A Moscow supermarket worker convicted of murdering 49 people described his five-year killing spree as a “perpetual orgasm”, psychologists revealed during his trial. Alexander Pichushkin, known as the “chessboard killer”, preyed on vulnerable individuals in Bitsevsky Park, a vast wooded area in southern Moscow where locals strolled, played chess and drank vodka on benches beneath the trees.
The 33-year-old, who lived with his elderly mother in a high-rise block nearby, lured mostly elderly men – often acquaintances from chess games – to secluded spots. He would propose sharing vodka beside the supposed grave of his beloved dog before striking them from behind with a hammer.
Pichushkin began killing in 1992 at the age of 18, but paused until 2001, when he embarked on a relentless campaign that terrorised the Russian capital until his arrest in 2006.
Prosecutors said he dreamed of surpassing Andrei Chikatilo, the Soviet-era serial killer executed for 52 murders, by claiming one victim for each of the 64 squares on a chessboard.
Although most victims were older men, three were women and one a child. His cruelty was evident in cases where bodies were found with tiny stakes hammered into the skull.
Psychologist Mikhail Vinogradov linked the murders to deep-seated anger over the death of Pichushkin’s grandfather, who had raised him for a time and taught him chess. Vinogradov noted a “sexual subtext” to the crimes, stating that Pichushkin himself described his criminal career as a “perpetual orgasm”.
Experts at Moscow’s Serbsky Institute, however, declared him sane and fit for trial.
Neighbours recalled Pichushkin as polite and animal-loving in his youth. One remembered finding him in tears over the death of his cat.
His mother traced behavioural changes to a childhood head injury from a swing accident when he was four, compounded by his father’s abandonment and later bereavements.
Pichushkin reportedly told investigators: “For me, life without killing is like life without food for you.” He added: “I felt like the father of all these people, since it was I who opened the door for them to another world.”
His downfall came after his final victim, a female colleague named Marina Moskalyova, left a note with his details before vanishing. Surveillance footage placed him with her, leading to his capture.
During the highly publicised trial, where he appeared in a glass cage, Pichushkin showed no remorse and demanded more victims be added to his tally. He was convicted of 48 murders and three attempted murders, receiving a life sentence.
The case exposed the vulnerability of Moscow’s marginalised – alcoholics, homeless and elderly – in a park once seen as a peaceful retreat. Pichushkin’s unassuming day job as a supermarket clerk masked a predator who blended seamlessly into everyday life.
His crimes highlighted broader issues in post-Soviet Russia, where serial killings have periodically shocked the nation.
However, Pichushkin’s chilling self-description – equating slaughter to unending ecstasy – underscored the profound psychological abyss behind one of its most prolific killers.
