There the sadist began to mock the woman. First he crushed his wife’s fingers, then he cut off her hands. The victim was hospitalized - her husband himself took her to a Moscow hospital. A complex operation is underway to save the woman’s hand; the second one could not be saved. Doctors assess the condition of the Serpukhov resident as serious. The suspect in the crime was detained, REN TV reports.

ON THIS TOPIC

A criminal case has been initiated against the man under the article “Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm.” His crippled wife remains in the Semashko hospital, 360 reports.

The victim's mother commented on the incident. According to her, her daughter and her husband previously filed for divorce. The woman said that her son-in-law had already threatened his wife with a knife and beat her. However, in the last week he has been "pretty friendly."

It should be noted that the couple have two children who are now with their grandmother. On social networks, the victim’s relatives announced a fundraiser to help her undergo rehabilitation faster.

I dedicate this book to my mother, my grandparents, brothers and sisters, my children, without whom I would never have had the strength and courage to fight, my companion.

I want to thank everyone I have met along the way and who have touched me with their involvement in the fight for human physical and moral dignity, fundamental rights and especially women's rights.

I want to thank all the people who have supported me, near or far, in my struggle, as well as all those who helped me make this book a reality.

The cold here is not for me, an African. I'm coming. I've always walked a lot. So much that I often got it from my mother:

Why are you walking? Stop! The whole neighborhood is gossiping about you!

And sometimes she even drew an imaginary line at our doorstep.

Do you see this line? From now on you will not cross it!

I was in a hurry to play with my friends, go get water, take a walk at the market or look at the military in beautiful shape who marched along the Wall of Concord. My mother’s word for “walking” in the Soninka language meant that I was running around, too curious about the world around me.

I actually “walked my life”, and it just didn’t take me anywhere: today I am at UNICEF in Zurich, yesterday at the Forty-ninth session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to women’s rights. Hadi to the UN! A woman wrestler named Hadi, in the past the most ordinary girl from the “womb of the sand,” like all African children. The same little Khadi who goes to the source for water, minces past grandmothers and aunties in the bubu, proudly carrying a basket of peanuts for grinding on her head; Khadi, charged with delivering the amber-colored dough drizzled with butter, is suddenly horrified to see it sprawled on the ground. I can still hear my grandmother’s angry voice:

Did you drop it? Well, you'll get it from me!

I see her come down the porch, armed with a broom as a whip, while my sisters and cousins ​​make fun of me. It hits my back, my butt, and my little loincloth treacherously slides down. The girls rush to my aid, and my grandmother, still angry, turns to them:

Are you protecting her? Now I'll show you!

I take this moment to run to my grandfather's house, hide behind his folding bed where she can't find me. Grandfather is my salvation, my protection. He never interferes with the punishment process, leaving it to the women. He doesn't shout, he just explains:

Hadi, if you are sent to do something, you must concentrate on what you are doing! I'm sure you were playing with your friends and didn't see the basket turn over.

After a well-deserved spanking, I have the right to the caresses of my grandmother and... sisters, spoiled milk and couscous. It's something of a consolation. My buttocks still hurt, but I play with the doll, sitting under the mango tree with my sisters and cousins. Little Hadi is waiting for September to come so she can go to school with the rest of her brothers and sisters. Mom makes sure that we always have notebooks and pencils. To do this, she even has to limit herself in some way.

It's nice to live in a big house on the outskirts of Thies, a quiet town with wide green streets. It is located at the foot of the mosque where grandfather and other men go to pray at dawn.

Dad works for railway, we rarely see each other. According to our tradition, Grandma Fuley was assigned to look after me; she is responsible for my upbringing. Fuley is my grandfather's second wife; she has no children of her own. Our childless woman does not suffer from this. Grandma’s house is a hundred meters from ours, and I shuttle between them, looking for something tasty in one or the other.

Grandfather has three wives: the first is Marie, my mother’s mother, the second is Fuley, to whom I was “gifted” to raise me, and Asta, the third, ex-wife grandfather's older brother. My grandfather married her after his brother’s death, as custom dictates. All of them are our grandmothers, women without age, who love us equally, punish us and, of course, console us.

There are three boys and five girls in our family, and there are cousins, nieces, and aunts in the tribe. We are all each other's brothers and sisters, aunts and nieces, to one and all at once. It’s impossible to count us; I don’t even know some of my cousins. My family is from the noble Soninke caste. Previously, the Soninka traded in cloth, gold and precious stones. Grandfather worked on the railway in Thies. He also placed my father there.

Our family is made up of priests and peasants, the men are the imams of the village. A noble family, as we Soninka understand it, is a caste that has nothing in common with the European nobility. The upbringing is very strict. We are instilled with honesty, decency and loyalty to our word, values ​​and principles that follow us through life.

I was born shortly before the country gained independence, in nineteen fifty-nine, on one of the October days. And in October 1966, at the age of seven, I crossed the school threshold for the first time. Until that time, I lived happily, surrounded by love. They told me about the cultivation of fields, national cuisine, and the seasonings that my grandmothers sold at the market. By the age of four or five I had my own bench. Grandma Fuley made it for me because here every child has their own bench. He sits on it when he eats couscous, and leaves it in the room of his mother or grandmother, the one who raises him, bathes him, dresses him, caresses him or punishes him. The bench is the cause of quarrels between children: “You took my bench!”, “Give her the bench, she’s older than you!” It is stored for a long time until the tree dries out or its owner grows up and becomes the owner of a new, larger bench. Then you can pass on your bench “by inheritance” to your younger brother or sister.

My grandmother ordered and paid for the bench for me. I proudly carried her on my head: she is a symbol of the transition from early childhood when they are still sitting on the floor, to the status of a child who sits and walks like adults. I walk with her in the field, along the streets of the market, between the baobab and mango trees in the yard, to a house with a fountain, to grandmothers - I walk in a protected space, the warmth of which will soon be mercilessly cut off.

I walked from the age of seven, from Thies to New York, passing through Rome, Paris, Zurich, London. I never stopped walking, especially from the day when my grandmothers told me: “Today, baby, we are going to ‘cleanse’ you.”

The day before my cousins ​​arrived from Dakar to school break: sister Daba, seven years old, Lele, Annie and Ndaye, cousins, and other, more distant relatives, I no longer remember their names, About a dozen girls from six to nine years old, sitting, legs spread, on the porch in front of the room of one of the grandmothers . We play different games - "father and mother", trading spices at the market, cooking with small iron utensils that our parents make for us themselves, and dolls, wooden and cloth.

This evening we sleep as usual in grandma's, aunt's or mother's rooms.

The next day, early in the morning, I am woken up and washed. Mom puts me in a sleeveless floral dress; it is made of African fabric, but of a European cut. I remember its colors well - brown, yellow and peach. I put on my little rubber sandals, my “flip flops.” It's too early. There is no one on the street in our block.

We cross the road that runs along the mosque, near which men are already ready for prayer. The door to the mosque is still closed, and I hear their voices. The sun has not risen yet, but it will soon be very hot. It's rainy season now, but for some reason there aren't any. In a few hours the temperature will rise to thirty-five degrees.

Flew around the whole country. Is it possible to call someone who was capable of such sophisticated revenge a person? What motivated the 26-year-old man when he took the brushes away from the woman he loved? And how is he trying to evade responsibility today?

photo from personal archive.

The family life of the Grachev couple turned out to be impeccable only on social networks. On the avatars of young people on VK there are photographs of a happy family - parents, children.

Let's look through Dmitry Grachev's profile. Here he is with his wife in an embrace, posting children's cards. Outwardly - a pious father of the family, impeccable loving husband. Hobbies include winter swimming and sports in his free time.

And one more touch to the portrait: Grachev is a believer, as evidenced by the huge cross on his chest and photographs of him praying in church. So, God-fearing?

Some time ago, a man published a post: “I am the happiest. We’re also going to pick up our daughter.” The criminal planned that his wife would give him at least three children. Judging by social networks, he doted on his kids - he played with them, fed them, nursed them, changed diapers. After all, they say it’s true that you can’t scan a person’s true face through social networks.

Margarita Gracheva published a touching post in August 2015 - an appeal to her husband: “Three years ago there was one of the brightest and most pleasant moments in our lives. 156 weeks of marriage are the best, because now you can officially wash your socks and cook borscht. For 1095 days there were quarrels and truces, but I always knew that we would celebrate a pearl, gold and platinum wedding? I remember all 26,256 hours with a smile on my face, for 1,573,920 minutes I never doubted what I did on August 31, 2012 right choice and answered “Yes.” Thank you for every 94,348,800 seconds spent together. Happy anniversary to us."

Margarita counted the days and hours spent in marriage, just as convicts count the days until freedom.

It is known that several months before the tragedy the Grachevs broke up. Margarita announced a divorce. Dmitry moved from his wife to his mother. But none of them deleted love statuses dedicated to each other, and the young people also did not delete photos of the past family life from the web. Why did you leave it? As a reminder of best years? Or were they both hoping for reconciliation?

We contacted Margarita's mother Inna Sheikina. It was this woman who gave scary story publicity. Because I quickly realized that my son-in-law would try to avoid punishment.

Did you see the look on his face when he was detained? There is not a shadow of remorse,” Inna began the conversation. “He had such a sleek look even in handcuffs.” By his actions, he wanted to show everyone how to behave with supposedly unfaithful wives, how to punish women.

- It seems he repented during interrogation. Or didn't you notice?

I wasn't the only one who didn't notice. Everyone who knows him thinks the same. What kind of repentance can we talk about if he clearly calculated everything in advance? After the crime, he turned himself in and cooperated with the investigation. He told in detail where and how he committed the outrage. And he immediately admitted his guilt and did not fuss. He thought through all his actions in advance so that he would be given a minimum sentence. Did you notice his look at the trial? He didn’t even lower his head, he looked straight ahead. He was proud of himself.

-Have you noticed any inappropriate actions in him before?

I didn’t notice anything that could alert me. I understood that he had a tough character, he was selfish, but nothing more. Besides, we didn’t live together, I didn’t see him often.

- Do you think that he has been hatching a plan for revenge for a long time?

I think I hatched a plan for revenge for more than a week. And he did not act in a state of passion. His actions were too coordinated. After all, he bought an ax in advance, sharpened it, collected ropes to tie his wife’s hands. I put everything in the trunk. I even picked up a stump in the forest. It seems he himself cut him down for execution. In the morning I sent text messages to my loved ones. I wrote to everyone something like: “Sorry, but I can’t live when I’m being deceived.” This is clearly a deliberate action.

- Rita didn’t feel the approaching trouble?

Their relationship has become tense in the last month and a half. Then he noticed a text message from a colleague on her phone. That same evening he kicked her. That's when Rita started thinking about divorce.

- Was he that jealous of her? Were there any reasons?

There was no betrayal, but a person, if he wants, can convince himself of anything, screw himself up to the fullest extent. After that beating, she asked him to pack his things and leave the apartment. He did not immediately agree. Rita received many threats, he constantly repeated: “I will cripple you, but I will not kill you, you will just live and suffer.” We should then pay attention to his words. I admit that then a plan of revenge was already spinning in his head.

- What was the last point in the breakdown of relations?

On November 10, he attacked Rita with a knife. He put a knife to her throat and shouted: “Tell me about your betrayal.”

-Have you contacted the police?

On November 11, we contacted the police and wrote a statement. He was summoned for questioning only 19 days later. He denied everything. The case was closed.

“MK” learned that on November 10, at about 8.30, Grachev took his wife to the forest. There he interrogated Margarita with passion. At the same time, he threatened with a knife and shouted: “Don’t piss me off, otherwise it will be worse!”, “If you don’t stay with me, I’ll pour acid on you or set you on fire.” At that time, the couple no longer lived together. He didn't threaten her anymore.

On November 11, Margarita wrote a statement asking that her husband be prosecuted. When the husband began to deny everything, they believed him.

“In the last week before the tragedy he was affectionate and kind”

After that incident with the knife, Grachev got away unscathed. But then he harbored a grudge against his wife. I won't forget, I won't forgive.

After the incident, Dmitry seemed to calm down, even made peace with his wife, and resumed normal communication,” the interlocutor continues. - She even took a lie detector test for adultery at his request. I don’t know what the polygraph showed; Dmitry didn’t tell her.

- Why didn’t Margarita completely break off communication with him?

The fact is that when Dmitry left, he took the car. Rita has two small children. They must be taken to kindergarten by 8 am. By bus it is problematic - with two transfers. Such children are not allowed in taxis because there are no two seats. Then Dmitry offered to help. Every morning he took the kids to kindergarten and gave Rita a ride to work. We used this service.

-Have you noticed any changes in him in recent days?

I'm telling you, he's got it all figured out. And in the last week before the tragedy he behaved extremely courteously, he was kind, affectionate, and amiable. He lulled our vigilance. On that fateful day, Dima, as usual, came to pick up the children and Rita. I took the children to the garden. He brought Rita to me before work. My daughter took the bags from me because the next day we were going to celebrate our grandson’s birthday and were planning to go to Kostroma. Dmitry had to give Rita a ride to work from me. Only on the way did he turn towards the forest, where he carried out a terrible massacre.

- Has Margarita already told you how it all happened?

She can barely speak now. It’s still hard to ask her. From what I heard: he brought her to the forest and tied her hands with tourniquets. Apparently, he began his questioning “whether she cheated or not.” At some point, he suddenly became kinder, maybe Rita convinced him of something. He put her back in the car and untied her hands.

But soon he tied his hands again. He grabbed her and dragged her to a pre-selected stump. Before cutting off her hands, he began to break her fingers and her hands. It was a complete mess.

First he cut off the fingers on his left hand, then only his hand. Experts counted 8 fractures on this arm. Then he began to work on the second hand. Rita recalled that when she tried to break free, he started hitting her with an ax wherever he had to. As a result, she has a laceration on her thigh from the ax. I asked my daughter what he said at the same time? She wasn't ready to tell at first. Now she said, he repeated one phrase: “Don’t let anyone get you.” And now there are rumors around the city that he can get away with it. How will we live if he is released?

- How can they get rid of him?

I told you that he would be asked to turn himself in and cooperate with the investigation. He pointed out where the severed hands were. Showed a tree stump. He himself brought Rita to the hospital so that she would not die from blood loss. He admitted guilt. They say he could get amnesty or get the minimum.

When investigators arrived at the crime scene, they were shocked by Grachev’s confessions and the sight of severed hands. Everything happened near the village of Glavzovo. A metal ax with a handle was found at the crime scene of blue color, 3-meter rubber band, wrist watch Margaritas and chopped fragments of two hands. Fragments of the hands were sent to a local hospital and handed over to a surgeon.

During the interrogation, Grachev described in detail the circumstances of the crime committed. And he admitted that at that moment he felt hostility towards his wife. However, he added that he regrets what he did.

“My daughter will not have a right hand”

-Have you communicated with your son-in-law's parents?

His parents have been divorced for a long time. My father, in my opinion, was imprisoned for murder and was recently released. When Dmitry threatened my daughter for the first time, it was really scary. These were not mere threats. He repeated: “I have calculated everything and am ready to serve my time.” There were many threats against my daughter. As for his mother, she protects him.

- What do the doctors say about your daughter, do they give prognoses?

They performed a miracle with the left hand. After all, the brush lay in the forest for quite a long time; it was lucky that necrosis did not occur. Plus, the whole arm was broken. But the surgeons sewed the hand back on. But they don’t give any forecasts yet. Eat positive results- the blood began to circulate, the fingers became warmer. Whether the fingers will retain any functions is too early to say. Little time has passed. Just five days. The daughter will not have a right hand.

Now she still feels pain in both hands; she says that the fingers on her right hand, which is missing, hurt. These are phantom pains - this is how doctors explain it. She is also terribly scared, and this fear does not let her go. Rita keeps repeating: “I’m afraid. I'm afraid". When I first saw her, she kept repeating, without stopping: “I’m scared, I’m afraid.”

- Will you hire a lawyer?

I had never thought about a lawyer before. Margarita is a victim after all. But now I understand that I will have to. I heard that Dmitry has connections with the police, he could get away with it, so I decided to make the case public.

- Surely there will be lawyers who will want to help you.

I would like to hope. They made it clear to me, they said that he had everything figured out and without a good lawyer we would not achieve the due date for him.

- What is his education?

He has a psychologist's certificate. But he worked in a warehouse, receiving cargo.

Have the children already been told about what happened?

I explained that my mother had been in an accident and her arms were slightly damaged. They are being treated. I can’t even imagine how I’ll tell the kids what their dad did to their mom.

- Did Grachev raise his hand against children?

I haven't heard such a thing. Dmitry was always so polished, he took care of himself and did a lot of things for show. I'll tell you one episode that characterizes him. When my daughter was pregnant with her second child, we were traveling on a bus. The three of us sat down - Dmitry next to his wife, me opposite.

I got on the bus elderly woman, about 75 years old. Dima didn’t even think about giving up his seat, I stood up. Nearby was an old man who remarked to his son-in-law: “Why are you sitting, young man?” And then I heard from Dima: “Who are you? At your age, you still travel by bus, you haven’t earned enough money to buy a car, which means you’re a loser and you don’t have the right to tell me what I should do. Close your mouth".

I was very shocked then. I retold the story of his mother. To which she said: “I did everything right, they didn’t give up my seat on the bus. Consider him avenged for me.” Selfishness was always visible in Dima, but we didn’t know that he was a sadist.

- Did Grachev drink?

He could have drunk, but that day he was sober, which is much worse.

- In your opinion, what is the reason for such a crazy act?

Dmitry couldn’t come to terms with the fact that Rita wanted to leave him, he worked himself up into thinking that she was clearly a cheater and she should be punished for this so that she too would suffer.

- Do you regret that Rita did not divorce him earlier?

They no longer lived together. Even if they had broken up earlier, it seems to me that revenge would have been inevitable. You shouldn't have gotten into the car with him. We understand this now. But we could not even imagine that something like this could happen. Moreover, in recent days he always smiled, did not say a rude word, did not raise his voice. That day Rita didn’t notice anything either. Now I’m still worried about how their children will live when everyone finds out.

- The children are small. Maybe they won't find out?

Now there are a lot of well-wishers. When they grow up, they will be told. Well, how can we explain the moment that mom has no hands? Won't they see? And dad disappeared somewhere?

A criminal case has been initiated against the man under the article “Intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm.” His injured wife remains in the hospital. The maximum punishment that Grachev faces is imprisonment for up to 8 years.

Rita Gracheva is still in Moscow Clinical Hospital No. 71. On December 11, in Serpukhov near Moscow, the husband, with whom a 25-year-old woman decided to divorce, took her into the forest and chopped off her hand. Capital surgeons were able to save left hand- they literally assembled it in parts (fractures in eight places) and sewed it on. Now all that remains is to wait to see if it will take root. With the right hand everything is difficult. To save the patient’s life, doctors had to form a stump, “closing” the vessels. Now all hope is that the family will be able to purchase a prosthesis.

The couple has two children. Boys three and five years old. They are still hiding from them what really happened to their dad and mom.

There are still many blank spots in this story. Why did a girl from an intelligent family choose a boy from a disadvantaged one, who was even expelled from school for his behavior? Did Rita really write a statement to the police a month before the tragedy - after he took her into the forest for the first time and threatened her with a knife? And could she in six years life together never suspect that he lives with a real sadist?

The victim’s mother, Inna Sheikina, gave an exclusive interview on Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda (97.2 FM in Moscow). First things first.

GIRLS CHOOSE BAD BOYS

Rita and Dima studied together in the same college in Serpukhov to become cooks,” says the woman. - We met there. He began to court. It was immediately clear that he was on his own. Although he knew how to please, he dressed neatly. In college, for example, his teachers loved him. Didn't drink, didn't smoke. At the same time, he is quite cocky by nature. Rita says to me now: Mom, now I understand that for some reason many girls really try to choose bad boys.

Grachev’s mother raised her alone. As they say, Dmitry's father - also Dmitry Grachev - was imprisoned in the late 90s for 15 years as a participant in a bloody showdown with shooting, where two groups of men were sorting out their interests. After this “arrow”, nine corpses were taken to the morgue from the outskirts of Serpukhov. Article - “Murder of two or more people.”

- Did you know what his family was like?

Rita and I learned that dad was imprisoned only after the wedding. Dima's mother divorced him when the boy was little. This was before landing. I once asked her why they got divorced. She admitted that her husband raised his hand to her. However, I cannot say that they have a dysfunctional family. My mother’s sister is a lawyer and lives in Moscow. Their grandfather is a musician. Paternal grandmother in kindergarten works. I also only found out later that Dima was expelled from school and finished his studies in evening classes.

Rita's mother Inna Sheikina. Photo: TV channel "Russia"

- How did they live?

There are mothers and mothers-in-law who try to fit into the family and teach the young how to live. It seemed to me that this was wrong. I then asked Rita - maybe I didn’t know something, didn’t notice? She says that in the first five years he never laid a hand on her. The crisis began when Rita said she wanted to leave him.

- Why did she decide to leave?

She's tired of him. Dima has a complex character; he never wanted to compromise. Rita adjusted to him. Lately, Dima has stopped helping altogether. Even the issue of changing the tires on the car had to be resolved by myself, and I asked my brother to help. Rita says that thoughts about divorce have crossed their minds before. But while she was on maternity leave, she doubted that she would be able to bear two children on her own. And when I went to work - I became a marketer in our Serpukhov newspaper - I realized that at the very least, I would be able to provide for my children.

DID THE POLICE PERSUADE TO WITHDRAW THE STATEMENT?

At first there were scandals, so Grachev began to raise his hand against his wife, tore up her passport so that she could not apply (the passport was restored, the registry office set the date of divorce for January 9), took her to a lie detector - tried to find out if Rita had another man . On November 11, a month before that very day, he was taken into the forest for the first time and threatened with a knife. Rita wrote a statement to the police and took it to the local police officer.

As far as I know, Dima received the first call from the police only 19 days later,” continues Inna Sheikina.

- How did you find out?

From my daughter. When we submitted our application, we waited for his reaction. He broke down for any reason. And after 19 days he started making a fuss: why did you report it to the police? He said he got a call. They called, you understand! It turns out there wasn’t even a personal conversation? After submitting the application, we ourselves waited for them to call us, when they would question us. We filmed the beatings that were inflicted before. And in response there was silence. I called the police, reminded them, they told me: wait, they will call you back! As a result, only a couple of weeks later we were called. We left information about the beatings to the local police officer. And we were tactfully asked to withdraw the application: “Think about it, do you need this? Your boys will grow up. Suddenly they want to go to work in the authorities. If a criminal case is opened against their dad, many paths will be closed.”

Dima suspected Rita of cheating... They say there was some kind of meeting with a colleague. Has Rita started any kind of relationship?

This happened after Rita announced a divorce and she and Dima separated. Rita says that after such stress she needed someone's support. There is a man at work who recently got divorced and left his daughter. They had two meetings. Just meetings, in public places. One time his daughter was with him, the second time one of Rita’s sons was also with him, they went to the cinema with the children. Probably, if you wish, you can call it light flirting. But no kissing, no intimacy. Yes, she did not consider this man as her man in the future. During their discord, I met Dima several times. Yes, he felt bad. He didn’t like that his usual way of life was collapsing. And he found the culprit: since Rita leaves, that means she is bad, a cheater. Dima began to become paranoid. He decided that Rita had a lover. There have been many different threats over these months. He said: “If you don’t live with me, I’ll take you to the forest and bury you,” “I’ll throw acid,” “I found out from my dad where you can get a weapon.” “I’ll put you in the car, accelerate and we’ll crash together.”

“FOR AN ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE I WAS HEATED WITH AN AXE”

I think for the last week he clearly knew what he would do to Rita,” the woman continues. - He planned everything. For several days he behaved very correctly in order to lull her vigilance. That day he dropped the children off at kindergarten, then took Rita to me - we were going to go with the children to Kostroma to the Snow Maiden’s residence for our grandson’s birthday. Rita took the bag from me in which she was supposed to pack things for this trip. She’s telling me now: she wanted to put the bag in the trunk, but Dima got nervous: no, no, put it in the back seat. Now it’s clear that there was an ax and tourniquets in the trunk, and he didn’t want Rita to see them ahead of time.

When Rita didn't show up for work, her colleagues called her mom. Grachev several times staged scenes of jealousy in front of everyone, so they worried about Rita. Inna Vladimirovna called her daughter, Dima, but neither of them answered the phone.

I dialed his mom's number. She said: “I drink valerian. He just sent me a text…” He sent a message to all his relatives. The meaning is something like this: “Sorry, I can’t live in deception.” I think my mother knew about his plans. Because on THAT day she cried into the phone: “I told him, I told him a hundred times, that he didn’t have to do anything...”

Sheikina started calling the police and rushed to the police department. On the way, she received a call: “Your daughter is in the hospital. She’s alive, but... Come.”

- What does Rita remember about that terrible day?

Having driven further into the forest, he stopped. He took an ax out of the trunk and threatened to kill him. He tied Rita's hands with tourniquets - in front of him. He forced them to lower them onto the stump. She says that for the first forty minutes he simply made threats - he asked her to confess to treason, and told her what he would do to Rita now. She remembered one phrase: “I’ll cut off your hands now. You loved petting children with them! But now you won’t have any hands.”

- Did she try to escape?

Yes. For this, he beat her on the legs with an ax - there are three chopped wounds on one of the legs. The worst thing is that Rita was conscious all this time. She says that when he started chopping his hands with an ax, she looked at them - there was a complete bloody mess. I looked once and didn’t look again. So as not to go crazy. I don’t know what kind of strong psyche you need to have to survive this.

“I WILL COME BACK AND FINISH WHAT I UNFINISHED”

Apparently, Dmitry Grachev did not intend to kill his wife. After cutting off her hands, he put Rita in the car and drove her back to the city, to the hospital.

On the way, he asked: “Have you died there yet?” And he promised: “I’ll sit down, but if you don’t wait for me from prison, I’ll come back and finish what I haven’t finished. I will cut off the hands of your mother and all your relatives.” He took her to the hospital and immediately went to surrender to the police. He filed a confession. He cooperates with the investigation - he even helped look for a severed hand in the forest. He says he repents. Legally, all of this will be considered mitigating circumstances. All this will be taken into account at the trial and will shorten its final term. Lawyers say he will only be given 6-7 years. Under this article there is a conditional literal release. Theoretically, he could return to Serpukhov in three years. I am seriously afraid that he will return to take revenge on us. I don't know what to do? Who will protect us? Some friends advise me to leave Serpukhov and get lost. But how to do that? We have a big family: me, Rita, children, I also have a younger son. It is now impossible to hide without being found - there are links to some documents. And after what happened, I have no doubt that if he has such a goal, he will be able to find us, no matter where we go!

AND AT THIS TIME

Whether the hand has taken root - it’s too early to say

- We already wrote that Rita began to move the thumb of her sewn hand. Does this mean that the hand has taken root?

Doctors explain that this cannot yet be said. After such operations, several crises must pass. The first one is in 5-7 days. He's already behind. Rejection, thank God, did not happen.

- Will all the normal functions of the hand return after this?

Doctors are not talking about this yet. They don't want to give hope. The operation was very difficult.

- Did you manage to choose a prosthesis?

We already had a prosthetist. There is a company in the Moscow region that is ready to provide a prosthesis at a maximum discount. And we were told that there was a sponsor, a businessman, who would pay for it. We were shown three models. They explained that there are several nuances. The prosthesis is designed to last two to three years. Plus, every year it will need to be removed and sent for maintenance to Germany. Along with shipping, this takes at least two months. One is probably not enough. A suitable prosthesis costs 1.8 million rubles. But it allows you to move only two fingers - the thumb and index. There is a more functional option, but it is such a large man's palm, quite noisy. Everything needs to be weighed and thought through. They transferred us an impressive amount. But I don’t yet know how they will have to be distributed.

- Who is with the children now?

With Rita's friend. I told the children that mom had an accident and her hands are now being treated. Of course, the guys miss Rita very much. We want to bring them on Saturday. The hospital said that children of that age cannot be brought into the ward. We want to try to take Rita outside somehow so that they can talk at least a little.

BY THE WAY

Why did Grachev study to become a psychologist?

The point is not that he wanted to be a psychologist, says Inna Sheikina. - I just needed to get a higher education. He entered the correspondence course at the Serpukhov branch of the National Institute of Catherine the Great (a small Moscow university - Auto.). I studied for four and a half years. Of course, Rita helped him, even wrote some papers for him. Three quarters of his diploma is her merit.

QUESTION - RIB

Why didn’t the local police officer react?

An obvious question. Perhaps, if Rita’s statement had been allowed to proceed, this bloody execution would not have happened?

When this topic was discussed on Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda, a listener, himself a former detective officer, called on the air. He asked not to rush to draw clear conclusions about the actions of the district police officer.

Unfortunately, in this particular story, everything depends not only on the actions of the police officer,” Alexander said. - The statement was written on the fact of being taken into the forest and threatened with a knife. But at the same time, the district police officer could not attach anything to this statement, there is no “evidence” - there are no witnesses, no video recordings, no damage. I assure you: even if he had opened a criminal case, the prosecutor’s office would have canceled the decision to initiate it. Because there is no reason. Only words. I understand that it sounds crazy after something like this, but it’s a fact.

How should potential victims act in this case? Wait until the knife goes into the stomach and only then contact the police?

What the statements are about domestic violence The police are most often accepted with difficulty, this is a fact. Nobody wants to do extra work. Because, as they say, 95% of such applications are taken back by women the very next day. Either out of pity, or figuring that if her husband was imprisoned, there would be no one to feed her and the children.

Moreover, this happens not only after beatings and minor harm to health, says former investigator and now famous lawyer Vadim Bagaturia. - An investigator I know was investigating a case: a husband attacked his wife with a knife. The woman was very seriously injured and spent several weeks in the hospital. She came out and... Ran to the investigator. She begged to let her husband go and close the case. Loved it. And this was not a marginal family at all.

The Moscow region police headquarters "KP" confirmed that Margarita Gracheva's statement was indeed accepted by the district police officer. But they are not yet ready to discuss the actions of their employee there. An internal check is being carried out. Now they are finding out whether the policeman acted strictly according to the letter of the law or not. The results of the audit are planned to be announced within the next week.

Domestic violence - survey. Apester is a platform that offers an assortment of free online storytelling tools that enable publishers to engage with their audience.

Crippled

I dedicate this book to my mother, my grandparents, brothers and sisters, my children, without whom I would never have had the strength and courage to fight, my companion.

I want to thank everyone I have met along the way and who have touched me with their involvement in the fight for human physical and moral dignity, fundamental rights and especially women's rights.

I want to thank all the people who have supported me, near or far, in my struggle, as well as all those who helped me make this book a reality.

The cold here is not for me, an African. I'm coming. I've always walked a lot. So much that I often got it from my mother:

- Why are you walking? Stop! The whole neighborhood is gossiping about you!

And sometimes she even drew an imaginary line at our doorstep.

– Do you see this line? From now on you will not cross it!

I was in a hurry to play with my friends, go for water, take a walk at the market, or look at the military in beautiful uniforms who were marching along the Wall of Concord. My mother’s word for “walking” in the Soninka language meant that I was running around, too curious about the world around me.

I actually “walked my life”, and it just didn’t take me anywhere: today I am at UNICEF in Zurich, yesterday at the Forty-ninth session of the UN General Assembly dedicated to women’s rights. Hadi to the UN! A woman wrestler named Hadi, in the past the most ordinary girl from the “womb of the sand,” like all African children. The same little Khadi who goes to the source for water, minces past grandmothers and aunties in the bubu, proudly carrying a basket of peanuts for grinding on her head; Khadi, charged with delivering the amber-colored dough drizzled with butter, is suddenly horrified to see it sprawled on the ground. I can still hear my grandmother’s angry voice:

-Did you drop it? Well, you'll get it from me!

I see her come down the porch, armed with a broom as a whip, while my sisters and cousins ​​make fun of me. It hits my back, my butt, and my little loincloth treacherously slides down. The girls rush to my aid, and my grandmother, still angry, turns to them:

-Are you protecting her? Now I'll show you!

I take this moment to run to my grandfather's house, hide behind his folding bed where she can't find me. Grandfather is my salvation, my protection. He never interferes with the punishment process, leaving it to the women. He doesn't shout, he just explains:

– Hadi, if you are sent to do something, you must concentrate on what you are doing! I'm sure you were playing with your friends and didn't see the basket turn over.

After a well-deserved spanking, I have the right to the caresses of my grandmother and... sisters, sour milk and couscous. It's something of a consolation. My buttocks still hurt, but I play with the doll, sitting under the mango tree with my sisters and cousins. Little Hadi is waiting for September to come so she can go to school with the rest of her brothers and sisters. Mom makes sure that we always have notebooks and pencils. To do this, she even has to limit herself in some way.

It's nice to live in a big house on the outskirts of Thies, a quiet town with wide green streets. It is located at the foot of the mosque where grandfather and other men go to pray at dawn.

Dad works on the railway, we rarely see each other. According to our tradition, Grandma Fuley was assigned to look after me; she is responsible for my upbringing. Fuley is my grandfather’s second wife; she has no children of her own. Our childless woman does not suffer from this. Grandma’s house is a hundred meters from ours, and I shuttle between them, looking for something tasty in one or the other.

Grandfather has three wives: the first Marie, my mother’s mother, the second Fuley, to whom I was “gifted” to raise me, and Asta, the third, the ex-wife of my grandfather’s older brother. My grandfather married her after his brother’s death, as custom dictates. All of them are our grandmothers, ageless women who love us equally, punish us and, of course, console us.

There are three boys and five girls in our family, and there are cousins, nieces, and aunts in the tribe. We are all each other's brothers and sisters, aunts and nieces, to one and all at once. It’s impossible to count us; I don’t even know some of my cousins. My family is from the noble Soninke caste. Previously, the Soninke traded in cloth, gold and precious stones. Grandfather worked on the railway in Thies. He also placed my father there.

Our family is made up of priests and peasants, the men are the imams of the village. A noble family, as we Soninka understand it, is a caste that has nothing in common with the European nobility. The upbringing is very strict. We are instilled with honesty, decency and loyalty to our word, values ​​and principles that follow us through life.

I was born shortly before the country gained independence, in nineteen fifty-nine, on one of the October days. And in October 1966, at the age of seven, I crossed the school threshold for the first time. Until that time, I lived happily, surrounded by love. They told me about the cultivation of fields, national cuisine, and the seasonings that my grandmothers sold at the market. By the age of four or five I had my own bench. Grandma Fuley made it for me because here every child has their own bench. He sits on it when he eats couscous, and leaves it in the room of his mother or grandmother, the one who raises him, bathes him, dresses him, caresses him or punishes him. The bench is the cause of quarrels between children: “You took my bench!”, “Give her the bench, she’s older than you!” It is stored for a long time until the tree dries out or its owner grows up and becomes the owner of a new, larger bench. Then you can pass on your bench “by inheritance” to your younger brother or sister.