In the late 1990s, the quiet of a small Russian town was shattered when Irina Ganyushkina stumbled into a police station—an escapee from a living nightmare. Irina revealed to authorities that she was one of five women kidnapped and held captive in a secret underground bunker by a notorious serial killer: Aleksandr Komin, chillingly nicknamed ‘the maniac.’ For Irina and the other survivors, freedom was only the beginning. In a country where women’s stories of violence are too often dismissed, they now faced a new challenge: rebuilding their lives after unimaginable horror.

In this episode: 
Dariana Gryaznova, human rights lawyer

Episode credits:

This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen.

Executive Producer: Ney Alvarez.

Production Managers: Bronte Baskin.

Senior Producers: Marthe van der Wolf and Bronte Baskin.

Post-Production Supervisor: Andrés Rivera

Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan.

Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman, Catherine Nouhan, and Rached El-Moctar.

Audio editing by Alan Leer.

Music composition by Tom Biddle.

Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik.

Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio.

Al Jazeera’s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on Instagram, X, Facebook, and YouTube

In the late 1990s, the quiet of a small Russian town was shattered when Irina Ganyushkina stumbled into a police station&mdash;an escapee from a living nightmare. Irina revealed to authorities that she was one of five women kidnapped and held captive in a secret underground bunker by a notorious serial killer: Aleksandr Komin, chillingly nicknamed &lsquo;the maniac.&rsquo; For Irina and the other survivors, freedom was only the beginning. In a country where women&rsquo;s stories of violence are too often dismissed, they now faced a new challenge: rebuilding their lives after unimaginable horror.
In this episode: 
<ul>
<li>Dariana Gryaznova, human rights lawyer</li>
</ul>
Episode credits:
This episode was written and produced by Anna Staufenberg and hosted by Halla Mohieddeen.
Executive Producer: Ney Alvarez.
Production Managers: Bronte Baskin.
Senior Producers: Marthe van der Wolf and Bronte Baskin.
Post-Production Supervisor: Andr&eacute;s Rivera
Assistant Producers: Leo Danczak, Sophie McNulty, and Catherine Nouhan.
Fact-checking by Ruby Zaman, Catherine Nouhan, and Rached El-Moctar.
Audio editing by Alan Leer.
Music composition by Tom Biddle.
Lead of Engagement: Aya Elmileik.
Engagement Producers: Adam Abou-Gad, Munera AlDosari, and Vienna Maglio.
Al Jazeera&rsquo;s Head of Audio: Ney Alvarez.
Connect with us:
@AJEPodcasts on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/ajepodcasts/">Instagram,&nbsp;</a><a href="https://x.com/AJEPodcasts">X</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AJEPodcasts">Facebook</a>, and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzGHKb8i9vTwjZkiFu6LhzsLUKFkYO60I">YouTube</a>

This is immersive true crime, done differently. True Crime Reports brings you crime stories from the global south and beyond; tales of corruption, power, and injustice that often haven’t reached headlines in the West.

Hosted by journalist Halla Mohieddeen, each week you’ll be taken to countries like Peru, South Africa, Syria, and Cambodia, hearing from eyewitnesses, journalists, and family members right at the heart of these stories.

This is immersive true crime, done differently. True Crime Reports brings you crime stories from the global south and beyond; tales of corruption, power, and injustice that often haven’t reached headlines in the West.
Hosted by journalist Halla Mohieddeen, each week you’ll be taken to countries like Peru, South Africa, Syria, and Cambodia, hearing from eyewitnesses, journalists, and family members right at the heart of these stories.

True Crime Reports

This is immersive true crime, done differently. True Crime Reports by Al Jazeera brings you crime stories from the global south and beyond. Tales of corruption, power, and injustice that often haven’t reached headlines in the West, told by those who were there.

This is immersive true crime, done differently. True Crime Reports by Al Jazeera brings you crime stories from the global south and beyond. Tales of corruption, power, and injustice that often haven’t reached headlines in the West, told by those who were there.

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