90-year-old father of Russian Orthodox Church press service chief Vladimir Legoida killed in Moscow region

Telegram channels call the alleged killer a repeat offender who was recruited in a penal colony and deserted from the front

On December 29, in the Leninsky District of the Moscow Region city of Vidnoye, the body of 90-year-old Roman Legoida, father of Vladimir Legoida, chairman of the Synodal Department of the Russian Orthodox Church for Relations with Society and the Media and acting head of the press service of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, was found in a ravine on the side of the road. According to the Telegram channel "VChK-OGPU", the body of Legoida Sr. was found by a random passerby. The Telegram channel 112 was the first to report that the death was criminal in nature.

"The most experienced investigators and forensic experts from the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Moscow Region" quickly arrived at the scene to conduct "the necessary investigative actions and operational-search activities." A criminal case was opened under Part 1 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Murder"; punishment - imprisonment for up to 15 years). The Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexander Bastrykin instructed the head of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Moscow Region Alexander Starikov "to submit an operational report" on the investigation. "The head of the department has placed the progress of the investigation under control at the central office of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation," the department's press service added .

A few hours later, the police reported the arrest of a murder suspect. The Investigative Committee clarified that the detainee is 25 years old. The robbery motive was confirmed: after the murder, the suspect took 100 thousand rubles that Roman Legoida had with him. He left the body on the side of the road near the SNT Meshcherino-Churilkovo. "Part of the stolen money was found during a search of the suspect's rented apartment. Investigators and forensic experts are currently working with him," the Investigative Committee added.

On the night of December 30, the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Moscow Region also released a video recording of the suspect's detention and interrogation. In the footage, the man confesses to the crime. He described his actions as follows:

I approached him [in the store] to get a ride to another store. Then he gave me a ride, I stopped him halfway and showed him the knife. I didn't do anything, I just told him, "Give me the money" <…> Well, we started struggling. He tried to grab the knife from me. And that's it. I killed him.

On the morning of December 30, Telegram channels close to law enforcement agencies reported the name and some details of the biography of the alleged killer.

• According to 112, the detainee's name is Adam Shcherbakov, he had previously been sentenced to nine years for robbery, but in May 2023, he was recruited "into a private military company" in the penal colony and went to war in Ukraine. "After returning, [Shcherbakov] decided to earn money the old-fashioned way. The criminal met Roman Timofeevich [Legoida] at a store, and the old man, out of the kindness of his heart, agreed to give him a ride. Everything happened on the way," the Telegram channel said after.
• At the same time, 112 initially reported that Shcherbakov was amnestied after returning from the war. However, this may not be true. A source from another Telegram channel, "VChK-OGPU", specified that the alleged killer "was wanted - he deserted from the Ministry of Defense unit before serving out his contract." Also, the "VChK-OGPU" source was the first to name the unit in which Shcherbakov fought - it turned out to be the "Storm Z" unit, into which prisoners were recruited from all over Russia by the Russian Ministry of Defense itself.

Recruiters from the Ministry of Defense arrived at the penal colony. The convict signed a contract, served as a stormtrooper for several months, but, realizing that his chances of survival were almost zero, he escaped. Wandering around in search of money, he met 90-year-old Roman Legoida in a store near Moscow, who had come there to buy bread. The deserter told the elderly man about his "exploits" in the SVO, "cried" about his fate. Roman Legoida volunteered to give him a ride in his car, parked nearby, to the neighboring store, as Adam had asked.

• According to the VChK-OGPU, after Shcherbakov fled his unit, presumably deciding not to participate in the storming of Avdiivka, he managed to "hide in the Moscow region with his common-law wife." "Both lived in Domodedovo. The deserter was wanted, but how persistently they had been looking for him over the past six months is a big question. Adam Nikolaevich Shcherbakov had fake passports with him, re-glued under other names," the Telegram channel claims .
• Telegram channels found out that Shcherbakov was born in Bryansk and served his sentence in a penal colony in his native region. In addition, it turned out that the suspect is a repeat offender: he was convicted three times for robberies and burglaries. According to the Telegram channel "Beware, News", if not for his recruitment to the front, Shcherbakov should have been released only in 2025. He was serving a sentence for attempted murder: in 2017 (according to other sources - in 2018), the criminal "beat a woman ( according to Baza - a minor) on the head with rebar and stole 8.5 thousand rubles from her." For this, Shcherbakov received nine and a half years in a maximum security penal colony. Sources named robbery and car theft among his previous crimes.

The authorities have not yet officially confirmed the information that Shcherbakov served in the structures of the Ministry of Defense, fought in Ukraine and deserted. He has been arrested on charges of murder until February 29.

Patriarch Kirill expressed condolences to his son and wife in connection with the death of Roman Legoida:

It was with pain in my heart that I received the sad news of the tragic death of your father and husband, Roman Timofeevich Legoida, who had a long life.

I am convinced that the zealous service of his son in the field of Holy Orthodoxy, who firmly and consistently defends the church position in the media space, is, among other things, the fruit of the deceased’s parental care.

Vladimir Legoida, 50, is one of the most famous Russian journalists and public figures specializing in religion. Legoida is a professor at MGIMO (and a graduate of the university's faculty of international information), editor-in-chief of the Orthodox magazine Foma, and a member of the Presidential Council for Interaction with Religious Associations.

"Jellyfish"