The investigation into the murder of activist Elena Grigorieva has been completed

On the night of July 19-20, activist Elena Grigorieva was brutally murdered in St. Petersburg. On February 3, 2020, the Investigative Committee announced the completion of the investigation.
On February 3, 2020, it became known that the investigation of the criminal case under Part 1 of Art. 105 of the Criminal Code (murder) against Alexey Volnyanko. He is accused of the murder of 41-year-old activist Elena Grigorieva, which occurred on the night of July 19-20 near the woman’s house. Volnyanko knew Grigorieva: according to investigators, on the day of the murder there was some kind of domestic conflict between them, which led to the death of the activist.

Elena Grigorieva was killed with particular cruelty: traces of strangulation were found on the victim’s neck, and many knife wounds were found on her body and face.

On July 25, 2019, the Investigative Committee reported the detention of another suspect: Davron Mukhamedov, a previously convicted native of Kyrgyzstan, born in 1981. It was reported that Grigorieva knew him and they drank together several times. Later, the criminal case against Mukhamedov was dropped due to his innocence.

Grigorieva was openly bisexual and in recent years actively participated in the St. Petersburg LGBT movement. Her name appeared on a list of threats that was published on the website of the homophobic initiative “Saw,” whose members periodically claim involvement in violence against LGBT people. According to journalists from Novaya Gazeta, threats to Grigorieva also came from the famous St. Petersburg homophobic activist Timur Bulatov. He sent her photographs of a knife with the caption “Do you think stabbing ******** [homosexuals] with such ******* [good] will be?”

According to friends of the activist, she has recently contacted the police more than once in connection with threats, but “there was no reaction [from law enforcement agencies].” Police officers, in turn, stated that none of her appeals “concerned possible threats to the victim’s life.”

A friend of Grigorieva said that the activist also received threats from nationalists. According to him, in 2018 she gave them the wrong address of the place where the LGBT Pride would be held. Unfortunately, we do not know which nationalists we are talking about.

The political biography of Elena Grigorieva was closely connected with Russian nationalism. Back in Veliky Novgorod, her hometown, in 2016-17. she headed the local cells of the “ Nationalist Party ” and “ Artpodgotovki ”, and also participated in the activities of the neo-Nazi movement “Slavic Power - North-West”, representing it in the “ Coordination Council of National Forces ” (KSNS).

In addition, in 2016 she publicly supported PARNAS. In recent years, Grigorieva has held rallies and pickets supporting mainly LGBT people and people who have been subjected to violence.

Sources

• The LGBT activist in St. Petersburg could have been killed by several people. She was on the “July list” of homophobic punishers // Fontanka. 2019. July 22.
• Activist Elena Grigorieva was killed in St. Petersburg // Mediazona. 2019. July 22.
• “The conflicts had homophobic soil” // Novaya Gazeta. 2019. July 23.
• A man suspected of murdering a local resident was detained in St. Petersburg // Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. 2019. July 25.
• In St. Petersburg, the investigation into the brutal murder of LGBT activist Elena Grigorieva was completed, focusing on the everyday version // newsru.com. 2020. February 3.