Townsfolk publicly lynch and kill their neighbor in Russia's Kaliningrad region

A group of infuriated men were brutally beating the man; others were just standing and watching

Residents of the settlement of Melnikovo in Russia's Kaliningrad region were concealing the fact of public execution of their town-fellow for more than a month. Police officers found the body of Oleg Chulkov, a local drunkard and brawler, in a well last Friday. Local residents killed Chulkov as an asocial individual on January 2nd. Not less than seven people took part in the execution; about ten others were quietly watching the process.

The town of Melnikovo is a rather well known settlement in the Kaliningrad region of Russia. Hundreds of people come to the town every autumn to buy local potatoes, which enjoy great popularity for its perfect taste qualities. Russia's first President Boris Yeltisn still owns a part of Melnikovo farm stocks – farmers gave them to Yeltsin during his visit to the town in 1996. Melnikovo can boast of its reputation as a successful little town. Thirty-three-year-old Oleg Chulkov was a notorious individual in the town, though.

”He was a mean person, an idler and a drunkard,” one of the townspeople told the Izvestia newspaper. Other people of the settlement gave a similar description to Oleg Chulkov. Chulkov had four criminal records – all of them were filed on account of man's hostile relations with other people. When Chulkov was sober, he was a quiet and a peace-loving person. He was absolutely unbearable when he was drunk, though: he would attack and beat everyone without any particular reason; he would even threaten others with a knife.

”He was a hooligan. He would get arrested for breaking windows in the house of his neighbors,” Oksana Ponomareva from the local law-enforcement authorities said.

The last fight took place on December 31st. Chulkov fought with two town-fellows; the latter promised to take revenge on him. On January 2nd they lured Chulkov into his friend's house. They offered him a glass of vodka. The hooligan was rather surprised, but he liked the offer. As soon as Chulkov entered the house, seven men surrounded him. They tied his hands behind his back and knocked the man down. The men were kicking Chulkov saying “Everyone is fed up with you!” The brutal beating continued outside, where other people gathered to see Chulkov being lynched. The people did not say a word even when the group of infuriated men threw Chulkov's body down into a well. The news about the killing of the brawler and the place of his burial was taken around the town immediately. The police learned about the incident almost a month later – the body was found in the well only on January 28th.

”Criminal proceedings were instituted on the fact of violent death of citizen Oleg Chulkov. We have several suspects on the case; investigation is underway,” Oksana Ponomareva told the Izvestia.

No one of Melnikovo residents (the town counts 70 houses and farms) considered it necessary to go to the police. Furthermore, investigators say that nobody made any personal threats: the people simply decided to keep silence about the incident. “I personally did not see him being beaten and killed. So why should I go to the police and file a report about it?” a local man said.

”The terrible incident in the town can be described as social nihilism. I am certain that investigators will find those, who organized the public lynching of the man in the town,” Prosecutor Valeri Voinov said.