A long-running conflict between neighbors in a quiet apartment building ended in an unthinkable crime. In the Komi Republic, 37-year-old Alexey Levkovsky shot and killed 14-year-old Yulia Rodina — not because of anything she did, but out of hatred for her parents. For years, residents complained about Levkovsky’s threats, harassment, surveillance cameras, and violent behavior, but authorities ignored the warnings. This episode tells the story of a girl who never made it home from school, a family failed by the system, and how unchecked aggression turned into murder.

A horrifying crime in Chelyabinsk shocked even seasoned investigators. Recently released repeat offender Oleg Pelenev beat 54-year-old funeral business owner Olga Sokolova to death with a crowbar inside her own home, then sexually abused her corpse for hours. After the murder, he robbed her apartment and workplace, spending the stolen money on electronics and clothes. This episode examines the crime in detail, Pelenev’s criminal past, the failure of parole supervision, and how a man previously convicted of murder and rape was able to kill again.

A Russian SVO veteran from Volgograd beat his own grandmother to death with a wooden chair — and received only seven years in prison. The court treated his participation in the war in Ukraine as a mitigating factor.
This episode explores how returning veterans terrorize their families: wives and mothers describe alcohol abuse, uncontrolled aggression, beatings, and constant fear. With no real rehabilitation system in place, war trauma spills into civilian life, fueling domestic violence and violent crime. Experts warn that Russia is facing a new wave of trauma — and its consequences are already deadly.

In this episode of From Russia with Fear, we investigate a series of brutal crimes committed by participants of Russia’s so-called “special military operation” after returning from the front. A serviceman strangles his partner and burns her body, another murders his wife on their wedding night, a veteran attacks a family with a small child, and a repeat offender nearly kills a taxi driver after deserting his unit. These cases reveal a disturbing pattern of violence, impunity, and repeat crimes by former convicts who use the war to escape real punishment. Court records show that more than a thousand civilians have been killed or injured by returning SVO participants across Russia.

Alexander Lipatov murdered his own family in Moscow, throwing his two-year-old son and his wife from a 16th-floor window. Both died instantly. Diagnosed with an acute psychotic disorder and long-standing mental illness, Lipatov avoided prison by signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense. Instead of serving a sentence for double murder, he was sent to the war zone as part of a medical evacuation unit. This episode exposes how violent criminals and mentally unstable killers escape justice by joining Russia’s war.

An acid attacker from the Moscow region, officially declared criminally insane, is trying to reduce the compensation he must pay to his victim by seven times. While undergoing compulsory psychiatric treatment, Andrey Suleymanov — known as the “Monino acid maniac” — is appealing a court ruling that ordered him to pay three million rubles to Anastasia Loboda, the woman whose face and eyesight he destroyed with sulfuric acid. With the active support of his mother, he has already paid only a small fraction of the sum, while his victim continues a painful, expensive fight for recovery. This episode tells the full story of the attacks, the investigation, the long-term consequences for the victims, and the disturbing cynicism surrounding the case.

An elderly man in Obninsk died after being scalded by boiling water in his own shower. Instead of warm water, a lethal stream poured from the tap, leaving him trapped, burned, and helpless for hours. After two weeks of agony in hospital, he succumbed to his injuries. Investigators are now examining whether коммунal services and management companies ignored long-standing complaints about dangerous water temperatures. This episode exposes deadly коммунal failures, shifting blame, and a system where negligence repeatedly costs elderly residents their lives.

At least eleven infant deaths are now linked to Maternity Hospital No. 1 in Novokuznetsk. Nine newborns died within just a few days during the January holidays, and two more cases were later confirmed. Investigators suspect medical negligence, possible infections inside the hospital, and attempts to conceal information from parents. The hospital’s chief doctor and the head of neonatal intensive care have been detained, while families say authorities have offered no support. This episode examines the details of the tragedy, witness accounts, and the ongoing criminal investigation.

A horrifying true crime case from Russia’s Vladimir region. A 19-year-old woman, Veronika Zhukova, starved her one-year-old son to death by leaving him alone for months without food, water, or care. After discovering the child’s body, she wrapped it in a blanket, placed it in a cardboard box, and threw it into a garbage dump near an apartment building. Neighbors later found the body, triggering a criminal investigation that shocked the entire city of Kovrov.
This episode examines the details of the investigation, witness testimonies, family conflicts, and the tense courtroom drama that nearly ended in violence. It also raises painful questions about parental responsibility, social neglect, and how such crimes can go unnoticed until it is too late. The court found Zhukova guilty and sentenced her to 16 years in prison.

After returning from the front, Russian SVO veterans are increasingly turning their violence against civilians. Based on open-source data and court documents, this episode reveals the real scale of killings, torture, and serious injuries — and how participation in the war is repeatedly treated by courts as a mitigating factor, even for repeat offenders and murderers.