Professor Oleg Sokolov (right) was arrested on suspicion of murder after he was dragged from a freezing river carrying two severed arms in a backpack. The young woman – identified by police sources as 24-year-old Anastasia Yeschenko (left) – was a student of the professor, reported Russian media
 

A leading Russian military historian was arrested on suspicion of murder after he was dragged from a freezing river carrying two severed arms in a backpack.

A decapitated head and a body along with a saw covered in blood were later found at Professor Oleg Sokolov’s flat in St Petersburg.

The young woman – identified by police sources as 24-year-old Anastasia Yeschenko – was a student of the professor, reported Russian media.

She had been in a relationship with the historian, 63, when he ‘accidentally killed her’ following an argument, according to the report which stated he had confessed to police.

Earlier reports had said the victim was a relative.

Multiple reports say the academic is in detention in hospital suffering from hypothermia.

The gruesome corpse and a severed head were found at his nearby apartment on Moyka Embankment, say reports. Pictured: Search and rescue workers search the river

He was dragged from the icy Moyka River in St Petersburg in the early hours of Saturday morning.

In his backpack were two female arms severed at the elbow and a gun.

The gruesome corpse and a severed head were found at his nearby apartment on Moyka Embankment, say reports.

Sokolov is considered a leading Russian expert on the Napoleonic Wars and is a professor at St Petersburg State University.

He is well known for reenacting moments of Napoleonic history.

Sokolov was president of the Russian Association of Military History and is now a member of the body’s scientific council.

He has worked as a technical adviser to European television broadcasters on films depicting the Napoleonic era, and he was made a knight of the Legion of Honour in France in 2003.

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Source: Daily Mail UK