by Ilya Maximov
| The same arrogant assurance paraded in Mali that, as Third Worlders themselves, Russians instinctively understand how to make their way successfully in a very different Third World culture, more successfully in fact than the locals, and that because of their superior Russianness they needn’t practice situational awareness because no one will dare treat them as prey... |
CCTV cameras captured the brother and sister stopping to talk to a stranger before driving off in an unknown direction, accompanied by another motorcycle.
Several days later, local residents noticed suspicious activity in the forest belt near the bridge where the Nazimovs were last seen: four men with shovels were digging in the area of an old cemetery. Police searched the area and discovered the Russians' rented motorcycle buried in the ground—it had been dismantled, and the license plate had been cut into pieces.
During the investigation, police identified 43-year-old Thanh Kytthong, nicknamed "Pong," and his accomplice, 39-year-old Thongchai Sining, nicknamed "Thong." The men were detained while attempting to leave the country. Two of their accomplices were also detained.
During interrogation, they confessed to the crime. According to the detainees, they accidentally encountered the brother and sister on the road, introduced themselves as police officers (one of whom was wearing a uniform), and then ordered them to follow them. They then attacked the Russians in a deserted area. The motive was robbery—the criminals wanted a motorcycle.
When the brother and sister resisted, Pong shot Roman and beat Diana to death. The bodies of the brother and sister were buried in a single grave near Khao Chi Chan Mountain near Pattaya.
The criminals never managed to sell the motorcycle. Fearing the public outcry following the tourists' disappearance and the ensuing search, they decided to hide it, which is how they were eventually caught.
During interrogation, Thong recounted another crime. He admitted that a month earlier, on July 6, the same group—Pong, Thong, and two others—had broken into the home of a Thai family in the same area.
The criminals, posing as police officers, handcuffed the 53-year-old head of the family, tied up his 50-year-old wife and their 18-year-old daughter, and then took them to a coconut grove. There, they shot all three and buried them in a single grave.
In just one month, five people fell victim to a gang of thugs whose goal was solely petty profit.
Initially, the relatives of the murdered Thais didn't know what had happened to their loved ones. The sister of the deceased mother of the family said she had tried unsuccessfully to find the missing people for almost a month, contacting the police, but to no avail. "If it weren't for the investigation into the murder of the two Russians, we would never have known what happened to my sister," she said.
The murder of the Russian tourists and their family shocked Thailand. On August 1, Prime Minister Anuthin Chanvirakoon arrived at the crime scene. He personally inspected the burial site and the police station where the detainees are being held.
"I want to ask forgiveness from all Russians, from all Russian citizens, for what happened to two young Russians who lived in Thailand for seven years," he told reporters.
The prime minister emphasized that the murder had caused irreparable damage to the country's reputation. "This isn't just the murder of foreign citizens or the murder of three Thais. It's like the murder of the entire Thai nation, because everything we tried to do to earn the trust of foreigners has been destroyed," the head of government said.
He promised that the authorities would do everything possible to prevent such a recurrence and would strengthen security measures in tourist areas. Foreign Minister Sikhasak Phuangketkeo also expressed his condolences over the incident. He said the Nazimovs' murder was "a shock to every Thai."
“When a crime like this occurs, it undermines tourists’ trust,” the minister noted.
The crime has reignited debate about the death penalty in Thailand. Although Thai law provides for capital punishment for particularly serious crimes, the last execution was carried out in 2018.
The country's residents are actively calling for the death penalty to be applied to those detained. The prime minister himself, responding to journalists' questions, stated that this matter is within the court's jurisdiction, but emphasized that those responsible must face "the harshest punishment."
Particularly outrageous was the fact that Pong, the main organizer of the crimes, had been released from prison just two months before these events. It turned out he had been serving a sentence for attempted murder, illegal possession of weapons, and drug charges, having spent seven years, seven months, and 25 days behind bars.
Thong was previously convicted of drug use and was released in September 2025. Prior to his release, Thong underwent a risk assessment, and the court even imposed a two-year supervision regime, requiring him to regularly report to an inspector and refrain from certain activities.
But these measures didn't prevent a new wave of brutal crimes. Pong's aunt, who raised him from childhood, told reporters that his father had been cruel to the boy from an early age—he would shock him with electric shocks, douse him with cold water, and humiliate him in public.
However, even she herself understands perfectly well that this cannot justify the horrific callousness with which he dealt with his victims. Therefore, her aunt urged that her nephew not be released on bail, fearing that he would commit further crimes.
It's hard to see what happened as anything other than an act of extreme, almost bestial cruelty. Five lives for an old pickup truck and a motorcycle worth several thousand dollars—such nonsense is impossible to comprehend logically; it lies beyond the comprehension of any normal person. Unfortunately, something similar can happen almost anywhere. Thugs and lawlessness are utterly international concepts; they exist everywhere.
Unfortunately, this was far from the only recent incident of Russian tourists getting into trouble in Thailand. Just a few days ago, on July 31, the death of 42-year-old Russian Irina Sukhorukova was reported in Phuket. According to police, she was first struck by a pickup truck while crossing the road, then hit by two more vehicles, including an ambulance. The drivers fled, and Sukhorukova died at the scene from her injuries.
In May of this year, another tragic story came to light: the remains of 24-year-old Russian crypto investor Maxim Garbuzov were found in a mass grave for unclaimed bodies in Bangkok. He disappeared in late December 2025, leaving his home in Pattaya and driving away in an unknown direction.
Investigators determined that Garbuzov died in a fall from his hotel room just a couple of days after going missing. Due to a documentation error (which, in itself, was quite suspicious), his body went unclaimed and was buried in a common grave.
In June, news broke of the rescue of 43-year-old Russian woman from Primorye, Darya Shangina, who went missing in Phuket in late May. She was lured to Thailand through correspondence with Arab men, who then gained access to her bank accounts. Darya was repatriated, but faces a lengthy recovery.
An even more shocking story involved a tourist from Chita, who was kidnapped in Thailand and sold into slavery at a fraudulent center in Myanmar. Fortunately, the Russian woman was freed and returned to her homeland.
However, it's not worth thinking that safety concerns for Russian tourists are limited to Thailand. At the end of July, a tragedy occurred in Serbia: the body of 27-year-old Russian Lyudmila Turkova was found in a suitcase thrown into the Wiesel Canal near Belgrade.
The woman arrived in the Serbian capital on July 23 for a vacation. On the evening of July 25, she went to a nightclub and then went silent. According to investigators, Turkova met a 25-year-old Turkish citizen at the club and went with him to a rented apartment.
CCTV cameras captured them entering the building together, and just two hours later, the man carried a suitcase containing the body out of the apartment. The suspect was detained at Belgrade Airport while attempting to leave the country.
Colombian law enforcement also recently arrested members of a gang specializing in kidnapping foreigners. The criminals met tourists through dating apps and arranged meetings in popular areas of Cartagena. The victims were then taken to the municipality of Turbaco, where they were robbed and tortured in order to gain access to their bank accounts.
One of the most high-profile incidents was the murder of a Russian citizen in October 2025. After meeting a girl in Cartagena's historic center, the Russian got into a car, which was then joined by other gang members. Ultimately, the man was beaten, stabbed several times, and then strangled. His body was burned and left on a farm in Turbaco.
Sometimes, danger abroad comes not from foreigners, but from one's own. In October 2025, cryptocurrency businessman Roman Novak and his wife, Anna, disappeared without a trace in the United Arab Emirates. As the investigation later established, the perpetrators, including fellow Russians, had been planning the murder for a long time and masterfully disguised it as the couple's escape from creditors.
In November 2025, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported the arrest of several members of a criminal group in St. Petersburg, Krasnodar, and Stavropol. According to investigators, the suspects attempted to extort cryptocurrency from the couple and, after killing them, hid their bodies in the desert. Roman and Anna's remains were later discovered in the UAE.
Unfortunately, the popularity of a tourist destination doesn't guarantee safety. Thailand, for example, welcomes tens of millions of tourists annually, and the vast majority of trips pass without incident. However, for those who become victims of crime, this doesn't make things any easier.
Reasonable preparation, taking precautions—avoiding dubious acquaintances, being careful on the roads, choosing accommodations carefully, and following official warnings and recommendations from both your own Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the authorities of your host country—can reduce many risks, although they cannot be completely eliminated.
However, it is also impossible to draw radical conclusions that any country is becoming dangerous for all tourists due to isolated, albeit extremely tragic, incidents.