Zaven Sarkisovich Almazyan (Russian: Завен Саркисович Алмазян; May 5, 1950 – 1973), known as The Voroshilovgrad Maniac (), was a Soviet serial killer and rapist who committed a series of crimes in Rostov-on-Don and Voroshilovgrad between 1969 and 1970, including three murders. Biography Almazyan was born on May 5, 1950 in Rostov-on-Don in an Armenian family. During his childhood, in parallel with studying at school, he was engaged in freestyle wrestling, having mastered the stifling techniques which he would later use on his victims. In 1968, he graduated from school and entered a technical school, working as a loader. It was at this time that there was a psychological breakdown of his character - a girl to whom he expected to lose his virginity, preferred another man instead of him. Crimes Since early 1969, Almazyan began to attack women who conducted the same scenario - he put a knife to the victim's face and said that she had lost in cards, then would take them to a secluded place and rape the victim. During the third attack, Almazyan lost a student card in his name, but managed to convince officers who were investigating the rapes that it was not him. However, frightened that he might be captured, he went to the military commissariat and asked to serve in the Soviet Army. Almazyan served in one of the military units in Voroshilovgrad, looking after a pigsty. This post allowed him to avoid vigilant control by the command and get the opportunity to go on unauthorized absences. On March 26, 1970, he made his first attack in Voroshilovgrad, and in the next 2 weeks - 5 more attacks. Seeing the serial nature of his crimes, the leadership of the regional police department sent reinforced police patrols and druzhinas to the streets, amassing a number of about 300 people. Fearing capture, Almazyan began to commit crimes in the most deserted areas of the city. On April 14, 1970, Almazyan committed his first murder. He bound the hands of 17-year-old Svetlana Mazurina and plugged her mouth with a piece of wafer towel, raping and strangling her afterwards. As a "trophy", he took away the victim's gold jewelry. On May 16, 1970, while trying to rape one of the girls who played the role "bait" for the maniac, a certain Vitaly Vlasov was detained. He confessed to a number of rapes he committed between 1966