Russia’s Chita: drafted man dies of blunt force head wound; his card later used to pay in liquor stores

Alexander Tashlykov, 54, has died in a hospital in the Russian city of Chita. The man received a draft notice on 22 September and was deployed to a medical company. According to forensics, the man died of blunt force trauma to the head, media outlet Chita.ru writes.

Tashlykov did not return to the military unit after he had escorted one of his fellow soldiers to a Chita hospital. Tashlykov’s son was told by the hospital that the drafted man’s bank card and military ID had been left as a deposit in a Chita hostel, where he had stayed while in the city. The hostel’s administrator, according to the son of Tashlykov, admitted that the mobilised man had been “in critical condition and bleeding” upon his arrival at the hostel.

Tashlykov’s son also checked the bank app on his father’s phone and found out that the man had withdrawn 38.500 rubles (€616) in cash; the money was not found among his personal things after death. Furthermore, according to his bank history, the deceased’s card was used after his death to pay for a “big number” of purchases in local liquor stores, the amount of items bought coming down to 8,000 rubles (€128).

The Investigative Committee press service told Chita.ru that a preliminary investigation was being conducted regarding the discovery of Tashlykov’s body.

A week ago, Russian Telegram channel ASTRA, citing local residents, reported that several mobilised men in the Russian city of Kazan had fled from their military unit and had been living in a local building’s entrance hall. According to journalists, the mobilised men were drinking and sleeping there.