The body of a Russian soldier who was reportedly serving at the military base in Gyumri, Armenia has been found, allegedly with signs of violence. A preliminary investigation has suggested that it may have been incited to commit suicide.
The news was shared by Shamshyan.com, which reports on crime and is believed to be affiliated with the Armenian police.
The deceased, according to the website’s information, was 24-year-old K. Antonenko, a Russian citizen. His body was found on Thursday evening in a semi-built building, located in Bulvarayin Street 1st Lane, in Mush-2 district, Gyumri, not far from the base.
The body was found ‘with parts of his hand cut off with a sharp object’, the outlet wrote. However, it remains unclear if the hands were cut off or only injured.
‘According to preliminary information, the deceased was serving at the 102nd Russian military base located in Armenia, which is why employees of the aforementioned military base also arrived at the scene’, the outlet noted.
It also alleged that the investigators of the Russian military base ‘will conduct the investigation’.
RFE/RL reported on Friday that the individual’s name was Konstantin Antonenko. They also noted that the Investigative Committee launched a criminal case on charges of incitement to suicide, while the Russian Military Base, ‘is not commenting’.
No further information is available on the incident. Russian official websites have not reported on the case.
RFE/RL further reported about another incident that took place in the base that they said ‘two weeks ago’, when a was hospitalised in Gyumri medical center from the base ‘with a serious gunshot wound to the head’, and was later recently transferred to the Central Military Hospital in Yerevan.
Even though his life was saved, he fell into a coma.
According to the RFE/RL, ‘the soldier was on duty at an observation post’ when the shooting took place. The Armenian authorities said that they have nothing to do with this incident, since it took place on the territory of the military base.
Other cases involving Russian soldiers in Armenia
There have been several previous criminal cases involving Russian soldiers in Armenia.
In one widely reported case in 2015 that sent shockwaves through Armenian society, Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, who was also stationed at the Gyumri base, murdered seven members of the Avetisyan family in the city, including a two-year-old and six-month-old child. He was subsequently apprehended by Russian border guards while attempting to illegally cross into neighbouring Turkey.
In August of the same year, a Russian military court at the base in Gyumri sentenced Permyakov to 10 years in prison for desertion and theft of firearms and ammunition.
A year later, Permyakov was sentenced to life in prison by an Armenian court, after he pleaded guilty of murder.
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Another soldier based in Gyumri, Andrei Razgildeev, has been accused of beating 57-year-old Julieta Ghukasyan to death in December 2018. The incident took place early in the morning, while she was heading to work, according to RFE/RL.
There has been no court ruling yet. In August 2024, the Shirak regional court decided to restart the case from scratch.
Razgildeev attended the trial remotely from the Russian military base in Gyumri.
