A fight broke out at a bus stop in Elektrostal, Moscow Region, between 19-year-old Tajik national Imomali Turdiev and 18-year-old Ilya Polezhaev. Polezhaev was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
According to investigators, the altercation that culminated in the stabbing began on the bus. Four young men, including the deceased, were behaving provocatively, cursing, and harassing female passengers. When one of them stepped outside, the teenagers began giving her the middle finger and grimacing. A video published by the Telegram channel "112" contains the footage.
After this, another passenger, Kemerovo resident Imomali Turdiev, reportedly intervened. He defended the insulted women and warned the attackers. The verbal altercation quickly escalated and escalated into a physical confrontation. After several shoves, the men decided to go to a bus stop, where a fight broke out.
Media reports indicate that the group of attackers used pepper spray and a flare gun against Imomali, to which he responded by stabbing him.
"At some point, the 19-year-old pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the young men in the neck and torso. Despite receiving medical attention, the victim died," the Moscow Region Investigative Committee reported.
A criminal case has been opened for murder (Part 1, Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code). The suspect, Imomali Turdiev, has been detained. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
Some Russian television channels interpreted the incident as an attack by a "migrant" on a "Russian guy," while the detainee's family claims he was forced to take the drastic step. According to his brother, the young man acted in self-defense. The suspect himself said he was in a state of shock.
"I didn't realize what I was doing, I was in shock. I had a knife with me, but I took the knife from my apartment when I came in with my brother... I was in shock, adrenaline, all that. During this conflict, I used the knife," REN TV quotes Turdiev as saying.
According to the channel, the young man struck his attacker "at least 17 times" in response to the use of a flare gun and a canister.
The Antifa.ru project notes that the murdered man, known in neo-Nazi circles as Ilya "Kvas," provoked participants in 2025 at a memorial event for lawyer Stanislav Markelov and Novaya Gazeta journalist Anastasia Baburova, who were shot in 2009 by Nikita Tikhonov, a member of the Combat Organization of Russian Nationalists (BORN).
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, skinheads and members of other neo-Nazi groups launched a veritable manhunt for migrants from Central Asian countries and Caucasians in major cities, particularly Moscow and St. Petersburg. They always operated in the same way, in groups, attacking their victims unexpectedly, armed with knives, brass knuckles, chains, and metal bars. It was during this period that many North Caucasians began carrying knives, pepper spray, and registered non-lethal pistols for self-defense.
