What happened in the Katyusha sauna
On the evening of September 10 last year, Private Naumov and his colleagues changed into civilian clothes and left the unit in Yekaterinburg. During the walk, they each had one beer and seven cans of a 7-proof Jaguar beverage.
While passing the 24-hour Katyusha sauna, they spotted a man in khaki sleeping on a street bench. Private Naumov approached the unconscious man, took his phone, and refused to unlock it. He began punching the stranger in the face and body, and after forcing the code from the victim, Naumov kicked him in the head again before disappearing. The man later died in hospital with a ruptured spleen, rib fractures, and soft tissue damage.
Court records show that the deceased was also a soldier who had returned from a special operations zone for his brother’s funeral. On the day of his death, the SVO participant had been drinking with a childhood friend near the Katyusha sauna and remained on the same bench until Naumov encountered him.
Naumov bought the phone used in the killing the day before the incident. The beaten man’s sister said that after her brother’s death they tried to apply for a loan on his behalf but continued to use the stolen phone.
What did the eyewitnesses say?
Investigators heard from eyewitnesses who identified the killer. A girl who met the soldier during the walk recounted that the group was drinking, and Naumov appeared the drunkest of them all.
One soldier described Naumov as aggressive on the day of the attack. The day after the murder, he allegedly confessed to a colleague that he had taken not only the beaten man’s phone but also his passport, knife, and bank cards.
Another colleague stated that in the barracks Naumov showed a new phone and offered to buy it the next day for six thousand rubles, a proposal that was declined. A third soldier noted that Naumov seemed nervous after the fight and wondered what to do with the stolen items.
What did the court decide?
Private Naumov was found guilty of robbery and intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death through negligence. The court sentenced him to fourteen years in a maximum security colony. He was also ordered to pay compensation to the deceased’s family totaling 210 thousand rubles for funeral costs and 800 thousand rubles to each of the deceased’s sisters.
Naumov has been detained since September 14, 2023. He confessed to the beating that led to the victim’s death but did not admit to the robbery. He claimed the attack occurred during a clash sparked by insults. In his statement, the beaten man was said to have answered the phone angrily while unconscious.
The court ordered the stolen Realme smartphone to be returned to the deceased’s sister and the bloodied clothes to be destroyed.