Social media users debated attempts to frame the victim for a murder in Dagestan.

The murder of Malvina Magomedova, whose charred remains were found in Dagestan, was the result of her choice when she married a man with multiple criminal records, several social media users pointed out. Other commentators countered that the habit of blaming the victim distracts from the main issue—the killer's responsibility.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," on January 29, police discovered the dismembered and charred body of 36-year-old mother of three, Malvina Magomedova. Derbent resident Radzhidin Yaraliev was wanted on suspicion of murder. According to sources, the reason for the quarrel and murder was the sale of a car. It was also reported that Yaraliev had multiple criminal records and had entered into a nikkah with Magomedova. That same day, the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs detained him. He confessed to the murder.

According to many Facebook* users, the tragedy was the result of the woman's personal decision. A post on the "Caucasian Knot" social media page about the discovery of the woman's charred remains had garnered 537 comments by 6:30 PM Moscow time.

Commentators believe that, having three children, she should have been extremely cautious and not have a relationship with a man with a criminal record. Users noted the suspect's age, criminal history, and the very fact of nikkah (it was necessary to explain what this was, and apparently there was a certificate) without an official marriage, viewing these as obvious "red flags."

The idea is often voiced that it would have been better to remain single than to "bring a criminal into the house," and the tragedy is presented as the result of recklessness, not as a pure crime.

"With three children, how can you so recklessly bring someone into the house?" opined Kanykey Asanbaeva.

"What was a mother of three thinking when she married a criminal?" exclaimed Ekaterina Ekaterina.

"With three children, marrying a man who has served time? What was she thinking?" "I feel sorry for the woman," said Zamira Khalilova.

"She knew who she was getting involved with... Love is blind. I feel sorry for the orphans," commented Valentina Filippova.

Another group of users expresses direct sympathy for the murdered woman and especially her children. They believe that no life mistakes can justify the murder, dismemberment, and burning of a person. In these comments, the woman is primarily presented as a victim of a brutal crime, with the main focus being on the fate of the orphaned children.

Commentators drew attention to the scale of the tragedy for the family and the psychological consequences for the children. There is less moralizing and more emotion—horror, pain, and sympathy—as well as demands for severe punishment for the suspect.

Everyone is blaming the woman. What are you talking about, people? He killed and dismembered her.

"I feel very sorry for the woman and the children," wrote Oksana Mutiewa.

"How are the children supposed to live now? Constant lifelong consultation with psychologists," said Val Papeko.

"I feel very sorry, especially for the children," added Nonna Cholaria.

At the same time, some users sharply objected to the prevailing tone of "it's her own fault." These commentators believe the public reaction demonstrates a habit of blaming the victim and ignoring the fact that a monstrous crime has occurred. Users believe that discussing the woman's mistakes distracts attention from the main issue—the killer's responsibility.

Comments also suggest that with such a biography, the suspect posed a danger to anyone, not just his wife.

"Am I correct in understanding that most of the comments are about 'it's her own fault'...?" asked Armine Pogosyan.

"Everyone's blaming the woman. What are you talking about? He killed and dismembered her," said a user whose username is written in Arabic script.

"Stop blaming the poor dead woman," urged Rima Umarova.

"Where's the guarantee that he wouldn't have killed any woman?" — Ilona Taube asked.

Moreover, the comments that directly blamed the woman or, conversely, pointed out the absurdity of such an approach provoked the greatest response. It was these comments that provoked long threads of disputes, mutual accusations, and emotional responses.

User Muslim Arbiev suggested that the woman could have linked her life with the future killer as a result of her interactions with a psychologist.

"Most likely, the psychologist drove this poor woman to this life. They give advice like, 'You deserve better, you are free to choose, you don't owe anyone anything,' but real life is no laughing matter."

Men come to the comments and blame the woman herself, feminists, and psychologists.

Valeria Moreva responded to this message.

"A man, for selfish reasons, appropriates a woman's property and brutally murders her. Other men come to the comments and blame the woman herself, feminists, and psychologists. While this particular [...] believed that "He deserves better (according to psychologists, no doubt). And now the best awaits him in prison," she wrote.

Users expressed conflicting opinions regarding the relevance of the topic of domestic violence in the North Caucasus.

For example, Tatiana Medvedeva noted that in her opinion, such a brutal murder for mercenary motives is impossible in this region. "My hair just stands on end. For some reason, I thought that such murders, especially for money, do not happen in Dagestan and Chechnya," she noted.

According to Tamim Alam, on the contrary, Magomedova's murder cannot be called exceptional: "I don't want to speak for all of Dagestan, of course, but such things happen there often. What happened to these people? […] My condolences to the family of the murdered woman."

Not all cases of domestic murder resulted in a conviction

"Caucasian Knot" previously reported on high-profile murders in the North Caucasus. Not all of them resulted in punishment. In a number of cases, the courts reduced the charges against the husbands of the murdered women.

For example, in February 2020, investigators detained former prosecutor Igor Cheldiev in North Ossetia. The woman's body was found near his common-law wife's home. Cheldiev was arrested on charges of her murder. The former prosecutor claimed that his common-law wife fell and hit her head, but experts made a preliminary conclusion that she died from a blow with a fireplace poker. Cheldiev later confessed. The North Ossetian Suburban Court reclassified the charge under which Cheldiev was charged as a more lenient one - the article "murder" was replaced with the article on "intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm." Cheldiev was sentenced to 10 years in a maximum-security penal colony.

On February 5, 2019, a quarrel occurred between retired Ministry of Internal Affairs officer Tagir Velagaev and his ex-wife, 48-year-old Makhachkala resident Umazhat Guseynova, during which the woman spoke about Velagaev's daughters from his new marriage. After this, Velagaev, according to investigators, struck her several times with the handle of a traumatic pistol and then strangled her. Initially, the case was investigated under Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (murder), but the charge was later reduced to Part 1 of Article 107 of the Criminal Code - murder in a state of passion. Velagaev was tried twice. A psychological and psychiatric examination concluded that the murder was committed in a state of passion. The victim's son, Shamil Guseinov, believes that Velagaev escaped punishment thanks to his connections in the law enforcement system. The court initially sentenced Velagaev to two years of restricted freedom; the case languished in the courts for several years until the statute of limitations expired. The death of Madina Umaeva from Gudermes has sparked a public outcry in Chechnya. Umaeva died on June 12, 2020, at her husband's home and was buried at night. Madina's husband claimed she died after falling down the stairs during an epileptic seizure. According to Umaeva's relatives, she and her husband often argued. Umaeva's body was exhumed. On June 20, 2020, three days later, Ramzan Kadyrov intervened in the case. He stated that Umayeva's relatives had no evidence that her husband was responsible for her death. After this, Umayeva's mother apologized for her words about her daughter's violent death.

In a number of cases, those accused of murder were sent to the special military unit.

Among the most well-known of these cases is that of former police officer Vadim Tekhov, who was found guilty of murdering his ex-wife Regina Gagieva in 2021. The court sentenced him to 16 years in prison, but in 2023, Gagieva's relatives met Tekhov free in Vladikavkaz. In June 2025, it became known that Tekhova href="https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/412193">buried in Vladikavkaz - he died in the war zone in Ukraine, but his death was not related to the fighting.

In February 2025, a resident of Bachi-Yurt, Ruslan Umayev, accused of murdering his daughter-in-law Kristina, went to the military operation zone in Ukraine. According to human rights activists, he confessed to the murder, stating that his daughter-in-law "behaved immorally," so he strangled her and burned her body, and threw the remains in the river. Kristina Kokova is a native of Lobnya near Moscow; in 2020, she married Akhmed Umayev. After moving to Chechnya, she gave birth to a daughter, but began complaining of pressure from her mother-in-law and physical abuse from her husband. After the divorce, she returned to her mother, but her ex-husband's relatives are constantly The child was taken to Chechnya. Her father-in-law, Ruslan Umayev, controlled his daughter-in-law, demanding constant reports on her actions and threatening to forbid her from seeing the child if she failed to comply, said Anastasia Kokova, Kokova's mother.

On August 27, 2024, in Terek, a 41-year-old resident of the village of Argudan "out of jealousy committed the murder of his ex-wife and attempted to murder another person after learning that the latter intended to marry her," the Kabardino-Balkarian Prosecutor's Office reported on its website on August 29, 2024. The trial court sentenced the accused, Rustam Abazov, to 13 years in prison; the appellate court increased the sentence to 15 years.

Escape is often the only way to save the life of victims of domestic violence.

The Problem Domestic violence in Dagestan, Ingushetia, and Chechnya affects women of all ages, but mostly young women under 30 try to escape, human rights activists from the Ad Rem team noted in their report. The problem of evacuating victims of domestic violence is most acute in these regions, as authorities and security forces there side with domestic abusers. In June 2023, the BBC released a documentary, "When I Escaped," about girls from the North Caucasus who managed to escape from family control. For victims of domestic violence, escape often becomes the only chance to save their lives, the human rights activists emphasized.

Elza Soltaeva's Escape

In particular, Elza Soltaeva, a 24-year-old resident of Chechnya, fled her home on February 3, 2025, due to violence from her husband and father. In Kazakhstan, she was detained by police, but was soon released and escorted to a safe place. The situation with her detention was largely resolved thanks to widespread publicity.

One of the stories of Dagestani women escaping domestic violence is the story of four sisters. On October 29, 2022, border guards in North Ossetia refused to allow four sisters from Dagestan to enter Georgia after fleeing domestic violence and detained them at the checkpoint. They were held at the checkpoint until their relatives arrived. They asked not to be returned to their families, fearing they were looking for them "to kill." On October 30, 2022, the girls were allowed into Georgia. The girls said they were regularly subjected to beatings in their family. "You'll never please them because there are no clear, uniform rules, and if you're a girl, you're always bad." "You're forced to adapt to everyone at once, and if you stand out in any way or have your own opinion, there will be conflict, they'll shut you up, and force you to be what they want," Aminat Gazimagomedova said earlier. According to Mannapova's lawyer, "the sisters were terribly beaten at home." The girls claim they were circumcised when they were between five and seven years old—without anesthesia in a private home, according to a "Caucasian Knot" report, "The Main Thing About the Escape of Four Sisters from Dagestan."

The story of Ayshat Baimuradova, who fled domestic violence to Armenia, does not have a happy ending. On October 19, 2025, 23-year-old Ayshat Baimuradova, a native of Chechnya, was found dead in a rented apartment in Yerevan. She fled to Armenia to escape domestic violence, but at the same time publicly criticized Kadyrov's regime. The official cause of Ayshat's death has not been announced, but a source close to the investigation suggested she was poisoned. Baimuradova, who was found dead in Yerevan, suffered a long and painful death, and her killers waited for her to die, according to human rights activists. Women whose behavior is considered a disgrace to their family by their relatives can become victims of "honor killings" in the Caucasus. These murders are committed by relatives themselves, most often a father or brother, according to a report by the "Caucasian Knot" "Honor Killings" in the North Caucasus".