Anatoly Moskvin

Anatoly Yurevych Moskvin
Born (1966-09-01) September 1, 1966
Residence Nizhny Novgorod
Nationality  Russia
Known for Arrested in 2011 after the bodies of 26 mummified girls were discovered in his home.
Academic background
Alma mater Moscow State University
Academic work
Discipline Linguist, Philologist, Historian
Sub discipline Celtic Studies
Institutions Nizhny Novgorod Linguistic University

Anatoly Yurevych Moskvin (Russian: Москвин, Анатолий Юрьевич, born 1 September 1966) is a Russian academic and linguist from Nizhny Novgorod Russia, who was arrested in 2011 after the bodies of 26[1][2] recently 'mummified' girls were discovered in his home. Moskvin had mummified the corpses himself after exhuming the bodies from local graves, before clothing and posing them around his house as effigies or 'dolls'.[1] Moskvin exclusively exhumed the bodies of girls [1][3] under the age of 15 years old and some as young as 3.[2][4][5]

After a psychiatric evaluation it was determined that Moskvin suffers from a form of paranoid schizophrenia and in May 2012 was sentenced to 'coercive (court mandated) medical measures'[6] and has since been held in a psychiatric hospital.[2]

Vladimir Stravinskas, the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Nizhny Novgorod region, called the case exceptional and unparalleled in modern forensics.[3]

Personal life and Education

Born 1 September 1966, before his arrest Moskvin lived in Nizhny Novgorod, the fifth largest city in Russia.[2] He shared an apartment with his parents[7][8] including his father, Yuri F. Moskvin.[9][10]

After graduating from the Philological faculty of Moscow State University[3] Moskvin became well known in academic circles.[3][11] His main areas of academic interests are Celtic[8] history and folklore,[10] as well as languages and linguistics. Moskvin also has a deep interest in cemeteries,[11] death,[7][12] the occult and magic.[7][8][10] He also has a personal library of over 60,000[8] books and papers and a collection of dolls.[7]

In an article written shortly before his arrest, Moskvin explained his interest in the dead, attributing it to an event in his youth. He said that when he was 12,[7][12] he came across a funeral procession whose participants forced him to kiss the face of a dead 11-year-old girl. Moskvin wrote 'An adult pushed my face down to the waxy forehead of the girl in an embroidered cap, and there was nothing I could do but kiss her as ordered.."[7][9][12]

Moskvin said he had begun wandering through cemeteries with friends when still a schoolboy,[11] in particular the 'Krasnaya Etna' cemetery located in the Leninsky district of Nizhny Novgorod.[9][12]

Moskvin reportedly led a secluded life[3] and has never married.[9] He does not drink alcohol or smoke[9] and is purportedly a virgin.[8] Described as both a genius[8] and an eccentric,[11] he is a polyglot and speaks 13 languages.[1][8][9]

Career

A former lecturer in Celtic Studies at Nizhny Novgorod Linguistic University,[8] Moskvin also previously worked at the Institute of Foreign Languages.[10] A philologist, linguist and polyglot Moskvin has written several books, papers and translations and is well known in academic circles.[11] Moskvin also occasionally worked as a journalist[13] and regularly contributed to local newspapers and publications.[7] Described as a 'Necropolist', Moskvin is considered an expert on local cemeteries in the Nizhny Novgorod region.[11]

In 2005 the director of 'Books' publishing house Oleg Riabov, commissioned Moskvin to summarize and list the dead in more than 700 cemeteries in 40 regions of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.[14] Moskvin claims to have inspected 752 cemeteries across the region from July 18, 2005 to 2007, on average walking up to 30 km a day.[12] He said he had drunk from puddles, spent nights in haystacks or at abandoned farms, often in the cemeteries themselves and had once slept in a coffin prepared for a funeral.[9][11] Moskvin also claims that on his extensive travels he was sometimes questioned by police on the suspicion of vandalism and theft, but was never reprimanded.[9]

This work remains unpublished but has been described as 'unique' and 'priceless' by Alexei Yesin, the editor of Necrologies, a weekly paper that Moskvin regularly wrote for.[8][14] After Moskvin's arrest, Yesin stated that he was confident that there had been a mistake and Moskvin would soon be exonerated.[9] He also told the Associated Press that Moskvin was a loner who had 'certain quirks' but said he had never given any indication that he was up to anything so strange.[11]

From 2006 -2010 he worked as a freelance correspondent for the newspaper 'Nizhny Novgorod worker', publishing articles twice a month. His father also sometimes wrote for the paper.[9] During 2008 Moskvin wrote an extensive series of articles on the history of Nizhny Novgorod cemeteries that appeared in the paper.[3][10]

Arrest and Criminal Proceedings

Moskvin was arrested on 2 November 2011 by police investigating a spate of grave desecrations in cemeteries in and around Nizhny Novgorod.[10][11] Investigators from the 'Center for Combating Extremism' (also known as 'Centre E') discovered the bodies of 26[1][2](often reported as 29[7][11]) mummified girls in Moskvin's home.[9] The bodies were found in his flat and garage[11] and video released by police shows the bodies seated on shelves and sofas in small rooms full of books, papers and general clutter.[11] Although only 26 bodies were discovered in his home, Moskvin is suspected of desecrating many more graves.[13] Photographs and nameplates taken from headstones were also found in his home, as well as instructions for making dolls and maps of cemeteries in the region.[7][11] According to the investigation the bodies were removed from cemeteries in the Nizhny Novgorod region as well as cemeteries in Moscow and Moscow region.[2][3][10] Moskvin actively cooperated with investigators.[2]

After exhuming the corpses from their graves Moskvin attempted to 'mummify' the bodies, researching mummification theories and technique from books.[10] Moskvin would dry the corpses using a combination of salt and baking soda and then cache the bodies in secure and dry places in and around cemeteries.[2][10] Once dried he would carry the bodies back to his home where he would proceed to make effigies or 'dolls' of the corpses, a process which was very varied.[10] The corpses were usually dressed in brightly coloured clothes scavenged from graves, and their faces and limbs were often covered in cloth. Sometimes wax masks decorated with nail polish were placed over their faces and at others the bodies were stuffed with rags and padding and then sewed together before being clothed.[10] It is not clear whether each doll contained a full set of human remains.[1][11] Moskvin claims he made the dolls over the course of 10 years without ever letting anyone know, including his parents, who would be away for large portions of the year.[10]

Moskvin was charged under article 244 of the Criminal Code 'Desecration of graves and dead bodies' and faced up to 5 years in prison.[2][3] Originally Moskvin was also accused of having defaced the graves of Muslims,[2] but this accusation was later dropped.[8]

After a psychiatric evaluation it was determined that Moskvin suffers from a form of paranoid schizophrenia.[2] In a hearing on 25 May 2012, the Leninsky District court of Nizhny Novgorod deemed Moskvin not fit for trial, releasing him from criminal liability and sentencing him to 'coercive medical measures'.[6] The prosecution was satisfied with the decision and did not appeal the verdict.[5]

Moskvin was then sent to a psychiatric clinic, with his stay to be reviewed regularly. Approval for the extension of his treatment has been granted in hearings in February 2013,[15] April 2014,[13] and July 2015.[16] In 2014 a spokesman said, 'After three years of monitoring him in a psychiatric clinic it is absolutely clear that Moskvin is not mentally fit for trial... He will therefore be kept for psychiatric treatment at the clinic.'[13] As of 2016, every request for the extension of Moskvin's treatment has been approved.

Motive

Moskvin has spoken frequently of the motives for this actions, his main stated reason being that he felt sympathy for the buried children, believing that they could be revived or brought back to life either by science or black magic.[10] Moskvin is said to have known that he was committing a crime but his sympathy he felt for the young women caused him to act.[3][10] He was also motivated by his own desire to have children, specifically a daughter.[2][10] Moskvin often regretted that he never had children and at one point attempted to adopt a young girl, against the wishes of his parents.[9] However Moskvin's application to adopt was declined due to his low income.[10] Moskvin considered the corpses in his house to be his children. He would talk and interact with the corpses, singing songs to them, watch cartoons with them and even hold parties and arrange for imaginary holidays.[2][10][13]

In a post arrest interview Moskvin explained his reasoning for his actions further.[10] An expert on Celtic culture, when studying Druidic tradition, Moskvin found that they slept on graves in order to communicate with spirits of their dead. He then also studied the culture of the peoples of Siberia, in particular, the culture of the ancient Yakuts, and found that they practiced something similar. So Moskvin began to sleep on the graves of children which he liked and came to believe he was able to communicate with the spirits of the dead children. Moskvin claims he had been doing this for around 20 years. He states that he first began relocating bodies to his home because the graves were very uncomfortable and so he decided to relocate the bodies somewhere it would be more comfortable to sleep.[10]

Works

Publications contributed to:

Dictionaries

Translations

Essays/Chapters

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kashin, Oleg (3 November 2011). "In Nizhny Novgorod, the scientist-ethnographer made a vault in his apartment". Channel 5, Russia. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "In the Nizhny Novgorod region for the man who has committed abuse of dead bodies and burial places are subjected to compulsory medical measures". Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "The investigator told about the high-profile cases". Rossiyskaya Gazeta. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Nekropolistu Anatoly Moskvin extended compulsory treatment". Vesti. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 Makarova, Albina. "Nizhny Novgorod necrophiliac sentenced to compulsory treatment". Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Criminal proceedings - CASE number 1-167 / 2012". Leninsky District court of Nizhny Novgorod. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Russian grave digger dresses up 29 bodies and puts them on display at home". The Telegraph. 8 November 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Kashin, Oleg (5 December 2011). "We are confident that it will release". Kommersant. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Kokin-Slavin, Tatiana (2011). "Detained local historian Anatoly Moskvin-nekropolist". Tanya Tank. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "Case nekropolista Moskvina postponed until June 26". Criminal Chronicle. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Russian 'grave robber made dolls from girls' corpses'". BBC. 6 March 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Kokin-Slavin, Tatiana (2011). "Interview with Anatoly Moskvin". Tanya Tank. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 "Man, Anatoly Moskvin, Who Mummified Girl's Corpses Dressed Up For Parties 'Not Fit For Trial'". The Huffington Post. 24 October 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 Nemtsova, Anna (28 November 2011). "Russian Historian Anatoly Moskvin Collected Dead Girls at Home". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  15. ↑ "Criminal proceedings - CASE number 1-63 / 2013 (1-469 / 2012;)". Leninsky District court of Nizhny Novgorod. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  16. ↑ "Nekropolist Anatoly Moskvin continue compulsory treatment". Вести.Ru. 9 April 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

External links

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