Anatoly Nikolaevich Biryukov (Анатолий Николаевич Бирюков, February 18, 1939 – February 24, 1979), known as The Baby Hunter (russian: Охотник за младенцами), was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

convicted for the killing of five babies in the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

area between September and October 1977.А. И. Ракитин, "«Социализм не порождает преступности...» (серийная преступность в СССР: попытка историко-криминалистического анализа)", 2008-2009, web page
5
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web site "Загадочные преступления прошлого" (murders.ru), retrieved 2013-8-5

Background

Anatoly Nikolaevich Biryukov was born on 18 February 1939 in

Lopasnya The Lopasnya (russian: Лопа́сня) is a river in Moscow Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Oka. It is 108 km in length, with a drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water conver ...

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

(present-day

Chekhov, Moscow Oblast Chekhov (russian: Че́хов) is a town and the administrative center of Chekhovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 56,000 (1985). It was previously known as ''Lopasnya'' (until 1954). History Originally named Lopasnya (), af ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

). His father, Nikolai Biryukov, had been decorated a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and served as a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

of the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. Biryukov was married with children.

Murders

Biryukov

kidnapped Kidnapped may refer to: * subject to the crime of kidnapping Literature * ''Kidnapped'' (novel), an 1886 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson * ''Kidnapped'' (comics), a 2007 graphic novel adaptation of R. L. Stevenson's novel by Alan Grant and Ca ...

and murdered his first victim on 16 September 1977, when he stole a

stroller Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include baby carriages (prams in British English), infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpacks ...

that had been left briefly unattended in front of an

infant formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...

store on Marshal Biryuzov Street in

. Later that day, the missing stroller was found empty and the baby was found dead in the hallway of an apartment building on the same street. Three days later Biryukov kidnapped his second victim, a three-month-old girl, when he seized a stroller from in front of the Children's World store on Prospekt Mira. The authorities began to suspect that they had a possible serial perpetrator, and launched one of the largest operations in Moscow police history looking for the missing baby. On October 17, the body of Biryukov's second victim was found in a

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...

near Mamyrov, a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

on the outskirts of Moscow. She showed signs of having suffered

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...

before death.

Arrest and conviction

On 24 October 1977, Biryukov attempted a kidnapping in Chekhov, a city south of Moscow city in

. In the aftermath of the attempt, he was chased after by citizens who later described him to the investigators, leading to Biryukov's arrest. Three additional infant victims are attributed to Biryukov, believed to have been committed before his arrest. In 1978, Biryukov was sentenced to

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

for the five murders. Later while in detention, he attempted to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. The sentence was appealed to the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, but Biryukov was executed by

firing squad Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...

on 24 February 1979. The murders were the subject of episode 206, titled "Empty Stroller" (Russian: "пустая коляска"), of the NTV show " Следствие вели...". Participants included two eyewitnesses, the mother of one of the victims, two state investigators and Biryukov's

defense attorney A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...

. According to the presenter of the NTV show,

Leonid Kanevsky Leonid Semyonoviсh Kanevski ( uk, Леонід Семенович Каневський, russian: Леони́д Семёнович Кане́вский; 2 May 1939, Kiev, USSR) is a Soviet, Russian and Israeli actor. He became popular with the S ...

, the Soviet authorities avoided publicizing the Biryukov case in part because of the status of Biryukov's father, Nikolai Biryukov, a decorated army general and war hero.NTV footage, last 5 minutes of the show

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biryukov, Anatoly 1939 births 1979 deaths Executed Soviet people from Russia Executed Soviet serial killers Infanticide Pedophilia People convicted of murder by the Soviet Union People executed by the Soviet Union by firearm Russian murderers of children Executed Russian serial killers Soviet murderers of children Soviet people convicted of murder Soviet rapists Violence against children People from Moscow Oblast

Background

Murders

Arrest and conviction

See also

References