The killer was buried next to the grave of the soldier he killed.

      "This is mockery and blasphemy to bury a murderer next to Danika's grave," friends of the murdered guy say angrily.

      And although the official law does not prohibit burying the murdered and his executioner nearby, the tradition of Orthodox funerals implies that the presence of a murderer in a common graveyard offends the memory of ancestors.

      A Conspiracy of Silence

      The story of the drunken and senseless brutal execution of SVO fighter Daniil Razumov, who came home on leave to Kiknur due to an injury, began back in March 2023. But today, when only grave mounds remain from the murderers of the soldier—35-year-old Igor Akishin and 30-year-old Yuri Afanasyev, whose lives were short and deaths horrific after Danika's demise—it is unlikely that the events of those days can be considered forgotten.

      Because after the sentences handed down to Akishin and Afanasyev: 21 and 19 years in a "strict regime" colony, respectively, the fiends signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense of Russia. And soon they died on the "front line" of battles. And while Akishin's body was buried in the Nizhny Novgorod region, Yuri Afanasyev, who died, as they say in the village, from a "gunshot wound to the back," was buried in Kiknur as a hero of the SVO.

      About those who were not afraid

      In mid-March 2023, relatives and friends of 25-year-old Daniil Razumov, who was called Danika for his bright smile and responsiveness, approached the editorial office: "Help, the local police not only do not investigate the murder of the guy but even refuse to accept a statement from his mother..."

      Thus began one of the most challenging journalistic investigations, as out of many people—eyewitnesses of the crime, witnesses, and those who could tell about the reasons preceding the murder—no one wanted to speak with a media representative. The village was intimidated by a "gang of beasts," quick and cruel in their retribution. And even in the Kiknur editorial office, we were only privately whispered who might not be afraid to tell the truth.

      At first, only one woman—a teacher at the Kiknur school—Irina Kontueva, revealed what happened in the village on the night of March 4 to 5, 2023. She did not consider it necessary to hide her name and the names of the alleged murderers. They were later charged with "intentional infliction of serious harm to health leading to death," "kidnapping for mercenary motives," "extortion using violence," and "robbery." As well as "violent sexual acts" and "gang rape by prior conspiracy."

      By the way, when Irina Vladimirovna, a teacher with 45 years of experience, was threatened with dismissal "for communicating with journalists" from "the region," Newsler.ru immediately reported this in one of its articles.

      As the mother of the murdered soldier later recounted, initially, the local police did not plan to initiate a criminal case "regarding the death" of her child, citing "a mutual drunken brawl." And then—reluctantly and sluggishly—when her son was buried, they stated about "murder... by negligence." Apparently, the investigation at that time sincerely believed that Akishin and Afanasyev were just having a bad time during the six-hour torture of Razumov, not thinking about the consequences.

      Murder under silent consent

      In a small house on the edge of a neighboring village to Kiknur, Daniil Razumov spent his childhood and school years. He then moved to his parents in Nizhny Novgorod, from where he was one of the first to go to the SVO. In March 2023, he came to visit his grandmother.

      "Danika even informed me from the road that he was coming home after being wounded. He asked for permission to attend a literature class, wrote that he missed school. He asked if they would let him in, if they would ask for his passport, and if the children would be scared of his injury... When I opened the door to the classroom, he was sitting at the last desk, and although we hadn't seen each other for several years, I recognized him immediately—still the same Danika, the same shy smile, just very thin. He told the children about the military operation, easily choosing very wise and understandable words about duty and conscience. He promised to come again, even named the day—Monday, March 6... But I saw him again only in the church—at the funeral," recalls Irina Vladimirovna, the last day of her student's life.

      That evening, March 4, Daniil and his civil wife Natasha went to visit her friend who lived on Lesnaya Street. He didn't want to go, but she insisted: after all, the guy at her friend's place was also fighting, and he would take a package to him.

      Why the fight broke out and why no one called the police—Kiknur residents only speculated: they said the local gang wanted money, and Danika didn't give it. And the girls were afraid because they knew what the thugs did to those who tried to resist. By the way, when the suspects were arrested, and it became clear that serious sentences awaited them, several statements about rape were submitted to the Investigative Committee. In which young women reported group abuse that was recorded on video. And they were forced to remain silent by the threat of posting "hardcore porn" featuring them on the internet.

      "Razumov was beaten for a long time and cruelly—blood was spilled not only on the floor and walls but also on the ceiling," one of Daniil's acquaintances revealed in great secrecy at that time. "Then they threw him in the trunk of a car and drove him around the village. Then they dumped him on the street, probably hoping he would recover and leave. Later, finding him in the same place, they tied his legs to the bumper and dragged him alive through the streets. After having their fun, they took him to the hospital themselves."

      As the medical staff of the Central District Hospital recounted, the guy, bleeding profusely, was placed on a bed, and those who saw him already understood that he was not going to survive:

      "His head was unnaturally large, there was a hole in his skull, and the skin was torn from his back to the muscles and flesh. His head looked like a leather bag, in which some pieces were rattling."

      On March 5, Razumov, who was in a coma, was taken to the Yaran hospital. Where he died on the 7th without regaining consciousness.

      "When they said that Danika had died, the sky was gloomy and cried for several days. And when we buried him, the sun unexpectedly appeared," recalls Irina Kontueva. "I told the children: put on your hats, you'll freeze... But the sun warmed so much that even the tears dried up. And then I told the students: 'His death is a sign from God that it is time to fight against the evil and horror that has settled in our home.'"

      "His ways are inscrutable," local grandmothers whisper. "It is the Lord who gave them a place to meet in eternal life..."