Anatoly Moskvin: The Russian Doll Maker Who Stole from the Dead

[00:00:01] Welcome to The Compendium, an assembly of fascinating things, a weekly variety podcast that gives you just enough information to stand your ground at any social gathering. I'm Adam Cox. And I'm Kyle Risi. And today, neither of us are the ringmasters or whatever ridiculous role HR has pretty much invented. Yeah, instead we are doing something a little bit different in this bonus episode. We've teamed up with another podcast called Fringe Beyond Limits for a special feed swap.

[00:00:28] And they recently shared one of our episodes with their audience. And today we're excited to return the favor by introducing them to all of you. Yes. So if you love The Compendium, we absolutely think you'll really love diving into some of their episodes. And if you haven't come across Fringe Beyond Limits before, it's hosted by Frank, Brie and Lynette, the trio. And they explore everything from bizarre true crime, unexplained mysteries to paranormal encounters, all that awesome stuff.

[00:00:53] What I like is that they always bring something new to the conversation. They don't simply tell you what to believe. They challenge each other's ideas, discuss the evidence and let you make up your own mind. And although our podcasts have their own styles, we're driven by the same curiosity. We both love exploring those stories that make you stop and think, how on earth did this happen?

[00:01:16] How indeed. And they've built up a fantastic catalogue of episodes releasing new stories every week. So if you enjoy today's episode, there's plenty more waiting for you afterwards. And the story we've chosen to share is one that immediately caught our attention. It's about a guy called Anatoly Moskovin, better known as the Dollmaker. The Dollmaker. I think we need a pronunciation check on that one, Adam. Possibly, yes.

[00:01:41] This case takes us obviously to Russia. In 2011, police had been investigating a string of grave desecrations where their inquiries led them to an apartment of a respected historian and linguist named Anatoly Moskovin.

[00:01:58] On paper, he seemed like the least likely suspect. He reportedly spoke 13 languages and spent years researching cemeteries and burial customs and was regarded as an expert in his field. Yeah, but when police searched his apartment, they made one of the most disturbing discoveries in modern true crime.

[00:02:18] What looked like a collection of life-sized dolls turned out to be the preserved remains of young girls that Moskovin had exhumed from local cemeteries, dressed in clothes and kept throughout his home. He believed he was caring for them and according to investigators, even held the belief that one day they could be brought back to life.

[00:02:40] And so, freaks, without further ado, we're handing things over to Frank, Brie and Lynette from the Fringe Beyond Limits for their take on the infamous Dollmaker.

[00:03:24] Welcome to another episode of Fringe... Beyond... Limits. So, how's everyone doing? I don't think that was going to happen. Yeah, no. Who are you? Where am I? Yeah. What are we doing here? This is... I've been kidnapped. Imagination. I've been kidnapped and probed. So, how are you guys doing?

[00:03:53] And returned to sender. What? What? All right. So, how was everyone's holiday season? Yeah? You're sleepy? My sleep schedule's so off. Yeah. It's going to be like another week before I'm back to normal. Mm. All right. Same. Okay. How about you? Yeah. I am... Is Santa good to you? No.

[00:04:23] Never is. But this seasonal depression thing is really hitting me this year. So, I can't wait for April. That's what I'm shooting for. Godspeed. Yeah. Thank you. Godspeed. All right. All right. Well, there is something I do want to tell you guys.

[00:04:50] That my New Year's resolution is going to be to be kinder to the both of you. I know that in the past almost two years of doing this, I can't believe I'm saying that, almost two years, that I play this bit. Right? I mean, it's... And you guys get it. That I'm mean to you and I say mean things and kind of a jerk. And I'm okay with that.

[00:05:20] But I think I want to be kinder. Wait, that's a bit? Yes. Yes. I didn't know that was a bit. I thought it was real. You guys are the worst liars in the world. Because you do it when I'm around, just in person with you. Yeah. Yeah. It's always a bit. It's really not a bit. No, it is. It's a bit. It's always a bit. So, first of all, you guys wouldn't take... It's not a bit. You guys would not take this much... When was it supposed to start? What? My bit? No. You're... To be nice. Oh. With this podcast.

[00:05:50] Not when we're hanging out in person? No. No. No. Just with the podcast. Oh. Yeah. That's one of my ways of getting you guys to do more podcasts. So, yeah. I'm going to try to be kinder, nicer, gentler to you two. Because I love you two. You guys are some of my favorite people. And since we have such a short... Did they steal at you for something? No.

[00:06:20] Not at all. Not at all. But since we have such a short time on this rock with each other, I'm going to try to cherish and make the most of each of our interactions. I think you were abducted. Who is this? So... What to think? Yeah. Well, you know, think what you want. I don't trust you. We'll be on the episode. Yeah. No. We'll be... We're going to do just fine.

[00:06:50] We're going to do just fine here. So... Okay. We'll see how long this lasts. Yeah. I mean, we'll see. Right? I'm not going to... I'm not going to... Lynette and I will have our bets on the side. That's fine. That's fine. Whatever you guys are betting, put me in for double. Okay. Yeah. All right. So, do you guys have any reactions? Anything you'd like to add before we start our topic today? Nope. Hopeful skepticism. Okay. Okay. I like it.

[00:07:20] So, today, we're going to be talking about Anatoly Moschkovin. This guy was a doll maker. That's a dog, right? Yeah. Sure. I think it was the dog that... Sure. Yeah. Yeah. It's the dog that Russia shot up into space. The first animal in space, right? Wasn't that a monkey? It was a dog, though, too. No. Anatolian shepherds, right? I think so. Both, I think. Yeah.

[00:07:50] I mean, I think. I don't know. But, yeah. So, let's get started with Mr. Anatoly. I don't know who the doll maker is. Yeah. No. I've never... I don't think I've heard of this. So, I am... You're in for a treat. Ooh. I like treats. All right. Well, that might get freaked out. But you're in for a treat. Uh-oh. I am excited. Do this. You wanted to do this episode today. Okay. Yeah, that's true. You did pick this one. So...

[00:08:21] All right. So, Anatoly Moschkovin. It just looks shorter. It... You just want to go... You just want to go to sleep. Yeah. A bedtime story. Yeah. Yeah. This... This... No. It will not be a bedtime story. So, Anatoly Moschkovin. The quiet city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Anatoly Moschkovin was known as an eccentric scholar.

[00:08:47] A man of unmatched intellect who spoke 13 languages, wrote extensively on Celtic culture, and had an obsession with cemeteries. To his neighbors, he was peculiar but harmless. A reclusive academic who spent his days writing in his nights wandering graveyards. But behind the locked doors of his small apartment, Moschkovin harbored a chilling secret.

[00:09:15] When police entered his home in 2011, they uncovered 29 mummified corpses of young girls dressed as life-size dolls. What followed was a descent into one of the most bizarre and disturbing criminal cases in modern history. Revealing the dark intersection of genius, delusion, and obsession. Alright, so how is Dreamland looking like for you so far, Lynette? Oh, God.

[00:09:47] What? It sounds like Ed Gein-y. It does. Yeah. The Ed Gein Netflix. Yeah, this is where I did not think where this is going to go. Yeah. So, yeah. Go ahead and watch. Go back in archives and check out our Ed Gein episode. So, his childhood in the city of Gorky, Russia, where the long winters seemed to stretch endlessly, and the air carried the faint tang of industry.

[00:10:14] A peculiar boy named Anatoly Moschkovin grew up. Born on September 1st, 1966, Anatoly was the only child of Yuri and Elvira Moschkovin. Their modest apartment, nestled in one of the city's gray concrete blocks, was always orderly and quiet. Almost too quiet. From an early age, Anatoly was different. He didn't cry often as a baby.

[00:10:41] His mother later recalled, but he also didn't smile much. Instead, he seemed to stare off into the distance, his large, intelligent eyes absorbing the world with an intensity that unsettled even those who loved him. Anatoly's parents were strict but supportive, fostering his natural curiosity. By the time he was five, he was reading fluently not just picture books, but more complex texts that baffled most children his age.

[00:11:10] By seven, he had moved on to histories, encyclopedias, and anything he could find about ancient cultures. He seemed particularly fascinated by tales of burial rites and rituals. His teachers marveled at his intellect, yet his classmates whispered behind his back. Anatoly wasn't like them. While the other children played games and laughed in the schoolyard, he sat alone, reading or scribbling in his notebook.

[00:11:37] If someone tried to talk to him, his answers were often too strange or too serious. Why do you like graveyards so much? A boy once asked him. Anatoly's reply, they're full of stories. People forget the dead, but they never forget you. I'm sorry. Forget the dead. Yeah, I read that right. That's normal. Yeah. When Anatoly was 12, something happened that would mark him forever.

[00:12:07] One day after school, a group of adults in his neighborhood called him over. They were preparing for the funeral of Natasha Petrova, an 11-year-old girl who had died suddenly. In keeping with an old local custom, they believed involving a child in the cemetery would bring good luck to the deceased's spirit. Without explanation, they led Anatoly to Natasha's open casket. The girl's pale face was framed by dark hair.

[00:12:35] Her small hands folded neatly over her chest. She looked peaceful, but something about her stillness sent a chill through him. Then the adults urged him forward. Kiss her, one of them said. That's strange. What? Like. That is a weird custom. I mean, yeah. That's super weird. Like, I could understand if it's like a grandmother, a grandfather, your mother. But, like, this is like a strange girl to him. Like, you know?

[00:13:05] That's so strange. Right. Right. Yeah. Anatoly asked why with his voice shaking. It's tradition. It's for her soul. Reluctantly, Anatoly leaned in. The cold, lifeless touch of Natasha's skin against his lips was unlike anything he had ever felt. It wasn't just the sensation. It was the overwhelming realization of what death meant. She was gone, but she was still there.

[00:13:34] And as he pulled back, he thought he saw her lips move. Or was it his imagination? For weeks afterward, Anatoly dreamed of Natasha. He said she visited him in his sleep, asking him to free her from her grave. He woke up in terror. But part of him felt comforted by her presence. His fascination with death deepened, becoming a fixation. By the time Anatoly entered his teenage years, his life revolved around books, cemeteries, and solitude.

[00:14:05] His favorite pastime was wandering through local graveyards, tracing the engravings and headstones, and imagining the lives of those buried beneath. He started keeping journals, filled with detailed notes about graves he visited, their inscriptions, and even sketches of the sites. His parents noticed his growing preoccupation with death, but they dismissed it as part of his academic interests. After all, Anatoly was a gifted student.

[00:14:32] He was teaching himself languages like Latin, German, even dabbling in ancient Celtic scripts. They believed his hobbies were harmless, the pursuit of an exceptional mind. But Anatoly's fascination was far from harmless. He wasn't just studying graves. He was talking to them. All right, so let me stop there for a sec. What would you guys do? You know, you're at the cemetery visiting a loved one, and you stumble across a 14-year-old

[00:15:00] kid just talking to various headstones and graves. Would you think it was a real boy at first, or would you think... What's that? I said, I can't judge. We do that. Well, yeah, we do that as an investigation to gather evidence. But this kid, I would first look at him like, am I seeing a ghost? And then I would think it's the next serial killer.

[00:15:28] We should put him away now. Can I out? Yeah. So I feel closer to the dead than to the living he once confided to a family acquaintance. They don't judge. They listen. At school, Anatoly became increasingly isolated. He wasn't bullied. Exactly. Most children found him too strange to bother with. But his classmates avoided him. He rarely spoke in class unless it was to answer a question.

[00:15:56] And even then, his answers were so verbose and academic that they left everyone, including his teachers, baffled. He had no close friends. The other children spent their afternoons playing football or hanging out in the park. Anatoly spent his exploring old cemeteries, lying down on graves, imagining he could hear the whispers of the dead. His loneliness didn't seem to bother him. If anything, he embraced it.

[00:16:23] The dead don't betray you, he wrote in one of his journals. They don't leave you. They are faithful. Even as a child, Anatoly displayed a peculiar habit. He collected dolls. Small, porcelain figures he would find at flea markets or abandoned in trash heaps. He said they reminded him of something, though he couldn't quite explain what. That would be another clue right there. That he's just a serial killer? Porcelain dolls. Those things are kind of creepy. Yeah.

[00:16:54] Especially when you run into the middle of the night. Yeah. Do they creep you out? Yeah. Their eyes follow you. You think so? Yeah. Do you think that maybe you're just a little bit of a scaredy cat? No. Okay. Maybe. Maybe. No. I mean, you want an experience, but you stay away from things that scare you. That doesn't make sense. I know. I contradict my whole life as a contradictory-ness.

[00:17:24] That's another Bree-ism. Pretty much. Mark that down, ladies. He... I just can't. That's just too funny. So he also developed a strange... I promise. I want to see how far I can push you. I'm being nice. I'm just saying that's strange. You know, I'm being honest. I'm not saying mean words.

[00:17:51] He also developed a strange belief that the dead weren't truly gone. He immersed himself in folklore about resurrection and ancient rituals, particularly Celtic traditions that spoke of life beyond the grave. To Anatoly, death was a doorway, not an ending. His notebooks from this time are filled with cryptic passages. Like, the body is only a shell. It must be cared for until the spirit returns. Or, they are not gone.

[00:18:20] They are waiting for someone to listen. By the time Anatoly left for university, he had already become a mystery to those who knew him. His brilliant mind and obsessive focus on death set him apart in ways no one could understand. While other young men dreamed of love, careers, or travel, Anatoly dreamed of graves and of those who lay beneath them. What no one realized was that this boy, who had spent his childhood walking among the dead,

[00:18:49] would one day try to bring them home. In adulthood, Anatoly Moskvin's was shaped by the same... What? I said, ew, there must be a delay. I don't know why. Yeah, I think so too, but that's okay. It was a little delay. All right. So, Anatoly Moskvin's adulthood was shaped by the same shadows that had loomed over his childhood. His obsession with the dead did not wane as he grew older. It deepened.

[00:19:15] Transforming him from an eccentric scholar into a man feared and reviled for his grotesque deeds. By the time Anatoly entered his 20s, he had earned a reputation as a gifted scholar. Enrolling at Nizni Nogorid State University, he excelled in philosophy. I'm sorry, no. What is that? Philology? Philology? The study of languages and historical texts.

[00:19:42] His particular interests, ancient cultures, burial rituals, and Celtic history were niche, but they set him apart from his peers. Professors admired his intellect and his fluency in multiple languages, allowed him to translate rare and arcane texts. Despite his academic brilliance, Anatoly's social life remained non-existent. Do you guys remember a time that your social life was non-existent? It still is.

[00:20:12] Every time we hang out. All right. That's fantastic. I want to thank you for the compliments. His colleagues found him odd and unsettling with a peculiar air of detachment. He rarely attended social events or engaged in casual conversation, preferring instead to immerse himself in his studies. Anatoly's fascination with death continued to dominate his life.

[00:20:39] He frequently visited cemeteries, not as a mourner, but as a researcher. To him, they were libraries of forgotten stories, places where history and humanity intertwined. The dead tell the truest tales, he once wrote. They are honest because they have nothing left to lose. In his thirties, Anatoly became a prolific writer. He authored articles, essays, and even books on burial practices, folklore, and the occult.

[00:21:08] His work was widely regarded as scholarly, albeit highly unconventional. Local newspapers sometimes published his pieces, though his macabre focus earned him a reputation as an eccentric. By day, Anatoly was a respected academic, wandering cemeteries with notebooks and cameras in hand. By night, he poured over ancient texts, seeking to uncover the secrets of life, death, and resurrection.

[00:21:36] He filled his home with books, maps, and journals, transforming it into a shrine to his obsessions. One colleague later remarked, he wasn't just studying death, he was living it. As Anatoly moved into his forties, his life became increasingly isolated. He never married, never pursued romantic relationships, and never formed close friendships.

[00:22:01] His parents, aging and unaware of the depths of his obsessions, remained his only consistent companions. He spent most of his time alone, dividing his days between cemeteries and his cluttered apartment. He began to develop peculiar habits that alarmed even those who knew him. He spoke of hearing voices, not of the living, but of the dead. He claimed that there are spirits of children buried in forgotten graves, calling out to him, begging for his help.

[00:22:31] He described these voices with a strange tenderness, as though they were his own children. At some point, Anatoly's obsession took a darker turn. No longer content to document graves, he began to believe it was his duty to rescue the dead. He fixated on the graves of young girls, whom he imagined were lonely and abandoned. In his mind, their spirits were trapped, yearning for someone to care for them. Driven by this belief, Anatoly began exhuming bodies.

[00:23:01] He didn't see this as a crime, but as an act of compassion. He would later claim that he was saving the girls from neglect and cold, giving them a new home where they could be loved. He developed a methodical process for his grim work. Under the cover of night, he dug up graves and transported the bodies back to his apartment. Once there, he mummified them, using a mixture of household chemicals, baking soda, and salt.

[00:23:29] He wrapped their limbs in cloth to preserve their shape and dressed them in bright clothes, dresses, tights, shoes, and even wigs. He painted faces on the mummified remains, sometimes inserting glass eyes or buttons to give them a lifelike appearance. In his mind, these were no longer corpses. They were his daughters. For nearly a decade, Anatoly lived in his bizarre world, surrounded by his grotesque creations.

[00:23:58] He treated the mummified bodies as though they were alive. He gave them names, celebrated their birthdays, and spoke to them as if they could hear him. He even placed music boxes inside some of the bodies so they would play lullabies when moved. That's creepy. Ew. That's... So... Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

[00:24:28] I have lots of questions. How did he get away with having all these bodies for so long in his apartment? Like, I'm assuming even if it's... How big is this apartment? Right. I mean, even if it's like a three-bedroom, I mean, there's still so much limited space to, what, 29 they said they found? Who knows? And I'm curious.

[00:24:56] This is more for my own fucked up mind. Like, is he still a virgin? Or did he have relations with some of these corpses? Like, just weak... He said children, so hopefully he kept it PG. I hope so, too. Let's hope so. I mean, he did kiss a dead girl when he was younger, so that might be where his fascination comes from. Something broke in his brain. Right. Well, you know... You came from one little kiss?

[00:25:26] You don't... Well, here's what's interesting, is that a lot of mental health is both biological and... What's the word I'm looking for? And nurture. So it's both nurture and nature. So you can have some sort of imbalance that's not triggered until an actual event happens in your life. So I'm wondering if that event of him kissing that dead girl

[00:25:56] sparked the mental illness of him being obsessed with death and these dead bodies. Ow. Are you okay? I hit my hand. I was doing a hand gesture. You know you can't see me. She's so frustrated at that thought. Yeah. Jeez. She punched her mic. See, she had a triggering event.

[00:26:26] It was not me that triggered her. Yet. This time. Yeah. So what... I know you guys have thoughts right now. So what are your thoughts so far? It's purely scientific based. I think... These are such a delay. I'm sorry. Yeah. You guys are like sitting there staring at me. Yeah, we are. That's all I got. Okay. That's all you got. Okay.

[00:26:55] He's a scientific base and I need to know how to explain it. Okay. No, he was taking care of them from a purely scientific point of view. Okay. I'm going to stick with that. He's not a creep. He just... He's practicing ancient practices of embalming and mummification and stuff. But he put music box in their body. Okay. Well... All right. Just ignore that part. Hey. He's modernizing ancient invention. I want... Okay.

[00:27:24] Playing off of that, when I die, I want you to put a squeaker in my butthole. So... So every time you slap my ass, it squeaks. Who's going to slap your ass? I don't know. You know, who would have thought of someone digging up bodies and turning them into dolls? So, you know, weirder things have happened. I did answer my own question about who would smack your ass. That would be my husband. Yes, he would. Yes, he would. So...

[00:27:53] To hear it squeak. Yeah. So I want a squeaker in my butthole just for that. All right. So... Do you want the kind of squeaker that makes a squeak when the wind goes in and the wind goes out? Yes. Yes. Okay. Sounds like a wee-woo, wee-woo. Like that kind. Yeah. Not just a honk-honk. No, no. I want it to sound like an ambulance coming down the road. Yes. Okay. Not like aruga, aruga. No, no. That's...

[00:28:21] That is way... Way too... Aggressive? Question mark? Okay. He's just a little mousy-speak. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't want to startle you. Or like... Or like a clown... A clown nose. You know... Honk-honk. So... Anatoly... The leader told authorities that... I loved them as I would my own children. I cared for them when no one else would. Despite the horrifying nature of his actions,

[00:28:51] Anatoly insisted that he had never harmed anyone. He claimed his motives were pure and that he had only wanted to keep the girls safe until science or magic could bring them back to life. By 2011, local authorities were investigating a series of grave desecrations in the Nizni-Nogorod region. Over 40 graves had been disturbed, most of them belonging to young girls.

[00:29:19] Investigators followed a trail of evidence that eventually led to Anatoly Moskvin. The morning of November 2, 2011, was crisp and cold, with a light frost blanketing the streets of Nizni-Nogorod. To Anatoly Moskvin, it was an ordinary day. He sat at his cluttered desk, pen in hand, working on yet another journal entry about the lives of his daughters. Around him, the room seemed alive.

[00:29:45] Not with people, but with the eerie presence of 29 life-size dolls, their glass eyes glinting in the pale light. Investigators had been piecing together a puzzle for months. Reports of grave desecrations, mostly of young girls, had flooded in from families across the region. Local cemeteries bore signs of tampering.

[00:30:08] With caskets disturbed and headstones displaced, forensic evidence suggested the thefts were not random, but carefully planned. Eventually, a trail of clues led them to Anatoly Moskvin, a man known for his academic expertise on burial practices and his unusual affinity for graveyards. Initially, Anatoly was not a suspect but a potential witness.

[00:30:34] However, inconsistencies in his statements and his peculiar behavior raised suspicions. A warrant was issued to search his apartment. When the police knocked on Anatoly's door that morning, he greeted them with a calm, almost bemused expression. Dressed in his usual plain clothes, he seemed unbothered by their presence, even offering them tea. The officers politely declined and began their search.

[00:31:00] It didn't take long for their discovery to turn the apartment into a crime scene. As the officers entered Anatoly's living room, they froze. At first glance, it appeared to be filled with large dolls, neatly arranged and dressed in colorful clothing. Some sat on chairs, others reclined in couches, but as one officer moved closer, the truth became horrifyingly clear. These weren't dolls. They were mummified human remains.

[00:31:27] The air was heavy, with a strange chemical smell, a mix of preservatives Anatoly had used in his macabre craft. The corpses were so meticulously disguised that they almost looked lifelike. Their faces had been painted with makeup, and Anatoly had carefully inserted glass eyes into their sockets. Some wore wigs, while others had their hair styled into braids. How long do you think it took them?

[00:31:57] Can I just interject here for a second? Yeah, absolutely. A lot of people pay good money for taxidermy. Yes. Just saying. Yes. He might have been doing the family a favor. People do it with their dog. Why is this any different? It's different. Joe Diffie, prop me up beside the jukebox. Yeah. Well, I'll tell you what.

[00:32:22] If you guys want to taxidermy me, put me in the looking for my keys pose. You know? I want to... With the squeaker in your butt, right? With the squeaker in my butt, yeah. I don't know of it. You know? So, what position would you guys want to be put in if you guys were taxidermied? Yeah. Hmm. Don't look at me, no! It's got to be something with me, like, talking with my hand shape.

[00:32:52] Okay, so you would like the authentic Italian pose. And Bree would like the perpetual being scared. You can put some strings on my hands, too, if you want to. Oh, so you want to be like a marionette. Sure, why not? Lynette, marionette. Oh, there we go. Play on words. I like it. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:33:18] And Brianna's going to be in a just constant state of... Feared pose. Yeah. Feared. All right. Feared. Yeah. Yeah. The police counted 29 bodies in total. Each one a young girl aged between 3 and 15. When confronted, Anatoly showed no signs of panic or remorse. Instead, he spoke in a calm, matter-of-fact tone, as though explaining an innocent hobby.

[00:33:48] He admitted to exhuming the bodies over a span of nearly 10 years, describing the process with the precision of a scientist. I brought them home to give them love and care, he said. They were abandoned in the cold earth. I was saving them. Anatoly explained that he would visit cemeteries at night, selecting graves of young girls he felt were calling out to him. He claimed to hear their voices, begging for rescue.

[00:34:15] Once exhumed, he took the bodies back to his apartment, where he painstakingly mummified them using baking soda and salt. He wrapped their limbs in cloth to preserve their shape and dressed them in clothes he had purchased or sewn himself. He insisted that he never harm the bodies. I saw myself as their father, he explained to the investigators. I gave them new life.

[00:34:41] As the police continued their search, they uncovered Anatoly's extensive collection of journals and notes. These meticulously detailed the lives and deaths of the girls he had exhumed. He knew their birthdays, favorite toys, and even hobbies. Information he had gathered from obituaries and grave markers. The journals also contained chilling passages that revealed his beliefs. The dead are not truly gone, he wrote.

[00:35:08] They are waiting for someone to care for them until they can return. In addition to the journals, police found maps of local cemeteries, with certain graves marked in red. These were the ones he planned to visit next. During his interrogation, Anatoly remained eerily cooperative, answering questions with unsettling clarity. This is just so strange.

[00:35:31] He's just so calm and matter-of-fact and this is like me collecting baseball cards. Creepy, creepy. I mean, if that's the same way he was like when he was younger too though. He was just matter-of-fact, calm about the dead when he was like eight years old. Yeah, I agree. But, you know, he's not talking or just visiting graves.

[00:36:00] He is kidnapping these bodies and dressing them up. Yeah. Do you think he kisses them goodnight? I wouldn't put it past them. I'm happy to hear that Lynette was right and that he didn't do any bad things to them. So, that's a plus. Yes. When asked why he chose young girls, he replied,

[00:36:29] because they are pure. They are the most innocent and deserving of love. He also expressed frustration with the legal system, criticizing the lack of care shown to the deceased. Their families abandoned them. The cemeteries let them rot. I gave them purpose. Investigators pressed him on his ultimate intentions. Did he truly believe he could bring the dead back to life? Anatoly's response was chillingly sincere.

[00:36:57] One day, science will catch up. Or perhaps magic will return. Until then, I will keep them safe. Anatoly Moskman was charged with desecration of graves and abuse of human remains. Crimes that carried severe penalties. However, psychiatric evaluations revealed that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He was deemed legally insane and therefore unfit to stand trial.

[00:37:25] Instead, he was committed to a psychiatric hospital for indefinite treatment. So this is one of those times where I do think he was legally insane. Because I think we've talked about this before. The definition of legally insane is not knowing that you were doing something wrong. And he truly didn't think he was doing anything wrong. Yeah, in a way he didn't. Because he was just taking care of them.

[00:37:54] And he didn't think it was against the law. He didn't think that it was not normal. To him, it was normal. Even though it's batshit crazy. But that also is another point in him being insane. He's just misunderstood. Understood. I'd write to him in prison. You know what? I mean, he might still be alive. You know, I've often wondered about being like a pen pal.

[00:38:22] And wondering if I could keep up with it. You should do that. Be a pen pal to someone in prison right now. Like did really horrible crimes. And just update us on podcasts. So here's what's funny. Is that I want to say a few months ago. Like I love looking for just weird shit. So I was on Facebook. And I did that. I just looked up like jail or prison pen pales.

[00:38:47] There is so many groups that women are looking. It's mostly women. There are some guys. But women looking for someone to connect with that are in jail. And like it's so. I have a thing for bad boys. No, no, no, no, no. The women are in jail. I know. Oh, the women are in jail. Yes. And they're. So the women are looking for. No, the women are in jail. And they're looking for a pen pal. Because they're lonely.

[00:39:17] The sugar daddy. Dude, it's just. The commissary daddy. Right. Pretty much. Like I'm sitting there. I'm like, what the hell? And like their friends or family puts up these posts. I'm in these groups and say, hey, this is my friend. Or this is my cousin. Or this is my whoever. You know. And shares like pictures of when they were not in jail. So, of course, they all look great. And I'm like, they can't look the same way right now. That's just. You know. Maybe when they get out and clean themselves up.

[00:39:47] For sure. But I'm like, this is. This is weird. See, I would do that. But put up their mugshot. Oh, that'd be awesome. I'm sure. You know what? We should. We should all befriend one. Guy or girl. Does matter. And just see what happens. No. No? All right. I didn't think. I didn't think that was convincing at all. No. No. I threw a dart at the board. I missed.

[00:40:16] Sign Brian up or Steve up. Steve. Listen. Sign neither of them up. Yes. Steve. You have to do this. And you have to give us all the correspondence. Because I want to know exactly how crazy some of these are. And if you are listening. Otherwise we're going to hook you up. And if. Let's get you knowing. Yeah. And if you are listening from this from jail. Send an email over to fringebeyondlimits at gmail.com. Let me know. Let me know if you need a commissary daddy.

[00:40:44] And Frank will write to you and send you toe pickers. I will. And a squeaker in my butt. I'll send you. I'll send you just audio. All right. So the arrest of Anatoly Moskovin sent shockwaves through Nizhny Novgorod. A city unaccustomed to tales of such grotesque horror.

[00:41:13] As news of his crime spread. It wasn't just the macabre details that haunted the community. It was the deep abiding grief of families who had unknowingly endured a second darker loss. After his arrest. Anatoly was sent to a psychiatric facility where he underwent evaluations to determine his mental state. A team of psychiatrists diagnosed him with paranoid schizophrenia. Citing his delusions of hearing voices and his belief that he was saving the dead from loneliness.

[00:41:43] The court deemed him unfit to stand trial. A decision that outraged many of the victim's families. Within the sterile white walls of the psychiatric hospital, Anatoly remained eerily calm. He spent his days reading books and writing, just as he had in his apartment. He showed little understanding of why his actions were considered wrong, maintaining that his motives had been pure. I was their guardian, he told one psychiatrist. I loved them when no one else would.

[00:42:13] His writings, confiscated from his apartment and examined during his treatment, revealed an elaborate world he had constructed for himself. In his mind, the mummified girls were his daughters, each with her own personality and story. He wrote imaginary letters to them, planned their birthdays, and even composed lullabies for them. Anatoly expressed no desire to escape his confinement. When asked if he regretted his actions, his response was chillingly detached.

[00:42:44] Why would I regret saving them? They were alone, and I gave them a family. For the families of the girls, Anatoly had exhumed the revelation of his crimes reopened old wounds. Many had spent years grieving the loss of their daughters, believing they rested peacefully in their graves. Learning that their remains had been stolen, desecrated, and turned into grotesque dolls was an unthinkable violation.

[00:43:10] Some families refused to speak publicly, their pain too raw. Others gave anguished interviews to local media, expressing their fury and heartbreak. He stole her from us twice, one mother said through tears. First, when she died, and again when he took her body. That's not really fair. Like, he didn't kill them. Yeah, that's not fair. Yeah.

[00:43:35] Like, I could understand her saying, the mother saying, you know, she was taken from us twice. That, agree. Yeah. Yeah. But then again, you know, maybe I'd feel the same way if I had a child that passed away and then her body was stolen. I mean, who knows?

[00:44:21] All right. And I'm going to get to the point. But then again, you know, we're going to get to it. And then, you know, I'm going to get to it.

[00:44:49] I'm going to get to it. with demonstrators holding signs that read Justice for the Dead and No Mercy for Moskvin. For many, the idea that Anatoly might one day be released was unthinkable. Despite the public's anger, Anatoly remained largely unaware of the uproar surrounding him. His life in the hospital was quiet, almost monotonous. He continued to write obsessively, filling notebooks with theories about resurrection,

[00:45:19] musings on life after death, and detailed accounts of his daughters. He also engaged in therapy sessions. Though his process was slow, over the years journalists and documentarians attempted to gain access to Anatoly, hoping to understand the mind of the man behind such heinous acts. While he occasionally granted interviews, his demeanor remained unnervingly calm. In one interview he said,

[00:45:45] I regret the pain I caused the families, but I do not regret what I did for the girls. I only regret being stopped. So this is, I mean, this tells me even more that he doesn't think he was doing anything wrong. You know, which just adds... He's a brilliant individual. And if he can read all these other languages... Oh, sorry. No, go ahead. Did I cut you off? Oh. The delay is annoying. I apologize. That's okay.

[00:46:14] No, but like, what if in his ability to read all those texts and all these languages, he stumbled across something and he knows something that we don't. I mean, a lot of the geniuses we all think are crazy until enough time has gone past and they're proven right. They're eccentric and weird and odd and... But they're smart and they know things. Do you guys ever see... Did you ever do the movie A Beautiful Mind? Yep. I had to do it for class. My psychology class.

[00:46:45] Miss Lynette? Yes. Did you do that movie? Yes, a long time ago. Okay. So, again, a genius, you know, going crazy, right? I wonder if maybe they're not going crazy, to your point, Lynette.

[00:47:03] Maybe they have figured out how to raise their vibration so much that they are living in this world where they can see things that we can't and know things and gain access to things that we can't.

[00:47:20] And instead of them, you know, them living to us in this fantasy world they made up, maybe their reality is real and true and they think that magic is going to bring these people back to life. And then we put them in institutions and dumb them down, drug them up and bring them to a lower vibration so that they fit into our little paradigm. Right. Yeah.

[00:47:48] I mean, I do think, though, that there is mental health needs out there and there are people who are mentally ill that need help. I don't know. This is not a broad brush across the entire spectrum of mental illness. This is just a, you know, one and two off that I'm referring to.

[00:48:09] So I just want to kind of make that clear so people don't think just saying all people who have mental illness are vibrating at this higher vibrational frequency. All right. All right. His statements offered little comfort to the families, many of whom viewed them as further proof of his twisted worldview. For the families, the pain did not end with Anatoly's arrest.

[00:48:35] Many struggled with feelings of guilt and helplessness, questioning how such a violation could have gone unnoticed for so long. Support groups formed, allowing parents to share their grief and attempt to rebuild their lives. Some families chose to share their stories publicly, hoping to raise awareness about the need for tighter security at cemeteries. Others turned to religion or community gatherings, seeking solace in shared rituals.

[00:49:03] Today, Anatoly Moskvin remains confined to a psychiatric hospital, where he is periodically evaluated for release. Each time his case is reviewed, the families of his victims rally to ensure that he remains behind locked doors. The city of Nizhny Nogorod has tried to move on, but the scars left by Anatoly's crimes linger.

[00:49:24] For those who lost their daughters, the pain is a constant reminder of the fragility of peace and the darkness that can lurk in the most unexpected places. The case of Anatoly Moskvin casts a long shadow over Russia, sparking debates about cemetery security, mental health treatment, and the boundaries of justice.

[00:49:45] While the cemetery dollmaker remained confined to a psychiatric hospital, the ripples of his crimes reached far beyond the graves he desecrated, forcing a nation to confront uncomfortable truths. After the extent of Moskvin's crimes became public, a glaring oversight was revealed. The lack of adequate security at cemeteries. In many parts of Russia, burial grounds were poorly monitored, with minimal fencing and no surveillance.

[00:50:15] This allowed Anatoly to operate undetected for nearly a decade, exuding bodies from graves in broad daylight or under the cover of night. In response, several municipalities, including Nizhny Nogorod, introduced stricter regulations for cemetery management. Key areas of cemeteries were equipped with surveillance systems to deter grave tampering.

[00:50:41] Security guards and local police were assigned to patrol burial grounds, particularly during night hours. Families were encouraged to use stronger materials for headstones and markers, making graves more challenging to tamper with. Educational efforts aimed to inform citizens about the science of grave tampering and how to... It's like a lot of extra work because of one dude. I agree. I agree. That is... I mean, if this is not the classic over...

[00:51:09] How many other people are running around and... Hey! You never know. There could be a club. This seems like the classic overreaction of a minor issue. It's not like... Right. You know, it's not like this is a... Had your kids, had your wife, had your brain. Wait, they're dead? I'll hide them still. But, yeah, this is... This, yeah, this is a huge overreaction.

[00:51:40] But, you know, it's... That's Russia for you. I don't know. I don't know what to say. Educational efforts aimed to inform citizens about the science of grave tampering and how to report suspicious activity. Despite these changes, many families remained distrustful of the system, feeling that no amount of security could undo the violations they had endured.

[00:52:04] Anatoly's diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and his subsequent commitment to a psychiatric hospital highlighted significant gaps in Russia's mental health system. Critics argue that Anatoly's illness might have been identified and treated earlier had there been more robust support structures in place. The years following his arrest, mental health advocates pushed for reforms. You know... I don't know what sort of precursor could have prevented that. Yeah.

[00:52:33] Nobody is able to study ancient burial practices and... Right. Yeah. Things like that. Yeah, I mean... Exodermy, you can't take those classes anymore. You're going to use it for bad things. Right. And, you know, like, yeah, I get that. You know, I go back and forth with this in my head. Like, I get what he was doing was wrong. I agree it was wrong. You know, and the families were distraught and upset. You know, but...

[00:53:01] You know, was it really that bad? I mean, I don't... Lack of a better word or term. No, I feel too. You know, like, I'm not trying to be a... I don't care what you do. Yeah, right. When I'm dead, oh, I don't care. You know? Right. I'm not here. No. Sign me up for a program where... I don't know. I... People, people like molesting me. I don't know. I don't know.

[00:53:30] I'm just trying to... You and when they... I'm going to put you in the landfill. Yeah, that's fine. Because you're trash. Yeah. I'm good. Oh! Oh, snap. That's good. I'm fine. I'm okay with this. Squeaky, squeaky. Yeah. Just squeak me all the way down to the pound. You know? Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak. Sounds like a... Like a clown walking.

[00:54:00] Hospitals and... Squeaker's supposed to be in your nose, not your butt. Well, you know. Wasn't there a cartoon where the person, like, accidentally ate a squeaker toy, and every single time they walk, that's all you heard? I think it was also, like, in a show or a movie at one point, too. I think there's many different scenarios that happened in... But yes. So it wasn't an original thought. Okay. Well, I mean... I mean,

[00:54:30] I don't really have too many original thoughts, guys. You guys know this. It could be the first original thought for the 2026 year. Yeah, probably not. Not for me. So hospitals and clinics receive additional resources to improve diagnosis and treatment capabilities. Programs were introduced to identify individuals displaying early signs of severe mental illness, particularly those with obsessive or delusional tendencies.

[00:55:00] Efforts to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness encouraged more people to seek help without fear of judgment. While these initiatives represented progress, they also sparked debate about how to balance individual rights with public safety. Could Anatoly's actions have been prevented without violating his privacy or autonomy? The question remained unanswered. For the families of Anatoly's victims, the legal outcome of his case was deeply unsatisfying. Though he had confessed to exhuming

[00:55:29] and mummifying 29 young girls, his legal insanity designation meant that he avoided prison. Instead, he was confined to a psychiatric hospital where it would be evaluated periodically for release. This ruling led to widespread outrage. Many argued that Anatoly's intelligence and meticulous planning demonstrated clear awareness of his actions. families called for reforms to the legal system. Well, see, I disagree with that

[00:55:59] because if he was put in prison, then that would be a crime against him because he obviously doesn't belong there under these circumstances. And also, too, he still knew what he was doing, yes, but like we mentioned before, he didn't know it was wrong. Right. Just because he knew what he was doing doesn't mean he wasn't, like, in that mental capacity. Right. So, yeah. Advocates pushed for more rigorous assessments to ensure that those who committed heinous crimes

[00:56:28] could not evade justice through psychiatric diagnosis. That's stupid. Proposals were made to prevent individuals like Anatoly from being released even if their mental health improved. Families demanded more information about high psychiatric hospitals determined whether a patient was fit for release. really, they want to know more information and how it's determined, like, they would understand. Right. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like,

[00:56:59] so, like, this goes back to some of the discussions I had about certain vaccines. And people wanted, like, everything that's in them. And that's fine. I agree that we should know that. But my argument to them was, would you truly understand what everything in there is? You know what I mean? Like, I definitely think that all the information should be disclosed, 100%. But, like, would you be able to

[00:57:27] assess and determine if that is something that's needed in a shot or not? Does that make sense? Yeah. I don't think she wants to answer you. Okay. Though some of these reforms were enacted, others stalled due to concerns about human rights violations. I'm not a Google ingredients. I understand. I, listen, I understand that.

[00:57:57] I love her delay. It's just, it comes at the most. I know. I get that. But my, just my point being is that we're not medically trained. If you are, that's a different story. You know? Well, I don't know if doctors are medically trained either because they don't. They don't know? I mean, they went. They don't know. You go into a doctor's office and they're like, I don't know. What's wrong with you? Just Google it. Go to this doctor. I don't know.

[00:58:26] Go to this doctor. I don't know. Go to this doctor. So, I, I've stopped doing that. I don't Google shit anymore when it comes to medicine or, or, or health treatments. I go to the, to the doctor and they're like, well, what's going on? I'm like, well, you fucking tell me. I came to you. I'm paying you money. Let's figure this out. I don't want to fit. I don't want we to figure this out. I want you to figure this out. I agree. I agree with that. Lynette. I'm on, I'm on your side. Mental hospital. Yeah.

[00:58:56] I mean, agreed. And that's why for the past two months I've been in, we haven't recorded an episode because I was in a mental hospital. I was. You had a room and a huggy shirt? Yeah. Thunder buddy jacket? Thunder buddy jacket. Yeah. Anatoly's case remained a flashpoint for debates about the balance between justice, mental health treatment, and public safety. Anatoly Moskvin's crimes also left a mark on Russian culture, inspiring a wave of artistic and literary works.

[00:59:26] Writers, filmmakers, and playwrights grappled with the case, exploring its themes of loneliness, obsession, and the thin line between genius and madness. One particularly haunting play, The Dollmaker's Lament, portrayed Anatoly as a tragic figure torn between his brilliance and his delusions. While some audiences found the portrayal sympathetic, others saw it as an affront to the victims and their families. Books and documentaries about the case became bestsellers

[00:59:56] with titles like The Cemetery Scholar and The Dolls of Nizhny Novgorod, delving into Anatoly's life and crimes. These works further fueled public fascination with the case, though they often reignited pain for the families involved. As of today, Anatoly Moskvin remains confined to a psychiatric hospital. Every few years his case is reviewed to determine whether he possesses a continued threat to society. Each time the families

[01:00:26] of his victims mobilized, submitting petitions and speaking out to ensure he remains behind locked doors. One mother whose daughter's body was among those desecrated summed up the enduring pain. He didn't just steal our children's bodies. He stole our peace, our ability to grieve. That's a wound that will never heal. The case continues to serve as a grim reminder of the need for vigilance, compassion, and accountability in all aspects of society.

[01:00:54] From mental health care to the sanctity of burial grounds. The story of Anatoly Moskvin is a chilling reminder of how intellect and obsession can intertwine to create unimaginable horrors. Despite his claims of love and care for the young girls he exhumed, his actions violated the sanctity of life and death, leaving a trail of grief and outrage in their wake. confined to a psychiatric hospital, Moskvin remains an enigma,

[01:01:24] a man whose brilliance was eclipsed by his delusions. His case continues to haunt the collective memory, a stark cautionary tale of the dangers lurking beneath seemingly benign eccentricity. I can't say that word. Can someone say that for me? Nope. Eccentricities. There we go. Yep. Yeah. There you go. Yeah. Sometimes, you know, my tongue just gets tied up. Were you drinking your slush? Don't want to know. No,

[01:01:53] I've not had a slushie since. Is that near your tongue like Misty says all the time? No. No. No. Well, that was definitely an interesting story. Who wants to go to graveyard? Yeah, I'll go. But I want to figure out where he's at and reach out and see if we can do an interview with him. Does he speak English? That's the question. he speaks 13 languages. I would assume Is English one of them? I would assume one of them would be English. It's one of the more

[01:02:23] popular languages spoken in the world. You would think. Listen, I'm speculating, but I'm playing the odds. You can work on reaching options. Okay, I'll do that. What are your final thoughts, Bree? I don't think you're allowed to talk to anybody in Russia. You might get arrested. Really? Is it? Why would that be? You can't go there. I can go there if I want. You can't tell me how to live my life. You can't tell me what to do, not my mom. Well, you can't fly to

[01:02:52] cute... Okay, Cartman. Say what I want. That's my pie. That's my pie. So, Bree, what are your final thoughts son, Mr. Anatoly Moskman? I think he's a cool dude. Yeah, you'd be hanging out with him? Except I wouldn't hang out with him with the dolls around, but yeah. Yeah, so would you go over to his house for dinner?

[01:03:22] Again, not if there were dolls there, but I'll hang out with him, and he can tell me about his stories about the dolls. All right, I'm setting up. You can show me pictures, but I don't want to be in the same room as him. I'm going to set up a blind date now. I'm going to send you to the mental hospital. on a date with the doll maker. Yeah. Anything else, Bree, besides you would date him? I never said I would date him. Yes, you did. No, you said you would set me up on a date. Yeah, and you didn't say no,

[01:03:52] so silence means yes. he looks like. Oh, if he's got a six-pack, she is going, she's buying a ticket to Russia tomorrow. I can tell you that right now. Oh, you guys, you kids. Oh, children. Well, Miss Lynette, what are your parting thoughts on Mr. Moskvin?

[01:04:22] I think, I feel sorry for the victims or the parents of the victims. That's obviously, that does suck, right? But I'm also kind of torn between, you know, ancient Egypt, practiced these sort of, I mean, not music boxes. Okay, I get it. The music box is desecration, but the mummification is like a cultural thing. So I don't know. I just,

[01:04:52] it's an interesting story that will keep me up at night. Yeah. Especially if I hear squeakers in music boxes. Yeah, that's true. Frank's going to send you squeakers in music box notes. Here's a question for you. If you were to put a music box inside my body, where would the winding thing stick out of nipples? Nipples. I love it. That's fantastic. I was

[01:05:22] thinking. A titty twister? Yeah, I was thinking more like my pee hole. Exactly. Ew. That delay was perfectly on that. Well, yeah, that's true. That's true. All right. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I feel horrible for the families because, I mean, they are right. They do have to relive this horrible event again and be re-traumatized. Like they're re-burying

[01:05:52] their child again after the first time. It's, you're going through it all over again, like just the mental stuff that they're going through. Right. But if you can somehow separate the family, like was he really hurting anyone? Like he wasn't, like this wasn't even like a fetish to where it was like a sexual thing. Like if it was a sexual thing, that's where I would draw the line, you know, but yeah, he was truly

[01:06:22] caring for something he thought needed caring for. Again, he, I think he don't envy the court. Yeah, no, not at all. But I do think it was correct to put him in a psychiatric facility, even for life. That's fine. But I just don't think he belonged in jail or prison. So, well, if, if you guys have mummified

[01:06:52] dead bodies and have them as dolls in your house, go ahead and write us an email. Tell us about it. Fringe beyond limits at gmail.com. Go ahead, like, share, follow. We appreciate you guys listening. And my name is Frank. I'm Brie. Lynette. And you've been listening to Fringe Beyond Limits.