come true - On June 14, Berezikov died in Rostov Special Detention Center No. 1 after three consecutive administrative arrests. He was 39 years old. Police claim Anatoly committed suicide. Berezikov complained to his lawyers of threats and torture with a stun gun. His defense team is confident... The man was charged with treason for posting anti-war leaflets.

Anatoly was born in the Altai region, in the city of Biysk. At the age of three, he learned to count on his own, and at four, He learned letters from pictures, says his mother Elena.

He was easily taught in everything that interested him. He was passionate about painting and was constantly making things.

But school was difficult for Ryk - He was bullied and often got into fights. Anatoly spent his last years of school homeschooled.

He just wasn't interested [in school], recalls Ryk's Rostov friend, Dmitry Panarin (name changed at the request of the hero прим. ред.). Since 2018, he lived with Anatoly under the same roof - He rented a two-room apartment on the outskirts of town and rented out beds in one of the rooms. Ryk told his roommates a lot about himself. That's why Tolik skipped classes. But he wasn't a failing student. He got straight A's in the subjects he liked—math, physics, literature. He was simply a man with an atypical mindset, a rebellious one. He always defended his freedom. He said he "suffered a lot" because of this.

Berezikov started working at the age of 11. at a gas station.

He brought home his first paycheck because there was nothing to eat. They lived in poverty, Panarin says.

After finishing nine grades, Anatoly entered a technical school, but did not stay there for long - He went to a construction site, where he quickly became a foreman. Berezikov never studied anywhere else. He preferred to figure things out "on his own," Panarin explains. Others he knew say the same.

Anatoly was not drafted into the army due to health reasons. He's been plagued by injuries his entire life. They began in childhood and became more frequent due to his love of cycling and hitchhiking.

At the age of 19, Berezikov almost died in a car accident.

The doctors said he suffered a fatal head injury. He miraculously survived, suffering from complete amnesia. Four months later [after the accident], he went missing, and we launched a nationwide search. his mother says.

Four months later, Anatoly regained his memory and was able to call his family.

After bouncing around various cities, Berezikov moved to Rostov in 2011 to be with his girlfriend. There, he became fascinated with tattooing and became a tattoo and piercing artist. He moved in with the underground music scene and traveled extensively.

Somewhere in the mid-2010s, he began to “undress” in the winter, recalls his close friend Valentina Nazarova (name changed at the request of the heroine прим. ред.). They met precisely because of tattoos - Anatoly offered to give her a tattoo for free, and Valentina agreed.

He said he didn't feel the cold. Perhaps it was due to his injuries. the body's thermoregulation was disrupted.

About a half-naked cyclist riding around Rostov, and even wearing a Santa Claus hat, wrote Local media. Footage of Berezikov appeared on social media. According to Valentina, Anatoly was very proud of this.

He saved the videos and bragged about them, she says. — Well, like a child. And if before he could come to me (Valentina lives in another city and asks not to be named. прим. ред.) by train or by minibus, now - only by bicycle. It was impossible to convince him otherwise.

Berezikov even rode a bicycle to Moscow. A thousand kilometers away. Along the way, he sent his friends photos of the landscapes he saw.

After finishing his tattoos, Anatoly began repairing batteries for household appliances. This brought him a good income.

He almost never worked for his uncle. Only for himself, another friend of Anatoly, Kirill Glukhov, tells the story (The man serves under contract and asked that his real name not be used. прим. ред.). The friends lived in different cities, but they often communicated and visited each other. Tolik lived off his talents—he truly was a jack of all trades.

Judging by account Berezikov is on VKontakte; he truly loved tinkering. His page features photos of the jaw harps Ryk created for ethnic musicians.

There you can also find metal pendants and even an electric wood burner “assembled from junk.”

At the end of 2010, he developed another hobby - synthesizers for noise rock.

Anatoly became interested in them thanks to the Rostov experimental musician Eduard Srapionov. He performed under the stage name Papa Srapa, playing electric instruments of his own design—at first, Anatoly simply helped sell them.

He was not the Pope's first disciple, but the most "active" one, recalls Moscow musician Valentin Sokhorev.— Srapa made decent synths, they had a unique sound. But he was a terrible salesman. And he had to make money somehow. He needed someone to take the order, deliver the parts, and then— He'll send the finished instrument by mail. That's the kind of person Anatoly was.

Soon, Berezikov began making instruments himself. Neighbors say his room was littered with microchips and components. Berezikov approached his work very meticulously.

I once commissioned him to make a synthesizer. He spent two and a half years making it. But in the end, he created a masterpiece that he initially didn't even want to give away. says Valentin Sokhorev.

Anatoly with his "synths" performed at concerts. At one of them, he got so carried away that he spent three times as long on stage as he should have.

He continued until the organizers muted him, recalls Valentin Sokhorev. — He had a lot of new tools - Apparently, he wanted to show everyone's work. Or maybe he didn't get enough of them...

According to acquaintances, Berezikov greatly valued his time with Papa Srapa. In recent years, he drank— And Ryk often brought him food and helped him with money. Srapionov died on February 23, 2022. less than a day before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

After that, Anatoly started buying up his old synthesizers. repaired them, giving them a “second life”.

It was very important to him, - says Lipetsk musician Maria Nemontova. Ryk said that he would like to find as much meaning in something else as there was when Srapa was alive.

Maria met Anatoly a few months before his death. They never met in person, but they spent hours chatting on the phone: "about music, about life, about everything." The night before Ryk's arrest, it was she he spoke to. discussed a future joint "synth-opera".

Anatoly dreamed of erecting a “glowing” monument on Srapionov’s grave.

He kept telling me what kind of wires he would solder to make music play when a person approaches the grave, and what kind of music it would be, says Valentina Nazarova.

But Berezikov was unable to realize this dream because of the war.

Friends say Berezikov was a kind man, always ready to help. He forgave his tenants' rent for months. He even took Dmitry Panarin, who was struggling with alcohol addiction, to treatment.

Panarin lived with Anatoly for almost four years. Having settled into living at the church, he moved— but I still dropped in to see Ryk every week.

Valentina Nazarova recalls how Anatoly set up a wedding salon for one of his girlfriends. She wanted to have her own business. But she wasn't cut out to be a manager. The girl was "just having coffee with her friends" at the salon. The "business" quickly failed, and Berezikov spent several more months paying off his debts.

Anatoly had neither a wife nor children.

He helped people somehow unobtrusively, in passing, recalls Vlada Bereza, another friend of Berezikov. It's like carrying a bag to an old lady - did it and forgot about it. But he didn't stop there - He fixed everything, from cabinets to household appliances. He didn't drink, didn't smoke, and didn't even litter the street. Pick up something for the bedridden, take part in cleaning? [Easy]. And all this alongside his buffoonish sarcasm and avoidance of any pressure. If you ask— will rush to help. But if you demand - He wouldn't take anything for any amount of money. He was free.

According to Valentina Nazarova, Berezikov didn't immediately embrace political activism. For a long time, his main adversary was the Russian Orthodox Church and religion in general. Ryk ridiculed religious mythology with the stubbornness of a teenager, she says. This deeply offended some of his acquaintances.

"Well, imagine people meeting at Easter [at the church], and he approaches them and says, sarcastically, 'Dristos Vozdrese.' Like a little boy—he walks around teasing them. If someone got angry or freaked out, Anatoly would immediately start arguing, proving that there is no God."

Berezikov was an atheist, but he believed in “himself,” explains Maria Nemontova.

He said that all power is within man, and he doesn’t need any god. God is This is just fiction.

But Ryk kept an eye on the situation in the country. In 2015, he persuaded his friend, Kirill Glukhov, not to volunteer for the Donbas.

He said it was all done on purpose. He said the oligarchs were fighting, laundering money, and ordinary people were dying. says Glukhov.

Ryk couldn't convince him otherwise. Kirill fought in the Vostok Battalion for almost a year.

He is currently being treated in hospital. After the "special operation," which he also volunteered for. We're talking via video link: the man in the hospital chair is wearing a striped shirt, and on his forearm— An ornate runic cross, vaguely reminiscent of a swastika. The tattoo was done by Berezikov, "based on his own design."

"In the middle is Valkyrie, the guardian of warriors, and on the outside is Thunderer, a symbol of Perun," Kirill explains the meaning of the patterns. He calls himself a "Rodnover." "When we met, Ryk was truly a Russian patriot. Well, for the Russian nation. And then he became fascinated with Navalny."

Participation in the Donbas conflict didn't stop the friends from communicating. But over time, the "politics" in Ryk's conversations became increasingly more pronounced, Glukhov complains.

He was a very categorical person. Because of my service in the National Guard, he always tried to call me "Rosgvardia Dog." He said I was, like, Putin's watchdog. We agreed not to bring up the "political topic." It worked for a while, but then he'd get back into it.

Berezikov's acquaintances recall that in the heat of the moment he could offend anyone.

He spoke his mind directly, Vlada Bereza tells us. — He could be abrupt and even rude. But that's just his way of communicating, not with the intent to offend. A joker, a prankster— Yes, sometimes he's mean. But it's like a prank— They pouted and laughed, and then everything was fine.

At the end of 2017, Berezikov joined Navalny's Rostov campaign headquarters. According to former campaign staffer Vadim Kobzev, Ryk was an "active volunteer": he distributed leaflets, participated in rallies, and observed the 2018 presidential elections.

It was then that he was detained for the first time – Anatoly received a fine for distributing leaflets.

Those around him didn't like it.

I told him: “Don’t go there, it’s not safe. You won’t be able to cope with the system,” Dmitry Panarin recalls. Like many of Ryk's acquaintances, he urged him "not to fool around" and give up "politics." But he didn't listen. He believed Putin's rule was no good, and he believed Navalny could bring order to the country.

In the spring of 2021, Navalny's headquarters in Rostov closed, but Berezikov still attended rallies. He was also wearing shorts and shirtless. Only on his backpack now hung a sign that read "Khutin Puylo." Since 2018, Anatoly's neighbors say he hasn't left home without it. A full-face mask completed the look. with the same inscription.

Valentina Nazarova considers this "childish".

Real political activism can only be achieved if someone has basic humanities knowledge and a strong position. Anatoly simply didn't understand the structure [of the government]. He had to explain to them what kids learn in social studies at school— About the Constitution, about federal laws... But he watched a lot of [opposition] videos. And they had a strong influence on him. For him, everything was black and white.

She is sure that Anatoly was attracted to protests because they were “forbidden.”

During the 2018 World Cup, Tolik drove past the police cordon with a sign reading "Khutin Puylo." He enthusiastically recounted how he ran from the police across the grass, and how they never caught him. And when [in 2021] he was detained after a rally, he stole a portrait of Putin from the police station. And he was incredibly proud of it. A very "balanced" civic position. Valentina Nazarova is ironic.

She recalls how she once asked her mother to send her fifty thousand rubles through Anatoly. When Ryk delivered the money, Valentina was stunned.

On each banknote, in calligraphic handwriting, was written “Putin is a dick,” says Nazarova. — Can you imagine? And I had to use that money to pay the repairman for the repairs… I had to nervously hiccup as I put it in the ATM and took it out again. That's how he played tricks. That's how he died.

Vadim Kobzev does not consider Berezikov’s activism “fun.”

He had a strong civic stance. Usually, people who thought it was something "cool" would leave as soon as they faced pressure. Anatoly was detained by the police and spent the night in the station. and he still remained an activist.

Vlada Bereza calls Anatoly "a Soviet pioneer with a heightened sense of justice":

"He couldn't stand lies or falsehood, and he reacted to everything sharply. A kind of "teenager" in an adult's body. A man stuck in both age and time."

The invasion of Ukraine shocked Anatoly, his friends say. He spent hours reading news online and sending videos of the bodies of dead Ukrainians to his friends. Page Berezikova's Odnoklassniki page is filled with critical videos of the Russian authorities and the "special operation."

He was very worried about the death of civilians, explains Maria Nemontova. — He was disgusted by any murders and political showdowns.

Ryk cut off contact with those who supported the "special operation." Upon learning that Kirill Glukhov had volunteered for the new war, he fell out with him as well.

He told me that I was pro-Putin, and therefore a traitor, recalls Kirill. — He dished out a lot of dirt. I basically didn't care [about Berezikov's attitude toward the war]. But he didn't come to visit and stopped calling me.

According to Maria Nemontova, Anatoly dreamed of leaving Russia.

He said that he did not want to live in a country where “the SVO is happening,” she ponders.

But Berezikov didn't have time to do this—on the morning of May 11, 2023, his home was searched. Security forces broke down the door and ransacked his apartment. They confiscated Ryk's computer equipment and bicycle. Anatoly himself was kicked, he later told his lawyers. He had difficulty breathing and suspected he had a broken rib.

After the search, Ryk was taken to the police station, where a report was drawn up for disobeying police officers (Article 19.3, Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation).

Berezikov's arrest was witnessed by his neighbor. When she asked the security officers why they were arresting him, they replied, "For aiding Ukraine." recalls one of Ryk's acquaintances.

On the same day, May 11, the Pervomaisky Court of Rostov-on-Don appointed Berezikov received 10 days of arrest—he served it in Special Detention Center No. 1 on Semashko Street. None of Anatoly's family knew about it. While he was sitting there, his friends were frantically calling police stations. Upon hearing about "aiding Ukraine," an officer at one of them hung up:

She said that she wouldn’t get involved in “that crap,” and she doesn’t advise us to either, recalls one of Berezikov's acquaintances. Other departments said they weren't aware of it. And the FSB didn't respond to our questions either.

Ten days later, Anatoly’s mother was informed at the special detention center that her son had “already been released.”

But that was not so.

"I stepped through the door of the detention center onto the street and was immediately detained in handcuffs," Anatoly wrote in a note he managed to give to his lawyer (a copy is in the possession of Govorit NeMoskva). "They put me in a police UAZ and immediately took me to the station... Then they took me to Leninsky Court in handcuffs, accompanied by two gunmen with machine guns."

For the second time, Ryk was convicted under Article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses on petty hooliganism. again for 10 days. The protocol stated Specifiedthat Berezikov "insultingly harassed citizens" and pushed away police officers. He had three such arrests in total— They're also called "carousel" documents. Law enforcement agencies typically use them to buy time and prepare materials for a criminal case.

By the end of his second arrest, Berezikov had informed his family of his whereabouts through other detainees. Lawyer Irina Gak managed to get in touch with Anatoly. In the special detention center, the activist told her that he was being threatened.

Anatoly was able to say that an FSB officer had visited him and promised that this wouldn't be his last administrative detention. That he would be taken away [after his sentence ends], and then he would receive a criminal conviction for up to life imprisonment. Rostov activist Tatyana Sporysheva says. She knew Berezikov from the opposition scene, and became his public defender at his final trial. Immediately after Ryk's death, the human rights activist recorded video with a detailed account of what happened - Some of the quotes are taken from it. Irina Gak declined to speak with journalists.

Berezikov was scheduled to be released on May 31st. Gak and Sporysheva were afraid he would disappear again, so they went to the detention center to meet him. But they were told Berezikov had "already left."

Sporysheva recalls that a police van was parked at the exit of the reception center. A man in civilian clothes walked alongside it. Tatyana is certain it was an FSB officer. After tracking the van as it drove away, the women arrived at Police Station No. 4.

Berezikov wasn't there either. But they saw the same "plainclothes man" entering. Remembering the "carousel" arrests, Gak and Sporysheva went to the Leninsky Court, where Anatoly was receiving his second administrative sentence.

They were lucky: soon Ryk was actually brought there - with another report on petty hooliganism.

According to Tatyana, Berezikov was very pale and did not respond to sounds.

He was just like a cotton doll, - the activist recalled. His hands were completely weak, his fingers barely moved.

When Sporysheva asked Anatoly to write a statement to review his case, he was unable to do so. The form was filled out for him, and he signed it "with incredible difficulty."

There was a feeling that the person was kind of falling through <…> He was “slowing down” very much, says Tatiana.

In the video she filmed in courtBerezikov sits in the hallway, staring blankly at the floor. Meanwhile, Irina Gak is arguing with the guard, demanding that he stop "threatening" her client and not suggest he "disown his lawyer."

When Berezikov recovered, he told the defense that he had been "tortured with a stun gun" the day before his trial. Irina Gak photographed his back—it was covered with red dots, characteristic of electric shocks.The photo is at the disposal of "Govorit NeMoskva" (NotMoscow Speaking)).

The lawyers called an ambulance to the court. But the paramedics who arrived said they saw no signs of electrical shock and that Berezikov was "absolutely healthy," recalls Tatyana Sporysheva.

The court also did not take into account complaints of torture - Anatoly appointed 15 days of arrest.

Before leaving for the special detention center, Berezikov stated that he feared for his life.

He told me, "I'm afraid I'll disappear completely. I'm afraid they'll kill me and I won't live to see my release from the detention center. That is, I won't live to see June 15th." recalls Tatyana Sporysheva.

In a note that was later kept by his lawyers, Berezikov worries that he “might be met, like last time, when they beat him and threatened him: with rape, further torture, and possible murder.”

That evening Sporysheva said with Berezikov for the last time.

According to her, Irina Gak managed to see him on June 13th. Anatoly was "active," had no intention of giving up, and was discussing his future defense. But he still repeated that he was "afraid he wouldn't live to see it."

The next day, lawyers arrived at the special detention center to draw up a notarized power of attorney.

But the police told them that Anatoly had died.

However, they didn’t give the exact reason – they said it was either a heart attack or suicide, says Tatyana Sporysheva. — It's just unclear. We called an ambulance, called the police, and reported it. We just couldn't believe it. We thought, maybe he's sick, but he's still alive, maybe they're lying to us...

Later, the staff of the special detention center stated It is already certain that Anatoly “committed suicide.”

During his lifetime, Anatoly Berezikov was never charged with a criminal offence.

OVD-Info project reportedThe activist may have been detained for posting leaflets mentioning the Ukrainian "I Want to Live" project. It calls on Russian soldiers unwilling to fight to surrender.

Evgeny Smirnov, a lawyer for the human rights organization "First Department," is certain that Berezikov was being framed for treason, and that the "carousel" of administrative arrests was necessary for Rostov security forces to coordinate all the details with Moscow.

They cannot initiate it on their own initiative, explained Smirnov in an interview with Mediazona - The bureaucratic machine is at work, and it takes time. Some take 15 days, others two or three months. All this time, they were trying to prepare him for the case to be opened, so that he would confess when it happened.

A Govorit NeMoskva correspondent was able to confirm the leaflet theory. We located one of Anatoly's "neighbors" at the detention center. Yuri Kormiltsev managed to speak with Ryk while he was serving his sentence. For security reasons, we are not publishing his real name or the reasons why he was among those detained.

According to Kormiltsev, Anatoly himself told him that he was posting leaflets with a QR code leading to the website of the “I Want to Live” project.

"He usually did it at night. But one time, it was already dawn, and it was getting light," Yuri recalls. "And he was caught on CCTV. He said, 'It's my fault they even saw me on those videos.'" They later showed him screenshots of them.

And he didn’t explain why he did all this?

I asked him several times if maybe I shouldn't have done this, considering the potential consequences. He always gave the same answer: He said he was "very upset by this war." He repeated, "I can't sit idly by; my conscience won't allow it. And the only thing I can do is engage in some kind of social work. At least that way I'll make my contribution." He also worried that Russian society was not responding to what was happening. He complained that he couldn't even find common ground with his family.

NeMoskva's source adds that Anatoly also mentioned correspondence with some people from Ukraine. He was worried that investigators would get to the bottom of it. However, they did not discuss any details.

Despite his worries, Ryk joked around a lot at first. According to Kormiltsev, he "tensed up" after a visit from the investigator—at the end of his second arrest, the investigator informed him that Anatoly faced a significant prison sentence. But he added that everything depended on his behavior and how he "cooperated."

The investigator was positive. He said Anatoly was now in good standing. He behaves civilly and communicates with everyone. And that for now he's doing well, but he'll be in a cell for a while, says Kormiltsev.

While he was in the detention center, Berezikov never mentioned torture. He doesn't know what happened afterward.

First Department lawyer Evgeny Smirnov suggests that Berezikov was unwilling to "cooperate." And the security forces' approach may have changed.

They started to get him to admit that he was helping Ukraine, that's one thing, and two—why were they torturing him? It was to vent some kind of anger. "Traitor to the Motherland. You're our enemy, we'll do with you what we want," I told Smirnov to Mediazone.

Anatoly Berezikov was buried on June 21 in Rostov, in a small circle of close relatives. On the same day was It is known that the Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case for incitement to suicide (Part 1 of Article 110 of the Russian Criminal Code). According to the ruling cited by "First Department," the cause of death was "mechanical asphyxia." Anatoly allegedly hanged himself in his cell on June 14 at around 10 a.m.

The next day, security forces searched the homes of Irina Gak and Tatyana Sporysheva. Their equipment was confiscated, and they were out of contact for some time. Maxim Khyrkhyryan, a representative of the Rostov Region Bar Association, explainedthat the search of Gak's apartment was carried out precisely in connection with the case of incitement to suicide - by the Investigative Committee and "accompanied by the FSB." Details of the search have not yet been disclosed.

Security forces searched Sporysheva's apartment for "extremist materials." They completed their search after three hours, after which they "simply turned around and left." told Tatiana "Not Moscow".

Shortly before the search, she had a Rostov portal 1rnd.ru stated that Berezikov's lawyers "will be investigated for fakes." The publication claimed that Anatoly was "recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services." Berezikov was linked not only to the “I Want to Live” project, but also to the “Rukh” network organization.

"Their accomplices on our side collect and transmit data on military facilities and infrastructure," noted portal.

The site also cited the investigation's version, according to which "Bereznikov's death could have been connected to the psychological pressure exerted on him by Irina Gak."

Shortly after the searches, both Gak and Sporysheva left Russia. Their status in the incitement to suicide case has not been determined. The Investigative Committee has not commented on the progress of the investigation.

According to the First Department, shortly before the funeral, experts conducted an independent assessment of the cause of Anatoly's death.

The work is still ongoing, and it is too early to publish the results, - human rights activists told a correspondent of "NotMoscow Speaking."

None of Berezikov's acquaintances believe he could have committed suicide: "It's not in his character." Former Navalny campaign activist Vadim Kobzev claims that it would be "physically impossible" in the special detention center on Semashko Street.

"I served four arrests there. 'You can't hang yourself or slit your wrists there even if you wanted to,'" he says. "They take away all sharp objects at the entrance and remove the laces from your sneakers. Moreover, according to the rules, you're not allowed to be left alone. The detention center has only seven cells, and each one has video surveillance. The feed is constantly transmitted to the duty officer. And during the day, staff also visit and check on what's happening in the cells."

Kobzev draws an analogy with the case of the "Rostov boys" - Yana Sidorova and Vladislav Mordasova (Both were accused of preparing for mass riots in 2017. прим. ред.).

They were also held in this special detention center. When necessary, they were taken out and subjected to torture. They suffocated him with gas masks and beat him with stun guns. I think they did the same to Anatoly. He was most likely brought to the cell in critical condition or already dead. And the detention center staff did nothing about it.

Tatyana Sporysheva agrees. She suggests that the security forces may have overreacted, causing Berezikov's cardiac arrest.

I know for sure that he didn't intend to commit suicide, she claims. I talked to him - He wanted to fight. And yet, he kept repeating, "They'll kill me, they'll kill me." It was shocking, of course— but that's exactly how it all turned out.

Valentina Nazarova says she expected "any outcome" of the situation, except a fatal one.

Life imprisonment, compulsory treatment - I was mentally prepared for anything. The social situation [now] is crazy. But in any case, something could have been done, like filing an appeal... And now— Who should I appeal to? To the Lord God?