Alexander and Viktor Zhizhich

The Zhizhich brothers were unemployed vagrants who had been travelling around Russia for several years by train.^[2] Usually, when conductors found them riding without a ticket, they were dropped off at the nearest station, where they sought shelter from good samaritans before leaving the next day by train.^[2]

On 7 January 2003, the brothers found themselves in the town of Sokol. After disembarking from the train, they came across a 74-year-old pensioner, and the trio struck up a conversation. ^{[citation needed]} The brothers claimed to have been mugged, with both personal documents and all their money stolen in the process. They begged the woman for bread so as not to starve.^{[citation needed]} The woman went to a nearby shop, bought them some bread, and invited them to her home, where she provided them with a room.^[2]

Unbeknownst to her, on the first night, Alexander and Viktor noticed a small color television in her bedroom, which they determined to steal. Their conversation was overheard by the woman through the walls, but this failed to prevent them from executing their plan.^{[citation needed]} The pair grabbed a knife and a small wooden hammer from the kitchen, entered the pensioner's room, and punched, kicked, and beat her to death.^{[2][failed verification]} After killing the woman, the brothers collected the woman's belongings, including the television, a pair of glasses, clothing, rice, sugar, and curtains, totalling 6,000 rubles.^[3] To cover their tracks, they scattered dry grass and newspapers around the house and set them on fire, burning the house to the ground.

Several months later, on 22 June, Alexander Zhizhich found himself in the village of Lukhtonga, Arkhangelsk, where he befriended a young woman and her male roommate. To celebrate their new acquaintance, Zhizhich's new friends organized a party at their apartment, which lasted throughout the day. However, in his drunken state, Zhizhich demanded the man to disassemble the television and give him the speakers, which the man refused to do.^[2] Angered, Zhizhich beat both the residents with a stool and due to their intoxicated states, they could not defend themselves. After making sure that neither of them was moving, Alexander grabbed a scratch awl and stabbed both victims. He then disassembled the television, stole its parts, and fled the village. When authorities found the victims, the woman had long succumbed to her injuries, but her roommate was still living.^{[citation needed]} However, he died a few weeks later from his injuries, providing no clue about the killer.^{[2][failed verification]} The loot from this crime later would be assessed at just 130 rubles.^[3]

The brothers' final and bloodiest crime occurred on 27 October. Leaving the train at Yavenge Station in Vozhegodsky District, they came across a local couple, to whom they recounted their stolen documents story. The couple invited them to their house for drinks and they all travelled to Yekimovskaya. After all of them became drunk, the couple questioned parts of the brothers' story, to which the brothers reacted by attacking them with their hands, fists, and any weapons they could find to assault their victims.^[2] After killing the wife, Viktor held the husband down and forced him to watch Alexander strip the woman's corpse and shove an empty glass bottle into her vagina, before smashing it with a knife. The brothers then beat the man to death. They rummaged through the house, stole a hydraulic pump, an electric saw, several lightbulbs, a wall lamp, a clock, and some food, which they packed into their bags and then quickly left.^[2]