Ksenia Dushanova and Nikolay Aliev, photo: social media
A man from the Russian city of Sochi, on the Black Sea coast, who was released from detention for a brutal assault on his former girlfriend to go to fight in Ukraine, is back home after just two months, Novaya Gazeta Europe has discovered.
Nikolay Aliev posted a video of himself dancing in an unnamed nightclub on Thursday. In video footage dated Friday, he said that he had moved to Krasnaya Polyana, a village near Sochi.
Aliev hadn’t previously posted on Telegram since 18 December. Two days later, he severely assaulted his partner, Ksenia Dushanova, causing her to lose an eye. He was promptly arrested and charged with attempted murder.
According to a Novaya Europe source familiar with the situation, Aliev signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to go and fight in Ukraine from detention, with the first media reports of him being sent to the combat zone appearing in April.
Nikolay Aliev, photo: Telegram
Novaya Europe’s correspondent asked Aliev whether he was in Sochi on leave or had been released from duty. While he refused to give a straightforward answer, he did say that he was at home, and that Investigative Committee staff had returned his phone to him.
“Everyone is wondering where I am. They know I’m here. Everyone knows I’m by the sea. This is my home, no one can stop me coming here. I’m not breaking any laws. I have done things for my country, the Russian Federation,” Aliev said.
Aliev’s words suggest he was on the frontline for about two months. He said that during hostilities, he carried out one combat mission alone, after which he was offered “privileges”.
“I went on a mission alone. It was all caught on camera. There’s a colonel who took me into battle. They gave me privileges. … They gave me a Bentley. And 38 million (€426,000),” Aliev claimed.
Aliev did not explain why he had received these privileges. The sum of money is much higher than the allowance paid for two months on the frontline. The one-off payment for signing up in the Krasnodar region, where Sochi is located, is equivalent to about two million rubles (€22,400). A combatant wounded on the frontline can expect to receive three million rubles (€33,600).
Ksenia Dushanova following the assault, photo: Telegram
In the course of the conversation, Aliev accused his former partner of leading a depraved lifestyle. He said he had no intention of killing Dushanova, and that the attempted murder charge was therefore unjust.
Aliev refused, however, to answer questions about the assault. He said he planned to appear on television, and that Russia’s Channel One had already been in touch, where he would present his version of what had happened.