Vladislav Chelah Private of the Kazakh border service who confessed to the mass murder of fellow soldiers Date of Birth: 08.10.1922 Country: Kazakhstan

Biography of Vladislav Chelakh

Vladislav Valeryevich Chelakh was born on October 8, 1992, in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, into a family of a railway worker. He had a younger sister and brother. Chelakh attended School No. 54 in Karaganda, completing nine grades before enrolling in Vocational School No. 21 in Karaganda. In 2011, he obtained the qualification of a third-class locomotive engineer assistant. Chelakh excelled academically and aspired to become an electric locomotive engineer and serve in the border troops.

At the age of 19, in November 2011, Chelakh was drafted into the Kazakhstan army and assigned to the Border Service of the National Security Committee (KNB) of Kazakhstan. In the spring of 2012, he was stationed at the "Arkankergen" ("Mountain") border checkpoint "Sary Bokter" in the Alakol district of the Almaty region, along the border with China. Reports indicated that the checkpoint only operated during the summer and focused on preventing illegal collection of medicinal herbs by Chinese citizens. Some media outlets pointed out that Chelakh was the only Russian serviceman at the post at that time. According to his parents, Chelakh did not complain about hazing during his service and planned to go on leave in June 2012 to visit his family.

On May 30, 2012, the "Arkankergen" post lost contact. Border guards who arrived at the scene discovered a burnt barracks building, where they found the bodies of 13 border guards. Later, the body of one more serviceman (there were supposed to be 15 border guards at the post) and the body of a nearby ranger were found. According to the "Khabar" agency, the incident occurred on the night of May 28. The press initially suggested that the servicemen died in their sleep during a fire. This assumption was confirmed in early June by the director of the KNB of Kazakhstan, Nurzhan Myrzaliyev, who stated that according to the information from law enforcement officers, only the deceased ranger had a gunshot wound. However, during the same period, some media outlets presented an alternative version of events. For example, IA Regnum, citing an "informed source," reported that the servicemen at the border post "were possibly killed, there is a chance they were shot." Another version was proposed, referring to local media sources, suggesting that "someone had drugged the border guards with alcohol and sleeping pills." However, no traces of alcohol were found in the remains of the servicemen and the ranger.

The incident immediately received widespread attention in Kazakhstan. Two versions of what happened were put forward: the border post could have been attacked by local residents, smugglers, or professional militants, or the reprisal was carried out due to unauthorized relationships. On June 1, President Nursultan Nazarbayev stated that the incident was an act of terrorism resulting from "internal conflicts." Chelakh became the only surviving border guard.

On June 5, 2012, he was reportedly found during a search operation at one of the winter camps wearing civilian clothes. According to other reports in the media, the soldier himself came out to the burnt post or the nearest village. Chelakh was in a state of shock and had the gun of the deceased post commander with him. It was also reported that he was on duty on the day of the incident. On the day of his arrest, Chelakh immediately became a suspect in the murder. On June 6, 2012, it was reported, citing a source in the regional administration, that Chelakh confessed to killing his fellow servicemen and the ranger. However, it was not specified how he managed to single-handedly kill 15 armed individuals. The following day, the Kazakhstan Prosecutor's Office officially announced Chelakh's confession: according to his statement, he killed his fellow servicemen and then set the post on fire. The motive for the crime, according to a representative of the prosecutor's office, was "internal conflicts and an inexplicable state of mind." However, during a brief meeting with his mother, Chelakh told her that he did not kill his fellow servicemen.

On June 13, 2012, it was announced that Myrzaliyev had resigned from his position as the head of the Border Service due to the incident at the "Arkankergen" post. On July 25 of the same year, Chelakh's lawyer, Tulegen Berlikozhanov, stated that his client had retracted his confession, claiming that it was given under psychological pressure. Chelakh began asserting that unknown individuals had attacked the camp.