did not exclude that the person might be sought in prisons or colonies, or that he was no longer alive. According to Stretsov, the reward for information that would help establish the identity of the murderer was increased to 3 million rubles. On March 28, 2017, a 37-year-old Kazakh native was arrested in Samara on suspicion of involvement in the murders, as he had killed two elderly women there on March 25 and 27, 2017. On May 25, 2017, investigators suggested that the offender was a native of Tatarstan and studied in one of Kazan's schools. On December 1, 2020, ex-convict Radik Tagirov, was detained and confessed to 25 of the murders. DNA evidence and shoe prints were used to identify him as the murderer. He claimed to be killing the victims "painlessly" in order to survive on the streets. He later recanted his confession, claiming that he slandered himself under stress. His trial began in October 2022. If convicted, he faces a life sentence. Suspect Radik Tagirov was born in the then Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which later became the Russian republic known as Tatarstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. After reaching adulthood, Tagirov pursued a locksmithing career in Tatarstan's capital city of Kazan. In 2009, after being convicted on petty theft charges, he spent the next four years as a vagrant who wandered from place to place looking for means to survive on the street and subsidize his addiction to synthetic cannabinoids. Prior to being arrested by police, Radik lived a somewhat quiet life as a locksmith with two children and a live-in girlfriend. References External links "Volga Maniac", who killed 30 old women, is still sought after, but they have not increased the reward Zagodorsky Yu. The Monster, Casanova and the Sirota. 7 Perm maniacs and serial killers / Arguments and Facts. "AiF-Prikamie" of August 14, 2015 Male serial killers Russian serial killers Violence against women in Russia