On July 22, the Magistrate’s Court in Cheboksary issued an administrative punishment for battery (Article 6.1.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) to Markel Yegorov, a former assistant to Konstantin Stepanov, a deputy of the Chuvashia State Council from the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party of Russia). Yegorov was fined 5,000 rubles. He does not intend to appeal the verdict and claims to have already reconciled with his wife.
A video of the incident surfaced on social media on April 10. In the video, Yegorov is seen dragging his wife by her hair for several meters before pushing her into a car, all while their child was inside the vehicle.
Upon being detained, Yegorov described the incident as a "family conflict." When asked about his wife’s condition, he asserted that she would "sort herself out." Yegorov was relieved of his duties as the deputy’s assistant on the same day.
Russian women have been increasingly reporting physical abuse from officials. For example, in June 2024, Inna Yakovleva, the head of the Krasnoyarsk Oblast chess federation, published photos showing her bruises. She claimed to have been assaulted by Andrey Novak, the deputy speaker of the region’s Legislative Assembly. The couple has children together, and according to Yakovleva, Novak threatened to let them "rot in an orphanage."
In late June, a criminal case of torture and threats of murder was initiated against Novak. The court did not arrest him but issued a restraining order preventing him from approaching Yakovleva. Subsequently, Novak was expelled from the ethics commission.
