Russian Historian's Disturbing Secret: Mummified Girls Transformed into Doll Collection
In a case that horrified a nation, a seemingly respectable academic was revealed to be conducting gruesome activities within his own home. Anatoly Moskvin, a historian and lecturer from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia's fifth-largest city, led a double life that involved excavating graves and creating a macabre collection of mummified dolls from the remains of young girls.
The Scholarly Facade and the Ghastly Discovery
On the surface, Moskvin appeared to be a model scholar. Fluent in thirteen languages, widely travelled, and working as a college lecturer, he was known locally as an eccentric but harmless expert on cemeteries, even calling himself a necropolist. However, this scholarly facade concealed a deeply disturbing reality.
In 2011, police made a shocking discovery that stunned the Russian public. Inside Moskvin's apartment, officers found the mummified bodies of twenty-nine girls and young women, aged between three and twelve years old. The remains had been stolen from local graves, preserved using a homemade chemical solution, and meticulously dressed to resemble life-size dolls.
The Creation of a Macabre Collection
The historian had exhumed up to one hundred and fifty burial sites to satisfy his warped desires. He brought the bodies to his home, where he transformed them into a ghastly collection. The remains were adorned in tights, frocks, and even fashioned to resemble a teddy bear in one instance.
A video discovered by detectives revealed a hallway crammed with bridal gowns and cheerful clothing. Moskvin's creepy voice on the recording stated, These dolls are made of mummified human remains. Officers also found that he gathered current details about each girl's life and produced computer printouts with guidelines for creating dolls from human remains.
Childhood Trauma and a Twisted Obsession
Born in 1966, Moskvin had spent decades immersing himself in death rituals. He later claimed his fixation began with a traumatic childhood incident. Writing for Necrologies, a niche Russian weekly, he described an event from 1979 when he was thirteen years old.
According to Moskvin, a group of men in black suits stopped him on his way home from school. They were heading to the funeral of eleven-year-old Natasha Petrova. He alleged they dragged him to the coffin and forced him to kiss the dead girl, an encounter he claimed haunted him for life.
He wrote, I kissed her once, then again, then again. Moskvin further claimed the girl's grieving mother placed a wedding ring on his finger and another on her daughter's lifeless hand, stating, My strange marriage with Natasha Petrova was useful.
Legal Proceedings and Psychiatric Confinement
Following his arrest, Moskvin was deemed unfit to stand trial due to his mental state. Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, he was committed to a psychiatric hospital, where he has remained ever since. He has refused to apologise to the families of those he exhumed.
A prosecution spokesman previously said, After three years of monitoring him in a psychiatric clinic it is absolutely clear that Moskvin is not mentally fit for trial. He will therefore be kept for psychiatric treatment at the clinic.
Recent Developments and Potential Discharge
In a recent development reported last October, doctors are now recommending that Moskvin can return home. Medics are submitting documents to the court to discharge the patient and place him under the care of relatives under the category of incapacitated, according to Russian news outlet Shot. This potential move continues to raise questions about justice and closure for the affected families.
