Mother drowns son in Moscow; funeral reveals broken fingers

«The fingers on his hand were all broken, in dried blood — so, it seems, he fought for his life, resisted. Pasha (name changed per Russian Federation legal requirements. — Ed.), probably cried when such pain was inflicted on him. But no one heard him, no one,» laments 40-year-old Diveyevo resident Lyubov Kotova.

Over the whole day of the funeral, the woman«s voice grew hoarse from convulsive sobs. As if constrained, she sits hunched on the sofa in the living room of her house in Diveyevo, Nizhny Novgorod Region. Behind her are photos of a large, close-knit family. Kotova has three children of her own, and also a godson, Pasha. Was.

The last time Lyubov saw the little boy was almost two years ago: he had just turned four and was delighting his loved ones with his first successes. By that time, Pasha«s father — 55-year-old Alexander Shalin — was already in a pre-trial detention center on charges of raping his stepdaughter, and his mother, 46-year-old Alexandra Shalina, was actively planning an escape to the capital.

While the boy«s older brothers and Lyubov were knocking on the doors of local guardianship authorities, Alexandra was strangling and drowning her five-year-old son in a bathtub. Now, the destitute relatives are left to bury the child»s cold body. MSK1.RU tells how Diveyevo said goodbye to little Pasha.

«She strangled him for an hour, do you understand?»

The village of Diveyevo is a five-hour drive from Moscow and two and a half from Nizhny Novgorod. Nearby are only historical Arzamas and the closed nuclear center Sarov, isolated from the outside world. Diveyevo has long gained fame as a spiritual center of Orthodoxy; particularly devout believers call it the fourth domain of the Most Holy Theotokos. The large village, covering over 300 square kilometers (116 square miles), has grown around four temples and nine churches.

Life in Diveyevo seems to have stopped: it appears as if there is nothing there but divine grace, and all business relies on pilgrims who stay in local hotels. Spirituality in the village coexists with poverty: local alcohol shops constantly have drunkards. There is not much work in Diveyevo, and teenagers are eager to grow up quickly to move away. But even that can be problematic: buses from Diveyevo only go to nearby villages. To get to Sarov, Nizhny Novgorod, or Arzamas, one needs to order a taxi, essentially from those very cities.

There are few people on the deserted, snowy streets of Diveyevo: awkwardly lumbering, they trudge through snowdrifts, hurrying about their business. Only occasionally is the silence broken by conversations: «The mother killed her son in Moscow — our own, from Diveyevo.»

In the village, many know the Shalin family. In the spring of 2024, the deceased child«s father ended up in a pre-trial detention center: 55-year-old Alexander was accused of raping his 15-year-old stepdaughter. Together with her mother — also Alexandra — she demanded a prison term for her stepfather and compensation of 40 million rubles (approximately $400,000 at current rates). The case caused widespread resonance: many residents are still convinced that the man was falsely accused.

«He didn»t do it. He raised that girl from the age of two — clothed her, fed her, when her mother ran away. Shalina also has an older girl — Masha. She«s a loud girl, if the stepfather had harassed her, everyone would have known long ago. Why would he then act that way with the younger one?» wonders Victoria, an employee of a local roadside cafe.

Now the villagers have a new topic for gossip: Alexandra, who fled to Moscow after her husband«s imprisonment, strangled their common son in a bathtub.

From early morning, the local flower shop is packed. Tall blonde saleswomen assemble bouquets. Only occasionally do tears well up in the women«s eyes, which they quickly wipe away with a hand.

«She strangled him for an hour, do you understand? Oh, I can»t. I have two children myself, my heart aches. How can anyone do that?« one of them exclaims aloud.

Another saleswoman advises two men who have entered to take white carnations and soft toys — after all, it«s a child. One of the visitors turns out to be the older brother of the deceased Pasha — 27-year-old Stanislav. The day before, he brought the child»s body to his small homeland. Stepping outside, he nervously lights a cigarette, his face lost and stern. He is saved from intrusive attention by his cousin — protectively, he seats him in a tinted car.

«Forgive us all, please»

Shortly before the service began, relatives and acquaintances of the Shalin family gathered near the church of the Holy Martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. They stand in a tight circle, quietly talking, hugging, and comforting each other.

«She»s had breakdowns for a long time, no one kept an eye on her,« one of the men in the crowd sighs heavily.

The service starts late. Breathless, sturdy funeral workers bring a tiny white coffin into the hall. About 30 people have gathered in the church — only the closest and dearest. They hold candles; during the service, many cannot hold back tears.

The mournful silence is broken by prayer — women«s thin voices chant repeatedly: »Lord, rest the soul of the infant.« Closest to the coffin stand the boy»s older brothers with their wives.

For his final journey, Pasha was dressed in a blue suit with a white shirt; white flowers were laid at the child«s feet. The little one was given the funeral service in the same church where he was baptized five years ago.

After the service, a funeral procession of several cars sped along the snowy road to the cemetery. It is located on the same Arzamas Street as the church and the Shalin house, where Pasha spent his early years.

Relatives surrounded the burial site, silently watching as funeral workers dug the grave and lowered the small coffin. People filed in a crowd along a narrow path to throw a handful of earth. It seemed that the grief-stricken relatives were completely unconcerned by the journalists who had come from Moscow, or the snowfall and wind lashing their faces.

«Forgive us all, please,» murmured one of the elderly women who came to the funeral in the crowd.

New toys and white-red flowers stood out as bright spots on the fresh grave. The brothers and godmother had no recent photos of the child, so on the mourning portrait, Pasha is still three — the age he was when he last was in the circle of the whole family.

«The child»s entire face was covered in abrasions and scratches«

After the wake, which took place in a cafe near the cemetery, relatives try to disperse quickly — each wants to be alone with their grief.

«You know, I wasn»t even notified of my brother«s death by investigators, but by journalists. We ourselves contacted law enforcement when we came to Moscow to pick up my brother»s body,« Stanislav told MSK1.RU.

Some close ones moved to the house of the boy«s godmother, Lyubov. The woman admits — over these few days of preparing for the funeral, she has hardly slept.

«Over these five days, I probably got about eight hours in total. I had to call an ambulance a couple of times; even now, I»m afraid I«ll start shaking again. Stas is still holding up in front of everyone, but it»s hardest for him — he lived under the same roof with Pasha, and even after moving to his own apartment, he often came to visit his brother,« Kotova recalls in a conversation with MSK1.RU.

Like many in Diveyevo, Lyubov is troubled by the question: «How did it come to this?» After all, at the time of the assault on the boy, his older sister and the cohabitant of a friend with whom Shalina was living were in the apartment.

«They allegedly didn»t hear anything. Later, we even started to have thoughts that maybe they all beat Pasha in that apartment. According to Zinaida and her cohabitant, Alexandra abused her son every day. But why then did they not take any measures? They said they called the guardianship authorities, but they allegedly found no grounds to come. I don«t believe it,» Lyubov tells MSK1.RU.

During the investigation, it became known that Alexandra Shalina wanted to kill her older daughter as well, but at the last moment changed her mind.

«According to Stas, she gives testimony that she wanted to stab the older girl too. But then, like, voices in her head said that the daughter is sinful, that she apparently smoked cigarettes. Such a lifestyle, that she»s depraved, so she must not be killed. But the son — a little angel,« Lyubov shared with MSK1.RU.

Recall that on 24 January, Alexandra Shalina killed her five-year-old son in a bathtub. Realizing that the child showed no signs of life, she called the police. During interrogation at the Investigative Committee, Alexandra stated that she had long considered killing her son since she did not want to raise him. On 26 January, the Nagatinsky Court sent her to a pre-trial detention center on criminal charges of murdering a minor (point «v» of part 2 of Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code).

All that is known about the tragedy is covered in a separate article.