Vyacheslav Vasilievich Markin (; 1948 – 1992), known as The Skopinsky Maniac, was a Soviet serial killer, robber, rapist and arsonist who committed 6 brutal murders. Biography Markin was born and lived in Leningrad, spending his childhood in a communal apartment. He never met his father, and was cold towards his mother. He also did not have any friends among his peers. Markin committed his first theft at school - he was running late for class and, passing by the empty teacher's room, he saw someone's open bag, and in it - a purse in which there was money. He took the money, left the school, hid it and then returned. Despite the fact that the police were called, the wallet was not found. This pleased Markin, causing him to have a feeling of impunity. A month later, he again committed theft, stealing 120 rubles and giving them to his mother, claiming that he had found them on the road. His mother did not question it, and soon bought a bike for her son and made a magnificent feast to celebrate. After some time, he fell out with his mother and ran away from home. Markin began to wander in different cities for a long time. In Dushanbe, he survived by pickpocketing, for which he was caught several times and sent to a colony. He gained experience while imprisoned, and even became somewhat of an "authority", even successfully escaping several times. After one of these escapes, from a colony in Chusovoy in the Perm Oblast, he climbed into an apartment, where he began looking for money. He was caught by the mistress of the house, whom he raped, beat and tied up. Markin was eventually arrested in Kirov for theft, and was soon charged not only with escaping, but with rape. He was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for everything. In the colony, he began to quarrel with the local "pahan" Valery 'Ryaby' Ryabchikov. Their confrontation led to a fight, in which Ryabchikov beat Markin. Learning that his opponent was preparing for an escape, Markin informed the colony's authorities of this. As a result, ''Ryaby" was thrown to the deadline for several years. His people then brutally beat up Markin and threw him out into the cold, but he was miraculously saved by a prisoner who happened to pass by and became his friend after being released. Murders After his