Why Tatyana Strakhova's murder still haunts the internet
We recall everything known about the case of Tatyana Strakhova, whose death eight years ago shook and divided the online community.
«Hi guys. My name is Artyom Iskhakov, and I want to tell you what happened last night. On 22 January 2018 at 03:40, I killed my neighbor. And I *** [had sex with her]. Twice. I might do it again, but she»s starting to get cold and smell a bit unpleasant,« — such a message appeared on the page of a 19-year-old Bauman Moscow State Technical University student on 23 January 2018.
The victim was a third-year student at the major capital university, HSE.
A few hours after the post was published, the bodies of Artyom and his victim — 19-year-old HSE University student Tatyana Strakhova — were found in a rented apartment in Moscow«s Basmanny District.
The murdered student Tatyana Strakhova was associated with the «vinishko-chan» subculture.
The case immediately caused a huge public outcry. Internet users split into two camps: some believed Tatyana had «provoked» her ex-boyfriend with her promiscuity (the girl often posted semi-nude photos — Ed.), while others defended her and launched a flashmob called #ThisIsNoReasonToKill.
19-year-old Artyom Iskhakov was a student at Bauman Moscow State Technical University.
MSK1.RU recalls everything known about the case of Tatyana, whose death eight years ago shook and divided the Russian online community.
Tatyana and Artyom were in a relationship for a time. Friends said the couple was on and off, yet continued living together.
«Vinishko-chan» from the Moscow region
After killing Tatyana, Iskhakov desecrated her body multiple times.
Tatyana Strakhova was born in Korolyov, Moscow Region, in 1998. After finishing ninth grade, she transferred to «Pervy Eksternat» — a popular Moscow school for accelerated learning. After graduating with a gold medal, she enrolled in the Faculty of Communications, Media, and Design at HSE University. Former classmates described Strakhova as a «very smart, sociable, kind, and even altruistic» girl. She actively studied Czech and planned to continue her studies in Prague. To fulfill her dream of becoming an architect, she took drafting and drawing classes.
Many friends saw nothing alarming in Artyom«s behavior.
In her free time, Tatyana attended concerts and rave parties. Judging by her online posts, she had a particular love for Saint Petersburg, which she often visited. Strakhova also ran a community page on VKontakte, where she posted aesthetic photos, shared indie music, and wrote notes about life. Online, the student was associated with the «vinishko-chan» subculture — a term used in the mid-2010s for girls who dyed their hair bright colors, wore vintage clothes, and read «pseudo-intellectual» literature.
Almost immediately after the murder, an online campaign of abuse targeted the victim.
«Can discuss serious philosophical literature, is no stranger to the aesthetics of decadence, drinks affordable wine,» — is how the teenage dictionary of the Snob publication describes representatives of the subculture.
«I»m too different for us to have a relationship«
The girl met Bauman Moscow State Technical University student Artyom Iskhakov a couple of years before her death. They met at a Moscow club and started talking afterwards. At the time, Iskhakov was studying at the Faculty of Computer Science and Control Systems and worked part-time as a programmer. As noted by BFM, the guy was from a «good family» and had a younger sister. Classmates told Lenta.ru that Artyom was a positive young man, seriously into music and understanding «what other people feel.»
Iskhakov and Strakhova rented an apartment together in central Moscow near Kurskaya metro station. According to acquaintances, Artyom was deeply in love with Tatyana, and for a while they even dated. When Strakhova broke up with him, the guy was deeply hurt. Over time, it seemed to those around him that Iskhakov had gotten over the breakup: he started dating other girls and communicated with his ex as a friend. Despite the split, the pair continued to live together.
About six months before the tragedy, Artyom and Tatyana began arguing more often over household matters, and the young man«s jealousy worsened the situation. Iskhakov suspected his ex-girlfriend of wanting to start a relationship with their mutual friend Dmitry and claimed he saw them kiss. He also accused Strakhova of »demonstrative indifference« towards him. Artyom stopped attending university, used illegal substances, and tried to cope with the drama by seeing a psychologist (he mentioned this therapist in his suicide note and thanked him for his work — Ed.).
«I got tired of listening to her explanations about why she was against drinking with me, and seeing her try to hit on my friend, how well they got along, and realizing that I»m too different to have anything remotely similar with her,« — the young man confessed in his suicide note.
According to Iskhakov, he began devising a plan to kill his ex-girlfriend in early January 2018 and «vividly imagined in his head how it would happen.»
She died in agony and was raped multiple times
Shortly before the tragedy, the girl was supposed to start renovations in her own apartment. But, according to Iskhakov, Tanya«s parents didn»t have the money for it, and the move was postponed until summer. At the same time, the girl confessed in her blog that she suffered from depressive thoughts and struggled to force herself to leave the house.
«For several years now, life has seemed unbearable. Like an endless horror game where everyone around you wants to make it even worse, and joy doesn»t exist at all. That is, you habitually pretend to be happy about something, but you don«t feel anything at all. Except for a wild fatigue from the very complex imitation of emotions,» — Strakhova wrote in one of the posts in her VKontakte group.
On the night of 21–22 January, Tanya returned home late; Artyom had been waiting for her all that time. Entering the apartment, she went to her room. Her ex-boyfriend attacked her and punched her in the face several times. According to Iskhakov, blood started coming from the girl«s mouth, and Strakhova asked her flatmate to leave. Then the guy began strangling her. When Tanya lost consciousness, he raped her.
«I realized her heart was still beating. I kept my hands on her neck for a bit longer — zero effect. Then I took a knife and cut her throat,» — Iskhakov wrote in the message published before his death.
According to the young man, even after that, Strakhova remained alive. Then Iskhakov stabbed the girl several times between the ribs, and afterwards — raped her again. He tied a rope around Strakhova«s throat, which he had bought for erotic shibari bondage when he and Tanya were in a relationship. To avoid hearing his ex-girlfriend»s gurgling and seeing her blood, he stuffed tights into the victim«s mouth.
Iskhakov not only described the murder process in detail but also explained his emotions during it. The post makes it clear that in between acts of necrophilia, Artyom texted friends, worked, drank alcohol, and ate. The girl«s body, covered with items, remained lying in one of the rooms.
«I don»t want to go to prison, I won«t survive there. I no longer have a purpose for existence. For a while, it was the desire to take care of Tanya and win her back, and now I»ve deprived myself of that. And I«ve deprived her parents of their beloved daughter. They are good people. The people I»m a little bit ashamed in front of are them,« — the guy confessed, realizing the consequences.
In the letter, Artyom addressed his relatives and acquaintances. He also expressed regret that he «wouldn»t receive his salary of 80,000 rubles (about $1,300 at current rates), wouldn«t watch new videos on YouTube.» At the end of the post, Iskhakov left the passwords and PIN codes for his and Tanya«s cards, accounts, and laptops — as well as the address of the apartment they shared. Before dying, the guy promised his followers he would »kiss Tanya«s cold forehead.» After publishing the farewell post, the young man committed suicide.
Iskhakov«s post was published on VKontakte on 22 January at 18:53 MSK. For several hours, no one paid attention to the publication until one of Artyom»s friends raised the alarm. Arriving at the address, he found the door closed and no one hurrying to open it. Emergency services who arrived at the scene broke into the apartment and found two bodies with signs of violent death.
The next day, the Moscow Investigative Committee opened a criminal case for murder (Part 1, Article 105 of the Criminal Code). Soon after, Iskhakov«s VKontakte account was »promptly blocked.« Many friends and acquaintances of the couple were shocked by what happened. According to them, nothing in Artyom»s behavior had foreshadowed disaster.
«Two days ago I saw a story on her Instagram*: Tanya, Artyom, and their friends were having fun. Everything was fine. The scariest thing is that Artyom seemed like a normal guy. I could never have imagined something like this could happen,» — wrote the couple«s acquaintance Anastasia after the tragedy.
No limit to sensationalism
The murder shook the internet. In pursuit of sensationalism, many publications began publishing news condemning Strakhova«s behavior. Photos of the girl with alcohol and semi-nude spread across the web; her blog was analyzed to create a psychological profile. After this, some users defended the killer, justifying his behavior with »love and jealousy« — claiming Tatyana had provoked her ex-boyfriend.
The situation was exacerbated when the largest anonymous imageboard, «Dvach,» published photos of Strakhova«s and Iskhakov»s corpses, and users of Telegram channels obtained nude photos of the murdered student.
«After the intimate photos were displayed, the victim»s status as an immoral slut was reinforced, and Iskhakov«s supporters grew in number once again,» — noted Lenta.ru journalist Svetlana Povoraznyuk in her column.
The popular indie-pop band «My» (Мы) also faced harassment. In his suicide note, Iskhakov mentioned their song «Possibly» (Возможно), which contained the lines: «Sorry, I»ll have to kill you, because only that way will I know for sure that nothing will ever be possible between us again.« According to the young man, after listening to it several times, he »took it as a call to action.«
A petition even appeared online demanding the song be banned, and some users sent appeals to the then Russian Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky. The frontman of «My,» Daniil Sheik (real name Shaykhinurov), stated that calls for a ban were inappropriate and asked not to associate the band«s work with the tragedy, as the song»s message was completely different.
The wave of aggression towards Tatyana spawned the #ThisIsNoReasonToKill flashmob. It was launched by activist and blogger Anastasia 2day4night. Later, thousands of women from the CIS joined the movement: they shared their own stories of experienced violence or condemned it. Many activists faced harassment and insults. The girls were ridiculed for their feminist ideas in memes and counter-posts.
«I»m horrified, what«s wrong with this world? A girl was killed, and society says it»s her own fault — «she was a slut.» I can«t stay silent, I»m scared. Scared to walk the streets where people encourage the actions of murderers and rapists and laugh at death,« — wrote a user with the nickname Homeless Cunt, joining the movement.
In total, the hashtag #ThisIsNoReasonToKill accompanying the campaign gathered about 14,000 posts. Public figures and members of the Russian Orthodox Church commented on the Strakhova case. In a column for the publication Luna, writer and now Z-activist Alexander Pelevin spoke out against public accusations directed at Strakhova.
Even though eight years have passed since the murder, new Telegram channels dedicated to the case regularly appear. And true crime enthusiasts call the murder of the HSE student «one of the most brutal crimes committed in the mid-2010s.»
* — Owned by Meta, which is recognized as an extremist organization and banned in Russia.
Earlier we reported why Muscovites defended a former bank employee who stabbed his boss to death.
