A historian interprets, analyzes, studies the past, and writes about it. Some are even interested in digging graves and living with them. Notorious ‘corpse killer’ Anatoly Moskvin had a thing for exhuming and posing bodies. Yes, you read that right.
WHO WAS MOSKVIN?
Anatoly Moskvin was a man of many talents. He was a linguist, philologist historian.
It is during school years that many of us find our affinity and our interests. Moskvin indeed discovered his in Krasnaya Etna Cemetery. One thing was clear when walking through cemeteries and walking on graves: Moskvin loved death. He would go on to make his love for graves and cemeteries his career. In the future, he would often describe himself as a necropolist.
If one were to not know of Moskvin’s obsession with dressing up the dead and living with them, one would much more likely describe him as a genius. He was a professor in Celtic studies, a journalist, and a reader with over 60,000 books in his collection. He was well-versed in over thirteen different languages. One can imagine how big of a surprise it was for everyone when the supposed ‘genius’ turned out to be psychotic.
Moskvin completed his studies at Moscow State University with a philological degree. He also worked as a lecturer at the Nizhny Novgorod Linguistic University. He took his job very seriously, and no matter the circumstances he had to deal with, he never complained. Nor, once did Moskvin complain. In 2005 when he was given the task to examine over 700 graves in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Anatoly couldn’t have been happier. He spent the next two years completing his job, even when he had to drink from puddles or live in coffins prepared for the dead to survive.
WHAT DID HE DO?
What did he do, you ask?! The unimaginable. A crime of utmost brutality that some would describe as the most heinous they have heard. Unlike most serial killers who typically kill someone, Anatoly killed the dead. He would exhume minor bodies and look for ways to preserve them. Dressing up the dead girls as dolls and living with them was something Moskvin enjoyed. He would dress them up, do their makeup, and apply lipstick.
He preserved their bodies using a solution of baking soda and salt because he believed that he could bring them back to life, and the souls of these girls were calling to them as they needed his help.
He would adore the bodies with wigs and designs with nail polish on their faces and keep them covered from head to toe. He also stuffed them with padding to give a more doll-like ‘full look.’ The dolls looked so ‘doll-like,’ the only difference being that they were the size of human beings. This was why it was so difficult to catch him in the first place, as when someone would take a look at the dolls, they wouldn’t suspect a thing.
Moskvin treated the corpses with nothing less than how a child is treated—singing songs to them, celebrating their birthdays, sleeping with them, celebrating holidays with them. He would even cover their faces with wax masks.
Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18233604/body-snatcher-with-mummified-corpses-to-be-freed/
HIS ARREST
Moskvin was arrested on November 2, 2011. This was after police were investigating a series of robberies from cemeteries. Anatoly Moskvin was found to be living with 26 graves of girls aged three to twenty-five years old.
The victims were found in Moskvin’s apartment and his garage. Lying on his couch, cupboards, and shelves. Papers, books, and other materials surrounded the victims. Along with the bodies, the police also found books stating directions for making dolls and nameplates stolen from headstones.
Moskvin had also recorded and clicked pictures of open graves and the exhumed bodies.
Moskvin was charged with desecrating over 26 graves. It was, however, suspected that the number could be as high as 150. Unfortunately, none of the victims discovered could be linked to any evidence found by the police.
WHY DID HE DO WHAT HE DID?
Moving claimed that what he did was all because he believed that he could bring back the corpses of the dead.
He would choose his victims only after they told Moskvin to pick them and bring them back to life. He would sleep on the graves of the people who had recently passed away and hear their wishes to return to the mortal world, or so he claimed.
He also researched traditional Siberian ways of conversing with the dead, especially those of the Yakuts.
Anatoly claimed that he only started bringing the bodies home as it became difficult for him to sleep with their graves in the cold as he grew older. He also believed that bringing bodies home in a warmer environment also helped in more effortless conversations with the souls. Moskvin kept his charade up for nine years. However, he claimed that he had been practicing this for twenty years.
Source: https://cvltnation.com/anatoly-moskvin-and-his-mummified-children/
Latest Development
He was brought to trial, diagnosed with schizophrenia, and sentenced to treatment at a psychiatric ward instead of a prison.
“This court decision is the only correct one. My client did not realize what he was doing. Anatoly Moskvin needs treatment,” said Alexei Ilyin, Moskvin’s lawyer.
In 2019, the psychiatric facility where he lives petitioned for his release, saying he was all better—or better enough, anyway—but he was denied release and remained in custody.
Until now, courts have repeatedly refused to release him, but psychiatric medics are now reported to insist there is no medical reason to keep him in secure accommodation.
The victim’s parents have requested a life-long sentence for him, fearing he’ll return to his sinister old habit, which saw him living with some children’s remains for up to ten years. Moskvin told authorities not to bother reburying the girls because he’s planning on digging them up again when he’s released. Moreover, Moskvin has consistently refused to apologize to the victim’s parents.
The mother of Olga Chardymova, one of Moskvin’s victims, was quoted as saying, “This latest news about releasing him is certainly not good,” said Natalia.
“I am also very afraid that he will go back to his old ways. I have no faith in his recovery. He’s a fanatic.
REFERENCES
· “Нижегородский «повелитель мумий» Анатолий Москвин собирается жениться.” КП-Нижний Новгород, 11 April 2016, https://www.nnov.kp.ru/daily/26515.5/3532071/. Accessed 29 November 2022.
· “Нижегородского некрофила приговорили к принудительному лечению.” Российская газета, 25 May 2012, https://rg.ru/2012/05/25/reg-pfo/moskvin-anons.html. Accessed 29 November 2022.
· “Anatoly Moskvin and his Mummified Children.” CVLT Nation, 17 September 2021, https://cvltnation.com/anatoly-moskvin-and-his-mummified-children/. Accessed 29 November 2022.
· “https://books.google.co.in/books?id=obw6EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT40&lpg=PT40&dq=corpse+killer+russia&source=bl&ots=NyPThLj2-V&sig=ACfU3U2eU0EQT9wrK30snZ_7ORaZtP-6_Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwisvay3g9P7AhVQ_3MBHS7yB244KBDoAXoECAQQAw#v=onepage&q=corpse%20killer%20russia&f=. Accessed 29 November 2022.
· “Russian ‘grave robber made dolls from girls’ corpses.’” BBC, 6 March 2012, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15653074. Accessed 29 November 2022.
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