As the Russia-Ukraine war drags on, a new social issue has emerged in Russia: the so-called 'black widow' scam, which targets death compensation payments for fallen soldiers.
Cases of soldiers marrying shortly before deployment and their spouses then claiming survivor benefits after their deaths have prompted calls for action from the Russian parliament.
On August 6, CNN reported that as marriage scams aimed at death benefits proliferate, families of the deceased are increasingly losing both their assets and compensation payments.
According to the report, a 37-year-old woman named Maria from St. Petersburg recently received notification that her 59-year-old father had died from gunshot wounds on the Ukrainian front. However, the shock did not end there. She learned that just two days before his deployment, her father had married a woman 22 years younger, a fact she was unaware of.
The woman who married Maria's father is legally entitled to receive the death compensation from the Russian government. Maria told CNN, "I have never seen or spoken to that woman," adding, "I suspected it was a scam from the beginning." CNN attempted to contact the woman for her perspective but did not receive a response.
In Russia, when a soldier is killed in action, a one-time payment of at least 5 million rubles is given to the legal 'next of kin.' Originally intended to support the families of the deceased, this system has recently become a target for organized marriage scams, leading to a growing social problem. Russian authorities and state media refer to these perpetrators as 'black widows.'
A recent incident involving a military hospital nurse who allegedly married five soldiers under her care, only to seek compensation after their deaths, has also sparked significant controversy. Reports of 'deathbed marriages,' where soldiers wed just before dying on the front lines, have further fueled public criticism.
Analysts suggest that this phenomenon is linked to the Russian government's marriage promotion policies. According to CNN, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has actively supported rapid marriages for soldiers. The government has allowed couples to bypass the usual marriage registration waiting period and has promoted mass weddings organized by local governments through state broadcasts.
However, there are concerns that this policy is being exploited for criminal purposes. Last year, a real estate agent in Siberia sparked outrage by stating on a podcast, "If you find a man participating in a special military operation and he dies, you can receive 8 million rubles (about $140,000). Many women are buying cheap apartments this way. It’s business." The agent and the podcast host were eventually prosecuted and ordered to perform community service, as well as publicly apologize to soldiers and their families.
Leonid Slutsky, a prominent member of the Russian parliament, warned that families of participants in the special military operation need protection from 'black widows' and financial scammers, stating, "This type of crime has reached a serious level."
CNN also reported allegations that in some cases, military officials colluded with women to recruit vulnerable men, such as orphans or those without families, arranging marriages and sending them to the front lines to target death benefits.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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