Russian Siblings Who Killed Father After Being Abused For Years Now Faces Murder Charges


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If I simply told you that three sisters teamed up to brutally murder their father in his sleep, you’d probably think: “What kind of unfilial children does that?! They deserve to die!”

But things aren’t always what they seem on the surface.

For example, you’ll soon learn that their father isn’t exactly the best kind of parent.

The worst kind, in fact.

And then you can judge if it justifies their actions.

Russian Sisters Abused By Father

For years, a trio of Russian sisters was subjected to severe abuse by their very own father.

It is truly horrific, considering that one’s father should be the one defending instead of hurting them.

As of last July, Maria (middle), Angelina (left), and Krestina Khachaturyan (right) were 17, 18, and 19 years old respectively.

They were the target of physical assault by their father almost on a daily basis on top of frequently being forced to perform sexual acts.

On the day of the murder, he even locked them in a room and sprayed pepper gas in their face for not cleaning the flat properly.

His habit of abuse extended to his wife as well, whom he beat with a baseball bat regularly before kicking her out of the house in 2016.

On 27 July 2018, the sisters had enough. When their father was sleeping in his armchair, they attacked him with a knife, hammer, and pepper spray, brutally killing him with over 30 knife wounds.

Sisters Charged With Murder, Stirring Up Protests

After over a year of investigation, the sisters were charged with premeditated murder.

As a result, the two older sisters are facing up to 20 years in prison, while Maria, being a minor at the time, faces up to 10 years.

Image: The Guardian

This has caused an outbreak of protests and debates over this matter, with over 300,000 people signing a petition to call for them to be released.

Anna Rivina, the head of an anti-domestic violence organisation in Moscow, said: “The sisters had only one choice – to defend themselves, or die,”. After all, they were essentially slaves from an early age.


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A solidarity rally also occurred in St. Petersburg, with signs saying: “Freedom for the Khachaturyan Sisters”.

Russia had apparently decriminalised domestic abuse in 2017, and as a result, victims were put at a much greater risk.

Image: The Independent

Protestors have also said that the sisters should be treated as victims instead of criminals. And they should be given support instead of jail sentences.

That line really strikes hard. Imagine being treated as the villains instead of the victims after suffering years of abuse.

However, not all are on the side of the siblings.

Some more conservative parts of Russia do wish for them to be locked up.


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Such as a patriarchy-focused association called Men’s State which organised a campaign called “Murderers behind Bars”, insisting that the sisters should not be released.

What’s your stance?

I guess if I really tried to stand in the shoes of the opposing side, perhaps releasing them would possibly lead down a dangerous path which will blur the line of when murder is “allowed”.

However, thinking like a sane human being, there is no way the sisters are deserving of a murder charge either.

Seems like the law truly isn’t perfect, and cases like this really test the system.

So, what’s your view on this? Should they be convicted?