Trial of the Russian historian who killed and dismembered his partner begins

The trial of Russian historian Oleg Sokolov, accused of having killed and dismembered his partner, opened on Tuesday June 9 in Saint Petersburg, a case which has provoked a debate in Russia on domestic violence and the impunity of their authors.

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A new coronavirus epidemic has forced the historian to enter the glass cage reserved for the accused wearing a surgical mask and blue gloves. In the courtroom, the participants also all had their faces covered. Postponed several times because of the epidemiological situation, the trial was finally able to open Tuesday without an audience. The entire hearing is however broadcast online on a Saint-Péterbourg justice portal.

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History professor at Saint Petersburg State University and specialist in Napoleon, Oleg Sokolov was arrested on November 10, 2019. Drunk, he was taken out of the little Moika river by the police who had found two woman's arms and an alarm pistol in her backpack. Other fragments of the victim's body were later found in another stream.

Pre-murder violence

The 63-year-old historian quickly admitted to having killed and dismembered one of his former students, Anastassia Echtchenko, 24, whose life he shared. His lawyer, Alexandre Potchouev, spoke to the press for the first time of a new line of defense, without providing details: "there were instigators in this case, who poisoned (the spirit) of Sokolov for a long time " before the murder.

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Very famous, the State University of Saint Petersburg had also been accused of its inertia while Oleg Sokolov had already been accused of violence. A student, who had had an affair with Oleg Sokolov in 2008, had filed a complaint, claiming that he had tied her to a chair, struck her in the face and threatened to brand her with a hot iron because she wanted to leave him , according to Russian media.

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However, no disciplinary action had been taken against the historian. This criminal case quickly had a great impact in Russia, several associations saw it as a new illustration of violence against women while the country decriminalized domestic and marital violence in 2017 in the majority of cases, a reform supported by Vladimir Putin .

Each year, nearly 16.5 million women are victims of domestic violence in Russia, according to figures established by activists before the pandemic.

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