If there's one thing every Russian crime reporter knows, it's that long official holidays and three-day weekends, thanks to the requisite drinking binges intrinsic to these breaks, yield blood, havoc and more blood.
And there was a lot of blood, er, on hand at a police precinct in western Moscow when a senior officer hacked off the hand of a junior officer with an ax during a drunken pre-party ahead of the March 8 International Women's Day celebrations, the sensationalist web site Life.ru reported Tuesday.
Well, technically the hand wasn't completely severed, according to Life.ru. When the injured policeman was taken to the hospital, his right hand was connected to his arm only by a "thin strip of skin," the bones having been sliced clean through "as if with a scalpel," Life.ru reported.
Moscow city police are being typically taciturn about the incident. A city police spokesperson confirmed to RIA-Novosti that an incident happened at the Lomonosovsky precinct, near Moscow State University, on the day in question.
"Indeed, ahead of March 8 celebrations a conflict broke out in the precinct, the circumstances and causes of which are now being established," the source told the agency, Vesti Moscow reported.
The source said police had opened an internal assessment of the incident but gave no further details.
But given the prevalence of drunken violence involving axes in Russia, the incident as described by Life.ru does not sound too far-fetched.
The events reportedly unfolded at the police precinct on Friday night, March 6, when the officers were loosening up with a few drinks ahead of the long weekend and the national March 8 holiday, International Women's Day.
The liquor was flowing, the party was loud but peaceful, and many of the officers had retired to their respective offices to imbibe with a few close friends on the force.
It's unclear exactly what prompted the senior officer, 35-year-old Alexei G., to grab a hatchet and attack his subordinate, 29-year-old senior lieutenant Vasily Z.
"Both have worked a long time in the police, and both are wise with experience," Life.ru cited an acquaintance of both men as saying. "What could have happened to so infuriate a department head who always keeps his cool [is not clear]."
Given the lack of witnesses, one plausible theory could be that the attack was, as one of my esteemed colleagues has dubbed it, a "You Don't Respect Me?" crime, a reference to a common drinking phrase from which all sorts of nasty violence often ensues.
Whatever the case, at around 11 p.m. a scream could be heard coming from the boss' office, "and after that the choicest curse words," Life.ru quoted an unidentified police officer as saying.
A second later, Alexei — the boss — sprinted out of the office. It was, witnesses told the web site, a "brutal sight," with the senior officer "covered in blood and a huge hatchet in his hand."
Fellow officers reportedly looked on in horror, but it was no easy task to get Alexei to calm down, who, according to Life.ru, is one big cat: a 2-meter-tall former paratrooper. And he had a giant ax in his hands.
"He ran around the precinct for several minutes with that hatchet," Life.ru cited a witness as saying. "Only a rapid response group, armed as if they were detaining a most dangerous killer, was able to calm him down."
The higher-ups reportedly gave him a day to clean out his desk, and Life.ru says he'll never work as a police officer again.
Life.ru is hinting at a cover-up. The policeman who escorted Vasily to the hospital first told doctors that he had injured himself on broken glass, but that the medics quickly grasped that the wound was made by either an ax or a machete, the web site reported.
They were able to stitch the victim up well. "My fingers are already moving," Vasily was quoted as saying. "The doctors say I'll be as good as new."
The Life.ru report has an accompanying video — no audio — showing a man in the hospital with his right hand wrapped completely in a bandage. The video appeared to have been shot from a camera hidden in a handbag or pocket.
The higher-ups visited Vasily in the hospital and advised him to keep quiet about the incident, the web site cited a police source as saying. He was advised to write a report saying he injured himself away from police premises, otherwise his career could be in jeopardy, Life.ru said.
A belated March 8 congratulations to female Crime Watch readers out there! We hope your celebrations were safe as well as enjoyable!
And there was a lot of blood, er, on hand at a police precinct in western Moscow when a senior officer hacked off the hand of a junior officer with an ax during a drunken pre-party ahead of the March 8 International Women's Day celebrations, the sensationalist web site Life.ru reported Tuesday.
Well, technically the hand wasn't completely severed, according to Life.ru. When the injured policeman was taken to the hospital, his right hand was connected to his arm only by a "thin strip of skin," the bones having been sliced clean through "as if with a scalpel," Life.ru reported.
Moscow city police are being typically taciturn about the incident. A city police spokesperson confirmed to RIA-Novosti that an incident happened at the Lomonosovsky precinct, near Moscow State University, on the day in question.
"Indeed, ahead of March 8 celebrations a conflict broke out in the precinct, the circumstances and causes of which are now being established," the source told the agency, Vesti Moscow reported.
The source said police had opened an internal assessment of the incident but gave no further details.
But given the prevalence of drunken violence involving axes in Russia, the incident as described by Life.ru does not sound too far-fetched.
The events reportedly unfolded at the police precinct on Friday night, March 6, when the officers were loosening up with a few drinks ahead of the long weekend and the national March 8 holiday, International Women's Day.
The liquor was flowing, the party was loud but peaceful, and many of the officers had retired to their respective offices to imbibe with a few close friends on the force.
It's unclear exactly what prompted the senior officer, 35-year-old Alexei G., to grab a hatchet and attack his subordinate, 29-year-old senior lieutenant Vasily Z.
"Both have worked a long time in the police, and both are wise with experience," Life.ru cited an acquaintance of both men as saying. "What could have happened to so infuriate a department head who always keeps his cool [is not clear]."
Given the lack of witnesses, one plausible theory could be that the attack was, as one of my esteemed colleagues has dubbed it, a "You Don't Respect Me?" crime, a reference to a common drinking phrase from which all sorts of nasty violence often ensues.
Whatever the case, at around 11 p.m. a scream could be heard coming from the boss' office, "and after that the choicest curse words," Life.ru quoted an unidentified police officer as saying.
A second later, Alexei — the boss — sprinted out of the office. It was, witnesses told the web site, a "brutal sight," with the senior officer "covered in blood and a huge hatchet in his hand."
Fellow officers reportedly looked on in horror, but it was no easy task to get Alexei to calm down, who, according to Life.ru, is one big cat: a 2-meter-tall former paratrooper. And he had a giant ax in his hands.
"He ran around the precinct for several minutes with that hatchet," Life.ru cited a witness as saying. "Only a rapid response group, armed as if they were detaining a most dangerous killer, was able to calm him down."
The higher-ups reportedly gave him a day to clean out his desk, and Life.ru says he'll never work as a police officer again.
Life.ru is hinting at a cover-up. The policeman who escorted Vasily to the hospital first told doctors that he had injured himself on broken glass, but that the medics quickly grasped that the wound was made by either an ax or a machete, the web site reported.
They were able to stitch the victim up well. "My fingers are already moving," Vasily was quoted as saying. "The doctors say I'll be as good as new."
The Life.ru report has an accompanying video — no audio — showing a man in the hospital with his right hand wrapped completely in a bandage. The video appeared to have been shot from a camera hidden in a handbag or pocket.
The higher-ups visited Vasily in the hospital and advised him to keep quiet about the incident, the web site cited a police source as saying. He was advised to write a report saying he injured himself away from police premises, otherwise his career could be in jeopardy, Life.ru said.
A belated March 8 congratulations to female Crime Watch readers out there! We hope your celebrations were safe as well as enjoyable!
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