This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
A Russian man has been stabbed to death after demanding a couple onboard a bus in St. Petersburg comply with city coronavirus regulations to wear masks.
The Leningrad regional police department said on November 20 that the victim was the 53-year-old deputy director of a research center, whose identity was not disclosed.
The statement said the incident took place three days earlier when the stabbing victim was on the bus and confronted a man and a woman who were not wearing masks, which are mandatory in Russia’s second-largest city when riding public transport. All of the other passengers were wearing masks.
The confrontation turned violent and the man was stabbed during the brawl, according to the statement.
The couple was detained by police. The woman was later released, while the man, who was described as a 40-year-old native of the Orenburg region, was remanded in custody. Investigators say that he was the one who stabbed the man to death.
According to the statement, the suspect has been convicted in the past on drugs charges and for inflicting bodily harm.
