Russia braces for eventual return of its enormous army

LONDON (Reuters) -For Russian wife killer Azamat Iskaliyev, the war was a one-way ticket out of jail.

The 37-year-old had served less than a third of a nine-year murder sentence - for stabbing his spouse to death in his car in the summer of 2021 because she wanted a divorce - when he was freed and pardoned by Russia in return for fighting in Ukraine.

The six-month battlefield stint didn't diminish his appetite for violent revenge against women who spurned him. After returning to civilian life, he knifed an ex-girlfriend more than 60 times in the shop where she worked in October last year after she rejected his advances. In July, he was jailed for more than 19 years for the frenzied murder.

Many of those returning to civilian life will never earn anything like the generous salaries they now receive, which will create discontent, the same source said.

 Heroes and villains: Russia braces for eventual return of its enormous army

One reason why Putin may not want to stop the war. The return of psychos, both killers released from jail to enlist, plus those turned killers by war, causing mayhem throughout Russia.

FILE PHOTO: Azamat Iskaliyev, accused of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, stands in a courtroom cage as he is sentenced to 19.5 years in jail, in Saratov, Russia July 9, 2025. Saratov Regional Court/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo© Thomson Reuters