Father Accused of Abuse After Daughters' Balcony Fall in Volgograd
The horrific tragedy, when two schoolgirls, Victoria and Diana, who were not yet 14 years old, fell from the balcony of the top floor of a 16-story building, shocked Volgograd. Friends and relatives of the deceased then unanimously claimed that the girls could not have done anything to themselves, and their death was a fatal accident. Three months after the funeral, the father of one of the deceased schoolgirls was suddenly placed in a pre-trial detention center, accused of involvement in the girl«s death and of harassing his underage daughter.
The daughters of his common-law wife came out against the father, accusing him of bullying and abusing his daughter. Their mother, in turn, insists that they disliked the deceased and her father from the very beginning and now only want to get even with him.
While investigators remain silent about any details of the investigation, we spoke with each side, met with the loved ones of the deceased, and interviewed everyone possible to try to find out what happened to the girls on that fateful day.
Editor«s note: The real names and surnames of all mentioned individuals in the publication have been changed.
Day of the Tragedy: Chronology of Events
The penultimate day of March for residents of the 16-story building near the 2nd Longitudinal Highway in Volgograd initially was no different from others. The headache for locals here has always been the teenagers scurrying back and forth. Although there is an intercom on the entrance door, residents admit: the phrase «I forgot my keys» helps get into the entrance without any problems.
This and three other «candlestick» buildings on 64th Army Street were built back in 1991 according to one project. They are like twins: a common entrance, two sections, and adjoining balconies. One is distinguished from neighboring high-rises only by tragedies. Residents still remember how 7 years ago, a 25-year-old woman fell from here, next to whose body a suicide note was found.
On that spring day, two schoolgirls came to the common balcony of the top floor of the building. There is a 2-year age difference between them, but they had been best friends for a couple of years and went to acrobatics classes together. The younger one—11-year-old Diana—returned home that day from her grandmother in Kotelnikovo (a town in Volgograd Oblast), asked her mother for permission, and went for a walk with the older one—13-year-old Vika.
Both promised their relatives to be home before dark, and in the evening they got in touch with them—asked them not to worry. After that, their phones became unavailable.
The last people who saw them alive were residents of one of the apartments on the 16th floor. They told how, before the tragedy, the girls were whispering together on the common balcony covered in teenagers« graffiti.
«My relatives went to the store and noticed them there. They were standing, calmly talking about something, but as soon as my family came out of the apartment—they immediately fell silent. They didn«t leave any belongings behind, and I didn»t see any shoes either,» the man recounts.
«We Thought the Elevator Fell»: The Moment When the Schoolgirls« Bodies Were Found
Around 8:00 PM, residents heard a terrible crash. On the porch in front of the house—two bodies lying without signs of life, and between them a metal pipe, which was likely part of a railing. According to eyewitnesses, one of the fallen girls died from hitting it.
Residents we spoke with say they learned about the tragedy either from neighbors or saw the dead bodies when exiting the entrance. The bodies, by the way, lay for several hours, in view of passersby and local children. No screams, as locals assure, were heard in the apartments at the moment of the fall.
At the same time, parents were searching for the «lingering» schoolgirls all over the district. As relatives later recounted, they learned of their deaths from investigators who invited them to identify the bodies.
«Vika«s father, when he arrived there, still didn»t know anything. He thought the police had detained her for something bad and called him to pick her up,» Viktoria«s grandmother recounts. «And when he saw the body—he fell there and started screaming. They couldn»t calm him down. He was shaking so much that he was later taken to the hospital because he was going crazy there.»
First Version of the Tragedy: Accidental Death
In the first month after the tragedy, everyone, including the father of 13-year-old Vika, Mikhail Sverdlov, said that the girls« fall was an accident. He then claimed that the girls fell while trying to take a selfie on the balcony.
«She loved taking photos, but was terribly afraid of heights. Maybe she wanted to prove something to herself. They sat on the railing, and that«s how it happened. We didn»t have any quarrels, everything was great,» Mikhail emotionally told V1.RU correspondents.
Vika«s grandmother and grandfather, Tatyana and Yury Sverdlov, echo him. They suggest that someone could have pushed the deceased or they tried to show off acrobatic tricks: they climbed onto the partition together, and then the tragedy occurred.
Here are the arguments Vika«s grandfather, a former policeman, gave in a conversation with a V1.RU correspondent.
Distance from the high-rise to Viktoria«s house:
«We have many high places nearby. She wouldn»t walk that one and a half kilometers to do something to herself.»
Position of the schoolgirls« bodies after the fall:
«I worked in the police and saw how people fall. Bodies after suicide are positioned differently than from accidents.»
Witnesses to death screams:
«I have an acquaintance from there, a worker at a beer bar that we guard. She told me that at that moment she was smoking on the balcony and heard them screaming: »Help«.»
Forensic examination:
«While the investigation is ongoing, I can»t show it, but the Investigative Committee of our district established that death occurred as a result of an accident.»
Their words were confirmed by both neighbors and classmates of the deceased. The Investigative Committee was brief: «There are no signs of violent death. Carelessness while being at a height is not ruled out». The rest is a secret of the investigation. While relatives mourned the deceased and others expressed sympathy, there were those who considered the accident version someone«s attempt to avoid responsibility…
The First Deceased, Viktoria Sverdlova—Who Was She?
Of the two friends, local residents knew 13-year-old Vika best: she lived in an apartment with her 39-year-old father Mikhail and his new, still common-law wife, 38-year-old Olga Ulyanova.
Viktoria is remembered as kind and sociable, noting her sincere love for life. Besides acrobatics, she did handicrafts and from childhood was fascinated by the history of the Ancient World and classical mythology. Her grandmother Tatyana still keeps the worn-out books that her favorite teacher once gave her.
«She was already almost 80 years old. Vika often chatted with her, drank tea, loved listening to her about history… And the teacher gave her these children«s books that she cherished. She told her: »You will be a historian. Take care of these books and read them,«» Tatyana Sverdlova recounts.
She had plans for the future: loved ones recall that she eagerly awaited summer to go to the sea with her father again, just like last year. Although Vika was afraid of blood, in adulthood she wanted to become a field medic. Not surprisingly, since her father is a military serviceman.
«When she came to us—she couldn«t sit still. She would start tumbling, showing us new tricks. Then she»d start joking with her grandfather… He has cancer, and when she found out—she said: «Grandma, grandpa, be patient and don»t worry, I«ll save you soon!» She didn«t just love life, she enjoyed it,» Vika»s grandmother recounts.
Initially, Viktoria grew up in a complete family with a younger sister, but 5 years ago they were separated when Mikhail broke up with the girls« mother, his ex-wife Angelina. The woman long tried to win custody of Vika from Mikhail, but she, according to relatives, chose her father, which, in their version, was even shown by an examination.
Angelina herself, however, does not deny this and considers it natural. In a conversation with V1.RU about her daughter, she noted her excellent skill at masking her worries from friends and loved ones.
«She has the same character as me. She didn«t tell anyone anything. Maybe only to some friend in secret, and even then not everything. How many times I talked to her, approached, asked: »How are things?«, and she always said that everything was fine,» Angelina recounted.
The Sverdlov couple lived in the village of Dareyevsk in Bryansk Oblast, and in 2022, when the marriage was falling apart, the family head Mikhail was assigned to Volgograd, where he moved the family. At first they lived in a dormitory and, as the grandmother recounts, only after 2 years were they able to move into separate apartments.
The Second Deceased, Diana Artemyeva—Who Was She?
They met in the yard: Vika and her father lived in the same building as 11-year-old Diana Artemyeva—with her mother they rented an apartment in the first entrance, on the bench near which neighbors often saw the friends. The Sverdlov family looked askance at their friendship.
Although the friends studied in different schools, they went to sports acrobatics together. Those around remember Diana as a sociable child, but the family is somehow considered not the most well-off.
«There were regular parties, drinking in her apartment. Very noisy neighbors, once they almost broke down the door. She had two cohabitants: first some Georgian, the father of the first, and then there was a Tajik, a young guy,» an elderly neighbor from the first floor recounts.
That Diana and her younger sister have two different fathers was confirmed by the mother herself. However, she completely denies the neighbors« rumors and accusations about drinking, noting that she had no conflicts with locals.
«I myself worked almost without days off, I wouldn«t even have had time physically to arrange »drinking parties«. And it was always loud with us because of the children at home. Diana often brought friends to us, including Vika. They sometimes did homework together,» the woman recounts.
Deadly «Curators» and Pedophilia Accusations
At the site where the schoolgirls died on March 30, a spontaneous memorial almost immediately appeared: people brought scarlet carnations and soft toys. In federal Telegram channels, a tale was circulating about some «curator» whom the girls communicated with before death. However, law enforcement flatly denied this version.
Less than a week later, they said goodbye to the girls: first Diana was buried, then Viktoria. To the ceremony, besides neighbors and classmates, came Vika«s biological mother, members of the »Russian Community«, and many others. Viktoria»s father admitted that he lost the meaning of life after his daughter«s death and threatened to deal with any »curators«.
«When I told my ex-wife that our daughter was gone, she started screaming and blaming me for not watching over her. And how to do that? I didn«t know she went to the roof. If I had, I would have scolded her, punished her. She definitely wouldn»t have wanted to go there again. Now I no longer live. I am a shadow. I don«t know how to exist further,» the father said at the funeral. «And regarding the rumors that someone was writing to her there. I swear, if I had such information, I would find that person… I wouldn»t allow anyone to bully my child.»
An unexpected turn in the tragedy occurred in the summer. In July, 3 months after the funeral, Mikhail Sverdlov was placed in a pre-trial detention center, accused under two serious articles of the Criminal Code—«Sexual Assault» (Article 132 of the Russian Criminal Code) and «Incitement to Suicide» (Article 110). Tatyana Sverdlova recounts that he was detained at a military unit.
«What is this anyway? What [the hell] pedophile? Allegedly he ran his hand over her butt… What are you doing? He«s her father! He hugged his daughter, stroked her, kissed her palm… 8 or 7 months allegedly passed since that moment, and they only wrote now,» Viktoria»s grandfather, Yury Sverdlov, fumes. «And again, they have nothing, only based on statements they opened the case.»
The Accusers Are the Stepdaughters: What Is Known About Them?
The accusers are the daughters of Mikhail«s new common-law wife: 21-year-old Dana and 14-year-old Alexandra Ulyanova. Both, according to the Sverdlovs, hated Mikhail and his daughter from the day their mother started dating Viktoria»s father.
«They called my son, excuse the expression, [scum]. Although he never even said a bad word to them. He is military. He knew that if he said something, he would be jailed,» Tatyana recounts. «And little Vika was bullied by the younger girl. My granddaughter complained that she hit her. She only begged her father not to tell about it, said it would only make things worse for her. And I cried, shed bitter tears.»
The girls are called troubled even by their mother, Olga Ulyanova. She had the children from her first marriage, and, as she states, they grew up extremely spoiled, rude, and disobedient, often getting into trouble, sometimes even with the law.
Olga herself is now staying with the Sverdlovs, where, as she claims, she was kicked out of her own house by her daughters—5 years ago she transferred shares in the apartment to them, and when a case was opened against Mikhail, they allegedly told their mother that she was «not the owner here».
«They disliked him because the source of income disappeared. I used to work in a bank, they wore mink coats, dresses for 150,000 rubles (about $1,700 at current rates), did ballroom dancing,» Olga recounts. «Our old school principal told me: «You»ll cry with them, Olya, they are built on money.«»
However, the younger Ulyanova daughter and Viktoria were not always at odds. Mikhail Sverdlov«s sister recalls: although the girls often quarreled, in the past they spent a lot of time together, even once going to the sea with both families.
«I don«t know why, they don»t really tell. «Everything»s fine, we«ll sort it out ourselves»—that«s their answer. For the last two months before Vika»s death, they were in a quarrel, it even came to fights. But then they seemed to make up… And soon this happened,» Mikhail«s sister recounts. «I constantly tried to talk to her, find out what was wrong with them, and she told me: »Nothing, everything«s fine». And smiled so joyfully.»
Neighbors, by the way, have heard about the family feud, but have different opinions about the Ulyanova daughters: some describe them as ordinary people, calm and non-confrontational, while others—as insolent and ill-mannered. The entrance seems to have split into two camps: «for» and «against».
Second Version of the Tragedy: Suicide
We also spoke with 14-year-old Alexandra Ulyanova herself. She is sure—the girls« fall was not an accident at all. The girl recalls: when she heard the news of Vika»s disappearance, she immediately understood where she had gone.
«When my mother called me that day and said that Vika was missing and not answering calls, I had a hysterics. I immediately said that she was on the 16-story building, that«s 100 percent. But no one believed me. They said she just wandered off,» Sasha states.
She denies Olga«s statement that she was kicked out of the apartment, stating that she left on her own. She also denies the Sverdlovs» accusations of hating the daughter, telling how she repeatedly literally pulled Viktoria away from tragedies. Allegedly, according to Alexandra«s version, Vika attempted suicide last year as well. As proof, she told about a suicide note that, she assures, was given to investigators.
«This was a year ago. She sent a message to me and another friend, Katya. She said in it: «Goodbye, Katya, I love you. But I can»t take it anymore, Misha has already tired me out.« I was at my father»s then, didn«t see it, but Katya ran over in 2 minutes and saved Vika. On the 16th floor, there»s still an inscription in black pen: the date when she was there,» Alexandra recounts.
The version that Viktoria pulled Diana along with her is also held by the latter«s mother. She is sure—Vika tricked her daughter upstairs, aware that their walk would end in tragedy.
«They had no agreement. Vika simply didn«t tell her what she wanted. She invited her to take a photo, and then pulled her along. The investigators told me that Diana definitely did not attempt suicide,» Diana»s mother states.
When asked what could have prompted Mikhail«s daughter to commit suicide, accuser Alexandra answered—domestic and sexual violence. This is also recounted by the girl»s classmates, who, as they state, Viktoria complained to about beatings.
«We didn«t see bruises on her, but she said that her father beats her. Sometimes we invite her to hang out, but she sits at home, says she»s being punished. She said that if she dyes her hair black, it means she has given up. And a week before this happened, she dyed it dark,» one of the schoolchildren recounts.
Mikhail Sverdlov: Loving Father or Abusive Tyrant?
It«s worth telling in more detail about the one now taking all the »blame«—Mikhail Sverdlov. As already mentioned, he was born and lived in Bryansk Oblast. There he graduated from college with a specialty in music teacher, and then went into service, to which he devoted 12 years.
«He didn«t participate in combat operations, served in the rear as a lawyer,» Yury recalls. «He got a higher legal education in Moscow, plus then daughters appeared, so he wasn»t sent to the special military operation.»
His first wife was Angelina Sverdlova. Although she had a technical education, in her marriage to Mikhail she didn«t work and handled household chores, while all income was on the husband»s shoulders. Over 9 years they had two daughters, but divorced with a scandal after, as Mikhail«s father states, mutual infidelities.
Angelina herself in a dialogue with V1.RU stated that she ran away from Mikhail due to regular beatings, fully supporting Alexandra«s accusations.
«In the past, he forced me to beat our daughter, and if I refused—he beat me. In public he behaves perfectly: the best husband, the best father. But when he is told he is wrong—the true face of the person is revealed,» Angelina recounts.
The children, as she stated, Mikhail took from her when problems began in the family. She found the first daughter in Bryansk Oblast, but didn«t have time to take the second, which she still regrets.
And here is what Mikhail«s sister Svetlana, who has been in touch with him since childhood, told about him. She disagreed with Alexandra»s accusations, speaking of her brother as «one of us»: kind, cheerful, and sociable. With his wife Angelina, according to her memories, he often argued—mainly over «care packages» that she sent to her mother, who was in prison for a drunken murder.
«She didn«t work, collected packages »secretly« with his money. They quarreled over this, even fought each other. But Angelina didn»t give in to him, she sometimes threw herself at him,» Svetlana says.
However, towards Angelina, as well as her accusations of violence against Mikhail, Svetlana treats with some understanding, explaining them as a reaction of a psyche destroyed by grief and anger harbored from defeats in court over the children. Vika, as she recounts, Mikhail loved, as did she him, in which none of those around ever had doubts.
«I never saw him specifically beat her. He slapped her with his palm in front of me, sometimes, since he punished her,» Svetlana recounts. «I know that once such a thing happened when Vika deceived him: she said she was going to a friend«s, but she ran off to a friend»s apartment for a birthday. They smoked there, drank, then even the police were called on them. Her father found out and punished her. This was just a couple of months before her death. I later asked her about it, she said: «Everything»s fine« and laughed.»
«He Is Loving and Caring»
Mikhail met his new lover after moving to Volgograd, when he was in a military hospital in Moscow after knee surgery. Olga Ulyanova was already divorced at that time, living with her daughters, Sasha and Dana. In the past, the woman worked in a bank, but once swapped an office badge for a railway conductor«s ID. All accusations, including beatings, Olga denies, calling Mikhail a loving father and husband.
Although Vika lived with her father, she often visited her grandmother and grandfather, Tatyana and Yury. They assert that their granddaughter was very close with her father: they cooked together, did housework, Mikhail even taught his daughter to drive a car, and she trusted him with her secrets. Relatives call him strict but loving.
«He was very afraid that Vika would fall into bad company, start drinking or smoking. Yes, maybe he was overly harsh, but he was afraid,» Vika«s grandfather and grandmother recount. «He always said: »Vika, I«ll raise you until you»re 18, marry you off, and then I can only give advice.« He didn»t want her to grow up spoiled and said that until 18, no relationships, only studies.»
They deny all accusations, calling them outright slander and an attempt to frame Mikhail before the investigation to quickly close the case.
«Her father worked a lot, Vika lived with us most of the time. And when Sasha came—it was with her mother. How can she say that he beat her? Nonsense. If I found out about this, I would tear him apart myself,» Yury states.
For some time after meeting his common-law wife, Mikhail and Viktoria lived with Olga together with her daughters. The younger one, who accused him of serious charges, in turn states that Mikhail inflicted beatings on his daughter repeatedly. She even accused him of sexual harassment, which, the schoolgirl states, happened in front of her eyes.
«Vika was afraid to say anything to him,» Alexandra recounts. «He didn«t like it when people talked back. Once he almost beat me because of this when he lived with us. Then my older sister came and kicked him out of the apartment,» Alexandra states.
The mother of Diana, Viktoria«s friend who died with her, says that Mikhail was very hot-tempered. She rarely communicated with him directly, however, as she states, she heard from Diana that he once beat his daughter as punishment.
«I remember, Diana once told me that her father once beat her for drinking and smoking somewhere. She told her that if her father touched her again, she would go live with her mother. But no matter how I asked Vika personally later—she said that no one beats her,» the woman recounts.
However, a friend of Mikhail«s and simultaneously Olga»s neighbor doesn«t believe Alexandra»s opinion either. He has known Mikhail since he started dating Olga and calls him a man with a strong character.
«You could say he is impulsive, but I would call it backbone. When communicating with him, you feel this character. I liked him as a person, we talked. He even helped Dana«s husband (Olga»s second daughter) with army issues when there were problems. They, I remember, quarreled strongly, but then became friends. I even asked him about it, he said: «She crawls at my feet.» And I replied that he shouldn«t let her raise her head from there,» the man recounts.
He has a poor attitude towards both of Olga«s daughters and also suggests that they could have framed Mikhail. He remembers Viktoria very warmly, like everyone around, noting that he saw no signs of the crimes Mikhail is accused of.
«Vika was a firecracker of a girl, polite. Unlike these… This is my opinion now. But if I find out for sure that such things happened, then, to put it mildly, I wouldn«t even be able to communicate with Misha. Because for me that»s crossing any line,» the man concludes.
Investigation Remains Silent
The press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for Volgograd Oblast refused to tell what formed the basis of the accusations against Mikhail. In response to an official inquiry, they, citing the protection of personal data and the rights of minors, declined to comment on anything.
«In accordance with constitutional norms, information about crimes and incidents affecting the interests of minors is not subject to dissemination if its publication could lead to their identification or otherwise harm their rights and legitimate interests,» the law enforcement officers responded.
We managed to talk with Olga«s second daughter—Dana. She lamented that she couldn»t tell anything until the investigation is over, but assured that Vika«s suicide note and screenshots of correspondence, where the deceased talks about her desire to commit suicide, are attached to the case as evidence of the accusation.
During the preparation of the material, Mikhail«s father—Yury Sverdlov—contacted us again. He stated that the charged article «Sexual Assault» was reclassified to «Lewd Acts», announcing his intention to seek the complete dismissal of all charges.
For now, only the deceased schoolgirls—Vika and Diana—knew what really happened on March 30 on the 16th floor and what actually led them there.
