This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
On November 16, 2019, a shocking story emerged from St Petersburg, Russia, involving a 63-year-old professor of military history, Oleg Sokolov, who was arrested after being found drunk and carrying a bag containing a gun and the severed body parts of his 24-year-old girlfriend, Anastasia Yeshchenko.
As the investigation unfolded, it became clear that Sokolov had a history of manipulating and exploiting young women, including Yeshchenko, who was a student of his. The case has sparked widespread outrage and raised important questions about the power dynamics at play in relationships between professors and students.
While the specifics of the Sokolov-Yeshchenko case are extreme, they are not isolated. In recent years, there have been several high-profile cases of professors and other academics engaging in predatory behavior, including soliciting sex from students in exchange for grades or other favors.
One such case was the
