Anatoly Nikolaevich Biryukov (, 18 February 1939 – 24 February 1979), known as The Baby Hunter (), was a

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

convicted for the killing of five

babies In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to juveniles of ...

in the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

area between September and October 1977.А. И. Ракитин, "«Социализм не порождает преступности...» (серийная преступность в СССР: попытка историко-криминалистического анализа)", 2008-2009, web page
5
t

web site "Загадочные преступления прошлого" (murders.ru), retrieved 2013-8-5

Background

Anatoly Nikolaevich Biryukov was born on 18 February 1939 in

Lopasnya The Lopasnya () is a river in Moscow Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Oka. It is 108 km in length, with a drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, ...

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(present-day

Chekhov, Moscow Oblast Chekhov () is a town and the administrative center of Chekhovsky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Population: 56,000 (1985). It was previously known as ''Lopasnya'' (until 1954). History Originally named Lopasnya (), after the Lopasnya ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

). His father, Nikolai Biryukov, had been decorated a

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and served as a

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of the

Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...

. Biryukov was married with children.

Murders

Biryukov kidnapped and murdered his first victim on 16 September 1977, when he stole a stroller that had been left briefly unattended in front of an

infant formula Infant formula, also called baby formula, simply formula (American English), formula milk, baby milk, or infant milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, ...

store on Marshal Biryuzov Street in

. Later that day, the missing stroller was found empty and the baby was found dead in the hallway of an apartment building on the same street. Three days later Biryukov kidnapped his second victim, a three-month-old girl, when he seized a stroller in front of the Children's World store on Prospekt Mira. The authorities began to suspect that they had a possible serial perpetrator, and launched one of the largest operations in Moscow police history looking for the missing baby. On October 17, the body of Biryukov's second victim was found in a

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

near Mamyrov, a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

on the outskirts of Moscow. She showed signs of having suffered

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

before death.

Arrest and conviction

On 24 October 1977, Biryukov attempted a kidnapping in

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

, a city south of Moscow city in

. In the aftermath of the attempt, he was chased after by citizens who later described him to the investigators, leading to Biryukov's arrest. Three additional infant victims are attributed to Biryukov, believed to have been committed before his arrest. In 1978, Biryukov was sentenced to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

for the five murders. Later while in detention, he attempted to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

. The sentence was appealed to the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, but Biryukov was executed by

firing squad Firing may refer to: * Dismissal (employment), sudden loss of employment by termination * Firemaking, the act of starting a fire * Burning; see combustion * Shooting, specifically the discharge of firearms * Execution by firing squad, a method of ...

on 24 February 1979. The murders were the subject of episode 206, titled "Empty Stroller" (Russian: "пустая коляска"), of the NTV show " Следствие вели...". Participants included two eyewitnesses, the mother of one of the victims, two state investigators and Biryukov's defence attorney. According to the presenter of the NTV show, Leonid Kanevsky, the Soviet authorities avoided publicizing the Biryukov case in part because of the status of Biryukov's father, Nikolai Biryukov, a decorated army general and war hero.NTV footage, last 5 minutes of the show

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biryukov, Anatoly 1939 births 1979 deaths Executed Soviet people from Russia Executed Soviet serial killers Infanticide Child murder in Russia People convicted of murder by the Soviet Union People executed by the Soviet Union by firearm Russian murderers of children Executed Russian serial killers Soviet murderers of children Soviet people convicted of murder Soviet rapists People from Moscow Oblast

Background

Murders

Arrest and conviction

See also

References