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On Easter morning, April 18, 1993, celebration turned to tragedy at Optina Pustyn Monastery in Russia. As bells rang to proclaim the Resurrection of Christ, three monks were murdered in a crime that would shock the nation and leave lasting questions about faith, madness, and evil.
This video tells the full, carefully researched story of the Optina Pustyn murders — the lives of the men who died, the investigation that followed, and why this case still resonates during Russia’s post-Soviet spiritual revival.
The victims were:
• Hieromonk Vasily, born Igor Ivanovich Roslyakov, a former champion water-polo athlete and journalist who left worldly success behind to devote himself to prayer, confession, and spiritual guidance.
• Monk Trophim, born Alexei Leonidovich Tatarnikov — often listed simply as Alexei Tatarnikov — a former soldier and fisherman known for his strength, joy, and radical generosity. (In Russian tradition, the middle name reflects his father’s name, Leonid.)
• Monk Ferapont, born Vladimir Pushkariov, a quiet ascetic from Siberia whose spiritual journey included a rejection of occult practices and an uncompromising life of prayer.
After breaking their Lenten fast, the monks continued ringing the Paschal bells when a man blended into the monastery grounds and attacked. The bells stopped. Three lives were taken. And Russia was left searching for answers.
The investigation uncovered planted evidence, satanic symbols carved into weapons, eyewitness accounts of a mysterious man fleeing into the woods, and a trail that led police to a local resident with a long history of severe mental illness and religious delusions.
The man arrested was Nikolai Averin, who had previously spoken with monks at Optina about voices commanding him to act. He rejected their advice to ignore the voices and seek medical help. After his arrest, he calmly confessed — stating he did not believe he had committed violence, insisting the monks had simply “gone to God.”
This case raises questions still debated today:
Was this severe mental illness?
Religious delusion?
Or something darker?
This is not just a true-crime story.
It is a story about martyrdom, resurrection, and what happens when faith is tested at its most vulnerable moment.