Student alleges brutal gang rape near Volgograd
Valeria, 19, says two local men raped her; investigators initially declined to open a case.
A 19-year-old student, Valeria, reported a brutal double rape in a village just 100 kilometers from Volgograd. According to her, the men forcibly drove her into the steppe and subjected her to violent sexual assault — first one after the other, then at the same time. The alleged offenders confirm what they did to the young woman but insist it was voluntary and consensual. They are currently free, and Valeria fears it could happen again. V1.RU correspondents visited Tundutovo (Maloderbetovsky District, Republic of Kalmykia, Russia) to try to understand what actually happened.
The village of Tundutovo lies in Kalmykia, roughly 100 kilometers southeast of Volgograd.
The village of Tundutovo lies only 100 kilometers from central Volgograd, in Maloderbetovsky District, Republic of Kalmykia. It is not an isolated backwater: the village is fairly developed, with a school, kindergarten, several shops, a well-tended square, a community club, and a library. Most residents are engaged in animal husbandry, raising cattle at farm outposts. At one of those outposts, 10 kilometers from the village, the incident occurred that Valeria still struggles to talk about.
The case unfolded in Tundutovo, about an hour’s drive from the city of Volgograd.
«He grabbed me by the hair and forced me to take it in my mouth»
Nineteen-year-old Valeria is studying to become a cook in her second year at an oil and gas college. She lives in a small house with her mother and older sister. Their father died six years ago. An ordinary family: the mother works at a kindergarten, the sister is raising a small child, and Valeria travels to the neighboring village of Malyye Derbety for classes.
The young woman still finds it difficult to recall the day’s events in detail.
In May this year she met a man at his farm outpost. On the second day after they met, she says, he forced her to perform oral sex in a car while recording it on video. From that moment she cut off contact with him.
«My cousin introduced us. She asked me to go with her because she was afraid her husband wouldn’t let her go alone. They were her friends. I agreed. I drank champagne; everything was fine. Then Bata (name changed) asked for my number. I gave it to him so he’d leave me alone. The next day he called while I was sleeping. I refused, said I wouldn’t go out or talk to him. But I ended up going out. We drove around in his car,» Valeria recalls. «That day Bata grabbed me by the hair and forced me to take it in my mouth, filming it on video. Later I found out from my friends that he sent the video to his friends. I wrote to him, asked why, to delete the video. He said: “That didn’t happen, I didn’t send it.” I deleted our chat and blocked him. I didn’t tell my mother or sister because I was afraid. We didn’t talk for a while, and then he showed up again.»
«It hurt, but I couldn’t scream»
The next time, Valeria says, the 33-year-old man appeared without warning in July. He called her at night and said he would come to her home. She says she had no idea that just steps from the house, in the detached summer kitchen, she would be raped.
«On 24 July he messaged me drunk from a new number. Then he called twice; I didn’t answer. I wrote: “What do you want? Leave me alone.” He says: “I’m coming over now, come out for 5 minutes.” I write: “No.” Then he writes again that he’s already sitting on the bench outside the house: “Come out for 5 minutes and then you can go back in.” I write: “No.” He says: “If you don’t come out, I’ll climb over the fence and go into your room.” My mom and sister were already asleep,» the young woman recalls. «I wrote that I’d come out. I went out, went to the toilet, and when I came out — he was already in the yard, he’d climbed over the fence. I said: “Fine, let’s go to the kitchen and talk.” I didn’t think it would turn out like this; I decided to trust him again…»
According to her account, the first assault occurred in the detached summer kitchen.
As she remembers it, they had barely entered the kitchen when Bata began undressing her and then threw her onto the couch. She says she did not scream for help because she thought no one would hear her anyway.
«We had barely entered the kitchen when he started pawing at me, undressing me, threw me onto the couch, lay on top of me, and raped me. I said: “Don’t, I don’t want to,” but he didn’t listen. I couldn’t scream because the kitchen is separate from the house — my family wouldn’t hear me. It lasted about 20 minutes,» Valeria says.
She says the assault happened on this couch and insists she did not consent.
After that, she says, the man suggested they drive to a friend’s outpost, where a birthday was being celebrated. Valeria says she refused, but then the man took her phone and said he wouldn’t return it unless she got in the car.
«I was sitting there, my hands were shaking, my body hurt. We left the kitchen, he grabbed me by the T-shirt and by the arm and dragged me. I said: “No, I’m not going; I’ll call my sister or my mom now.” He said he didn’t care and snatched my phone. He said: “If you don’t go, I won’t give your phone back.” I would have left the phone and gone, but I knew he would come back again,» the young woman says. «I followed him. He calls his friend Alexey (name changed). Alexey drives up in a black car. Bata gets in the back seat; I get in and hold the door handle and say: “Give me my phone, I’m going home.” He says: “No, you’re going with us.” He told me to shut the door, I shut it, and we drove off.»
«First one by one, then at the same time…»
The farm outpost is 10 kilometers from the village. She did not remember the way there because it was dark. At first, she says, everything seemed normal: they sat at a table together, talked, the men drank, and Bata gave her phone back. But, Valeria asserts, there was no mobile signal or internet there.
«The internet dropped out; there was no signal. I couldn’t contact anyone… The two of them sat and drank vodka, chasing it with beer. They offered me a drink and cigarettes; I refused. Then Bata suggested to his friend that they rape me. I said: “Don’t, I don’t want to.” But he said: “I want to,”» the young woman recalls. «First, one of them took me to the bed and raped me, then the other. Then both of them… They also forced me to take them in my mouth, yanked me by the hair. It was very painful. It was all by force. They took my phone away and put it aside, then returned it. My sister and mother called, but I couldn’t answer because they wouldn’t let me. When I had a chance to write or call, there was no signal or the internet didn’t work. Then they drank again and raped me — first one by one, then both together… I performed oral sex on Alexey, while Bata raped me from behind. It all went on until morning.»
Valeria’s sister, Yulia, recalls waking up in the night and realizing her sister was nowhere to be found. What alarmed her first was that the outside light was on and Valeria’s shoes were missing.
«At 03:46 I woke up, and my sister was already gone. I went outside, checked the kitchen, thought maybe she went to the toilet. I went into her room — no one. I started waking up Mom and said: “Mom, Lera’s not here.” I panicked,» Yulia says. «I started calling her. The phone was sometimes reachable, then not. One call would go through, the next — no longer reachable. Then an SMS came: “The subscriber appeared on the network.” I sent SMS messages; no one replied. I went outside behind the yard. Thought maybe a friend had come. No one…»
At around 7 a.m., one of the alleged offenders brought Valeria home. She did not immediately tell her mother and sister what had happened. Yulia remembers that she looked frightened and had bruises and abrasions on her body.
«I was in the kitchen when she walked in. Naturally, I started shouting, asking: “Where have you been?” She didn’t say anything. She looked frightened. She was wearing the same clothes she went to bed in — a T-shirt and shorts. While Mom and I were shouting and trying to find out something, she just stood there and didn’t even look at us,» Yulia recalls. «Then our cousin’s husband called Lera and asked what had happened. She told him. He called Mom back and said: “File a complaint, she’s been raped.” She had just come out of the bathroom. She started crying, said they grabbed her by the hair, showed the bruises on her body… Mom went with her to a gynecologist and then to the police to file a report.»
Valeria’s sister admits she did not immediately believe it was a rape.
«No one wanted to understand our ordeal»
Yulia says that after her sister filed a rape complaint, relatives of both men started coming to their house to ask forgiveness: they offered a trip to Turkey, 2 million rubles (about $20,000 at current rates), and begged them to withdraw the complaint.
«First, Alexey’s brother came and said: “You understand, they have two paths. Either they’ll be imprisoned — it’s a serious article — or they’ll go to the special military operation (SVO), be thrown on the front line, and be brought home as Cargo 200 (killed in action).” They tried to play on our pity. But no one wanted to understand our ordeal,» Yulia says. «Then Bata’s relatives came. But they were silent. They just stood and listened to the other one apologize. I think if this Alexey were a smart person, he would have said: “Take her back — why did you bring her here?” But he also decided to take advantage of the situation, to give himself a birthday present… Then Alexey’s wife came. She started asking Lera how it all happened. She says: “Yes, that’s what he told me too.” Then a relative of that wife said to Mom: “Maybe we can pay for a month in Turkey, or a sanatorium voucher?” Mom said: “I don’t need anything.” Every time you see that car and know they’ll start pleading or offering something, I start having panic attacks. They offered Mom 2 million and asked her to withdraw the complaint at least against Alexey, but leave it against Bata, “since he orchestrated all of this.”»
Relatives say they did not hear Bata climbing the fence into the yard.
What do the neighbors say?
According to Yulia, people in the village are saying different things about what happened. Some supported the young woman; others decided she «was asking for it».
«There were rumors that my sister had supposedly already been taken around to these farms, that she had long been in touch with both of them. That time in May when they drove around in a car, someone saw them,» the woman says. «We didn’t tell anyone about it. Why spread this kind of thing? But people found out anyway. One person said something, another passed it on… Everyone made up their own version. People split into two camps. Some think she went herself, that it’s her own fault. I “liked” their lawyer’s phrase: supposedly a 19-year-old girl can decide for herself whether to sleep with two or with one. But have you seen this girl? Before all this, when she went out, every half hour she would call: “Mom, I’m here; Mom, I’ll be home soon; Mom, I’m on my way home.” We never had a situation where she went somewhere and we didn’t know where she went.»
Neighbors speak positively about Valeria’s family and their reputation in the village.
Valeria’s neighbors say she has been modest, shy, and even withdrawn since childhood.
«It’s a good family. She’s a shy girl, didn’t talk to anyone unnecessarily. Quite withdrawn… On her own she would… What are you talking about? If a person has bruises on her arms and legs, how is that? She was covered in bruises,» a man says. «Of course everyone is talking about it. People are surprised they’re just walking around… It’s not serious.»
We went to the house where Alexey lives, but he was not there and the gate was locked. A neighbor said his parents live there and he lives in another village.
«His mother lives here, and he lives in another village, in Sarpinsky District, but he comes here. He couldn’t have done such a thing. He has four children. He’s a normal guy, works at the outpost, raises his kids. I can’t say anything bad about him. Just to rape someone? No. He wasn’t alone there…» the woman says.
One alleged assailant and the other man’s parents live in a nearby village.
Bata was not at home either. A neighbor spoke about him in almost the same terms as neighbors did about Alexey.
«A good guy, calm. He came to help me. Now he works at an outpost. He has a wife and kids — two, I think. I personally wouldn’t have thought he could do such a thing… A hard worker, always with the kids. I can’t say anything bad,» the man says.
At that moment Bata’s mother was at home. She believes her son was set up.
«I don’t know anything… He didn’t tell me anything, but I wouldn’t say he could do such a thing… People say he was framed. I don’t even know by whom… I work in Moscow and recently came back, so I don’t know… I won’t say he could do such a thing… They don’t open the door. I don’t even know who they are; I haven’t seen them with my own eyes,» the woman says.
V1.RU reporters were unable to reach Bata by phone. No one answered the numbers he used to call Valeria, among others.
«She’s an adult. She decides whom to share a bed with»
The lawyer for one of the alleged offenders, Karina Dorzhinova, publicly stated on social media that there were no unlawful acts against the young woman and that sexual intercourse between Valeria and the men was consensual.
«The information was distorted to create public resonance both regarding the persons undergoing an additional procedural review and toward our Republic of Kalmykia in the case of the alleged rape of a 19-year-old girl. Reality is currently turned inside out and tossed like a bone to dogs — to the “people” for public tearing apart. All the negativity is coming from the young woman’s close relatives, who may want financial gain in the millions,» the lawyer wrote. «A procedural review of the case materials was conducted in full compliance with criminal-procedural law. The investigator examined all evidence presented, questioned witnesses, and conducted necessary examinations. Polygraph examinations were conducted for all presumed participants in the case. The reaction indicating that the young woman is not telling the truth and was not raped was positive — meaning that information is invalid; no such reaction was found in other participants. The grounds for refusing to open a criminal case were established during a comprehensive review. The decision was made based on specific factual circumstances, not baseless assertions.»
According to Valeria and Yulia, villagers have split into two opposing camps.
V1.RU obtained a copy of the order refusing to open a criminal case. According to it, both men acknowledge they had sexual intercourse with the young woman but also insist it was consensual. Both say Valeria behaved uninhibitedly, laughed, and talked with them. She was called several times, they say, but she did not pick up because “my mom will scold me.” Bata also stated that he had had sexual relations with Butenko more than once by mutual consent.
The order contains not a word about the results of the forensic medical examination, even though abrasions and contusions were recorded on the young woman’s body, including in the anal area.
«Rape or rape role-play?»
To assess the situation from a forensic-medical perspective, we sought comment from a specialist in this field from another region (he requested anonymity; details are on file with the V1.RU newsroom).
«Before talking about rape, you have to prove that intercourse occurred at all,» the expert says. «The main proof is the presence of semen in the vagina; a secondary indication is on the victim’s body and clothing. This requires a series of laboratory studies. If the victim was a virgin prior to the incident, attention is paid to ruptures of the hymen. Incidentally, the order appointing the forensic medical examination (available to the newsroom) raises this question, but the expert’s findings do not address it for some reason. That’s improper.»
The young woman wants the men she accuses to be deprived of their freedom.
As the expert explains, in rape cases the key is bodily injuries — their presence and character — not only on the victim but also on the alleged offenders. However, even injuries cannot indicate with 100% certainty whether sex was forced or consensual.
«Abrasions, scratches, bruises, and more serious injuries… They are most often located on the hands (finger marks, signs of binding), thighs, neck (strangulation marks in the form of crescent-shaped nail marks), face, and chest (bites, hickeys). Bruises and abrasions may be on the cheeks, around the mouth, and on the lips. On the genitals, beyond hymenal tears, there may be abrasions, submucosal hemorrhages, injuries to the vaginal fornices, perineal tears, and hair pulled out. One should also look for hemorrhages in the palpebral conjunctiva and sclera, which can occur with strangulation,» the specialist explains. «In accused persons, injuries are more often bruises, scratches, and bites, usually on exposed areas — the hands, face, neck. All injuries must be described in detail, mapped when necessary, and photographed. It’s strange that the expert report does not describe injuries in the genital and anal area and only refers to the gynecologist’s note. That’s unusual practice.»
In addition, the expert says, the clothing of both the victim and the alleged offenders must be studied in detail.
«On clothing you can find not only traces of semen or blood but also signs of struggle and self-defense — tears, cuts, torn-off buttons, and so on,» the expert says. «A careful study of everything that happened is needed, with extensive examinations of the victim and all suspects, including with physicians of related specialties, additional instrumental and laboratory studies, clothing examinations, and sometimes even a forensic psychiatric evaluation. Only an assessment of everything in aggregate can yield a result.»
«The most reliable defense is to say it was mutual»
Vagram Davtyan, PhD in Law and a family attorney, does not rule out that in such situations a young woman might deliberately claim rape even when sex was consensual — for example, if she wants to take revenge for something.
«The first thought is: why did she go there? Two men. A field. Did she really not suspect what they might do to her? But we don’t know the whole story. And maybe she wanted to get back at them for something in this way? All versions need to be checked. It’s very easy to set someone up. Especially for a woman who can provoke a man into certain sexual actions. He performs those actions, and then he’s accused of violence. Everything depends on many circumstances, and it’s the investigators’ job to establish them,» the expert says. «If there’s no consent, then of course it’s a violation of sexual inviolability — whether the victim is a woman or a man. We have a common assumption that such crimes occur only against women. However laughable that may seem to some, men are raped too. Here’s another domestic pattern for you: being married, it’s unthinkable to allege rape. In Western understanding, that’s acceptable. In all seriousness, a husband or wife can file a rape complaint if there was no mutual desire to have sex. Whether that’s good or bad, I’ll leave to the reader’s judgment.»
Following media coverage and Bastrykin’s response, investigators initiated an additional review.
«Our goal is to establish all the circumstances of that night»
Valeria is represented by well-known Volgograd attorney Vitaly Grigoryev. According to him, the polygraph results cited by the investigator in the order refusing to open a case are not evidence.
«The order contains no data from medical examinations or other studies conducted. We need an objective review and, given that the medical examination does not contradict the victim’s statements, we should proceed from what she asserts: there was a threat of violence. There is evidence of bodily injuries, which again is consistent with the victim’s statements. We need to consider the findings of her psychological and psychiatric evaluation — how she could have perceived events and whether her development corresponds to her biological age. Many questions remain open. Many gaps. The explanations of the individuals involved are very general; the interviews are not detailed. Their personalities have not been studied,» the attorney says. «A preventive measure can be chosen only if a criminal case exists — which it does not. Two months after the events, much factual evidence could have been lost if the investigators did not secure it immediately. Our actions are aimed at achieving an objective establishment of all the circumstances of that night’s events.»
After the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia (Sledstvennyi Komitet, SK), Alexander Bastrykin, took an interest in the case, the order refusing to open a criminal case was canceled. An additional review is now underway.
