There is still talk about exactly how and where the execution sentences were carried out. Some say that criminals were simply put “against the wall”, that the prison had a special device for execution... In my journalistic notebook there is a person’s story about how “this” actually happened. He asked to be called Ivan Ivanovich.
There were several places where capital punishment was carried out: Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Zhitomir, Lvov, Kyiv, Lugansk, Dnepropetrovsk,” says Ivan Ivanovich. - The procedure for the execution of capital punishment (CMP) was regulated only by departmental normative document, that is, an order. At one time, this document was signed by the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. Even when Ukraine became an independent state, in my opinion, they still used the old order and instructions on the procedure for applying VMN. Only a limited circle of people could get acquainted with them.
Who shot the criminals?
An executor was appointed from among the employees of the pre-trial detention center - a person who carried out the sentence (he was, as a rule, an officer). He had two assistant controllers - physically strong and well-trained guys. They carried out their service as usual, and when the time came to carry out the punishment, they did this work.
People gossiped that the performers eventually could not stand it - either they drank themselves to death, or became mentally unbalanced people.
I don't remember them drinking themselves to death. But I know from practice that such work had a slight effect on their psyche. There is an allegation that these people were allegedly transferred to other areas for service after some time. This did not happen. Perhaps the request for “resignation” was satisfied... If the performers were changed frequently, then the circle of people would expand, which means it would be more difficult to keep the secret.
What is the technology of execution itself? What preceded it?
A commission meets in the detention center. It includes four people. An employee of the prosecutor's office presides. A representative of the pre-trial detention center, a medical worker and an employee of the information center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs sit with him. The commission meets in a separate room. This is usually a semi-basement room. She studies the personal file of the convicted person: she looks to see if there is a sentence against such and such a person (death penalty), whether there is a decree of the President of Ukraine refusing pardon, whether there is a court order to carry out this penalty. The personal file must also be accompanied by an accompanying document from the head of the Internal Affairs Directorate, which states that, they say, we are sending the personal file of so-and-so, sentenced to capital punishment, for execution of the sentence. Having studied all this, the command is given to deliver the convict.
The performer's assistants go into the building and take him out. Here we also need to tell you how the commission members enter the pre-trial detention center. They enter so that no one can see them.
Did they have invisibility hats?
Everything is much simpler. The day before, the prosecutor received a call from the management of the pre-trial detention center, saying that there is a case tomorrow. That's all, no details. This has already been agreed. The next day, in a certain place, at a certain time, at some distance from the prosecutor's office, a minibus with curtained windows stops. An employee of the prosecutor's office who is admitted to this case sits in it. Along the way, they pick up a representative of the information center and enter the detention center through a checkpoint. Security does not inspect this car.
Was that what was ordered?
Yes. The minibus drives up to the pre-trial detention center building. The commission members leave and go to the meeting room.
Where do they find a doctor?
Local doctor, from the pre-trial detention center.
Why such mystery?
So as not to arouse suspicion. By the way, they leave in the same way. When the sentence is carried out, the coffin with the body of the executed person is placed in the same car. The performer, his two assistants, as well as an employee of the prosecutor’s office and a representative of the information center also sit there. And on the same day they leave the pretrial detention center. The minibus stops at the appointed place and the prosecutor and a representative of the information center get out and go home. And the car goes to the crematorium.
What does an employee of the information center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs do in the commission?
He writes off the convict. Deregisters as a resident of this country.
On what days were they shot?
On very different days.
Who decided that the commission should meet?
They decided when the personal file of the convicted person arrived. The head of the pre-trial detention center, having received a personal file, determined when to carry out the sentence. If a case comes and there is a presidential decree, the sentence, if possible, was carried out in the coming days.
How was the criminal taken out of the cell?
People came to him and said: “Convict so-and-so – go out with your things!” And they immediately handcuffed him. Hands behind your back.
They didn't handcuff him to themselves?
No. They held him at his sides.
Did the criminal have any idea where he was being taken?
In most cases, a person feels that this is his last exit. Therefore, he also behaves differently, some try to break free, some fall to their knees in front of the commission, crying, saying, I’m sorry, I won’t do it anymore, I’ll prove it to everyone, and so on.
Were there those who calmly went to the “chopping block”?
There were some like that. Although they were all depressed. Looking at them is just disgusting.
Where did their personal belongings go?
As a rule, they were placed in a coffin along with the cargo.
Were the executive assistants armed?
No. But few will escape from such guys. They take the convict to the commission in the basement. They bring you. And the prosecutor interrogates him.
Do all members of the commission sit at the same table, like on the presidium?
Like in the presidium. The controllers hold the convict down because some have weak legs, some are shaking, and some are crying. The prosecutor asks for your last name, first name, patronymic, where you were born, where you got married, in short, asks questions that only this person can answer. That is, the prosecutor makes sure that it is in relation to this person that a sentence has been passed.
How long does the interrogation last?
Ten minutes. Other committee members rarely ask questions. Of course, they can ask, for example, do you agree with the verdict or something like this: how could you, so-and-so, rape, rob and kill a woman? The doctor usually doesn’t ask questions.
And then the convict is told, go to the next room, there is a commission of high-ranking officials sitting there. They will listen, maybe they will replace capital punishment with imprisonment. They take him into the room. There, of course, there is no commission, the door closes and a shot is fired, and then two more - control ones. This is the performer already working. After this, the performer and his assistants leave the room, and leave the corpse there to rest, so to speak. A doctor comes in and ascertains death, about which two documents are drawn up: the first - that the penalty authorized by the prosecutor is being carried out, the second - that this penalty has been carried out. After this, the table is set... and a glass is drunk. For this purpose, money is allocated for purchasing food products. They didn't drink cognac there, only vodka. That's how it was done. But they drink a glass not to get drunk (there were no such cases), but to relieve stress. This is provided. We drank two or three glasses, then the performer’s assistants took care of the corpse. He is placed in a coffin made of ordinary boards and taken outside the pre-trial detention center in the same minibus. The coffin was knocked down in pre-trial detention centers and in production workshops. The performer’s assistants did this so that there would be no unnecessary suspicion.
Did the performer's assistants also drink a glass?
Yes. That's what they need most.
Because they did all the dirty work?
What if a person, for example, doesn’t drink?
This also happens. Nobody forces anyone to take a glass.
Well, what do they say when they take one hundred grams? Or do they drink in silence?
They drink the first glass in silence - for peace. Before the second, they can say something on various abstract topics.
Is everyone sitting at the same table?
Yes, at the table where the commission sat.
Tell us about the room where the sentence was carried out.
There is a basement under one of the buildings. There are two rooms. In one the commission sits, and in the second the sentences are executed. This is a small room. No windows. No tables or chairs. It is intended for these purposes only.
Didn't anyone hear the shots?
I didn’t hear it because they shot me with a small-caliber rifle. They shot him in the back of the head at close range. The little thing has enough destructive power to take a person’s life. Firing a gun would be very loud.
Where was the executor when the condemned man was taken into the execution room?
The performer stood outside the door. And the convict did not see him. The performer came up from behind and pulled the trigger. The distance between him and the convict is one and a half meters.
Have there been any misfires?
I don't remember this.
Shot in the head?
To the back of the head.
And the second and third shots were also in the back of the head?
Was three shots always enough?
Sometimes one is enough. But according to the rules, you need to make two more control shots.
Where did the performer store the weapons and ammunition?
There, in the pre-trial detention center, in a metal safe. He stood in the same basement. No outsiders get in there. There is more than one castle. Keys
only the performer and his assistants had them.
And what, in Kyiv they were always shooting with the same weapon?
One and the same.
After the execution, who washes and cleans up the blood?
This is done by the assistant performers. Blood flows down the drain. They wash it off with hoses.
Ivan Ivanovich, what requirements were imposed on the executor of capital punishment?
He must have a strong hand so that it does not tremble. An accidental shot could not be allowed. And a dog's endurance was needed.
Was he offered this job because of his good business skills?
Certainly. The person needs to be disciplined, strong-willed, strong, and have good nerves. The candidate performer was studied for a certain time. A person was selected with a strong character, as they say, Nordic. He had to be competent and decent.
Could the head of the pre-trial detention center be the perpetrator?
Did the performer's family know what work he was doing?
Did they themselves not want to tell, or was it forbidden?
This was not accepted.
What did the person experience, essentially playing the role of an executioner? Maybe he was dreaming about the victims?
The executor did the work that was entrusted to him. And I didn’t worry about anything.
What about remorse?
The state made the decision to carry out the sentence. What kind of remorse can there be? It is the criminal who should have remorse for those killed human lives. And the executor was only carrying out the order, implementing the will of the state.
What if a person is used to shooting? And have you already felt any need for this?
Those I knew did not have such a need.
Wasn’t it possible that someone refused to pull the trigger?
There wasn't. I only remember that people asked for “resignation” either due to illness or retirement age.
Does the executioner have a partner?
What if he gets sick or goes on vacation?
This means that one of his assistants will replace him; these people were also prepared.
How many criminals were executed in one day?
The execution of the sentence within one day was carried out in relation to only one convicted person. This is how it is provided regulations Ministry of Internal Affairs.
And at what hours did all this happen?
Well, it was usually lunchtime.
I once published a series of articles about the former head of Kievavtomattorg. He was sentenced to capital punishment. Then the execution was replaced by 15 years. He said that he was taken out to be shot twice. Were there such situations, that is, an imitation of an execution?
There were no such provocations. And no one would do this. It was very difficult to even try to take the convicted person out of the cell somewhere.
But they took him out for a walk. What should you put facing the wall?
This is out of the question.
Were you shot every month?
It happened differently. It happened that sentences were not carried out for a whole month (no documents were received against anyone). And it happened that I had to work twice a month.
Did the executioner see the victim's face?
The first meeting only at the execution?
Were there those among the condemned who asked to call a priest or begged for a cigarette?
These are fictions that before death they ask for a cigarette. Maybe we should also pour a glass for the convict? You know, these people had their own cigarettes, and they already managed to get high. And then, at the last minute, their thoughts were not about a cigarette - they were wondering how it would all end.
Still, it’s strange that they were shot with a small-caliber rifle, because a pistol is much more convenient.
The choice of weapon is up to the performer. The main thing is to carry out the sentence...
The person sentenced to death was held by the executioner's assistants by both hands. The one with the rifle came up from behind and...
And he pulled the trigger.
And if before execution the criminal fell to his knees or to the floor, then what?
They still raised him. The man lying down was not shot.
How was the sentence carried out against women sentenced to death?
In my opinion, during the period of independence not a single sentence against women was carried out in Kyiv.
-... A shot is fired, a man falls. And only after that are the handcuffs removed from him?
Yes. The medic has recorded death and the handcuffs are removed. There have been cases where death has already occurred, but air is still coming out of the corpse, and wheezing can be heard. But this rarely happened.
Were the performers paid extra for this work?
They paid extra. And additional leave was given, in my opinion, up to 15 days. We did a dirty thing, dirty for ourselves.
Why do you think so?
It's one thing to sit in a chair, and another to clean up dirt on the street.
Pardon the naturalism, but I can’t help but ask: when they were shooting, did the blood not splash on those standing nearby?
No, a small bullet does not produce splashes. The performer and his assistants wore ordinary blue robes, the kind they give to cleaners.
Where were the suicide bombers buried?
Before the opening of the crematorium, they were buried in one of the districts of the Kyiv region. A plot of approximately one and a half hectares was allocated in the forest, surrounded by a fence... It was under round-the-clock surveillance, that is, it was guarded so that no one would get in there...
And there are no burial mounds in this area?
There are no hills. Maybe there is only a column and some number is written there... With the advent of the crematorium in Kyiv, corpses began to be burned there.
Was they buried without a priest?
Did you give any personal items, valuables, for example, to relatives?
If there were valuable things, they were given to relatives. But, as a rule, those executed did not have any valuables. One piece of junk.
Well, what if there are gold crowns?
Nobody filmed them.
Did the crematorium know who was being burned?
There was an agreement with the management of the pre-trial detention center... And no one stood in line there. And no questions arose.
Finally, let’s ask you, Ivan Ivanovich, why did you decide to be frank with a journalist on such a sensitive topic?
I'm tired of the writings and inventions of ignorant people in the media on this topic. In addition, everything secret will sooner or later become apparent, and in our case this is obvious, because capital punishment has been abolished.
P.S. In our country, the “execution clause” has long been abolished. In April 2001, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the Criminal Code, which replaced the death penalty with life imprisonment. And in 2002, Ukraine acceded to Protocol No. 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for the complete abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances - in peacetime and wartime.
Bishop John (Bulin), Bishop of Pechersk, is one of the great many sufferers for Christ who endured torture and death from the atheistic Soviet authorities in difficult times. Bishop John has not yet been glorified, but his life, or more correctly, his life, is well suited for telling about it in our column, which we do with joy.
Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bulin was born on March 1, 1893 in the village of Vypsu, Ryapin volost, Võru district, Estonian province, into a poor, pious family of immigrants from the Don, living in Estonia since the 18th century. Since childhood, Nicholas was attracted to serving God, and he decided to follow the spiritual line. The young man successfully graduated first religious school and seminary in Riga, and in 1915 he entered the Theological Academy in St. Petersburg. His fellow students at the Academy remembered him as a reliable comrade, and his teachers as a diligent student.
The first one has begun world war, and after the first year of the Academy, Nikolai was drafted into the army. He graduated from the school of warrant officers and in June 1917 went to the active army in Transcarpathia, where he participated in several battles as a junior officer.
In 1918, Nikolai Bulin returned to the Theological Academy. In the same year he was tonsured a monk with the name John, in honor of St. John, Met. Tobolsky. On August 12, 1918, in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd ordained the young monk John as a hieromonk.
Hieromonk John never managed to graduate from the Academy due to its closure. At that time, famine and revolutionary terror reigned in Petrograd, the young hieromonk, like many clergy, was threatened with arrest, and, sick with tuberculosis, Father John, with the blessing of his bishop, ran across the ice of Lake Peipsi to Estonia. In his homeland, Hieromonk John was assigned by Archbishop Eusebius (Grozdov) to the parish of Zachernye (Saatse). In January 1920, Father John became acting dean of the Pechora region, and in February of the same year, Hieromonk John (Bulin) was appointed first viceroy, and soon abbot of the Pskov-Pechersky Holy Dormition Monastery.
February 2, 1920 between Soviet Russia and Estonia concluded the Tartu Peace Treaty, according to which Pechory providentially went to Estonia. As a result, Pskov- Pechersky Monastery not only preserved, but also found a second life. Archimandrite John worked hard for the flourishing of spiritual life in the monastery, and throughout the Pechora region.
After the October revolution and civil war The Pechersk Monastery found itself in a deplorable state: there were almost no monks left, the temples and buildings were dilapidated, and many were destroyed. The economy, which provided the means for the existence of the monastery, was ruined. A company of soldiers was stationed in the refectory. The entire upper floor of the abbot's house was occupied by the magistrate's court, and the judge himself lived there. And on the ground floor there was a land management commission.
The young abbot began the restoration of the ancient monastery with divine services according to the monastic rite. Moreover, he personally participated in all matters - he sang in the church choir, painted icons, passionately preached and worked in the most difficult monastic obediences. A local resident, Nikolai Pavlovich Zlatinsky, who knew the future bishop, recalled: “I well remember his thin figure of average height in a modest cassock, his blue-eyed stern but smiling beautiful face, gold curly hair scattered over the shoulders. At all times of the year it could be seen on construction sites, vegetable gardens, tree planting. And what a wonderful preacher he was! His speech was correct, logically constructed, artistically designed, and reached to the depths of the soul. He was an erudite, knew a lot, was interested in everything, was not afraid of anyone or anything. Often during his sermons, Father John spoke about the monstrous crimes of the executioners of the Cheka... He touched a nerve... I remember how everyone cried at the sermon dedicated to the suffering and death of his deeply revered teacher and mentor, now glorified among the martyrs, Metropolitan Veniamin of Petrograd and Gdov "
At that time, in the Orthodox parishes of Estonia, Lutheran elements were introduced during divine services - sitting in the pews, playing cants, performing services according to the new calendar. Archimandrite John was able not only to resist Western influence, but also established divine services according to the monastic rules and the “old” style.
The brethren did not lag behind their abbot. In a short time, the ancient monastery was transformed. Temples and fraternal buildings were repaired, water supply was restored, a stone staircase was built, and even electricity was installed in St. Michael's Cathedral.
In the monastery, among the brethren, young and educated novices appeared, many former officers; letters asking to be accepted into the monastery came from all over the world, from those places where Russian people ended up as a result of the disaster of 1917.
In 1924, the episcopal consecration of Archimandrite John as Bishop of Pechersk, vicar of Metropolitan Alexander (Paulus) of Tallinn took place. The Estonian Orthodox Church at that time uncanonically (without the consent of the Russian Orthodox Church) was part of the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which contradicted the spirit of Christian love and violated the generally accepted principles of church law.
The Pskov-Pechersky Monastery became the center of the spiritual and social life of the Pechora region, and the authority of Bishop John, who, in addition to monastic affairs, was involved in the development of culture, education and charity, also increased. Vladyka was an active participant in the Pechersk Educational Society, an honorary member and donor of the Union of Russian Crippled Warriors, and a spiritual trustee of the scouts. The monastery annually participated in the Days of Russian Culture and singing festivals in Pechory.
Bishop John personally conducted excursions for guests and pilgrims around the monastery, and with particular joy he presented the collection of church utensils and relics.
In July 1929, a congress of the Russian Student Christian Movement in the Baltic States was held within the walls of the monastery. Vladyka proved himself to be a hospitable host and friend of the youth. Each day of the congress began with the Liturgy in the monastery churches, and his living word from the abbot of the monastery was often heard.
In 1930, the congress of the RSHD in the Baltic States was held in the Pukhtitsa Monastery. According to the recollections of its participants, under the care of the bishop, the congress turned into “a great rise of faith and love... broke the ice of the coldest souls, making unbelievers believers, indicated the meaning of life to those who sought it and revealed... at its highest point the dazzling truth of the triumph of Orthodoxy.”
But difficult trials awaited the Bishop and the Orthodox people of the region. Back in 1928, the Synod of the Estonian Orthodox Church, relying on the law of the Republic of Estonia on the abolition of class property, demanded that the property of the Pechersk Monastery be registered in the name of the Synod. The brethren, led by the abbot, like the majority of Orthodox residents of the Pechora region, opposed these claims, since the property of the monastery had been its property since ancient times.
In 1929, Bishop John was elected as a deputy of the Riigikogu, about 32 thousand Russians and 15 thousand Setos cast their votes for him, it should be noted that this is an amazing result for our time. The consistency and firmness of the Bishop of Pechersk made it possible to defend against demolition cathedral St. Alexander Nevsky on Toompea. Bishop John defended Orthodox parishes and Russian people, and actively participated in the public life of Estonia.
All this increased discontent against the bishop on the part of the Primate and the Synod of the Estonian Church. In July 1932, the Council of the Estonian Orthodox Church decided to urgently transfer the active bishop to the vacant Narva see. Bishop John refused to leave his flock (especially since the widowed local archpriest A. Ostroumov had already been elected to the episcopal see in Narva), for which he was dismissed in December 1932 and limited in ministry. Neither the protest of the bishop himself nor the letter of appeal addressed to Metropolitan Alexander (Paulus) with signatures of about 10,000 Orthodox residents of Pechory helped. On December 30, 1932, the disgraced bishop was expelled from the brethren, although he asked to be allowed to remain in the monastery “at least as a simple monk.”
To top it all off, on November 4, 1932, a bailiff appeared in the monastery, apparently to expel the former governor from the walls of the monastery in disgrace. Eyewitnesses recalled that on a cold autumn day, many people stood at the walls of the monastery, who had come to see off their beloved archpastor, and even the men were crying. And when Vladyka John walked along Assumption Square, a large puddle appeared in front of him, and then one pious man took off his expensive fur coat and put it under the Vladyka’s feet.
The disgraced bishop began to live with his mother, who became his cell attendant, in a small apartment not far from the monastery, where friends and spiritual children constantly came to him.
In 1934, at the invitation of the Serbian Patriarch Varnava, Bishop John went abroad for more than four years. He visited the Ecumenical Patriarch with a request to resolve the difficult church situation in Estonia, but did not find understanding.
After this, Bishop John visited the ancient Orthodox monasteries of Palestine, Syria and Athos, gave lectures on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, and studied icon painting from masters in the Serbian monastery of Rakovica.
Vladyka was invited to occupy episcopal sees in Germany and North America, but after the death of his close friend, Patriarch Varnava, in the summer of 1938, he decides to return to Estonia. Did Vladyka John understand that martyrdom awaited him there? Without any doubt. After all, back in the early 20s, he told some nuns of the Pukhtitsa monastery that three Ecumenical saints appeared to him at the altar during his ordination and said: “You should be a martyr.”
The bishop was still not allowed to serve, but he often came to the monastery to pray at divine services and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Bishop John actively advocated the accession of the Estonian Orthodox Church to the Moscow Patriarchate.
In the summer of 1940, Estonia became part of the USSR. And almost immediately mass arrests began of everyone whom the new government considered enemies. Both Estonian political and public figures and Russians were arrested and repressed, from among the “former” ones - officers, intelligentsia, clergy, figures of Russian educational societies, leaders and activists of the RSHD. Bishop John (Bulin) was one of the first to be arrested.
Bishop John was arrested with the wording: “...I. Bulin, a former white officer, being the bishop of the Pechora Monastery, spoke out against the Soviet government and the Communist Party in his sermons from the pulpit. The monastery itself was the headquarters from where spies and saboteurs were transferred to the USSR.” On April 8, 1941, the Leningrad Regional Court “sentenced citizen I. Bulin to capital punishment - execution.” On July 30, 1941, the authorities carried out the sentence.
On October 7, 2015, at a meeting of representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian Church Abroad, the First Hierarch of the Russian Church Abroad, Metropolitan Hilarion (Corporal), proposed considering the possibility of including Bishop John of Pechersk among the host of new martyrs.
Archpriest Viktor Melnik
IN Last year, from January to August, 53 shots were fired in Russian cities, which were not included in police statistics. For none of them did task forces go to the crime scene. Everything was already known: in specially equipped cells of pre-trial detention centers, the life of a person whose crimes the court had punished with death - by shooting - was cut short.
First hand
As in all past years, the execution of criminals doomed to death is still surrounded by a veil of secrecy
H then I know about this terrible procedure, recent years my service in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and worked as a political officer in a pre-trial detention center in Kamchatka? Little. Firstly, such a sacrament was performed only in those prison casemates that were designated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs for each Russian region. When a death row prisoner held by us was denied pardon, an encrypted message came from Moscow with this news and an instruction: in order to carry out the sentence of a person doomed to death, we must immediately transport a special convoy to the Khabarovsk pre-trial detention center to carry out the sentence. I was always amazed at how quickly my colleagues there sent a person whom I had literally just handed over to the convoy to another world - it turned out that he was put against the wall in the very first hours after meeting him. As they say, hello and goodbye.
And another thing: the rules for keeping death row prisoners, their preparation for execution and its ritual itself were declared top secret order of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 002 - my then boss kept it in a personal safe and only waved the cover in front of my nose once. No matter how many secrets we have learned from the special services over the past decade, the execution topic still remains tightly closed to society; those conversations with executors that claim to be sensational, which often appear in the newspapers, are nothing more than the fantasies of my colleagues in the pen.
Therefore, I will share with the reader what I know for certain.
Awaiting execution
TO As soon as the court announces a death sentence to the criminal, immediately after returning to the pre-trial detention center, he is dressed in a striped robe with a striped cap and placed in a special cell. The barred window in it is covered with such a thick visor that one can only guess about the heavens on the other side. The door is locked on combination lock, which is impossible to open without the knowledge of the assistant on duty to the head of the pre-trial detention center. Those sentenced to death while away their days either alone or with a partner. Every day begins with handcuffing and a wholesale search - walls and bars are tapped, bedding and clothes are probed centimeter by centimeter at a time. No walks, no dates, no conversations on the phone, which are occasionally allowed to others. Exit to the bathhouse or to the medical unit - only one by one, only in handcuffs and with heavy security, only through deserted corridors.
The first months after the verdict, death row inmates live in hope - after all, the cassation appeal to the Supreme Court has gone, what if the verdict is either canceled, or the case is sent for further investigation, or the “tower” is replaced with life? This wait can last six months, or even more, all this time the person does not leave hope for a better outcome. From time to time, the only person from the outside appears with whom it is allowed to communicate - his lawyer, who will console him and share news.
But here's the definition Supreme Court received, the verdict was confirmed, but the condemned man is still holding on - it’s not evening yet! You can also compose and send a pitiful petition to the president and expect mercy from him. They wait for a year, a year and a half - I still remember the double murderer Marat Konkin, who was tortured in anticipation of execution for four years and was still allowed to live. It was no longer a person—a lying corpse. Gray hair on his balding head, shaking hands, dystrophic thinness - he was then twenty-four years old.
And one more trick that perhaps few people know about. Death row inmates learn the result of considering a petition for clemency only if it is granted and the person is given life. If I opened a secret package with a refusal delivered by the field communications service, on the same day and hour we received an order: to send the condemned person to Khabarovsk on the next plane flight. What this meant was known not only to us officers, but also to those passengers who were being taken to slaughter.
On the last journey
WITH the old truth: everything that they try to hide is entangled not only in secrecy - lies. The suicide bombers begged to meet with their wife, mother or child - we lied to them that they either had a cold, or a blizzard blocked all the roads, or the post office and telephone were working very poorly. If only he would believe us, if only he wouldn’t freak out and get on our nerves by opening veins or making a noose. Once they read to us a menacing order from the minister, with which the epaulets of the leaders of one of the “execution” pre-trial detention centers were torn off: one of their suicide bombers still committed suicide. Between the lines one could easily recognize not only the minister’s anger, but also simply a personal insult to him: the bandit should have been shot by the will of the court and the president, but he, the impudent one, arbitrarily took his own life and escaped from legal punishment.
Seeing off those condemned to execution, in which I took part in my accursed position, now seems to me like a good theatrical performance, in which the main characters, and the extras played their roles naturally. Imagine - absolutely all the suicide bombers believed us.
So, a special convoy arrived - four hefty guys with machine guns, walkie-talkies and a dog. Today they will take Kostya Ivantsov, 26 years old, on his last journey, always known as an excellent worker at the shipyard and an exemplary family man. And here it is for you: I went fishing with my friends, they started poaching, and here comes the fisheries inspector. Kostya was drunk to the point of amazement at the time, and therefore he ended the squabble with the unexpected guest as easily as possible: he hit him with a doublet from a gun...
I talked with Kostya more often than with others, no matter how hard I tried to pass unnoticed near his cell - he heard and recognized my steps. I noticed this amazing ability in every suicide bomber: God knows how, but they unmistakably guessed who was passing along the corridor - the owner, godfather or lepila (doctor). I will not hide that talking with the doomed was a mortal torment for me, especially in the evenings, when I felt that the reserve of compassion had already been spent, that I could no longer listen, or smile, or speak. And then watch your face, gait, movements, speech and think about what smile to squeeze out of yourself when the same Kostya asked the same thing: “Boss, will they kill me soon?”
But that's it now. Now I come to Ivantsov exactly after dinner and play my role diligently: they say, his pardon will not be considered until another examination is carried out, this time in Khabarovsk. So, grab your things and head out. You'll take a ride, they say, at our expense on a good plane, stay in a hospital bed for two or three weeks and come back. And at that very second I see in front of me a robot, a mannequin: the face is white, motionless, the movements are slow but precise. He puts his simple belongings into a bundle, but cannot tie the ribbons: his hands do not obey. Not a single question, not a single request - guessed it?
The sergeants and the duty officer who are waiting for us in the corridor, the convoy, to whom after eighty-five steps (counted!) they will hand over Ivantsov - sheer cordiality, sheer courtesy. Walk, Kostya, through the bars, through the heavy doors, get into a paddy wagon specially provided for you, fly on a plane with nice flight attendants and cheerful passengers - this is your last journey, at the end of which - a bullet in the back of the head. Neither farewell to relatives, nor confession with communion, nor the last letter - the acting in which we participate does not provide for such excesses.
From the Criminal Correctional Code of the Russian Federation.
P they say State Duma December 18, 1996
Section VII
Execution of the death penalty
Art. 186. Procedure for executing the death penalty
1. The death penalty is not carried out publicly by shooting. The execution of the death penalty in relation to several convicts is carried out separately in relation to each and in the absence of the others.
2. When executing the death penalty, a prosecutor, a representative of the institution in which the death penalty is carried out, and a doctor are present.
...
4. The administration of the institution in which the death penalty is carried out is obliged to notify the court that passed the sentence, as well as one of the close relatives of the convicted person; the body is not released for burial and the place of its burial is not reported.
| Viceroy of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery |
Veps, Võru County, Estonian Governorate, Russian Empire
Biography [ | ]
Born on February 16, 1893 in the town of Veps, Räpinsky volost, Võru district in the south of the Estonian province (now Võypsu, Estonia) into a Russian working-class family. His parents were descendants of immigrants from the Don, resettled during the time of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna among 220 families in Ryapino to work in a paper factory. These settlers formed their own village, in which an Orthodox Church was built for them in the name of the righteous saints Zechariah and Elizabeth.
From the age of six he helped in church during services, from the age of eight he read the Trisagion from memory.
In 1901-1903 he studied at elementary school Vyypsu village. He studied for another 2 years at the Radom Ministerial School in .
In St. Petersburg [ | ]
In the same year, Nikolai Bulin entered the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, where he established himself as a reliable comrade and diligent student. It is known that at the most crucial moments in the life of the course in which Nikolai studied, it was he who was trusted to preach during divine services or to deliver a word of greeting at ceremonial acts.
Under the influence of the patriotic upsurge in Russia associated with the beginning of the First World War, despite the “reservation” from the army, he transferred to the Peterhof Ensign School, which he successfully graduated from in 1916 and went into the active army. Participated in several battles.
In December 1917, Nikolai Bulin was released from the army by order of Commander-in-Chief Krylenko and returned to the Petrograd Theological Academy to continue his studies.
On May 21, 1918, in the Church of the 12 Apostles, the rector, Bishop Anastasy (Alexandrov) of Yamburg, he was tonsured a monk with the name John, in honor of St. John of Tobolsk, and on May 23 of the same year he was ordained a hierodeacon. On August 12 of the same year, in the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Metropolitan Veniamin (Kazan) of Petrograd and Gdov ordained him to the rank of hieromonk.
After his ordination, he was sent to the Petrograd province, where his maternal uncle was a psalm-reader.
In Russia at this time, persecution of the Church intensified, clergy were arrested one after another, and classes at the academy were stopped. Fearing arrest, in January 1919 he fled across the ice of Lake Peipsi from Russia to newly independent Estonia.
Ministry in Estonia[ | ]
Returning to his homeland, he was appointed parish priest by Archbishop Eusebius of Pskov.
In January 1920, Hieromonk John was confirmed as acting Dean of the Pechersk region.
On February 20, 1920, Hieromonk John (Bulin) arrived at the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery as its vicar.
After the events of 1917-1919, the monastery was in decline, almost the entire economy was destroyed. The land was taken away, buildings fell into disrepair, roofs leaked, walls collapsed. The refectory was used as a barracks for a company of Estonian troops. Top floor The abbot's house was allocated for the premises of a justice of the peace. The justice of the peace lived there. And the ground floor of the house was occupied by the land management commission. The governor initially had to huddle in a small room in the Lazarevsky building. There were few brethren: elderly monks, several deacons, novices - almost the entire staff. The new governor actively took up its restoration.
In the same year, Hieromonk John was nominated as a candidate for bishop, but due to his youth, only 27 years old, by Patriarch Tikhon of Moscow and All Rus', his candidacy was rejected.
On November 23 (December 6) of the same year he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
But through the efforts of Bishop John, everything gradually began to take its proper form. Was produced major renovation of all residential buildings after the eviction of lay tenants. The refectory and the abbot's house were renovated. In 1924, a major overhaul of the Sretensky Church was carried out, and in 1927, a major overhaul of the Assumption Cathedral was carried out. The ancient bell of the times of Boris Godunov on the small belfry at the St. Nicholas Church, which was broken in 1918, was restored. Major internal repairs were carried out in the same Assumption Church. St. Michael's Cathedral has been thoroughly renovated inside. The internal monastic life was put in order.
Money for the work being carried out came from both unknown donors and...
In 1926, Archimandrite John, by resolution of the Synod of the Estonian Autonomous Orthodox Church, was called to episcopal service while retaining the position of rector of the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. On April 25, 1926, he was consecrated Bishop of Pechersk. The consecration was performed by Metropolitan Alexander (Paulus) of Tallinn and All Estonia and Eusebius (Grozdov) Archbishop of Narva.
In August 1929, the Second Congress of the RSHD was held in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. The abbot of the monastery, Bishop John, was the soul of the meeting, and largely thanks to his spiritual leadership, the congress, according to one of its participants, turned into “a great rise of faith and love... broke the ice of the coldest souls, making believers of non-believers, indicated the meaning of life to those who were looking for it and revealed... at its highest point the dazzling truth of the triumph of Orthodoxy.”
After the death of Archbishop Eusebius in 1929, he simultaneously ruled the Narva diocese until 1932.
In 1930, a new stone staircase was built instead of a wooden one - a descent from St. Michael's Cathedral down to the center of the monastery.
Bishop John was a man of prayer, had a good voice, and preached a lot. In his liturgical practice, the Bishop adhered to the old traditions of the Orthodox Church and revived forgotten ones. At the same time, as if as a tribute to the circumstances of the multilingual population, Bishop John introduced the order of reading the Easter Gospel in nine languages: Greek, Church Slavonic, Estonian, Russian, Latin, Polish, German, Latvian and Hebrew. Under Bishop John, the Pechersk Monastery intensified its religious activity. Religious processions were resumed and new ones were established, which gathered many pilgrims from all over the Baltic states and from more distant lands. All this made Bishop John one of the most famous church figures in Estonia in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
At the same time, the Estonian authorities interfered in the activities of the monastery, and Bishop John repeatedly had disagreements with the Synod of the Estonian Church on the issue of ownership of the Pechersk monastery. He opposed the innovations introduced in some churches and was opposed to the introduction of a new style.
On June 16, 1932, at the Council of the Orthodox Church in Estonia held in Tallinn, with the votes of the Estonian majority of its members, it decided to transfer Bishop John of Pechersk to the Narva and Izborsk See, which had been vacant since 1927. Contrary to the protest of Bishop John, he was ordered to leave the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. Despite any arguments, Bishop John did not accept the Narva see. On December 30, 1932, he was retired, and, according to the order of Metropolitan Alexander, he had the right to serve only by special order.
In this paper, we propose to discuss the last death sentence in Russia. Currently, this type of punishment is legally prohibited, which leads to an increase in the number of dangerous crimes. The death sentence is usually commuted
In the article you will learn not only about the criminal life of the last executed person, but also what will happen if the moratorium is lifted.
Moratorium on the death penalty
The last death sentence in Russia was carried out just a couple of weeks before it was abolished. To become familiar with this topic, you must refer to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Criminal Code. The death penalty is the highest degree of punishment that was imposed on persons who committed terrible crimes or attempted murder.
At the moment, the death penalty is prohibited by the following document: protocol number 6 and PACE recommendations. This type of punishment is legally prohibited.
Reasons for abandoning the death penalty
This type of punishment is not available for two reasons:
- signed protocol No. 6 (European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights);
- presidential decree not allowing the death penalty.
Regarding the first point, the text states that a person’s life cannot be taken intentionally, with the exception of imposing the death penalty. That is, by and large, the European Convention allows the death penalty. But because of this, it remains inaccessible. This document prohibits death penalty until such time as jury trials are created in all regions of the Russian Federation. The last death sentence in Russia was imposed shortly before the introduction of the moratorium (April 1997), which expired in January 2010. But in 2009 it was extended until the ratification of the protocol on the abolition of this punishment.
Review of the type of punishment after the lifting of the moratorium
The last death sentence in Russia was carried out in 1996. But what happens if the moratorium is lifted? Prisoners are not required, but have the right, to file a petition for clemency. This is completely independent of whether this document was submitted before the moratorium was introduced or not.
The death sentence can be carried out in three cases:
- after the court verdict comes into force;
- rejection of the application by the President of the Russian Federation;
- non-application of pardon if the convicted person does not apply.
It is also necessary to know that new laws can either soften or worsen a prisoner’s sentence.
The last death penalty in Russia
The last death sentence in Russia (September 2, 1996) was handed down and carried out in Butyrka. This citizen committed about 40 particularly serious crimes (rape and murder of boys in the Moscow region). He carried on his criminal activities for 6 years. Two days before the capture of the Boa Constrictor, the Rostov court handed down a verdict to the most terrible and dangerous criminal of the USSR, Andrei Chikatilo.
Since similar crimes were carried out in two regions at once (Moscow and the Rostov region), employees of the USSR criminal investigation department were inclined to this version: the crimes were committed by one person who made flights between these two regions. Before the capture of "Boa", the criminal was known by the nickname "Fisher".
Role play
The last death sentence in Russia was handed down on September 2, 1996 to a particularly dangerous serial killer and rapist Sergei Golovkin. The most terrible thing about these crimes was that Boa constricted himself as a fascist and his victim as a partisan. For Golovkin, murder and torture are a kind of role-playing game.
He committed his first crime in 1982 near the Romantic camp. Golovkin tracked down the boy and, under threat of death, took him into the forest. There he tore off the child's clothes and hung him from a tree using a rope loop. Fortunately, this time the victim remained alive and was able to describe the appearance of the criminal.
Witness
Boa Constrictor, who received the last death sentence in Russia, committed the following crimes with greater cruelty. The second victim is a teenager from the Zvezdny camp in the Odintsovo district. He cut off the boy's head and ripped open the abdominal cavity; the severed genitals were found next to the body in a bag.
The third victim was dismembered in the village of Zarechye. The crime was committed with great cruelty, because more than 30 stab wounds were found on the remains of the dismembered body.
After three cases, the Odintsovo district police department created an investigative and operational group to capture Golovkin, because it became clear that a serial, especially dangerous criminal had appeared in the city. So they found the first witness in the Zvezdny pioneer camp, he claimed that he saw a Boa constrictor, and he said his last name.
Fisher version
The last death sentence in Russia was carried out in 1996, the defendant's name was Sergei Golovkin. After committing three crimes, he “lay low” for several years. But this break was only the “calm before the storm.”
We have already mentioned that a witness was found in the Zvezdny camp. So, this boy, unlike his friend, was able to escape from the criminal. He said that they talked to him not far from the camp. Golovkin said that his last name is Fischer, he escaped from prison and the police are looking for him. The boy described his appearance and the tattoo he saw on his arm.
Thus, police officers were able to identify about 6 thousand people prone to violence and solve some crimes. But Golovkin remained free.
Handwriting
The last time a death sentence was carried out in Russia was a few weeks before the abolition of the death penalty on the territory of the state.
During the “lull”, Fischer purchased a car and received a place for a garage on the territory of the Moscow stud farm, where he worked as a livestock specialist. Beneath it he set up a place of torture for his future victims.
This is how the criminal’s style changed, he lured people into his garage under various pretexts or picked up teenagers voting on the road. After the torture, Golovkin took the bodies to the “burial grounds.”
Taste of the booty
Shortly before the last death sentence in Russia was carried out, Golovkin made a mistake in his miscalculations. He decided to taste the victim and keep the head and skin as souvenirs.
During the forensic examination, it was revealed that the criminal used feed salt to tan leather. This clue led the police to the stud farm.
Strengthening the task force
The last death sentence in Russia was carried out on September 2, 1996. But how was the criminal caught? After strengthening the task force, another terrible crime occurred. On September 15, 1992, three boys disappeared at once.
The operatives managed to find out that he once gave them a lift in his new car Uncle Seryozha, who works at the Moscow Stud Farm No. 1. Then the employees had no doubts. We need to catch the criminal, and urgently, before other children die in the “clutches” of a serial killer.
Boa Constrictor Detention
How to make an arrest if there is no evidence? Even round-the-clock monitoring of the maniac did not produce any results.
I had to take it under Article 90 (10/19/92). Only after inspecting the garage was he charged under Art. 102 (October 30 of the same year). Golovkin indicated all the burial places; some of the people were still listed as “missing” at that time. Golovkin admitted to killing only eleven children, which did not prevent him from being awarded the highest degree of punishment. The investigation continued until 1994, but it was not possible to prove the involvement of Boa in other crimes.
Puff
The last death sentence in Russia regarding Golovkin was carried out in 1996, and the court's decision was heard back in 1994. Why was the sentence not carried out earlier?
Boris Yeltsin ignored the petitions for a long time, but on the eve of the signing of Protocol No. 6, all complaints (more than 100) were urgently considered. More than half were rejected, and Golovkin’s petition was also included here. For the rest, the death penalty was replaced with life or 25-year imprisonment.