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Civilian life in Russia\u2019s Kursk region hasn\u2019t returned to normal since troops repelled most of the Ukrainian forces that stormed across the border last summer. Governor Alexander Khinshtein has designated a \u201cgray zone\u201d inside Russia\u2019s reclaimed territory and warned displaced residents against returning. In many towns, however, people never left. These locals witnessed both the Ukrainian occupation and an influx of Russian soldiers. The would-be liberators were often violent convicts who enlisted in the army to escape prison. One such criminal surfaced in the town of Giryi on April 30, forcing his way into a family\u2019s home, murdering a woman, shooting her husband, and terrorizing their young children. Journalists at Mediazona<\/a> and Astra<\/a> learned the gunman\u2019s name and examined his troubled past.<\/p>\n Life and death after occupation<\/strong><\/p>\n Chat groups where Giryi residents share information about local goings-on reveal that life in the small town remains stressful. For example, on May 1, a poorly worded post about several dozen straggling Ukrainian soldiers fanned fears that Kyiv had launched another cross-border invasion into the Kursk region. The story came two days after Dmitry Stenkin reportedly barged into a family\u2019s home and murdered a woman.<\/p>\n A local Giryi man told journalists that several waves of soldiers have washed through the town. The military largely avoided the area before Ukraine\u2019s incursion, and the first Russian troops who reached the town after the Ukrainians\u2019 retreat were reportedly from Chechnya\u2019s Akhmat Battalion. A video<\/a> surfaced showing one of these men allegedly looting a farm and pedaling away on a bicycle, further fueling local resentment and ethnic tension.<\/p>\n Mediazona notes that locals who spoke openly to journalists largely avoided directly criticizing the Russian army and emphasized that soldiers have helped guard abandoned property and infused money into the town\u2019s economy by renting living space. However, conversations in online chat rooms show that locals often complain about soldiers speeding dangerously through the streets, buying vodka despite a prohibition on alcohol in the region, and harassing women.<\/p>\n \u201cAkhmat [Battalion] wrecked [soldiers\u2019] image with the looting. Initially, there weren\u2019t that many infantry around; they were deployed to Sudzha and elsewhere. But now it\u2019s full-on infantry: the 155th Brigade, the 30th Regiment of the 72nd Motor Rifle Division. It\u2019s all ex-cons, mercs, and new contract soldiers. Low-quality troops,\u201d a contract soldier deployed last December to the Kursk region told Mediazona. \u201cThey all look broken down and stink of booze. I don\u2019t know where they get it.\u201d He also said locals in Giryi have criticized the army for positioning artillery and vehicles near residential homes and sending uniformed patrols through town, potentially attracting enemy fire and endangering civilians.\u00a0<\/p>\n The same contract soldier told reporters that former prisoners and Wagner Group mercenaries were deployed to Giryi\u2019s district in late March, when Ukrainian forces tried to breach the neighboring Belgorod region, roughly six weeks before Olesya Larina\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Russian soldier opens fire on family in Kursk border town after end of Ukrainian occupation<\/a>Russian soldier opens fire on family in Kursk border town after end of Ukrainian occupation<\/a>Olesya Larina\u2019s killer<\/strong><\/p>\n Dmitry Stenkin was in Giryi because he enlisted in the army to avoid serving another prison term. Journalists studied his social media accounts and found evidence that he\u2019s been in and out of jail for more than a decade. Records indicate that Stenkin\u2019s older brother, Yuri, accidentally killed their mother in 2011 during a domestic dispute. (Yuri was sentenced to seven years in prison for the death.)<\/p>\n Now 39, Dmitry Stenkin suffers from alcohol dependence and a diagnosed personality disorder. In 2017, he was sentenced to 4.5 years for rape. After going free in 2021, Stenkin\u2019s problems with the law continued, including convictions for parole violations, issuing death threats, and attacking a police officer.\u00a0<\/p>\n