39-year-old Russian tech entrepreneur Areg Shchepikhin , who had published several critical comments on social media about ethnic Chechens and Islam, was kidnapped in broad daylight from a central Moscow railway station on Tuesday.
Videos shared on social media showed several bearded men in suits dragging Shchepikhin out of the lobby of Yaroslavsky station to put him in the trunk of an SUV before driving away.
This happened in full view of witnesses and security personnel who watched and did not intervene.
Moscow police said its unit had launched an investigation into videos showing "illegal acts against the person."
In an earlier Instagram post, Shchepikhin lashed out at Chechens and Islam, saying: "I f*ck your Allah, your Quran and everything you consider sacred ."
Moscow. 2025 year Several people grab the man and shove him in the trunk of the "Mercedes" with flashing lights. Eyewitnesses report that the men were armed and looked like "Kadyrovs". «Девяностые» никуда и не уходил - this is Putin's Russia. Но extremist всё равно – ты! pic.twitter.com/Xp11N4TWf8
— Влад Романцов (@vlar_rus) June 3, 2025
The Telegram channel "Baza", which claims to be affiliated with Russia's security services, wrote that Shchepikhin was kidnapped minutes after posting one of his last videos, which may have allowed the suspected kidnappers to identify his location.