Ivan Rosomakin was already a repeat offender when he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for murder in 2020. He was released last year after enlisting in Wagner.
Wagner boss Evgenii Prigojin massively recruited inmates from Russian prisons by promising them a pardon and other benefits in exchange for a contract.
Rosomakin signed a six-month contract, and recently returned from the war to his hometown in the Kirov region. Almost immediately, according to local reports, trouble arose. He was placed in custody for five days after making a series of threats.
His presence led to a meeting in the town hall, which was filmed by a local television channel. A resident of the town, Galina Sapojnikova, said that Rosomakin was seen holding a pitchfork, an ax and a knife, threatening to kill them all.
District police chief Vadim Varankin told the meeting that Rosomakin is a “known scandal” and that they are “dealing with him.” But before that happened, an old woman in the town was murdered. Rosomakin was arrested on suspicion of having committed the murder, but has not yet been formally charged.
Prigojin commented on the case, saying that Wagner is willing to help law enforcement in connection with any of his former fighters.
“If a person is behaving aggressively or defiantly or if there is any risk, especially if they are ex-prisoners, you must let us know. We will send our recruiting group, take it carefully and send it back to the front, where it should exercise its aggression,” Prigojin said.
He said he will no longer recruit convicts in February. However, it appears that in the prisons the recruitment campaign continued. Wagner is known for his ruthless tactics and showing little regard for the lives of his own soldiers. The private army was founded in 2014 and has been accused of war crimes in Africa, Syria and Ukraine.
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