A Russian war widow has sparked controversy by spending the compensation money received after her husband’s death on a luxurious holiday in the Maldives and flaunting it on social media.
Valeriya Beseda-Kalinochkina, a 34-year-old mother and tattoo artist, faced backlash online for sharing joyful pictures of her trip to the Maldives, less than two months following her husband’s passing.
Her late husband and mercenary, Petr Kalinochkin was 37 years old when he died fighting for one of Vladimir Putin’s private armies in Africa.
The pair were married for 12 years before the soldier’s death made a handsome compensation payout of £43,025.
The supposedly “grieving” wife received half of the £43,025 payout, with the other half going to her husband’s mother.
Valeriya said: “Do I feel ashamed for my photos from the Maldives?
“No, I am not ashamed at all – because I am doing everything that will help me feel alive.
“I don’t care what anyone says.
“I have what to show off, it doesn’t mean that I am looking for a sugar daddy.”
At the time of her husband’s demise, he was serving in Mali, where Russia, like in Ukraine, has deployed troops, including those from Putin’s infamous Wagner group.
The pair believed serving in Africa would be much safer than Putin’s war in Ukraine and possible “meat grinder” tactics.
She buried her fighter husband just 40 days before her glamorous trip.
The widow said: “From the moment he arrived in Mali until his death [it was] a month and a half.
“The last conversation with my husband was a few hours before he died.
“And then I see that I have a voice message in WhatsApp, I open it, and there is an avatar with the Wagner emblem.
“‘My name is so-and-so, so-and-so, Petr died.’”
She also explained what she thought of her husband’s death.
“In fact, yes, I also ask myself why he died?
“Let’s be honest, [he died] for money.”
She explained that her husband had joined in an attempt to improve his £860 monthly salary working in a factory, which improved to £2,065 per month when he went to Africa.
The mum stressed that she earned more than him, and now wants to live abroad with her 11-year-old son Mark.
“Yes, it is clear [the money] cannot replace my husband,” she said.
“It was as if I did not live anymore.”
She added: “I do everything that helps me feel alive – and well, I don’t care what anyone says.”
Of the Russian dictator and his wars she told her followers: “I don’t have enough brain to evaluate a politician such as Vladimir Putin….”
Outraged viewers hit back at the woman’s “heartless” actions.
One user said: “Her only sensible thought is ‘I don’t have enough brain.”
Another commented: “Our war widows live happily – they don’t grieve much.”
One user said that the widow was a good actress that didn’t show any remorse.
They said: “She apparently long outgrew her husband, it is obvious that she no longer needed him.
“She agreed for him to go to war to grow up, in other words, she got rid of him, received the [compensation] payment and flew off to the Maldives to make herself happy.
“Even from her face you can see that there is no regret and the tears are artificial.”
