Remains of domestic violence victim, murdered in Chechnya, buried

The remains of Kristina Kokova, who had complained of domestic violence after moving to her husband in Chechnya and was killed, have been buried in the town of Lobnya near Moscow. The victim's former father-in-law, who confessed to the murder, is now in the special military operation (SMO) zone.

Kristina Kokova is a native of Lobnya. In 2020, she married Akhmed Umaev; and after moving to Chechnya, she gave birth to a daughter, but began complaining of pressure from her mother-in-law and physical violence from her husband. After the divorce, she returned to her mother, but her ex-husband's relatives constantly took the child to Chechnya. Her father-in-law Ruslan Umaev controlled his daughter-in-law, demanding a constant report on her actions and threatening to forbid her from communicating with the child if she failed to comply with his demands, Anastasia, Kristina’s mother, has explained.

Kristina’s remains were buried in Lobnya, Anastasia told the “360.ru” outlet. The woman explained that the remains of her murdered daughter were discovered a long time ago, but there were investigative actions; and they were handed over to her mother this February; and it was only now that they were able to bury the urn.

"There was a long process, as the court was establishing the fact of death. Fragments were left in the bag, and he threw half of them into the river. And everything that was in the bag – 88 bone fragments," Anastasia has added.

According to her story, she had no documents confirming the fact of her daughter's death: only the remains, "based on which they didn’t even conclude whether they were human ones."

The only proof we have is the noose with which he strangled her.

"The only proof we have is the noose with which he strangled her. There were his fingerprints and her blood on it," she said.

Anastasia has noted that her murdered daughter's father-in-law went to the SMO zone, signing a contract for a year, and upon his return he will face trial. She has added that Akhmed, Kristina's ex-husband, doesn’t allow her to see her granddaughter. Only once did she manage to communicate with the child via video link, with the help of an advocate, the report says.

Those arrested, except for those who figure in treason cases, as well as charged with terrorism, extremism and fakes about the Russian Army, have a chance to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and end up in the SMO zone, while their criminal prosecution is immediately terminated. This has already led to the creation of a "conveyor belt of impunity", human rights defenders have noted.

This was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on June 20, 2025 at 12:58 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.