Russian ex-convict who tortured and murdered wife killed in combat in Ukraine

A convicted murderer from Russia’s central Ivanovo region who had been serving a 20-year prison sentence for killing his wife before being granted early release to fight in Ukraine has been killed in action, according to the Ivanovo regional authorities. 

In a post on its official website on Monday, the Ivanovo government published a tribute to four members of the Ivanovo Garrison region who had died in combat. Among the four men named was Mikhail Lobakov, a 39-year-old resident of the city of Kineshma who was last year convicted of murdering his wife, Yeseniya Lobakova, and sentenced to 20 years in a high-security penal colony, Novaya Gazeta Europe has discovered. 

Though the official notice did not specify the circumstances of Lobakov’s death, it was noted that he had demonstrated “courage and selflessness” and that Ivanovo Governor Stanislav Voskresensky had extended his condolences to the serviceman’s family.

Despite no details of Lobakov’s biography being provided by either the regional administration or local media outlets, Novaya Gazeta Europe has discovered that in 2024, a man with the same full name was convicted of issuing death threats to his wife before ultimately murdering her. Novaya Europe also cross referenced courtroom photographs with the one posted on the Ivanovo government website to confirm Lobakov’s identity. 

According to court documents, the couple had an argument during a family gathering in January 2023 that ended with Lobakov stabbing his wife over 20 times using a fork and kitchen knives. Lobakova survived the initial attack, despite being left paralysed, but her husband continued to torture her all night and threatened to dismember her and dispose of her body. She died in hospital two weeks after the attack.

At his trial, Lobakov denied the murder charge and claimed that he had been falsely accused. Despite being found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in a high-security penal colony in early 2024, Lobakov appears to have signed a contract to fight in Ukraine in return for early release, though the date of his deployment to the frontlines is unknown.