In Pskov, a Russian killed Belarusian Valery for demanding respect for the Belarusian nation

49-year-old Belarusian Valery (surname unknown) had been living in Pskov, Russia, for a long time, since the 1990s. He moved there immediately after school. Recently, Valery lived with his second cousin, working odd jobs in construction. Acquaintances described him as a kind and sympathetic person, prone, however, to alcohol abuse. His mother, father, and brother remained in Belarus.

In Russia, Valery maintained his Belarusian identity and even considered himself a nationalist. However, there was nothing radical behind this. As his brother explained in court, Valery's nationalist views were harmless and amounted to asserting the duty of other nations to respect the Belarusian nation.

However, even this ultimately led to tragedy.

The tragedy unfolded on the night of March 5, 2024, in one of Pskov's dormitories. 39-year-old local resident Alexander Yurush, who worked with the Belarusian on a construction site, once again picked a fight with him.

A few months prior, he had told Valery's brother that Valery had a "long tongue" and that someday he would "kill him" for it.

And so it happened. Late in the evening of March 4, a drunken Yurush was going to visit an acquaintance who lived in an adjacent room. In the fifth-floor corridor, he ran into Valery — also drunk. A conflict erupted: according to Yurush's testimony, due to the Belarusian's earlier "nationalist statements." Yurush punched Valery twice in the head, Valery fell, and Yurush went to his acquaintance's room.

A few minutes later, Valery also entered the room — and, as stated in the verdict, "began to insist on his right to be a nationalist." Witnesses who were drinking in the room recounted: Yurush shouted at Valery, calling him a "Nazi" and a "fascist," and then began to beat him — with fists and feet to the head and torso, no less than 15 blows over three to five minutes.

Drunk Valery did not even resist. The woman, the owner of the room, tried to stop the beating, but Yurush, as he was leaving, grabbed a wooden stool and struck Valery over the head with full force — the subsequent examination counted no less than three such blows.

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After the fight, as wild as it sounds, Valery apologized, drank a shot of vodka, and lay down to sleep on the floor near the carpet. He refused to call an ambulance. His drinking companions covered him with a blanket. Waking up the evening of the next day, the company realized that the Belarusian was dead. He died there, on the floor, from a closed craniocerebral injury — a subdural hemorrhage. Experts counted no less than 21 traumatic impacts on his body.

The police identified the deceased by a lost documents certificate found in his pocket. His brother learned of Valery's death from internet news — the report mentioned that a Belarusian citizen had died — and called the police himself. It was he who identified the body, arranged for its delivery to Belarus, and attended the funeral: Valery's parents could not come to Russia due to their age and health condition.

Yurush fully admitted his guilt, wrote a confession, and in court pretended to repent.

On February 12, 2025, Yurush received his final verdict — 8 years and 8 months in a strict-regime penal colony for intentionally causing grievous bodily harm resulting in death (Part 4, Article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The court awarded the deceased's brother about $4000 in compensation, although he had asked for three times more.

However, the killer never reached the penal colony. Just a week after the verdict, he was solemnly sent to the front.

"You have to defend your homeland. My brothers are fighting there. And I want to too. I also must defend my homeland; every man must defend it. If he has such an opportunity," the future occupier stated.

Alexander Yurush's name is not yet on the official lists of the deceased.

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