Wife of Kazan Shooter Details Relationship and Prison Life

At 16, Diana moved from Rostov Oblast to Tatarstan to be closer to her chosen one, Ilnaz Galyaviev, whom she later married in the maximum-security Black Dolphin prison in June 2026.

Jul 28, 2026

Diana provides insight into her marriage to the Kazan shooter and his life in Black Dolphin prison.
Source:
the subject«s personal social media page

The 18-year-old wife of the «Kazan shooter» Ilnaz Galyaviev, sentenced to life in prison for a mass school shooting, told MSK1.RU about the details of their relationship. The wedding took place in late June at the Black Dolphin colony. According to Diana, she keeps in touch with her husband by phone.

«He should call soon, in late July,» Diana told MSK1.RU. From the high-security penal colony, inmates are allowed only one phone call per month.

On 11 May 2021, 19-year-old Ilnaz Galyaviev entered Kazan Gymnasium No. 175, armed with a hunting rifle and a homemade bomb. He had studied at this school through the 9th grade. According to investigators, Galyaviev watched videos of mass shootings online and planned the attack in advance. The shooting killed 7 children and two adults, and wounded 24 others. Previously, we reported in detail about the tragedy.

Diana is originally from Rostov Oblast, but two years ago she specifically moved to Tatarstan to attend court sessions involving the «Kazan shooter.» According to the girl, she has a trusting relationship with Galyaviev«s family but lives separately from them. Diana wears her wedding ring on a chain around her neck.

«Regarding the parents, I can say for sure that it won»t be possible to talk to them because they are in a very difficult moral state. They don«t want publicity,» she shared with MSK1.RU.

As Diana said, from Russia«s most stringent colony, Black Dolphin, where life-sentenced inmates are held, her husband sent her handmade gifts. In the correctional facility, Ilnaz works as a tailor, and all proceeds go toward repaying a debt of 20 million rubles (approximately $250,000 at current rates). This is moral compensation ordered by the court in favor of the relatives of the murdered children.

«[He has] not a single violation, Ilnaz also does not argue with any of the staff. He works well and always tries to avoid conflicts,» the girl assures.

The couple married on 30 June 2026. As «Moskovsky Komsomolets» reported, despite the conditions in Black Dolphin, he wore a suit and she wore a dress. The wedding itself lasted no more than 10 minutes. A registry office employee was invited to the colony: the couple exchanged rings, after which they were allowed a three-day extended visit.

As the girl notes, during this time «they managed to feel a kinship of souls.» Before the wedding, Diana saw Ilnaz twice: once in court two days before the verdict, and the second time during a visit. That is when the couple decided to get married.

According to Diana, she only dared to tell a colleague and a close friend that she married the «Kazan shooter.» She first saw her future husband on television: when the massacre at Kazan School No. 175 occurred, she was not yet 14 years old.

As for the girl herself, Diana was born in Rostov Oblast. Since the age of 16, she has lived separately from her parents — she wanted to be in Tatarstan, where Ilnaz«s criminal trials were held. By profession, she is a pastry chef. Previously, we reported in detail what motivated Diana to marry a killer.

Also read about how the trials in the high-profile case of Ilnaz Galyaviev proceeded. Previously, we published a chronicle of the tragedy at Kazan School No. 175.