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Comrade Chikatilo: The Psychopathology of Russia's Notorious Serial Killer
For twelve years, from 1978 to 1990, fifty-two girls, boys and young women were killed, mutilated and, in some cases, cannibalized in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and its environs. The bodies of the victims were found in parks and cemeteries, in vacant lots and on beaches. But most of all, they were found in forest belts - barriers of trees and shrubs, situated alongside roads and railroad tracks. One man was responsible for these brutal murders. His name is Andrei Chikatilo who, because of his membership in the Communist party, was called Comrade Chikatilo. Chikatilo lured his victims with his innocuous looks, easygoing manner and promises of food. In the case of children, chewing gum was enough to convince young boys or girls to follow him to their sad destiny. Chikatilo was able to elude capture through an incredible combination of police incompetence and state-sanctioned ignorance. Prior to glasnost, the murders were not even reported in the press since it was understood that there were no serial killers under a Communist regime. Compiled by two Russian writers, Comrade Chikatilo is the story of the killer. As Russians, the authors were able to get within the intricate Russian criminal justice system to offer a close look at the police investigation and capture of Chikatilo, complete coverage of the trial and, most fascinating of all, a vivid portrayal of the man himself. Working exhaustively, Krivich and Ol'gin interviewed everyone involved with the case - friends of the killer, families of the victims, and police investigators. They obtained Chikatilo's responses to their direct questions which were passed to him while he awaited trial. In addition, they worked closely with the eminent Russian attorney, Mark Kogan, who had complete access to all court files. Comrade Chikatilo offers the unique perspective and insight of its Russian authors in detailing the ironies of its Russian authors in detailing the ironies and peculiarities of life and justice i
287 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1993
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468 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
February 2, 2017
I read this book in conjunction with Hunting the Devil: The Pursuit, Capture and Confession of the Most Savage Serial Killer in History, and the parallax view was fascinating.
Krivich and Ol'gin (which is how his name is transliterated for the copyright page) are Russian journalists who covered Chikatilo's trial. Where Lourie in Hunting the Devil was mostly interested in Kostoev (transliterated Kostoyev in Comrade Chikatilo), the investigator from Russia's Department of Crimes of Special Importance, who organized the search for Rostov-on-Don's serial killer into something effective, so was looking at the thing from top down, Krivich and Ol'gin are interested in the case, and thus are looking at it from the bottom up. They're interested in the victims, in the policemen who actually arrested Chikatilo in 1984 but couldn't prove he was the killer, in the dreadful red herrings of Aleksandr Kravchenko, who was executed for Chikatilo's first murder (although Lourie does a better job of exploring why Kravchenko was too tempting a target to be resisted) and the "fools," the mentally handicapped young men who confessed to the murders (and when the murders kept happening after the young men were in jail, the police just went out and found another of their friends and got another confession). They follow Chikatilo's trial (as Lourie does not, because Kostoev wasn't there) in its descent into gruesome farce.
They acknowledge that they wrote the book very quickly (Chikatilo was convicted in 1992; this book, like Hunting the Devil, came out in 1993; Chikatilo was executed in 1994), and it is certainly riddled with errors in dates and names that another, slower pass through the manuscript would have caught. The translator, Todd P. Bludeau, did an excellent job. The book is readable and clear, but I never lost sight of the fact that it was a translation (which I think is actually a feature rather than a bug--although I'm sure other people disagree with me--because you can't translate seamlessly from one language to another; if it reads like it was written in English, you've sacrificed accuracy in translation to make it that way). And while Lourie does an excellent job as an outsider with extensive knowledge of and experience with Russian culture, Krivich and Ol'gin are insiders. For me as an American reader this book had that weird almost sfnal feel of reporting from a worldview that is in some crucial ways is not like mine. (I don't know if Krivich and Ol'gin were writing from the beginning with an American audience in mind, but they are very good at telling details, things that demonstrate their worldview to an outsider audience.)
The book is sloppy and superficial in places, and it isn't as coherent a narrative as Hunting the Devil, but the view it provides of Chikatilo and of Russia is invaluable.
Krivich and Ol'gin (which is how his name is transliterated for the copyright page) are Russian journalists who covered Chikatilo's trial. Where Lourie in Hunting the Devil was mostly interested in Kostoev (transliterated Kostoyev in Comrade Chikatilo), the investigator from Russia's Department of Crimes of Special Importance, who organized the search for Rostov-on-Don's serial killer into something effective, so was looking at the thing from top down, Krivich and Ol'gin are interested in the case, and thus are looking at it from the bottom up. They're interested in the victims, in the policemen who actually arrested Chikatilo in 1984 but couldn't prove he was the killer, in the dreadful red herrings of Aleksandr Kravchenko, who was executed for Chikatilo's first murder (although Lourie does a better job of exploring why Kravchenko was too tempting a target to be resisted) and the "fools," the mentally handicapped young men who confessed to the murders (and when the murders kept happening after the young men were in jail, the police just went out and found another of their friends and got another confession). They follow Chikatilo's trial (as Lourie does not, because Kostoev wasn't there) in its descent into gruesome farce.
They acknowledge that they wrote the book very quickly (Chikatilo was convicted in 1992; this book, like Hunting the Devil, came out in 1993; Chikatilo was executed in 1994), and it is certainly riddled with errors in dates and names that another, slower pass through the manuscript would have caught. The translator, Todd P. Bludeau, did an excellent job. The book is readable and clear, but I never lost sight of the fact that it was a translation (which I think is actually a feature rather than a bug--although I'm sure other people disagree with me--because you can't translate seamlessly from one language to another; if it reads like it was written in English, you've sacrificed accuracy in translation to make it that way). And while Lourie does an excellent job as an outsider with extensive knowledge of and experience with Russian culture, Krivich and Ol'gin are insiders. For me as an American reader this book had that weird almost sfnal feel of reporting from a worldview that is in some crucial ways is not like mine. (I don't know if Krivich and Ol'gin were writing from the beginning with an American audience in mind, but they are very good at telling details, things that demonstrate their worldview to an outsider audience.)
The book is sloppy and superficial in places, and it isn't as coherent a narrative as Hunting the Devil, but the view it provides of Chikatilo and of Russia is invaluable.
June 2, 2019
...oof.
This was a hard book to get through. The book's descriptions of the violence and mayhem Chikatilo inflicted on his victims was difficult to read. Especially because the author did not try to make them sound awful. In fact, the descriptions were basically "he went here. He did this."
That made the content stand on its own...which somehow made it worse to read about.
I'm not sure what I should say here beyond how it was interesting to see how the Soviet government's handling of Chikatilo was different (but also very similar) to how the United States would have handled him.
Different, because Russia apparently did not suffer the same type of crime problems the US had - and that left them open to this predator's behavior, because the cops assigned to the case straight out did not know what the hell they were dealing with until the end.
Similar, because to be a successful serial killer (whether in the US or the USSR) a person must hail from the privileged class...and while Chikatilo wasn't born into it, he definitely worked his way into it. He was a member of the Communist Party for a number of years, and thanks to that he enjoyed quite a lot of privileges most Soviet citizens did not have access to. Those privileges protected him to an insane degree.
Another interesting aspect of the Chikatilo case is how he had a wife and two children...and none of them ever had a suspicion about his nightmarish activities. He didn't abuse his children or his wife. Indeed, he was apparently a dutiful (if not particularly warm) parent and spouse. You have to wonder about what's up with that, considering he apparently liked to prey on children.
Anyhow, this is not likely a book I'll ever read again. It's been a while since I had to put a book down because it actually turned my stomach enough to need a break. I'm not easily bothered, but this book's content did in fact offend my sensibilities enough that I took a break at the 82 percent mark because well, I'd had enough.
So yeah. Serious content warning here.
If you want to read about monsters, this is likely your jam. If you have a weak stomach for violence, sexual perversion, body mutilation, etc. STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THIS BOOK. I guarantee you won't have a good time.
This was a hard book to get through. The book's descriptions of the violence and mayhem Chikatilo inflicted on his victims was difficult to read. Especially because the author did not try to make them sound awful. In fact, the descriptions were basically "he went here. He did this."
That made the content stand on its own...which somehow made it worse to read about.
I'm not sure what I should say here beyond how it was interesting to see how the Soviet government's handling of Chikatilo was different (but also very similar) to how the United States would have handled him.
Different, because Russia apparently did not suffer the same type of crime problems the US had - and that left them open to this predator's behavior, because the cops assigned to the case straight out did not know what the hell they were dealing with until the end.
Similar, because to be a successful serial killer (whether in the US or the USSR) a person must hail from the privileged class...and while Chikatilo wasn't born into it, he definitely worked his way into it. He was a member of the Communist Party for a number of years, and thanks to that he enjoyed quite a lot of privileges most Soviet citizens did not have access to. Those privileges protected him to an insane degree.
Another interesting aspect of the Chikatilo case is how he had a wife and two children...and none of them ever had a suspicion about his nightmarish activities. He didn't abuse his children or his wife. Indeed, he was apparently a dutiful (if not particularly warm) parent and spouse. You have to wonder about what's up with that, considering he apparently liked to prey on children.
Anyhow, this is not likely a book I'll ever read again. It's been a while since I had to put a book down because it actually turned my stomach enough to need a break. I'm not easily bothered, but this book's content did in fact offend my sensibilities enough that I took a break at the 82 percent mark because well, I'd had enough.
So yeah. Serious content warning here.
If you want to read about monsters, this is likely your jam. If you have a weak stomach for violence, sexual perversion, body mutilation, etc. STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM THIS BOOK. I guarantee you won't have a good time.
Read
September 23, 2023Das Buch ist nicht ganz leicht zu lesen. Obwohl die Autoren viele detaillierte Beschreibungen der Vorgensweise des Mörders weggelassen haben, kamen sie nicht umher, diese gar nicht zu erwähnen. Es ist schrecklich, was die Person getan hat. Was mich jedoch interessiert hat, warum man ihn so lange nicht fassen konnte. Man bekommt einen guten Einblick in die Arbeit der Miliz. Fehler, die passiert sind und warum es so war. Der Gerichtsprozess wurde ebenfalls gut beschrieben.
Man merkt jedoch, dass die Autoren nicht distanziert bleiben können. Viele Emotionen und Vermutungen. Sei es der Mörder, die Landschaft, die Miliz, die Menschen, der Staat, das System.
Über die Umschuldsvermutung und die Todesstrafe fanden sich auch mehrere interessante Überlegungen.
Lesenswert war auch Nachwort, besonders der Teil um Profiling, welcher in 20-er/30-er Jahren im Keim erstickt wurde, weil "wir" keine Serienmörder haben.
Im Großen und Ganzen, wer sich nicht nur für den Mörder interessiert, sondern auch den ganzen Prozess, die Zeit und die Lokation interessant findet, sei dieses Buch empfohlen!
Man merkt jedoch, dass die Autoren nicht distanziert bleiben können. Viele Emotionen und Vermutungen. Sei es der Mörder, die Landschaft, die Miliz, die Menschen, der Staat, das System.
Über die Umschuldsvermutung und die Todesstrafe fanden sich auch mehrere interessante Überlegungen.
Lesenswert war auch Nachwort, besonders der Teil um Profiling, welcher in 20-er/30-er Jahren im Keim erstickt wurde, weil "wir" keine Serienmörder haben.
Im Großen und Ganzen, wer sich nicht nur für den Mörder interessiert, sondern auch den ganzen Prozess, die Zeit und die Lokation interessant findet, sei dieses Buch empfohlen!
December 6, 2018
I'm bumping it up to 4, but is should be either 3.5 or 3.75. It was a fast paced, easy read, in the sense that there was not a lot of legalese or small writing with small margins. The content, however, was at times, so hard to read through, especially when it talked about what this monster did to little kids. I knew the story already, being a true crime buff, but some things I had no idea on. What made me drop the star rating though, was that the authors, by the end of the book, were starting to mix up dates, names and it was annoying. They could have gone more in depth, and at least showed pictures of all his victims, not in their deaths though. The book only showed about 5 pictures of victims, meanwhile he was known to have killed 53! They also stated in their forward, that they wanted to be the first people to write a book about him, and in doing so, I feel that it was rushed.
July 20, 2020
It was an interesting reading, although I think it needed more editing and a better chronological frame.
I thought because of the title: The psychopathology...
it will be more focused on the psychological part, but almost nothing was said about it.
Still, was a good read.
I thought because of the title: The psychopathology...
it will be more focused on the psychological part, but almost nothing was said about it.
Still, was a good read.
November 17, 2012
It was understood that there were no serial killers under a Communist regime. Apparently Andrei Chikatilo didn’t get the memo. That is a grave oversight considering he was a member of the Communist party for years, which is the reason he is called Comrade Chikatilo.
His first murder was committed on December 22, 1978, his last kill was on November 6, 1990. He raped, mutilated, and killed 53 young women, girls, and boy. In some cases he swallowed parts of their body. As a former teacher, he knew how to entice boys and girls. Sometimes all it took was chewing gum.
The book was compiled by two Russian writers. When something was reported by the murderer, that was unable to be proved, they were able to say if it was possible. This inside look at the country was fascinating, they tried to explain the reasons for some of the mistakes made by police, why some things may have been covered over. Besides giving an account of the criminal case, this book is also a look inside the country and the Russian criminal justice system.
The authors were able to interview many of the victim’s family members and others involved in the case. While not able to interview Chikatilo face to face, they were able to pass him written questions and receive his answers. Also included in this book are excerpts from his “autobiography” with comments on whether anything backed up what he claimed or according to their knowledge of the history of Russia, if it was possible.
The authors state they started the book in June and finished in October. They did an incredible job in such a short time. The book was finished after he was convicted but before any appeals were filed, if you are interested in what happened after the trial you can find this account in the Tru Crime Library site.
I found this account very readable, it had enough detail, there were no ‘gaps’ while not taking you through every little thing that happened. It covers the crimes, the investigations, mistakes made by investigators and the trial.
His first murder was committed on December 22, 1978, his last kill was on November 6, 1990. He raped, mutilated, and killed 53 young women, girls, and boy. In some cases he swallowed parts of their body. As a former teacher, he knew how to entice boys and girls. Sometimes all it took was chewing gum.
“The day before, she had told her friends about this man she knew who gave her chewing gum. She showed them a piece of gum in its pretty foreign wrapper. …. Her friends wanted it: you’d have to be crazy to turn down such pretty chewing gum!”
The book was compiled by two Russian writers. When something was reported by the murderer, that was unable to be proved, they were able to say if it was possible. This inside look at the country was fascinating, they tried to explain the reasons for some of the mistakes made by police, why some things may have been covered over. Besides giving an account of the criminal case, this book is also a look inside the country and the Russian criminal justice system.
The authors were able to interview many of the victim’s family members and others involved in the case. While not able to interview Chikatilo face to face, they were able to pass him written questions and receive his answers. Also included in this book are excerpts from his “autobiography” with comments on whether anything backed up what he claimed or according to their knowledge of the history of Russia, if it was possible.
The authors state they started the book in June and finished in October. They did an incredible job in such a short time. The book was finished after he was convicted but before any appeals were filed, if you are interested in what happened after the trial you can find this account in the Tru Crime Library site.
I found this account very readable, it had enough detail, there were no ‘gaps’ while not taking you through every little thing that happened. It covers the crimes, the investigations, mistakes made by investigators and the trial.
February 12, 2025
Camarada Chikatilo no es solo un relato sobre los horrendos crímenes de Andrei Chikatilo, sino una radiografía de un sistema que permitió su impunidad durante más de una década. Este libro se sumerge en la mente del asesino, explora los fallos estructurales de la policía soviética y examina el impacto social de sus crímenes. Krivich y Ol'gin, con una prosa meticulosa y sin concesiones, reconstruyen la historia de uno de los asesinos más infames de la historia.
El libro está dividido en tres partes fundamentales:
"No hay testigos", donde se narran los crímenes, la investigación fallida y el encubrimiento gubernamental.
"Andrei Chikatilo: Una vida ordinaria", que reconstruye su infancia, sus traumas y su evolución criminal.
"Condenados a la miseria y la maldición", centrada en su captura, juicio y ejecución.
Cada sección ofrece una perspectiva distinta: desde la brutalidad de los asesinatos hasta la frialdad burocrática de la investigación.
Los autores diseccionan la mente de Chikatilo con una precisión casi quirúrgica. Nos muestran a un hombre cuya impotencia sexual y represión emocional lo llevaron a cometer crímenes atroces. Su infancia marcada por la hambruna y las historias de canibalismo en Ucrania se convierten en un telón de fondo para entender su relación con la violencia. Sin embargo, el libro también advierte contra la tentación de reducir su monstruosidad a un simple "producto del sistema". Chikatilo, al final, es un ser humano que eligió matar, y el libro no le concede ninguna excusa.
Uno de los aspectos más fascinantes del libro es su crítica a la URSS. La investigación de los crímenes de Chikatilo fue saboteada por la burocracia y la obsesiva necesidad del Estado de proyectar una imagen de orden. En un régimen donde "los asesinos en serie eran un fenómeno capitalista", la policía ignoró las evidencias, ejecutó a un inocente (Aleksandr Kravchenko) y permitió que Chikatilo siguiera matando.
El libro también denuncia cómo la policía soviética, sin herramientas modernas de perfilación criminal, dependía de confesiones forzadas. Solo con la perestroika y la apertura de la información se logró avanzar en el caso, lo que demuestra cómo la ideología política puede costar vidas.
La descripción de los asesinatos es implacable. Krivich y Ol'gin no se censuran al narrar cómo Chikatilo mutilaba a sus víctimas, a menudo experimentando orgasmos en el proceso.
Destacan:
La primera víctima, Yelena Zakótova, de 9 años, a quien le arrancó la lengua de un mordisco.
El asesinato de un niño de 11 años, donde el autor describe con espantoso detalle el frenesí homicida de Chikatilo.
El juicio, donde el asesino se desnudaba y gritaba obscenidades ante la corte.
Estos pasajes no buscan el morbo, sino transmitir la verdadera dimensión del horror.
Camarada Chikatilo es un libro imprescindible para quienes buscan entender cómo la violencia individual se cruza con la violencia estructural de un Estado fallido. Su fuerza radica en su análisis profundo, su crítica al sistema soviético y su disección psicológica de un asesino que, en otro contexto, podría haber sido solo un hombre gris y anónimo.
La obra deja preguntas abiertas: ¿Fue Chikatilo un monstruo aislado o el producto de una sociedad enferma? ¿Cuántos más como él pasaron desapercibidos en un régimen que negaba la realidad?
Con una prosa quirúrgica y sin concesiones, este libro no solo expone a un asesino, sino a un sistema que lo permitió. Una lectura aterradora, pero necesaria.
September 6, 2020
Well-documented,well -written.
Very informative account of the life of a depraved human being,and just how such depravity can come to fruition. Of particular interest in not just true crime readers,but to anyone who is interested in the human mind.
Very informative account of the life of a depraved human being,and just how such depravity can come to fruition. Of particular interest in not just true crime readers,but to anyone who is interested in the human mind.
October 2, 2020
Great read
I love true crime books. This is the first time I've heard of Chikatilo, he was truly evil and twisted. If you have a weak stomach I suggest this book would not be for you.
I love true crime books. This is the first time I've heard of Chikatilo, he was truly evil and twisted. If you have a weak stomach I suggest this book would not be for you.
February 14, 2022
Very good
Read it within a week. Very incredible. Hard to be believe a monster like this actually existed. Highly recommend if interested in true crime.
Read it within a week. Very incredible. Hard to be believe a monster like this actually existed. Highly recommend if interested in true crime.
February 3, 2023
Disturbing!! I read this years ago and I still remember how evil and cruel he was.
April 22, 2023
Chikatilo is a case that reveals the sorts of sordid savagery fostered within the Soviet Union.
June 18, 2025
Fine study of an extraordinary case
No SK book is light reading, but this one is particularly heavy: most of the victims were children. Be aware.
No SK book is light reading, but this one is particularly heavy: most of the victims were children. Be aware.
February 26, 2017
Andrei Chikatilo was accused and convicted over fifty-three savage and sadistic murders young boy and girls as well as women ages eight to twenty-four throughout Russian territory over a twelve year period beginning in 1978. He was almost caught after the first murder, but there was a previously convicted man, Aleksandr Kravchenko, in the area who had a prior rape and murder conviction. Even though he had obviously turned his life around it was just easier for authorities to pin the murder on him rather than follow the clues leading to Chikatilo. Sadly, Kavchenko was wrongly executed and Chikatilo was emboldened and learned from his mistakes. Securing jobs that allowed for an unusual mobility in Soviet Union at the time further aided his ability to elude capture, as he often committed the atrocities while traveling on business.
Chikatilo came to my attention when I read Child 44, a fiction work loosely based on Chikatilo. Loosely is correct because the only thing the two have in common is that the main characters of both books were Russian serial killers. In Tom Rob Smith fiction account the Soviet culture of promoting a Utopian society created the atmosphere for which the killer went undetected. That was not the reality. While authorities definitely made mistakes, they aggressively pursued the case, subject half a million people to questioning and testing. As a result 1,000 unrelated cases were solved.
The book is difficult to read. The murders are disgusting. I'm used to reading difficult subject matter as it relates to war studies, but this was even hard for me to get through. It is also a bit unsatisfying because of the time of publication Chikatilo is convicted but awaiting appeals. I had to look up the conclusion of the story. I don't know that I can recommend it, but it was interesting to see how Soviet police investigation worked and how the case was solved.
Chikatilo came to my attention when I read Child 44, a fiction work loosely based on Chikatilo. Loosely is correct because the only thing the two have in common is that the main characters of both books were Russian serial killers. In Tom Rob Smith fiction account the Soviet culture of promoting a Utopian society created the atmosphere for which the killer went undetected. That was not the reality. While authorities definitely made mistakes, they aggressively pursued the case, subject half a million people to questioning and testing. As a result 1,000 unrelated cases were solved.
The book is difficult to read. The murders are disgusting. I'm used to reading difficult subject matter as it relates to war studies, but this was even hard for me to get through. It is also a bit unsatisfying because of the time of publication Chikatilo is convicted but awaiting appeals. I had to look up the conclusion of the story. I don't know that I can recommend it, but it was interesting to see how Soviet police investigation worked and how the case was solved.
February 20, 2025
3.5 for being clear and easy to read. content-wise? horrific, hard to get through
September 23, 2025
отличные частицы прозы от автора которые к сожалению не доживут до конца в том же количестве. частично можно сказать что желательно было бы ещё повременить с выпуском материала так как итог дела в виде смертной казни был уже объявлен, а из этого момента совместно с ближайшим итогом в популярной культуре вышло бы отличное заключение, но в общем содержание было действительно очень информативно особенно если учитывать тот факт что книга была написана за 3 с хвостиком месяца и первое издание вышло из под печати ещё при жизни андрея романыча. стоит прочитать.
February 29, 2016
It was understood that there were no serial killers under a Communist regime. Apparently Andrei Chikatilo didn 19t get the memo. That is a grave oversight considering he was a member of the Communist party for years, which is the reason he is called Comrade Chikatilo.
His first murder was committed on December 22, 1978, his last kill was on November 6, 1990. He raped, mutilated, and killed 53 young women, girls, and boy. In some cases he swallowed parts of their body. As a former teacher, he knew how to entice boys and girls. Sometimes all it took was chewing gum.
1CThe day before, she had told her friends about this man she knew who gave her chewing gum. She showed them a piece of gum in its pretty foreign wrapper. 26. Her friends wanted it: you 19d have to be crazy to turn down such pretty chewing gum! 1D
The book was compiled by two Russian writers. When something was reported by the murderer, that was unable to be proved, they were able to say if it was possible. This inside look at the country was fascinating, they tried to explain the reasons for some of the mistakes made by police, why some things may have been covered over. Besides giving an account of the criminal case, this book is also a look inside the country and the Russian criminal justice system.
The authors were able to interview many of the victim 19s family members and others involved in the case. While not able to interview Chikatilo face to face, they were able to pass him written questions and receive his answers. Also included in this book are excerpts from his 1Cautobiography 1D with comments on whether anything backed up what he claimed or according to their knowledge of the history of Russia, if it was possible.
The authors state they started the book in June and finished in October. They did an incredible job in such a short time. The book was finished after he was convicted but before any appeals were filed, if you are interested in what happened after the trial you can find this account in the Tru Crime Library site.
I found this account very readable, it had enough detail, there were no 18gaps 19 while not taking you through every little thing that happened. It covers the crimes, the investigations, mistakes made by investigators and the trial.
His first murder was committed on December 22, 1978, his last kill was on November 6, 1990. He raped, mutilated, and killed 53 young women, girls, and boy. In some cases he swallowed parts of their body. As a former teacher, he knew how to entice boys and girls. Sometimes all it took was chewing gum.
1CThe day before, she had told her friends about this man she knew who gave her chewing gum. She showed them a piece of gum in its pretty foreign wrapper. 26. Her friends wanted it: you 19d have to be crazy to turn down such pretty chewing gum! 1D
The book was compiled by two Russian writers. When something was reported by the murderer, that was unable to be proved, they were able to say if it was possible. This inside look at the country was fascinating, they tried to explain the reasons for some of the mistakes made by police, why some things may have been covered over. Besides giving an account of the criminal case, this book is also a look inside the country and the Russian criminal justice system.
The authors were able to interview many of the victim 19s family members and others involved in the case. While not able to interview Chikatilo face to face, they were able to pass him written questions and receive his answers. Also included in this book are excerpts from his 1Cautobiography 1D with comments on whether anything backed up what he claimed or according to their knowledge of the history of Russia, if it was possible.
The authors state they started the book in June and finished in October. They did an incredible job in such a short time. The book was finished after he was convicted but before any appeals were filed, if you are interested in what happened after the trial you can find this account in the Tru Crime Library site.
I found this account very readable, it had enough detail, there were no 18gaps 19 while not taking you through every little thing that happened. It covers the crimes, the investigations, mistakes made by investigators and the trial.
September 27, 2015
Having seen the movie based on this crime (Citizen X) it was a pleasure to read this book. The details of the crimes, the reluctance of the police to acknowledge the crimes were related,and the final capture of the killer were presented in an interesting manner.
November 23, 2007
In addition to being a thorough account of Chikatilo's life and crimes, this book also painted a clear picture of what it was like to live in Soviet Russia. I was impressed.
June 27, 2011
Terrifying. I can't understand how a human being could turn into a monster! If it weren't a real story, I wouldn't have finished the book.
March 2, 2015
Informative. 1st Accounting.
May 6, 2015
I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. It was obviously written in a haste and the translation from Russian to English is simply poor.
July 12, 2015
Decent
Kind of disjointed but interesting. At times, overly descriptive, at others too summary. The subject matter, while extremely disturbing, is also compelling.
Kind of disjointed but interesting. At times, overly descriptive, at others too summary. The subject matter, while extremely disturbing, is also compelling.
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