Khachaturyan sisters who killed father touch Russian hearts

Police in Russia usually treat domestic abuse as a “family issue”, providing little or no help at all.

The sisters’ mother, who had also suffered beatings and abuse from Khachaturyan in the past, had approached the police years before. So did the family’s neighbors, who were highly afraid of him. But there is no evidence that the police acted on any of these appeals for help.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGESImage captionThe girls’ mother, Aurelia Dunduk, says Mikhail expelled her from the flat in 2015

At the time of the murder the girls’ mother was not living with them and Khachaturyan had forbidden his daughters from contacting her.

According to psychiatric assessments, the girls lived in isolation and had been suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTSD).

The Khachaturyan sisters’ case has moved slowly. They are no longer in custody, but they are subject to restrictions: they cannot speak to journalists, nor to each other.

Prosecutors insist the killing of Khachaturyan was premeditated murder, as he was asleep and the sisters co-ordinated their actions, snatching the knife earlier that morning. The motive was revenge, they argue.

If found guilty under that charge the sisters face up to 20 years in jail. It is alleged that Angelina wielded the hammer, Maria the hunting knife and Krestina the pepper spray.

However, the sisters’ lawyers say the killing was in fact an act of self-defense. Indeed, the Russian criminal code allows self-defence not only in cases of immediate aggression, but also in cases of “continuous crime,” such as a hostage situation where the victim is being tortured.

The defencse insists that the sisters were victims of “continuous crime” and should therefore be released. The sisters’ lawyers are hopeful the case could be dropped, as the investigation has confirmed extensive abuse by Khachaturyan towards his daughters dating back as early as 2014.

Human rights activists and many other Russians now want the law changed and measures introduced such as state-funded shelters, restraining orders and courses for managing abusers’ aggressive behavior.

How widespread is domestic abuse?

There is no hard data on how many women suffer from domestic violence in Russia, only estimates, but according to human rights activists it could involve as many as one in every four families.

A number of other shocking cases have made headlines, including that of Margarita Gracheva, whose husband cut off her hands with an axe out of jealousy.

Some experts say that up to 80 percent of women held in Russian prisons for murder killed a domestic abuser in self-defense.

There has been something of a backlash against the Khachaturyan sisters among more conservative parts of Russian society. An association called Men’s State, which cites “patriarchy” and “nationalism” as its two main values, and boasts almost 150,000 members on social media, organized a campaign called “Murderers behind Bars,” insisting that the sisters should not be released.

In addition to a change.org petition calling for the sisters’ case to be dropped, there have been solidarity poetry readings, rallies and theatre performances.

Daria Serenko, a feminist and activist from Moscow who helped organize a three-day support rally in June, says the main goal of the public events is to keep the story in the news and give everyone a chance to speak out safely.

“Domestic abuse is a reality of life in Russia. We can ignore it, but it affects our lives even if we have never had to experience it personally,” she says.