True crime cases in Russia

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  Dyatlov Pass, Ural Mountains, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia · 1959

  Dyatlov Pass incident

  Nine experienced Soviet ski hikers led by Igor Dyatlov died in the northern Ural Mountains on 1 or 2 February 1959 after cutting their way out of their tent and fleeing into a snowstorm inadequately dressed for the cold; Russian authorities reopened the case in 2019 and announced in 2020 that an avalanche was the most likely cause, though the deaths remain widely described as unexplained and some researchers dispute that conclusion.

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  Apartment block, central Moscow, Russia · 2006

  Assassination of Anna Politkovskaya

  Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent critic of the Second Chechen War and of Vladimir Putin, was shot dead in her Moscow apartment building elevator on 7 October 2006. After a lengthy and repeatedly stalled investigation, six people were eventually convicted of crimes related to her murder, though the identity of whoever ordered the killing was never conclusively established in court.

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  Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, Moscow, Russia · 2015

  Assassination of Boris Nemtsov

  Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov was shot dead on a Moscow bridge near the Kremlin on 27 February 2015, hours after urging support for an anti-war march. Five Chechen men were later convicted of carrying out the killing for payment, but the identity of whoever ordered it has never been established.

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  Bittsa Park, Moscow, Russia · 1992

  Alexander Pichushkin (Chessboard Killer)

  Alexander Pichushkin, a Moscow warehouse worker, was convicted in 2007 of murdering 49 people and attempting to murder three others in and around Bittsa Park between 1992 and 2006, and was sentenced to life imprisonment.

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  Apartment buildings in Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk, Russia · 1999

  1999 Russian Apartment Bombings

  A series of explosions struck apartment blocks in Buynaksk, Moscow, and Volgodonsk in September 1999, killing more than 300 people and helping trigger the Second Chechen War amid disputed accounts of who was responsible.

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• Credit: Andrey Stenin / Андрей Стенин·CC BY-SA 3.0·SourceSOLVEDListen

  Moscow Domodedovo Airport, Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia · 2011

  Domodedovo International Airport bombing

  A suicide bombing in the international arrivals hall of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport on 24 January 2011 killed 37 people and injured 173 others; a Caucasus Emirate faction claimed responsibility and four men were later convicted.

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• Credit: Unknown author·Public domain·SourceSOLVEDListen

  Katyn Forest, near Smolensk, Russia · 1940

  Katyn Massacre

  In spring 1940, the Soviet NKVD executed nearly 22,000 Polish military officers, police, and intelligentsia on Stalin's orders at Katyn Forest and other sites; the USSR blamed Nazi Germany until officially admitting responsibility in 1990.

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  Mozhayskoye Highway near Bolshiye Vyazyomy, Moscow Oblast, Russia · 2022

  Killing of Darya Dugina

  Russian journalist and political commentator Darya Dugina, daughter of far-right philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, was killed on 20 August 2022 when a bomb attached to her car exploded on a highway outside Moscow. Russia's FSB blamed Ukrainian operatives; Ukraine initially denied involvement, though later reporting and statements by Ukrainian officials indicated Ukrainian security services were behind the attack.

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• Credit: Администрация Волгоградской области·CC BY-SA 3.0·SourceSOLVEDListen

  Volgograd, Volgograd Oblast, Russia · 2013

  December 2013 Volgograd bombings

  Two suicide bombings a day apart struck a railway station and a trolleybus in Volgograd, Russia, in December 2013, killing 34 people including both bombers. A Dagestan-based militant cell linked to the Caucasus Emirate's Vilayat Dagestan claimed responsibility, and several members were later killed or convicted.

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• Credit: МЧС России·CC BY 4.0·SourceSOLVEDListen

  Moscow Metro (Lubyanka and Park Kultury stations), Moscow, Russia · 2010

  2010 Moscow Metro bombings

  Two female suicide bombers detonated explosives during rush hour at Lubyanka and Park Kultury metro stations in Moscow on March 29, 2010, killing at least 40 people and injuring over 100. Caucasus Emirate leader Doku Umarov claimed responsibility.

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