"I have never believed that I would die"

The Skopinsky Maniac was released. We talked with Ekaterina Martynova, who spent 1312 days in his captivity

At the end of September 2000, in the center of Ryazan, after the disco, two girls disappeared: 14-year-old Ekaterina Martynova and 17-year-old Elena Samokhina. They were stolen by 50-year-old Victor Mokhov. Three years before, he began to build an underground bunker in the city of Skopin (100 kilometers from Ryazan), where he eventually placed his captives. They spent three years and seven months there, almost not seeing sunlight. All this time, Mokhov raped them. Samokhina was pregnant three times (she gave birth to two children in imprisonment, they fell into an orphanage; the third - already when she got out of the bunker). Martynov and Samokhin were released only in May 2004: they were able to transfer a note with their coordinates a girl who rented a room from Mokhov. In August 2005, the rapist was sentenced to 16 years 10 months of imprisonment. On March 3, 2021, Mokhov was released from the Saratov colony. He had already visited Moscow, where he starred for a television show and received a “full bag of money” for this. Medusa talked with Ekaterina Martynova about how she managed to survive all these events.

- How many interviews have you given in the last days?

- I have already lost my account. It seems to me 30 for sure.

- Not tired yet?

- Tired. I did not assume that we have so many media outlets, and they all call and call. I already promise someone, then I forget, but I do not refuse anyone.

- You make the impression of a very sociable person. Are you this since childhood?

- No, I was very shy, closed. Until now, I have no friends, the best friend, there are only friends. Maybe I gained experience in communication, because I constantly talked about the story that happened to me.

- What kind of family do you have?

- The most ordinary: mom, dad, sister. At first we lived in a hostel in Ryazan, but then we received an apartment. Mom worked as a trolleybus driver, after my birth she got a seller at the store. And dad changed several places - he worked with his hands, although a very educated person loved to read. And my sister and I instilled in this love of reading, we just have a huge library.

- How did you spend time together?

- The parents were constantly at work, so my sister and I spent a lot of time with my grandparents in their private house near Ryazan. There was a large farm: three cows, sheep, goats, geese, chickens. There were many friends with whom we walked in the village, went to the river, so we always waited for the summer.

- Ryazan was a safe place at that time?

- The house where we received the apartment was new, a lot of families with children drove there. After a while - through the apartment - they became drug addicts. Many of my friends are now not alive because of drugs. Then everyone was injected by heroin, he was not so expensive. But my sister and I did not hurt, although she had a company where many took drugs.

- And you were allowed to walk alone?

-Due to the fact that the parents constantly worked to provide us, they did not even know that there were so many drug addicts in the house and in one of the entrances there was a point where drugs were sold. And we did not tell them anything. But they were not worried about us-we met with all friends at home, everything was transparent and somehow childish.

There was a feeling that I would definitely see my parents

- Before a trip to a party on September 30, 2000 [after which you were kidnapped] How long did you know Elena [Samokhin] - she was your sister's girlfriend?

“I saw her once, and the sister herself was familiar with her for a month.” In September 2000, they entered the technical school and began to communicate there.

- When the same white car drove up [on which you were abducted] and you saw two people inside, why did you trust them?

- This citizen [Viktor Mokhov] sat in the car all the time, he did not even go out. And this Lesha was sitting nearby, who actually turned out to be a woman ( it was Mokhova’s accomplice Elena Badukina , who helped to kidnap the girls; she was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, approx. Medusa ). The difficult question is how I trusted them.

Probably, I was just a little girl, I saw that the young guy offers to take home - he is the same as us, well, what can he do to us! There were no thoughts that they could harm us. I was very gullible, all the more I was with my older friend. That evening I did not understand at all that something could happen.

- For the first time you saw the basement, it seemed to you completely unsuitable for life: white walls, six square meters, concrete floor. After some time, Mokhov began to bring some things there so that you equip him. Why?

-I don’t know if he experienced pity, but even with some kind of sophisticated thinking I understood that for survival we needed some kind of communication with the outside world. In addition, he saw that we are two good girls, maybe something was in him. We were not prostitutes who hate a lot of men, there was no sin in us. He did not spare us, but at least complied with some requests.

- How did your day go in the basement, what did you do?

- At first it was difficult. It is difficult to realize that you are underground and do not know when it is all over. Therefore, at first we cried a lot and often. We shared our memories with each other, told stories from life. We prayed a lot, at the age of 14 I believed in God with all my heart, although at this age you least think about God, the Church. Over time, not that we got used to and resigned, but understood that we had to live. We began to make a daily routine: to cook, eat, watch TV, I painted, Lena was engaged in English. And all the time there was a hope that this would end soon.

- There were moments when you lost hope?

- It seems to me that Lena fell into despair. Her condition has always been depressed. After all, she was pregnant three times, and how she had enough strength to just live, give birth, I still do not know. She lived in more horror and did not believe that we would free myself. But she never told me this, just worried about herself. Although I saw that she does not believe in our return.

And I could not believe that I would die. I so wanted to live, there was a feeling that I would definitely see my parents. Never - nor when he turned off the light and we were in the basement in pitch darkness for days, nor when he did not come, and we were without water, already on the verge - I did not believe that I would die.

- Did your parents with Elena maintain contact with each other?

- At first, yes, but after a year my mother stopped communicating with her [Elena Samokhina's mother]. She said that she once came to visit Alexander Ivanovna, and in the living room there was a large photograph of Lena in the frame. Mom said: “There is not enough black ribbon. Why did you put such a photo? " And Lena’s mother answered her: “Irina, they will not return. They died. " And my mother realized that she did not want to face this negative, she broke off the relationship. But my father talked to her.

- Elena herself almost does not interview . What did she tell about her life during this time?

- She is from Ryazan, she has an older brother. Father died before we were abducted. Her mother worked in kindergarten. She always said that she had a good and kind mother, they were always close. Lena had many friends, she studied well at school. There was a very well -read, educated, no matter what I asked her, she answered all the questions.

- How did you have a relationship with her?

- We have never had conflicts. In such an atmosphere, it would be completely murderous to swear. We supported each other. Of course, there were times when I did not want to communicate. When you are 24 hours a day together in a room with an area of ​​six square meters, sleep on one bed, eat at the same table, you need personal space. Then everyone was doing his own business.

-Why, after some time, Mokhov began to take you out into the street?

- This is said loudly. A lot has written in the press that I went around the garden, could scream, call for help, escape - no, no one took us either on a leash or without it. He could allow us to breathe fresh air in the “first room” ( the bunker consisted of two floors, the “first room” was upstairs - approx. Medusa ), but we stood there for five minutes and climbed into the basement again.

- But in the book you have distinct memories of the first walk - at the end of October 2000 ...

- Yes, it was almost immediately after we were kidnapped. He came at night and gave a linen rope. I thought that he would strangle, was very scared, began to beg not to do this. As a result, he simply tied [my] hand to him, we climbed into the garage. It was some kind of excessive measure. It was night, I would still not go anywhere, where I could run - there is nothing to be visible around, there are no landmarks. Run so that he caught me and beat me? I did not do this. He did not bring out Lena to walk even once.

-Mokhov treated you the same way or is it better to someone?

- It seemed to many [after my stories] that he was more favorable to me. I do not claim, but perhaps he was softer with me - he took me for walks and led me to his home ( the house where he lived with his mother stood in the same area as the bunker, approx. Medusa ), where he allowed to wash in his bath.

- What was the situation in the house, where did he live with his mother?

-The house is old, there are a lot of furniture, dishes, some corridors from where he escorted me to his room. The twilight, an unpleasant smell - a lot of bad associations. His room was small, also forced by furniture, a dirty window. I looked at him and thought, maybe open and jump out, but it went out onto the garage and garden, and there was nowhere to escape. When he led me to him, my mother was in the next room, but she did not go to him ( did her mother know that Samokhina and Martynov lived in the bunker is not known to Meduza approx. ).

- During the trial, she did not talk to you? Didn't ask you for forgiveness?

- No, on the contrary, she always said what her good son is, so obedient, whatever she asks, she would do everything. He is engaged in the garden and breeds rabbits, and drives by car, and at work in a good account ( Mokhov worked at the Skopinsky Auto Girlfriend - approx. Medusa ). She raised a straight worthy boy. It seems to me that she was sure that we lived there voluntarily, that we were some kind of blessing homeless.

- How often did Mokhov come to you?

-At first he was rare with us-once every two to three days, then more often. Probably the last year came almost every day. There were several points when he did not come, and we ended with water and food. I was constantly afraid that we were tired of him and just die there. In each of his arrival, he demanded that we go to the very “green room” ( was between the “first room” and the basement; it was there that Mokhov raped the girls - approx. “Medusa” ). He did not pay attention that Lena was pregnant, forced him to have sex, even when she was in the last stages.

- How did he communicate with you?

- We just threw up the phrases when he brought food. And every time he asked: “Whose turn? Come out. " ( Mokhov raped the girls in turn - approx. "Medusa" ). Sometimes he compared us with rabbits.

- When Mokhov wanted to punish you, he did not give you food, turned off the light in the basement and sprayed gas from the spray can. And when he “praised” what he brought to you?

- Nothing. But he always bought albums and paints to draw. I did this often, gouache left in two weeks. And he always said: "Gouache is expensive, let's use more." But still he always brought.

- How did Mokhov change during the time that you stayed there?

-It seems to me that in three years and seven months he changed his shirt and trousers a couple of times, his clothes did not change in any way, it was some kind of dirty. He did not smoke, did not drink alcohol, his buzz was sex. He dreamed of him all his life, but he had almost no, because everyone refused him.

- In the video after liberation, he looks like a very nimble elderly man of 70 years old. And how did you remember him?

- He was mobile, followed the garden. He constantly had some things, his hands were either in fuel oil, then in the mud. He was very active.

The first month it seemed to me that I would go to bed in my bed, and I would wake up in this bunker

- Who came up with the escape plan?

- We are together. Lena wrote a note in which she indicated our surnames, names, addresses, explained where the bunker is located. We twisted her into a small tube, and I came up with a way to hide it in a bundle. When Mokhov took me to his tenant and introduced me to his niece ( in the book of Martynov he writes that he had an apartment, in which he rented a student of a medical school; that evening he wanted to drink the tenant with sleeping pills and then rape - approx. Medusa ), I gently pulled out a note and put in the audio cassettes. After some time, we were found.

- You later got in touch with Alena - the girl who saved you?

- No, after the liberation there were many things and did not want to return to those thoughts of imprisonment again. But later I found out that she refuses the interview, disowned this situation. As far as I understand, she is ashamed that she rented this apartment, that such a story happened to her. I don't understand this. She saved two people!

“Why do you think they have been looking for you for so long?” There was not a single clue or did the police inactive?

- When I disappeared, my parents immediately went to the police with a statement, but they did not want to accept him - they told me to wait another two days. But after the persuasion, they still took it, and one policeman said: "Wait, they will come up in the spring." Then our business was handed over to the investigator, his mother spoke well of him. He claimed that he made all the requests, but after a while he resigned. And all this time the investigation was on a dead point. He [Mokhov] managed to commit an ideal crime: we did not go anywhere, got into the car on a deserted street, no one saw us.

When they were looking for us, my mother went to fortunetellers. Once her friend offered to go to a friend and ask her what was happening to us. She did not take money for this, just wanted to help. This clairvoyant took the newspaper, where the announcement of our loss was printed, and fell into some kind of trance. After a while, she woke up and said: “They are alive, but it seems to be underground. The second girl is harder than yours. ” That is, she told the truth.

Then my grandmother, when she fell ill after a stroke, told her mother all the time: "He holds them in the underground." As she could know, I do not understand.

- At the trial, Mokhov asked you for forgiveness?

- No.

“Do you think he repents?”

- No. He did not fully understand what he had done. He probably thinks: “I have not killed anyone. They lived with me, but returned. " In the video [after leaving the colony] he says: “I atoned my guilt, I served the due time.”

- If Elena’s children got in touch with you ( later they were adopted, approx. Medusa ), would you communicate with them?

- I would really not want them to recognize the history of their birth. If this happens, I probably would not communicate with them, I have nothing to talk about with them. If they asked to tell them something, of course, I would go towards. But I could not be friends and maintain friendly relations.

- What struck you when you returned home?

- The first thing I paid attention to after liberation is how our district has grown. In September 2000, I saw only a large field from the window, where they walked with dogs, and after almost four years there were several ten -story buildings. Minibuses, not trolleybuses, as before, traveled everywhere. It was surprised that everyone had mobile phones. But in general, the first month it seemed to me that I would go to bed in my bed, and wake up in this bunker.

- How has your family changed?

- Grandma fell ill, and the house in the village, where we loved to spend time so, had to sell. When I disappeared, dad had problems with alcohol, he had binges. He accused my mother that she did not look after me and that day did not ask where I went ( Martynova’s parents divorced - approx. Medusa ). Later, a stroke hit him, a hand refused, he was all the time at home, and in 2014 he died of cancer. My dog, to which I was very attached at the age of 14, shot down a car. I was glad that I returned home, but there was still a longing in my soul, that everything was already different.

- Have you turned to a psychologist after liberation?

- I was once at the reception, but it seemed to me that the specialist had just an interest in my story, he did not want to help, did not want to facilitate my return. Now I do not need this help - I have already coped with everything myself. But there are no such psychologists who will help to forget, delete everything from memory.

- What are you doing now?

- I work as a designer of interiors. Apparently, this went from the bunker, there a craving for drawing woke up ( Martynova decorated the walls of the basement with cartoons from cartoons and landscapes - approx. Medusa ).

- You have two children. Do you want to tell them about this story?

- Certainly. If I chose the way to talk, I even wrote a book about this, you can’t hide anything from them. I just want to give them somehow not so painful, to explain what happens in life, I got into such a situation, but I am alive, happy. I would like to tell them everything in a softer form.

“You were married several times, did your men know what happened to you?”

- Yes, of course, everyone knew. The first husband found out about two weeks after we met, watching the TV. But he did not tell me anything. Then, after some time, when we became closer, we talked about it. He treated this completely normally, without pity. Может, глубоко в душе у него было ко мне сострадание, но относился ко мне как к обычной девушке. Второй муж тоже узнал по телевизору. А третий знал и до знакомства со мной. Эта история все равно на слуху.

Когда я вернулась, у меня не было никакой компенсации

— Вы активно участвовали в ток-шоу на государственных каналах. Как вы это эмоционально переживали?

— На самом деле это несложно. Когда попадаешь в эту атмосферу, думаешь, как хорошо, что я сейчас быстро поучаствую и уеду, хоть какое-то время не буду с этим сталкиваться. It's like a job. Тем более за это платят. Мы всегда обговаривали условия, как мне будет удобнее и комфортнее, и сумму гонорара. I do not see anything bad about it.

Когда я вернулась, у меня не было никакой компенсации. С одной стороны, с чего я взяла, что мне вообще она положена, но с другой — я все-таки живу в современном государстве и все равно какая-то помощь должна быть. Хотя в самом начале нам пришли около десяти тысяч рублей от губернатора. И я подумала: во-первых, я хочу говорить об этом, а во-вторых, сама себе не поможешь — никто не поможет. Но я старалась всегда вести себя достойно.

И сегодня [4 марта] я еду на съемку «На самом деле» на Первом канале. Он [Мохов] уже в Москве. У меня условие в договоре, чтобы я с ним не встречалась и никак не контактировала. Если они не выполнят контракт, им грозит штраф 100–200 миллионов рублей. Думаю, они не пойдут на это.

Я очень рада, что эта история не забыта. Потому что он [Мохов] сейчас освободился, его лицо будут показывать по телевизору. Я хочу, чтобы к нему ни один человек не подходил, чтобы он был изгоем в своем городе. Мне не нравится, что ему за это платят деньги, со всеми почестями его встречают. Но все равно польза есть: его увидят, может, кто-то узнает на улице и будет остерегаться.

— Как Мохов оказался в Москве, если после освобождения он не может выезжать за пределы Скопинского района в течение шести лет?

— Я вчера узнавала, как так произошло. У редактора «На самом деле» есть свободная квартира в Москве. По его словам, он сделал ему временную регистрацию, и теперь он [Мохов] может отмечаться по месту жительства. Поэтому он не нарушил закон.

— На одной из таких программ вы встретились с Еленой Бадукиной, которую следствие считает сообщницей Мохова. Это была ваша первая встреча?

— Я ее видела в суде, но тогда она была моложе и выглядела по-другому. И на «Пусть говорят» меня не предупредили, что она будет, хотели снять [мою] реакцию. Но я непробиваемый человек, мне удалось скрыть свои эмоции.

— До вас в подвале была еще одна девушка. В одну из программ «На самом деле» пришла Елена Малахова, которая заявила, что именно ее Мохов две с половиной недели держал в этом бункере еще в 1999 году. В эфире вы частично возложили вину на нее, что она не сообщила об этом в полицию и поэтому Мохову удалось поймать вас. Как вам кажется, почему она этого не сделала?

— Я сначала вообще не знала, что это за человек. Но потом мне рассказали, что ее родители пили, она была одинока, за ней никто не следил. Тогда я поняла, в какой атмосфере она жила и что ждать от девочки, у которой не то что воспитания — у нее дома не было. Поэтому процентов на 20 я осознала, почему она не обратилась в полицию.

— Вам не кажется, что дело может быть и в том, что существует виктимблейминг: жертвам насилия в России не верят или относятся не бережно? Даже вас после освобождения повезли на осмотр к мужчине-гинекологу.

— Да, я потом тоже об этом подумала. Но не может жертва насилия быть сама виновата в том, что ее изнасиловали. Даже если она идет голой по темной улице. Виноват только тот, кто это делает. Как вообще можно додуматься применить силу к человеку? Это неадекватные люди, они должны быть изолированы.

Я до сих пор считаю чудом, что выжила

— В 2017 году у вас вышла книга . Вы признавались, что книга вам помогла избавиться от разных эмоций, которые долго копились. Что стало поворотной точкой, когда вы поняли, что больше не можете держать эту историю в себе?

— Я много раз садилась, но ничего не получалось. Было трудно вспоминать все эти годы. Но мне хотелось поставить точку в этой истории, отделить, что есть книга, есть я, но жизнь продолжается. В 2016 году это желание было сильно сформулировано. К тому времени я уже дважды была мамой. Наверное, я стала еще сильнее, уже не была той маленькой девочкой, которую похитили. Поэтому книгу я написала быстро, всего за два месяца. Работала по ночам, всего по три-четыре часа.

— В книге вы пишете: «Теперь я могу не стыдясь рассказать об этой истории». Раньше вы испытывали чувство стыда?

— Да, было в первое время. Каждый раз, когда я говорила об этом, боялась, что меня осудят. Старалась выставить все с лучшей стороны. Мне было неприятно и стыдно за то, что я попала в эту ситуацию, что жила в этом грязном бункере. В интернете было много негативных комментариев, мол, сама виновата, что села в эту машину, сама выпила, сама поехала.

— Вы говорили, что написали эту книгу для всех женщин, которые столкнулись с насилием. Какой отклик вы получили после публикации?

— Женщины писали мне во «ВКонтакте», благодарили за откровенность. Кто-то сказал, что книга помогла решить проблему с мужем, который поднимал на нее руку. Кто-то нашел новую работу. Жизнь дается один раз, надо ее достойно прожить и счастливо.

— О чем вторая книга и когда она выйдет?

— Ее написал датский писатель Карстен Граф при моем участии. Я там главная героиня, но много написано и о других людях, которые столкнулись с этой историей. Он узнал многое о преступнике, жил в Рязани какое-то время. Там будет рассказано, как он [Мохов] в юности строил отношения с женщинами, как строил бункер и готовился к преступлению. Она выйдет в конце марта.

— Как Мохов отреагировал на выход вашей книги?

— Он [из тюрьмы] писал мне во «ВКонтакте», представившись другим человеком. Я сначала даже не поняла, что это он. Сообщение было примерно таким: «У тебя есть книга. Я сижу в одной камере с преступником. Если тебе нужна какая-то информация для книги, я могу узнать, но за деньги». Я заблокировала его, но ссылку на страницу дала своему знакомому. Он потом разговорил его и понял, что это Мохов.

— Сейчас вы не опасаетесь с ним встретиться?

— Опасаюсь. Я его не боюсь, но мне будет очень неприятно с ним столкнуться. Я не хочу видеть его лицо, находиться с ним на одной территории. У меня к нему чувство брезгливости.

— Стокгольмский синдром у вас не развился. А что вы к нему испытывали тогда?

— Три года назад я писала, что испытываю к нему злость и ненависть, презрение. А сейчас — полное безразличие.

— Вам было бы легче, если бы он не вышел из колонии?

— За такие преступления должны давать пожизненный срок. Я всегда понимала, что 17 лет рано или поздно закончатся, но сейчас до конца не верится, что он свободный. Я не могу поверить, что мы будем участвовать в одной передаче, хотя я сделала все, чтобы с ним не столкнуться. It's just absurd.

— Вы не хотели бы помогать женщинам, пережившим насилие , в общественных организациях?

— У нас есть в планах создать фонд, где мы будем поддерживать таких женщин, бороться за равноправие. Но пока мы [с помощницей] только обсуждаем эту идею. Изначально была цель — книга, она вышла. Теперь освобождается он [Мохов], очень хочется давать комментарии, чтобы вызвать общественный резонанс. Может быть, так случится, что его опять посадят. Не должен этот человек быть на свободе. Потом понемногу все утихнет, и мы будем думать про фонд.

— Вы до сих пор верите в Бога?

- Yes. В свой второй день рождения — 4 мая — я всегда стараюсь ходить в церковь.

— Как вам кажется, для чего вам были даны эти испытания?

— Я тоже задавала себе такой вопрос. Каждому человеку даются испытания, чтобы он вынес какие-то уроки и наконец нашел себя. Может быть, после того, как я выжила, у меня появилась миссия — доносить до людей, что женщины должны всегда верить, держаться, находить внутренние ресурсы, что мы на самом деле очень сильный пол. И поэтому я не молчу и очень надеюсь, что иду по правильному пути.

— Вы не озлобились, не ожесточились и, кажется, пережили эту историю с холодным рассудком. Что вам помогает?

— В первую очередь то, что я осталась в живых. Я до сих пор считаю чудом, что выжила, и вдохновляюсь тем, что жива. Прошло 17 лет, а у меня до сих пор внутри чувство, что у меня есть эта жизнь, меня Бог одарил этой жизнью.

— Какие последствия своего заточения вы до сих пор ощущаете?

— Мне до сих пор снятся кошмары, когда эмоционально устаю за день. Бункер не снится, но во сне вижу его дом, будто пытаюсь оттуда выбраться, а он [Мохов] меня настигает, и я сразу просыпаюсь. Меня не напрягает темнота, но когда задергиваю шторы, оставляю маленький зазор.

— Чему вас научила эта история?

— Я была в такой ситуации, когда непонятно, выживу или нет. И сейчас если есть какие-то трудности, преграды, я легко к ним отношусь. Самое главное — здоровье, а какие-то внешние факторы решаемы. Даже из той ситуации я выбралась, выжила. По сравнению с этим все другие проблемы для меня — это мелочь.

— Вы давали себе обещание в плену, что после освобождения будете радоваться каждому дню. У вас получается?

— В суете забываешь, что живешь, что у тебя небо над головой, земля под ногами. Но иногда бывают моменты, когда останавливаюсь и отчетливо осознаю происходящее, радуюсь, где сейчас нахожусь. Я люблю море, мне нравится, когда я вместе со своей семьей, дети рядом, когда мы едем в какое-то даже небольшое путешествие, когда выходные и не надо вставать [провожать детей] в школу. Все как у обычных людей.

Беседовала Наташа Кондрашова

Фотографии: Анна Иванцова для «Медузы»