Kathrine Frich
The presence of troops has brought fear instead of security in parts of western Russia.
Women living near military deployments describe a climate of intimidation that rarely reaches public view.
Reports from independent media point to a pattern of violence, weak accountability and growing anxiety among local residents.
Attack near home
Svetlana was walking her dogs close to her apartment building when a man in military uniform stopped her and pointed a rifle at her chest.
“You’re coming with me or I’ll shoot you,” he allegedly said.
The incident took place on October 28, 2025, near the Ukrainian border.
The soldier dragged her into a dark alley, threatened her with a knife and began choking her.
“He choked me as if he knew what he was doing, in a way that wouldn’t kill me immediately, but stunned me, incapacitated me, and made me suffer,” Svetlana told Insider.
She managed to escape after a neighbor heard a rifle shot.
The attacker fled. Journalists later identified him as Alexei Kostrikin, a repeat offender previously convicted of robbery and theft who had been recruited to fight at the front.
Fear in Belgorod
According to Onet, citing an investigation by an independent Russian outlet, such cases are not isolated.
Residents of Belgorod region say fear has become part of daily life.
Court data from 2022 to 2024 shows between 2,000 and 2,200 rape cases recorded annually in Russia, along with roughly 8,000 other sexual crimes each year.
In summer 2025, a 39-year-old woman in Belgorod reported an attempted rape by a 35-year-old soldier inside her apartment. Journalists established she was at least his third victim.
The man had previously been detained for raping a 21-year-old student, later signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, was pardoned and returned to the war.
Children among victims
Another case in the same region involved an 11-year-old girl allegedly abused by Corporal Alexander Andreyev. Investigators say the soldier raped the child three times.
Andreyev reportedly tried to silence the girl by paying her 180,000 rubles, but later reoffended. Criminal proceedings are ongoing.
Investigators and journalists warn that children have increasingly appeared among victims of soldiers stationed near the border.
Sense of impunity
As Insider reported, many soldiers believe they are untouchable. Civilians often avoid confronting them out of fear.
One woman recalled a drunk soldier harassing her on a train from Belgorod to Saint Petersburg. When she rejected him, he shouted, “What do you mean, you don’t want me? I was at the front!”
No clear policy prevents soldiers from avoiding punishment.
Signing a contract with the Defense Ministry has led to the suspension of more than 17,000 criminal cases, with many more frozen during investigations.
Sources: Insider, Onet, WP.
