A NAPOLEON-obsessed Russian professor who beheaded his student lover has begged to “atone in blood” for his crime by fighting in Ukraine. Oleg Sokolov, 68, a military historian and acclaimed Napoleon expert, shot and butchered Anastasia Yeschenko, 24, in 2019. He confessed to the crime after he was dragged from the freezing Moika River, St Petersburg, carrying two severed arms in a backpack. The brute had been caught on CCTV dumping his dead lover's dismembered body parts in the water.
![[Portrait of Oleg Sokolov in military uniform.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/russian-military-historian-napoleon-expert-970974118.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Oleg was jailed for twelve-and-a-half years, but now wants to join a programme that grants freedom to killers, rapists and other serious criminals in exchange for fighting on the front line. He is currently the librarian in his high-security Russian jail and teaches other inmates history, but would rather join Putin's meat-grinder. Oleg's lawyer Alexander Pochuev, said: “He is asking to be given the right to atone with blood for the crime in which he admitted guilt.
![[Photo of Anastasia Yeschenko.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sawn-off-soviet-era-toz-627453295.jpg?strip=all&w=854)
“He believes that, despite his age, he is capable of benefiting our country and the army. “We will continue to fight for his sending to the [war].”. So far his pleas have been denied - but he may called up along with the other dregs as Russia tries to boost troop numbers. The murderous historian met his victim while teaching at St Petersburg State University, where Anastasia was a PhD student. The pair began a relationship and spent their time dressing up for Napoleon re-enactments.
![[Oleg Sokolov, a Russian military historian and Napoleon expert, in court.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/russian-military-historian-napoleon-expert-970510272.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
During one of Oleg's cognac parties, he shot Annastasia four times with a rifle - with a head-shot killing her instantly. The professor claimed it was accidental, yet he stashed her corpse under a bed in the spare room and carried on entertaining his guests in his luxury pad. According to evidence in the trial, Sokolov said he suspected Annastasia of cheating on him, and became violent when she told him she intended to go to a friend’s birthday party.
![[Oleg Sokolov in Napoleonic-era military uniform.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/sawn-off-soviet-era-toz-627453320.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
He also claimed she had enraged him by “insulting” his daughters form a previous partner. When the party was over, he sliced up the body and tried to dispose of it in the Moika River while still drunk. Footage from 4am shows the respected academic offloading severed legs and other body parts into the water. He then slipped into the water, and was found floundering by a passing cyclist who hauled him out and alerted police.
![[Oleg Sokolov and Anastasia Yeschenko dancing.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/russian-military-historian-napoleon-expert-970974098.jpg?strip=all&w=960)