The murder of Vira Pekhteleva by her ex-boyfriend in 2020 was so horrific that even in Russia, where violence against women often goes unnoticed, it caused an uproar in the media. Vladyslav Kanyus tortured the woman all night, the police did not intervene. Then, although he was convicted, he was pardoned to fight in Ukraine. Tens of thousands of criminals like him. Material Guardian captures the consequences of President Vladimir Putin’s decision to authorize the creation of a Russian POW army, outlining a society where men are seen as heroes, not rapists or murderers, if they fought in Ukraine.

Vladyslav Kanyus tortured Pekhteleva for hours before her death; neighbors repeatedly called the police to report the terrifying screams coming from the apartment next door, but the police never showed up. During the trial, it was revealed that Vira Pekhteleva had 111 wounds on her body.

Last summer, a court in Siberia sentenced Kanius to 17 years in prison for murder. Pekhteleva’s family members were disappointed that the judge dismissed the additional rape and imprisonment charges, but breathed a sigh of relief that the murder charge would still send Kanius behind bars for 17 years.

Nine months later, in mid-May, Vera Pekhteleva’s mother received two photos from an anonymous WhatsApp account. They featured a man in military uniform and were accompanied by the message: “Canius is free and fighting in Ukraine.”

“I couldn’t believe my eyes, I tried to calm her down, I tried to tell her that it wasn’t him, but photoshop. But we quickly realized that it was really him,” said Vera’s uncle Volodymyr Pekhtelev in a telephone conversation from the Siberian city of Kemerovo.

It turns out that Kanius was one of the tens of thousands of Russian prisoners released earlier to fight in Ukraine. The vast majority ended up fighting for the Wagner group, a private army led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, which launched an armed uprising in June that shook the Russian political system before the uprising was put down.

As part of the deal, the convicts were told that if they fought for six months and survived, they would be allowed to return to normal life without having to serve the rest of their sentences.

Later, the prisoners were also released to fight on the side of the Russian regular army and other Wagnerian formations fighting in Ukraine.

When Vira’s family officially appealed to the colony’s leadership to find Kanius, they were told that he had been transferred to the penitentiary service in the Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine, and he had disappeared. Activists say this is the typical administrative route for a prisoner recruited to fight in Ukraine; There are no other valid reasons for the transfer to Rostov.

“No one can tell us how he was released, no one gave us any answer, no explanation,” said Pekhtelev.

It is not known if Kanius is still fighting, but he is apparently still alive as he posts regularly on his account on VKontakte, a Russian social network. The motto appears on his account: “There is no right choice, there is only the choice you make and its consequences.”

In July, Kanius responded to a message about his current status and whereabouts with a request for payment to answer questions. He later blocked his account.

The full consequences of the decision to allow Prigozhin to create a private army of prisoners became apparent when he launched an unsuccessful military uprising. But beyond the political consequences, Putin’s experiment with Prigozhin is likely to have a significant social impact on Russia for years to come.

There have been numerous reports of ex-prisoners who survived their time under Wagner as fighters in Ukraine and returned home to wreak havoc. Among those released are many who committed violent crimes against women.

The Russian authorities have long taken domestic violence or threats of violence against women seriously. Now, even in cases where the perpetrators have received prison terms, victims and their families live in fear of returning home much sooner than expected.

He dismembered the body of his beloved, but “pure before God” because of Russia’s service in Ukraine

Vyacheslav Samoilov killed 33-year-old Olga Shlyamina in March 2021, and then dismembered and hid her body. He was sentenced to nine years and seven months in prison in April 2022, but is now reportedly free after three months of fighting in Ukraine.

Samoilov’s mother told 29.ru, a local news site in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region, that her son fought and was wounded in Ukraine and has now been pardoned. His mother said that “he is clean before God” because of his service to Russia in Ukraine.

Vadym Tekhov, who killed 22-year-old Regina Hagieva in Vladikavkaz in southern Russia in 2019, was supposed to be in prison until 2035, but was pardoned after fighting in Ukraine and returned to Vladikavkaz.

“He was sent there, served six months and, in accordance with the law, was released early,” Serhii Menyailo, the head of the North Ossetia region, confirmed at a press conference earlier this year, adding that he would not have returned home if Tekhova had been in his place. .

There are also those who were imprisoned for rape or violence, whose victims are still alive and now in danger again.

“We received a lot of messages from frightened people, especially from the regions. They know that if the people who tortured them come back from this war and start beating or even killing them again, the police won’t do anything, because now these people are considered heroes, not rapists or murderers,” said Olena Popova. Russian activist for women’s rights.