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"Black Widow" Schemes Spread in Russia as War Death Payouts Create Perverse Incentive
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Russia is seeing a growing market in fraudulent marriages as women seek multimillion-ruble compensation paid to families of soldiers killed in Ukraine, creating an expanding cohort of so-called “black widows,” according to Militarnyi on November 18.
The trend has emerged against the backdrop of substantial state payouts for soldiers killed in the war.
In March 2022, the Russian leader Vladimir Putin said families of service members killed in Ukraine would receive about $80,000 in federal insurance compensation, while wounded soldiers would get about $30,000.
Foreign Policy reported that 40-year-old contract soldier Serhiy Khandozhko married a local draft office employee shortly before deploying to Ukraine; after his death, she demanded state payments, but a court later annulled the marriage as fictitious and concluded it had been entered into to obtain compensation.
In another case described by Ukrainian outlet Obozrevatel, investigators in the Khanty-Mansi region say a woman dubbed a “black widow” and her accomplices used police databases to target single men with criminal records or addictions, persuaded them to enter into sham marriages and sign contracts, then allegedly collected at least about $160,000 in death benefits.
The rise in fraudulent wartime marriages has prompted calls inside Russia for tougher penalties. Veteran organizations and regional activists have urged lawmakers to introduce specific criminal liability for entering into sham marriages with participants in the so-called “special military operation” for the sake of compensation.
In August, Russian lawmakers from the LDPR party submitted a bill to the State Duma that would create a separate offense targeting “black widows” and organizers of such schemes, with proposed prison terms of up to 10 years.
Despite these initiatives, independent Russian outlet Holod noted that officials have yet to offer a systemic solution, as compensation is often paid out before marriages are annulled, and proving that a union was concluded solely for financial gain remains difficult in court.
Earlier, it was reported that a joint investigation found Russia reclassifying missing soldiers as “deserters” to both conceal battlefield losses and deprive their families of the compensation owed when a relative is officially recognized as killed in combat.
