Alexander Komin

In 1999, the Kirov Regional Court sentenced Alexander Komin to life imprisonment, and Alexander Mikheev to 20 years imprisonment. After the sentencing, Komin committed suicide in his cell, by cutting open his inguinal artery.

Komin was featured in several documentaries, including "Cooperative Prisoner" (1998) from the series "Criminal Russia", "Bunker. The modern version" (2015) from the series "The investigation was conducted..." and a documentary film which appeared on Japanese television from the series "Maniacs of the 20th century".

In January 1997, Komin unexpectedly met the missing Vera Talpayeva in the city. He offered her new conditions for cooperation: now she had to look for markets for the garment factory's products for an appropriate reward, and also to bring in new prisoners. A few days later Talpayeva brought into the garage 22-year-old Irina Ganyushkina, whom Komin later tried to artificially fertilize (with the help of a syringe), in order to literally begin to grow new slaves for himself. There, in the garage, with the use of the same brake fluid he killed Talpayeva, but unlike Nazimova, he tormented her for several hours before that.

Komin's arrest was due to his own mistake. He fell in love with Ganyushkina, and wanted to formalize an official marriage with her. Kozikova and Melnikova, realizing that this was their chance to escape, persuaded Ganyushkina to agree. Komin threatened to deal with the 22-year-old woman if she tried to escape. Ganyushkina agreed, but when Komin left her for a few minutes in his apartment unattended, she ran to the police on July 21, 1997. Initially, the employees did not believe the applicant, but when she called the names of those in the bunker, they immediately demanded her to indicate the bunker's location. Komin was arrested near his garage. He tried to stop the electricity in the ladder to try and escape, but Ganyushkina had reported this in advance. After Melnikova and Kozikova were discovered in the bunker they were hospitalized, with both of them wearing a bandage around their eyes, so that they would not be blinded by the sunlight, which they had not seen in two years.

Komin no longer had a car, and never sold his garage. Soon, he came up with a new idea - to create his own sewing production. After almost four years under the garage, the companions were digging an underground bunker, where they arranged several rooms, conducted electricity, ventilation, and even made a winch that performed the role of an elevator, and by early 1995, their underground prison was ready.

Soon the search for future slaves began, with the ideal option being a young, lone dressmaker. For a while Komin and Mikheev walked around the city looking for potential workers in the market and at the station, but without success. On January 13, 1995, near a school on Gagarin Street, Komin met a woman named Vera Talpayeva, whom he offered to celebrate the Old New Year in good company. Strangely enough, she was not surprised that Komin brought her to the garage. There, he gave her a drink of vodka, which had clonidine laced in it.

Melnikova began sewing for Komin dressing gowns and shorts, which he successfully sold in markets and enterprises. In parallel, the construction of the bunker continued, where Talpayeva was an auxiliary worker. However, there was not much use for it, and therefore Komin decided to get a prisoner for the earthworks. On March 21, 1995, at a shop in Uritsky Street, Komin and Mikheev met a strong but alcoholic 37-year-old Yevgeny Shishov. He agreed to a free drink and soon found himself in the bunker, but there was little benefit for Shishov. When Komin realised that he knew what to do, he said that Shishov is an electrician of the 4th rank. Komin could not allow any of his prisoners to figure out the electrical junctions of the bunker and cut off the ladder from the current. For the execution of Shishov, he made an electric chair of his own design: he wrapped his legs and hands with bare wires, plugged them into an outlet and made Talpayeva and Melnikova push two switches at the same time. As Mikheev later said: "He was like this: 'Aaa!'...And everything...You know, quickly...". Shishov's body was lifted on a hoist to the top, taken to the forest and then buried.

On July 16, 1995, Talpayeva brought another future prisoner to the garage - Tatiana Kozikova. Ironically, after five days in it she was to be held in court for petty theft, and, without waiting for it, was immediately in "prison". Melnikova taught Kozikova the basics of tailoring, and soon the garment factory had a full working force.

Alexander Nikolayevich Komin (July 15, 1953 - June 15, 1999), known as "The Slaveholder", was a Russian slave-owner and serial killer. At various times from 1995 to 1997, he kept 6 people as prisoners in a 9-meter deep bunker under his own garage. Four of his prisoners were eventually murdered.

Komin was born on July 15, 1953 in Vyatskiye Polyany, where he subsequently committed all of his crimes. Having graduated from an 8-grade school, Komin was sentenced to 3 years imprisonment for hooliganism at the age of 18. While serving his sentence in a penal colony, Komin worked at the colony's garment factory. The work of a tailor pleased him so much that, after his release, he graduated from college in this specialty. However, it was hard for Komin to fulfill his ambitions in a small town, so he worked as a watchman, an electrician and a handyman as well.