Anatoly Yemelianovich Slivko (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: Анатолий Емельянович Сливко; 28 December 1938 – 16 September 1989) 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 ...

and

necrophile Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ' ...

who

sexually assaulted 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 ...

, murdered, and mutilated seven boys in and around

Nevinnomyssk Nevinnomyssk (russian: Невинномы́сск) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, located on both banks of the Kuban River at its confluence with the Bolshoy Zelenchuk River, south of Stavropol. The ...

Stavropol Krai Stavropol Krai (russian: Ставропо́льский край, r=Stavropolsky kray, p=stəvrɐˈpolʲskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject (a Krais of Russia, krai) of Russia. It is geographically located in the North ...

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

, between 1964 and 1985. He is also known to have sexually assaulted at least 36 other victims. Slivko's murder victims were aged between 11 and 15. All were deceived into participating in home movies ostensibly reenacting the scene of a

partisan Partisan may refer to: Military * Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line Films * ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film * ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...

soldier executed by Nazi soldiers in which the boy would be hung. Upon rendering his victim

unconscious Unconscious may refer to: Physiology * Unconsciousness, the lack of consciousness or responsiveness to people and other environmental stimuli Psychology * Unconscious mind, the mind operating well outside the attention of the conscious mind a ...

, Slivko would sexually assault, then murder and dismember his victim before setting the body alight. The entire routine would invariably be filmed, photographed, and documented in diaries to fuel Slivko's

pyrophilia Pyrophilia is a relatively uncommon paraphilia in which a subject derives gratification from fire and fire-starting activity. It is distinguished from pyromania by the gratification being of a Human sexuality, sexual nature. Description While the e ...

and erotic fantasies. The routine of hanging, mutilation and burning enacted by Slivko was an attempt to recreate a traffic accident involving the violent death of a teenage boy he had witnessed in 1961 which had

sexually aroused Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind ...

him and awakened his

paraphilia Paraphilia (previously known as sexual perversion and sexual deviation) is the experience of intense sexual arousal to atypical objects, situations, fantasies, behaviors, or individuals. It has also been defined as sexual interest in anything ot ...

s. Sentenced to death in 1986, Slivko was

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

by shooting on 16 September 1989.

Early life

Childhood

Anatoly Yemelianovich Slivko was born on 28 December 1938 in the town of Izerbash,

Dagestan ASSR The Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic av, Дагъистаналъул Автономияб Советияб Социалистияб Жумгьурият az, Дағыстан Мухтар Совет Сосиалист Республи ...

. He was the oldest of two children born to

impoverished Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

parents. At the time of Slivko's birth, Ukraine was in the grip of a

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

caused by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

's forced

collectivization Collective farming and communal farming are various types of, "agricultural production in which multiple farmers run their holdings as a joint enterprise". There are two broad types of communal farms: agricultural cooperatives, in which member ...

of agriculture, from which Soviet Dagestan was not immune. The marriage between Slivko's parents was fraught: both parents frequently argued. Furthermore, his father was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

. Slivko was an intelligent, but sickly child who suffered from

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

and several childhood illnesses. He was also a classic loner, and later recalled his childhood as blighted by instability, hunger, war, and poverty. When the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

entered the

Second World War 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 ...

, Slivko's father was

conscripted Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

into the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. Slivko himself witnessed many atrocities committed by the Nazis following their

invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named afte ...

, including their invasion of his own home in 1943, although one of his most graphic wartime memories was of seeking shelter with four other children in a cemetery to escape German bombing raids, only to be pushed aside by these children, who were repulsed by his

emaciated Emaciation is defined as the state of extreme thinness from absence of body fat and muscle wasting usually resulting from malnutrition. Characteristics In humans, the physical appearance of emaciation includes thinned limbs, pronounced and protrud ...

appearance. According to Slivko, as he crouched into a ball, he observed the mutilated remains of a woman and a horse strewn across a nearby street.

Adolescence

Slivko performed poorly academically. Although intelligent, his lack of commitment to his studies and propensity to daydream in class resulted in his achieving average grades. When he reached puberty, Slivko discovered he was homosexual; he also discovered he suffered from

erectile dysfunction Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...

. Both discoveries deeply shamed Slivko, who kept his sexuality and

sexual dysfunction Sexual dysfunction is difficulty experienced by an individual or partners during any stage of normal sexual activity, including physical pleasure, desire, preference, arousal, or orgasm. The World Health Organization defines sexual dysfunction as ...

a secret from his family and few close friends.

Military service

In an effort to escape his humble origins, Slivko applied for a scholarship at

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

shortly after his graduation from school in 1956, although he failed the entrance exam. Shortly thereafter, he began his compulsory

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...

. Slivko served his military service in the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East (russian: Дальний Восток России, r=Dal'niy Vostok Rossii, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in Northeast Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asian continent; and is admini ...

; he was frequently subjected to the mockery and ridicule of his comrades—many of whom derided his timid and submissive personality. His superiors concluded Slivko was "incompatible" with military life, and he was discharged from 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 ...

—officially due to health issues—in 1960, prior to the completion of his military service.

Relocation to Stavropol

In 1961, Slivko relocated from Izerbash to

, where he found employment as a telephone engineer. His younger sister later relocated to the same city, obtaining employment in a local factory. In late 1962, Slivko's sister—having become concerned as to her brother's

introverted The traits of extraversion (also spelled extroversion Retrieved 2018-02-21.) and introversion are a central dimension in some human personality theories. The terms ''introversion'' and ''extraversion'' were introduced into psychology by Carl J ...

lifestyle and lack of interaction with women—introduced him to a young colleague of hers named Lyudmila. The two began dating, and married in a modest ceremony the following summer. Shortly after their wedding, the couple relocated to the city of

, where they soon established reputations as upstanding members of the community. According to Slivko, although he cared for his wife, his sexuality obscured any physical attraction to her and his erectile dysfunction limited their intercourse to brief episodes of what he termed "quick, humiliating" coupling. On one occasion, he did seek medical help to overcome his inability to sustain an erection in the presence of a female, although the sight of a young nurse discreetly laughing at his predicament meant he never again sought any form of professional advice. Slivko later admitted to investigators he and Lyudmila had engaged in intercourse no more than ten times throughout the course of their seventeen-year relationship, and never after the birth of their second child.

Erotic fantasies

In 1961, Slivko witnessed a traffic accident in which a drunken motorcyclist swerved onto a pavement and into a group of pedestrians, fatally injuring a boy in his early teens who was wearing a Young Pioneers uniform. For reasons Slivko would later insist he never could explain, this scene had

sexually excited Sexual arousal (also known as sexual excitement) describes the physiological and psychological responses in preparation for sexual intercourse or when exposed to sexual stimuli. A number of physiological responses occur in the body and mind as ...

him—triggering a powerful

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region charac ...

. He later recalled the accident vividly: "The boy had experienced

convulsion A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is sometimes used as a s ...

s in his death throes as the smell of gasoline and fire permeated the air ... That boy looked so helpless, especially in his uniform. It reminded me of how I felt inside myself after a childhood of pain and suffering. Each time he cried out in agony, I became more excited. y the time of the boy's death I became oblivious to everyone else apart from that boy." Having achieved orgasm, Slivko walked approximately twenty

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly 0.914 ...

s towards a nearby bus shelter where he sat and continued to stare at the deceased teenager, who remained pinioned beneath the motorcycle as emergency services arrived at the scene. According to Slivko, he experienced arousal, elation and a sense of

empowerment Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...

as he sat and contemplated the suffering the teenager had endured before his death. Slivko would later describe his witnessing the traffic accident as one of the most pivotal moments in his life. Prior to witnessing the accident, he had repressed his sexuality; after witnessing the accident, he developed an overwhelming desire to engage in physical sexual relations with young males. Furthermore, the sight of blood on the teenager's shoes further compounded the

shoe fetish Shoe fetishism is the attribution of attractive sexual qualities to shoes or other footwear as a matter of sexual preference, or an alternative or complement to a relationship with a partner. It has also been known as retifism, after the French no ...

he had already developed, and he began incorporating boys' footwear into his

masturbatory Masturbation is the sexual stimulation of one's own Sex organ, genitals for sexual arousal or other sexual pleasure, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation may involve hands, fingers, everyday objects, sex toys such as vibrator (sex t ...

fantasies.

Youth club

Within months of witnessing this traffic accident, Slivko established a youth club in Nevinnomyssk. Ostensibly, the club was established to encourage local boys to participate in Young Pioneer activities, although Slivko also soon began using the club as a means of befriending boys and developing methods to gain their trust. This first club was destroyed in an act of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

approximately one year after its establishment. Allegedly, the perpetrator was one of the boys who attended the club and whom Slivko had either mistreated or molested. No criminal charges were filed. Shortly thereafter, Slivko established a new club, which he named ''Chergid''. This youth club was based three miles from his home. Slivko's youth club activities aroused no suspicion; the parents of boys who attended the club regularly bestowed praise upon him for devoting attention to their children and steering them away from trouble. Slivko regularly took his young charges on hiking and

hill climbing numerical analysis, hill climbing is a mathematical optimization technique which belongs to the family of local search. It is an iterative algorithm that starts with an arbitrary solution to a problem, then attempts to find a better solution ...

expeditions, with the expeditions frequently lasting for days at a time. Articles relating to the club's activities frequently appeared within local newspaper and radio broadcasts. Slivko also granted several interviews with local television outlets and even received commendation from local

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

officials for his ongoing efforts to educate, entertain and

morally Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

nurture Nevinnomyssk's youth. In 1977, he was elected Deputy of the City Council and awarded the title of Honoured Teacher of the Soviet Union.

Hanging experiments

By June 1963, Slivko had devised a routine whereby he could physically relive the erotic fantasies sparked by the 1961 traffic accident: once or twice a year, he would form a close friendship with a boy at the youth club typically aged between 11 and 15, but never older than 17. The boy would be short for his age and would be wearing a Young Pioneers uniform just like the boy Slivko had seen die in the traffic accident. Slivko would gain the boy's confidence and tell him of an experiment he knew which involved a controlled

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

to stretch the spine, and that he would be required to reenact the scene of a

executed by Nazi soldiers for his youth club as Slivko filmed the hanging, after which, the boy was assured, Slivko would revive him from his state of unconsciousness. Prior to each boy undertaking this "experiment", Slivko would harmlessly rehearse the hanging scene with his intended victim in order to gain his confidence; he would then purchase a new uniform for the victim to wear and shine his shoes before enacting the hanging. In addition, to prevent any vomiting, the victim was required not to eat for several hours before the experiment. Once the boy was

anesthetized Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), am ...

via inhaling

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups. They have the general formula , where R and R′ represent the alkyl or aryl groups. Ethers can again be c ...

, had placed the noose around his own neck and was unconscious, Slivko would strip him naked, caress and fondle him, arrange the body in suggestive positions, and repeatedly masturbate – frequently onto the boy's shoes. This entire process would invariably be filmed by Slivko on one of his 16mm cameras and retained to fuel his erotic fantasies. To allay any parental concern as to their sons' participation in these home movies, their parents were informed Slivko—known in the community to have created several amateur documentaries with his personal camera—was to film these videos on the stage at his club. Although many of the boys Slivko initially persuaded to participate in these home movies were restrained and hung inside or within the vicinity of ''Chergid'', by the mid-1960s, he had begun to persuade his victims to participate in his home movies in increasingly rural locations—often without their parents' knowledge.

Murders

Over the course of 22 years, Slivko persuaded forty-three boys to take part in this contrived experiment. In thirty-six cases, following his established ritual of

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

, filming and repeated masturbation, Slivko revived these boys. Cautioned by Slivko into silence, these individuals resumed their lives unaware of what had happened to them whilst they had been unconscious. However, in seven cases, Slivko's behavior became violent: once these victims were unconscious, he extensively

dismembered Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...

their bodies, poured gasoline on their limbs and torso, and set the remains on fire to remind himself of the traffic accident which had sparked his arousal. Slivko typically retained the victim's shoes as a memento, as well as the photographs and films which he developed in a home laboratory. In addition, Slivko meticulously recorded details of each hanging—fatal or otherwise—in his diaries. The shoes, pictures and films served as stimuli for Slivko's masturbatory fantasies for months or years until he needed fresher stimuli and killed again. On 2 June 1964, Slivko killed his first victim, a 15-year-old runaway named Nikolai Dobryshev. Slivko claimed this particular victim was killed unintentionally, as he had been unable to revive Dobryshev upon completion of his routine of filming, photography, and masturbation, although he later admitted in one interview with a

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

that the teenager's death triggered a greater sense of

arousal Arousal is the physiological and psychological state of being awoken or of sense organs stimulated to a point of perception. It involves activation of the ascending reticular activating system (ARAS) in the brain, which mediates wakefulness, th ...

within him than his previous, non-fatal hangings. Nonetheless, the sense of shock at the death of this victim drove Slivko to dismember the boy's body and discard the remains in the

Kuban river The Kuban; Circassian: Псыжъ, ''Psyẑ'' or Псыжь, ''Psyź'' ; abq, Къвбина, ''Q̇vbina'' ; Karachay–Balkar: Къобан, ''Qoban''; Nogai: Кобан, ''Qoban'') is a river in Russia that flows through the Western Caucas ...

. He also destroyed the film and photographs he had taken of this particular victim, although he retained the boy's shoes. In May 1965, Slivko befriended his second victim, Aleksei Kovalenko, at his youth club. This victim was killed intentionally, with Slivko retaining all footage and imagery of the hanging, molestation and mutilation. Kovalenko was reported missing, although his parents were informed by police their child was a runaway. Eight years later, on 14 November 1973, 15-year-old Aleksandr Nesmeyanov disappeared in Nevinnomyssk. Nesmeyanov—another member of ''Chergid''—had recently befriended Slivko prior to his disappearance. Slivko actively participated in the search for Nesmeyanov in the weeks following his murder; printing missing person posters and mobilizing ground searches which he ensured did not cover the murder location. Two years later, on 11 May 1975, another member of Slivko's youth club, 11-year-old Andrei Pogasyan also disappeared. The boy was last seen by a neighbour, who informed police Pogasyan had told him he was to participate in a "film in the forest," although the boy did not mention Slivko by name. Pogasyan's mother did inform investigators Slivko had shot a partisan film in a nearby forest in which her son had previously participated; however, as the police already knew Slivko had won awards for other, more innocuous films, he was eliminated as a

suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U ...

following brief questioning in which he admitted the boy was a member of his youth club, but denied any involvement in his disappearance. In 1980, Slivko killed his fifth victim, 13-year-old Sergey Fatniev. He was also an active member of ''Chergid'', and by the time Slivko committed this murder, his sadism and

lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can ...

had escalated to a degree in which he specifically rearranged his victim's dismembered body and shoes before his camera in order to fuel future masturbatory fantasies. His diary entries denoting Fatniev's murder, dismemberment and the burning of his body and clothing also indicate his lack of "disgust and shame" at his actions. The next victim was Vyacheslav Khovistik, aged 15, whom Slivko killed in the autumn of 1984. On 23 July 1985, Slivko killed his final victim, 13-year-old Sergey Pavlov, who disappeared after telling a neighbour he was meeting the leader of ''Chergid'' to participate in a home movie. Although police informed Pavlov's mother her son was a runaway, his parents remained unconvinced. Both questioned Slivko, who denied any involvement; however, his mother's questioning of fellow ''Chergid'' members revealed several boys had participated in hanging experiments to stretch their spines in efforts to stimulate growth at Slivko's insistence, and that the boys had invariably lost consciousness.

Arrest

Following Pavlov's disappearance, a local

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

named Tamara Languyeva began actively investigating the boy's absence. Her enquiries lasted several months, and by November 1985 Languyeva had discovered that several other boys who had attended same youth club had also disappeared over the course of several years—often, like Pavlov, having informed their relatives they were to participate in home movies filmed by Slivko. Although Languyeva found no evidence of anything illegal in the way the club actually operated, her questioning of several boys did reveal that many members had agreed to being hanged into unconsciousness in controlled experiments by Slivko as part of a repeated ritual for his homemade partisan movies. Many of these current and former members of the youth club had also suffered "temporary

amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

" following their revival.

Evidence retrieval

At the recommendation of Languyeva, a city prosecutor authorised a formal search of Slivko's home and youth club in December 1985. Although little incriminating evidence was recovered at Slivko's

Stavropol Stavropol (; rus, Ставрополь, p=ˈstavrəpəlʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Stavropol Krai, Russia. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 547,820, making it one of Russia's fastest growing cities. It was known as ...

home, a search of a locked

darkroom A darkroom is used to process photographic film, to make prints and to carry out other associated tasks. It is a room that can be made completely dark to allow the processing of the light-sensitive photographic materials, including film and ph ...

at his youth club revealed numerous photographs and films depicting the hanging, molestation and dismemberment of his victims. Also recovered were numerous knives, axes and coils of rope and rubber hose in addition to

paraphernalia Paraphernalia most commonly refers to a group of apparatus, equipment, or furnishing used for a particular activity. For example, an avid sports fan may cover their walls with football and/or basketball paraphernalia. Historical legal term In l ...

attesting to his shoe fetish, including several pairs of boys' shoes and boots which had been completely sawn through at mid-foot.

Confession

Confronted with the evidence recovered from his darkroom, Slivko began confessing to seven murders and thirty-six non-fatal hangings on 28 December. He blamed his crimes on distress brought upon him by

sexual frustration Sexual frustration is a sense of dissatisfaction stemming from a discrepancy between a person's desired and achieved sexual activity. It may result from physical, mental, emotional, social, and religious or spiritual barriers. It may also deri ...

and emphasized the primary purpose of his retaining the

snuff Snuff may refer to: Tobacco * Snuff (tobacco), fine-ground tobacco, sniffed into the nose ** Moist snuff or dipping tobacco ** Creamy snuff, an Indian tobacco paste Media and entertainment * Snuff film, a type of film that shows a murder Literat ...

material and paraphernalia was to both fuel his erotic fantasies via masturbational outlets and to relieve internal tension. Slivko also claimed that, initially, he had hoped that his retaining the photographs and films of his fatal hangings would suffice to prevent a resurfacing of the desire to commit future homicides, although as time passed, the intervals between the urge to murder and dismember a new victim gradually decreased. His murder victims, he stated, had all been aged between eleven and fifteen, and he had gradually learned via the methodology of his successive crimes what he termed "valuable lessons" to minimise or destroy any incriminating evidence actually linking his murders to him. In February and March 1986, Slivko led investigators to the dismembered and buried bodies of six of his victims, although he was unable to locate the body of his first victim, whom he had discarded in the Kuban river over twenty years previously. He was formally charged with all seven murders, in addition to seven counts of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

and seven counts of

necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction towards or a sexual act involving Cadaver, corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) ...

and remanded in custody, to await trial.

Trial

Slivko's trial was held in Nevinnomyssk in June 1986; he pleaded not guilty to the charges—claiming all seven deaths were accidental. He was found guilty of all charges and

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

later the same month and incarcerated in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as t ...

prison, to await execution. Slivko did lodge a formal appeal against his conviction with the

Supreme Court of Russia The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (russian: links=no, Верховный суд Российской Федерации, Verkhovny sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in ...

, but this appeal was rejected.

Death row interview

At the request of a

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While t ...

-based detective named Viktor Burakov, Slivko was asked by the police to provide an insight into the minds of serial murderers just weeks prior to his execution. Slivko agreed to this request, and consented to both face-to-face interviews and handwritten correspondence with investigators, who were actively seeking insight into the mind of a then-unidentified serial killer active in and around the

Rostov Oblast Rostov Oblast ( rus, Росто́вская о́бласть, r=Rostovskaya oblast, p=rɐˈstofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Southern Federal District. The oblast has an area of and a populati ...

known as the '' Forest Strip Killer'', who had killed a minimum of twenty-nine victims by the time of their initiating contact with Slivko. Slivko did provide investigators with a deep insight into how offenders such as himself were able to function in society without detection or suspicion, the general "rules" created insofar as to how their crimes were to be committed to achieve their desired outcome, and advice as to how to prevent the emergence of future offenders such as himself in Soviet society, which included his suggestion that Soviet schools should provide adolescent students with greater knowledge and acceptance of sexuality, adding in one letter: ''"If I had had nowledge_of_sexual_perversions.html" ;"title="sexual_perversion.html" ;"title="nowledge of sexual perversion">nowledge of sexual perversions">sexual_perversion.html" ;"title="nowledge of sexual perversion">nowledge of sexual perversions I might have gone to a doctor as soon as the first abnormal symptoms appeared."'' However, Slivko knew little of the investigators' manhunt for the ''Forest Strip Killer'', and much of the actual advice he provided on the specific case would prove to be incompatible or incorrect. At the time of the investigators' final death row interview with Slivko, his scheduled execution was to take place within hours. According to procurator Issa Kostoyev, upon conclusion of their final meeting, he deceived Slivko into the belief they were to convene at a later date by shaking his hand and stating "Next time, we'll talk in greater detail." The then-unidentified serial killer investigators sought at the time of this death row interview with Slivko,

Andrei Chikatilo Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo (russian: Андре́й Рома́нович Чикати́ло, translit=Andréy Románovich Chikatílo; uk, Андрій Романович Чикатило, translit=Andriy Romanovych Chykatylo; 16 October 1936 ...

, was arrested in November 1990 and would be convicted of killing fifty-two women and children in October 1992.

Execution

On 16 September 1989, just hours after his final face-to-face interview with investigators to assist in their manhunt for the ''Forest Strip Killer'', Slivko was taken from his death row cell to a soundproofed room in Novocherkassk prison and executed with a single gunshot behind the right ear.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

* Image galler
pertaining to Anatoly Slivko
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slivko, Anatoly 1938 births 1989 deaths 20th-century LGBT people Capital punishment in the Soviet Union Child sexual abuse in the Soviet Union Executed people from Dagestan Executed Soviet people from Russia Executed Soviet serial killers Filmed killings Incidents of violence against boys Male serial killers Necrophiles People convicted of murder by the Soviet Union People executed by the Soviet Union by firearm Russian LGBT people Russian murderers of children Russian people convicted of murder Russian people executed by the Soviet Union Soviet murderers of children Soviet people convicted of murder Soviet serial killers Violence against children