News
Residents of the village of Peschanka in Russia’s Krasnoyarsk Region “are afraid to let their children out on the street” due to the presence of Dmitry Suyunshaliev, a Wagner Group mercenary who recently returned from the front line in Ukraine, according to a report by the Telegram channel Ostorozhno, Novosti (“News, Beware!”).
In May 2013, Dmitry Suyunshaliev and Yuri Petrov, both intoxicated, decided to rob their neighbors' house in Peschanka, which resulted in the fatal stabbing of 85-year-old labor veterans Tamara and Nikolai Maslovsky, who had both served on the home front during World War II. The attackers fled with a small sum of money and medals, intending to sell them. Suyunshaliyev was sentenced to 21 years in prison, while his accomplice received a 16-year sentence for the crime. During their incarceration, both men became members of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC), despite having 11 and 7 years left on their respective sentences.
Petrov was killed in Ukraine and was buried in Peschanka in July. Suyunshaliyev returned to his hometown after being wounded in combat later within the same month. As shared by relatives of the murdered couple, he perceives himself as a hero, assuming that his past actions have been forgotten and forgiven.
“He thinks that everyone's forgotten everything, that he's been forgiven, and he's a hero that's returned from the war. He goes around to guests, drinks vodka, moonshine, and brags that he bought himself a car,” a relative of the Maslovsky's was quoted as saying. The Telegram channel also notes that Suyunshaliyev still carries a debt of 500,000 rubles ($5000), owed as moral compensation for the murder as decreed by the court.
The Insider previously covered the situation in Mulino, a village in the Nizhny Novgorod Region where both contracted and mobilized soldiers are being trained for the war in Ukraine. The continuous heavy drinking and disruptive behavior of the military have turned into an ordeal for the local community. The residents of Mulino have even reached out to the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, requesting the enforcement of alcohol regulations and measures to curtail the military's presence within the region.