Natalia Dontsova: Suspect in Ex-Judge's Murder, Former Mayoral Candidate

Natalia Dontsova, a former rival of Sergei Sobyanin for the Moscow mayor«s post, an investigator, and an educational psychologist, has become a suspect in a high-profile murder. Back in 2024, the public was shocked by the death of 40-year-old ex-judge Aigul Sailybayeva. Her mutilated body was found on the outskirts of the city of Bensheim in Germany, where the family resided.

Dontsova is the mother-in-law of the murdered Aigul. After the ex-judge«s death, she disappeared along with her son and Aigul»s husband — Alexander. They have been declared wanted in an international search and by the Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs. MSK1.RU reports what is known about Natalia Dontsova.

Educational Psychologist and Former Investigator

Natalia Dontsova (maiden name Vasilenko) is 51 years old. She was born in a small settlement in the Taldy-Kurgan region of Kazakhstan. According to her own statements, she has three higher educations: pedagogical, financial, and legal. At the same time, she indicated that she studied at two universities: she graduated from the I. Zhansugurov Taldykorgan University in 1995 and the Moscow State University of Service in 2000.

In the 2000s, she worked in the investigative department of law enforcement agencies. According to her, she rose to the rank of lieutenant of justice. In 2004, she received a license in the Almaty region to engage in notarial activities, and until 2016 she was a notary. Now her license has been annulled.

The publication Orda.kz, citing sources, indicated that for several years the woman worked for her own mother, who for a long time headed a branch of the «CenterCredit» bank in Taldykorgan. The interlocutor also characterized their family as «very wealthy and very influential.»

Sobyanin«s Rival

There are many blind spots in Dontsova«s biography. In the 2010s, the woman moved to St. Petersburg, and in 2018 she decided to run for the post of mayor of Moscow. By that time, she headed some autonomous non-profit organization »Moscow Academy of Professional Growth«. By the way, she is still listed as its general director.

She opened the ANO together with Sergei Sushchevsky — a journalist from Rubtsovsk who in 2018 ran for the elections of the head of the Altai Krai. He went from the «Party of Small Business of Russia», and Dontsova initially indicated her affiliation with the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia), but in the elections she went as a self-nominee. But despite this, during the election campaign, the woman held a joint action with activists of the «Party of Small Business of Russia». And she herself then also positioned herself as a journalist — she owned the publication «Moscow and the Moscow Region».

In the media, Dontsova was often mentioned as the first woman who decided to run for the post of mayor of Moscow and decided to compete with more media-savvy and serious politicians. But soon she lost her candidate status, as she did not provide the necessary documents.

In 2021, Natalia was the chairman of the council of the Moscow branch of the «Political Party of Social Protection in Moscow» for 19 days. In 2024, she appeared in the public field as an expert of the International University of Professional Innovations (MUPI).

Natalia has two sons — Vladimir and Alexander. The latter is 29 years old. In 2019, he married Aigul, and in 2025, Dontsov began working at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) — he became a research fellow at the faculty of world economy and world politics. He indicated that, like his mother, he received three higher educations. The first — as a lawyer at the Institute of Management and Law. He completed his master«s degree in »foreign regional studies« at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Then he became a doctor of philosophical sciences at the University of Leipzig.

In December 2025, the Kazakh Ministry of Internal Affairs declared Alexander and his mother wanted, and notices for them appeared in the local database. The search for the Dontsovs is being handled by the police department in Taldykorgan.

The whereabouts of Natalia Dontsova are currently unknown. According to preliminary data, she may be in Moscow. Relatives of the deceased appealed to the head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin so that law enforcement officers would check the woman. They believe that danger may also threaten Aigul«s child, who is in the care of the father. For more details on this story, we told in this material.

Earlier we published everything, that is known about the brutal murder of Moscow student Tatiana Strakhova.