Man who posted anti-Chechen videos abducted in Moscow by men in official-looking car

On Tuesday evening, a man was abducted at a Moscow train station by a group using a black Mercedes outfitted with a siren and official-style plates. The abductee was later identified as businessman Areg Shchepikhin, who had posted videos making derogatory remarks about Chechens and Islam. Police stopped the car about an hour and a half later, but Shchepikhin was no longer inside. The suspects reportedly claimed they were members of Russia’s National Guard and that the incident was “not a crime, but an operational procedure.” Here’s what we know so far about the abduction.

A man was abducted in central Moscow on Tuesday evening, according to the Telegram channels Baza and Ostorozhno, Novosti, which were the first to report the incident. Eyewitnesses said several men seized an individual near Yaroslavsky Railway Station and forced him into the trunk of a black Mercedes equipped with a siren and AMR-series license plates, which are associated with security services. Footage recorded by bystanders shows several bearded men, dressed in either tracksuits or black jackets, dragging the man toward the vehicle as he shouted, “Help!”, “Don’t do this!”, and “Police!” Baza wrote that, “judging by their accents,” the abductors appeared to be from Chechnya.

The abductee was later identified as Areg Shchepikhin, reportedly 39 or 40 years old. According to Ostorozhno, Novosti, Shchepikhin lived in Khimki, a city just outside Moscow, and “called himself a businessman, a hero of Russia, and a top executive.” In 2019, he took part in a Russia – Land of Opportunity competition, the outlet reported, after which he began posting “strange messages on social media.” Baza noted that Shchepikhin frequently posted photos of himself with well-known public figures, including Vladimir Medinsky (a Putin aide), Denis Pushilin (head of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic”), and Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

Baza also reported that Shchepikhin had repeatedly posted videos insulting the Chechen people, as well as Allah and the Quran. His mother told the outlet that her son had developed “strongly negative views” toward Muslims and Islam, allegedly due to the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. While he did not fight in the conflict, she said, “he followed it closely and was deeply upset by its outcome.” According to Ostorozhno, Novosti, Shchepikhin posted another video containing insults on June 3, which was quickly picked up and circulated by Chechen bloggers, who called for him to be “found and punished.”

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Shchepikhin’s last video, recorded just minutes before his abduction, shows him walking through Yaroslavsky Railway Station and speaking critically about bloggers Dmitry Portnyagin and Grigory Avetov, whom he accused of long-term drug use. “Those guys who still maintain ties to America — this is the biggest threat to our country,” he said.

Roughly an hour and a half after the abduction, the black Mercedes was stopped near a highway leading south out of Moscow, Baza reported. Earlier, the same car had evaded police near Skolkovo. However, by the time the vehicle was intercepted, Shchepikhin was no longer inside, according to preliminary reports.

Police have launched an investigation, the state news agency TASS reported, citing law enforcement sources. “The identities of the abductors and the motive are being established,” one official said. No further details were provided.

On Wednesday morning, the same Mercedes used in the abduction was returned to Yaroslavsky Station, according to Baza and Mash, where investigators were seen working at the scene. Later, the Telegram channel Shot published footage showing six of the abductors being released from a police station. Three of the men reportedly told officers they were active-duty members of Russia’s National Guard (Rosgvardiya). The group left the station in the same Mercedes. When a reporter asked where the kidnapped man was, they did not respond.

According to Zvezda, the Russian Defense Ministry’s television channel, the abductors claimed they were members of Rosgvardiya and insisted that the incident was “not a crime, but an operational procedure.” Rosgvardiya itself has neither confirmed nor denied the claim.

Later, Chechnya’s minister for national politics, external ties, and information, Akhmed Dudayev, stated that Shchepikhin had “not been abducted, but detained.” According to Dudayev, the Chechen Interior Ministry is investigating Shchepikhin under Article 148 of the Russian Criminal Code, which covers public actions “intended to insult the religious feelings of believers.” Dudayev claimed that Shchepikhin “openly, publicly, and repeatedly called for ethnic cleansing and Nazism, insulted religion and God, and expressed explicitly extremist views.”

Later, Russia’s Interior Ministry stated that on the evening of June 3, police detained six “participants in the incident” at Yaroslavsky Station, which had “sparked public outcry.” The ministry’s statement did not mention Shchepikhin’s whereabouts.

Update: The Telegram channels Baza and Shot claim that Shchepikhin has since been released. According to Baza, he was let go around midnight and is now staying at a hostel in Moscow. This information has not been independently confirmed. Following the abduction, Baza reports, Shchepikhin was beaten, forced to record an “apology” video, and accused of having ties to Ukraine.