94-Year-Old Veteran Metallurgist Killed in Chelyabinsk
Two suspects have been detained in connection with the murder of a 94-year-old honored veteran metallurgist in Chelyabinsk.
Apr 17, 2026 0
The veteran had lived alone for years with neighbors keeping an eye on him, making the murder a shock to the community.
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In Chelyabinsk, a 94-year-old veteran metallurgist, honored rationalizer of Russia Vladimir Dronyaev, was killed. His body with stab wounds was discovered by neighbors on February 1. According to law enforcement, two suspects have been detained.
Vladimir Dronyaev spent his entire career at the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant as a mechanical engineer, with an invention that was featured in local press.
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The crime was committed in a house on 60th Anniversary of October Street.
«The commotion started around 3 p.m.,» one of the veteran«s neighbors said. »His door was open, and the neighbor thought the old man had simply forgotten to close it. When she went in, she saw him lying in the hallway.«
The neighbors immediately suspected that something might have happened.
«He lived alone; his wife died in 2011. A troubled young man used to visit him, and I think, everyone thinks that he killed him for money,» the neighbor suggested. «The boy is 27 years old. His parents were alcoholics, and there was a grandmother living here, he often visited her. And the neighbor had a Niva, he was always tinkering with the car. So he attached himself to him and became like family to him, since he had no children of his own. And then the neighbor sold that Niva for 250,000 rubles (approximately $3,300 at current rates). I think he didn»t put the money in the savings bank, and his pension was good, about 40,000 rubles ($533 at current rates), he didn«t spend it all, so there were savings.»
According to the neighbor, the young man who communicated with the veteran had a «criminal friend» who could have incited him to crime:
«Both studied at a correctional school. They had already attempted to target Dronyaev. The first time they stole the garage key, but couldn»t start the car. He forgave them. Then they wanted to break into the apartment, he forgave that too. Everyone told him, why did you get involved with this disabled person?«
According to 74.RU, both suspects are now detained, and they have prior convictions. Based on the criminal case materials, the accomplices indeed stole money from the veteran«s apartment; the amount is still being clarified.
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