Grachev murder case

1925 Soviet spree killing

Grachev murder case

A photo of Grachev from his trial

Location| Ivankovo, Sudislavsky District, Kostroma Governorate, RSFSR, Soviet Union
Coordinates| 57°59′59″N 41°29′40″E﻿ / ﻿57.9998°N 41.4944°E﻿ / 57.9998; 41.4944
Date| 26 July 1925 (1925-07-26)
Target| Villagers

Attack type

| Mass shooting, arson
Weapons|

* Double-barreled shotgun
* Fire

Deaths| 11
Injured| 8
Perpetrator| Grigory Grachev
Motive| Resentment at land redistribution results, long-standing feud

The Grachev murder case was a spree killing that occurred on 26 July 1925 in Ivankovo, Sudislavsky District, Kostromskoy Uyezd, Kostroma Governorate, RSFSR, Soviet Union. Grigory Grachev, embittered by a long-time conflict with other villagers, set a fire to lure them into an ambush before opening fire, killing eleven and wounding eight.

## Background

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Following the 1917 October Revolution, Vladimir Lenin declared the Decree on Land, which abolished private property and redistributed land among peasants.[1] However, during the land redistribution process, Grigory Timofeevich Grachev[a] (Russian: Григорий Тимофеевич Грачев),[2] a peasant from the village of Ivankovo, was unable to secure a particular plot of land he had been wanting, losing out to a neighboring farmer. It was the last straw in the long-lasting conflict with the co-villagers. Believing that he had not received his fair share, he began plotting revenge.[3][4] Grachev had been previously accused of murder but was acquitted.[2]

## Event

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After selling all of his property and belongings and reportedly sending his wife to her relatives for a vacation,[3] on the 26th of July Grigory Grachev burned down his neighbors' houses while they were working in the field. He then lay in wait to ambush them on their return to the village.[4] When the peasants returned to put out the fires, Grachev shot at them, ultimately killing eleven people and injuring eight. He additionally shot at the firefighters who arrived from a nearby town to put out the fires,[5] before turning on the town's livestock and killing 8–12 horses.[6] By the end of the massacre, 13 of the 14 households in Ivankovo had been burned to the ground.[3][6]

## Aftermath

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Following the attack, Grachev fled the scene,[5] but was later caught by the local state militia. He was found to be mentally competent during his trial and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was released after serving 10 years, a mistake by officials as he was not subject to early release.[2] His further life is unknown, though he was banned from living in Ivankovo for four years.[7]

## See also

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* List of mass shootings in the Soviet Union

## Notes

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1. ^ Grachev was mistakenly referred to as Peter Grachev or Peter Grachoff in contemporary Western sources.

## References

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1. ^ Siegelbaum, Lewis (17 June 2015). "First Bolshevik Decrees". Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
2. ^ a b c Лаговский, Александр (2015). "Дело Грачёва" [Grachev's Case]. "ВСЁ БЫЛО ИМЕННО ТАК…": Книга воспоминаний о Костроме и костромичах ХХ века ["EVERYTHING WAS JUST LIKE THAT...": A book of memoirs about Kostroma and Kostromians of the twentieth century] (PDF) (in Russian). Kostroma: Линия График Кострома. pp. 169–183 - via Соборная библиотека.
3. ^ a b c "Foreign News: Revenge". TIME. 17 August 1925. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
4. ^ a b "Farmer Slays 17 Neighbors - Village Burned Down By Crazed Peasant". The Toledo News-Bee. Vol. 50, no. 193\. United Press. 19 August 1925. p. 17. Retrieved 25 June 2021 - via Google News Archive.
5. ^ a b "Peasant Fires Village". Western Mail. Vol. 40, no. 2073\. Western Australia. 22 October 1925. p. 20. Retrieved 27 May 2023 - via Trove.
6. ^ a b "Incendiaire et criminel" [Incendiary and criminal]. Gazette de Laussane (in Swiss French). Vol. 128, no. 217\. 7 August 1925. p. 4. Retrieved 25 June 2021 - via Le Temps.
7. ^ Евгеньев, Сергей (29 July 2014). "Губерния и война" [The province and the war]. Информационного агентства МАНГАЗЕЯ. Retrieved 19 August 2023.