Alexander Pichushkin
A Moscow park cleaner who lured victims with promises of vodka, confessing to a murderous quest to fill a chessboard's squares.
Born 1974 (age 52)·Russian serial killer·Birthday: April 9·Generation X
Biography
Alexander Pichushkin worked as a humble supermarket shelf-stocker and later a park maintenance man in Moscow, a figure easily overlooked in the city's bustle. His hunting ground was Bitsa Park, where he would approach mostly older, vulnerable men, offering them cheap alcohol. His stated, chilling goal was to kill one person for each of the 64 squares on a chessboard, a tally he claimed to have nearly reached. His spree, interspersed with periods of inactivity, lasted over a decade until the discovery of a victim's mobile phone led police to him. At his 2007 trial, his cold, boastful demeanor and graphic descriptions of the murders horrified Russia, leading to a life sentence where he remains in a special regime colony.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Alexander was born in 1974, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alexander Was Born
The biggest hits of 1974
#1 Movie
The Towering Inferno
Best Picture
The Godfather Part II
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Alexander's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1974Born
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1979Started school
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1987Became a teenager
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Could drive
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1992Could vote
LA riots after Rodney King verdict
Gas: $1.13/galHome: $84,300Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"End of the Road" — Boyz II MenBest Picture: Unforgiven
1995Turned 21
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2004Turned 30
Indian Ocean tsunami kills over 230,000
Gas: $1.88/galHome: $157,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Yeah!" — UsherBest Picture: Million Dollar Baby
2014Turned 40
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2024Turned 50
AI reshapes industries; Paris Olympics
Gas: $3.31/galHome: $372,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Espresso" — Sabrina CarpenterBest Picture: Anora
2026Age 52 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Convicted for 48 murders and 3 attempted murders, though he confessed to a far higher number.
- His case exposed systemic failures in linking disappearances of marginalized individuals in post-Soviet Moscow.
- His 'chessboard' motive became a macabre hallmark of one of Russia's most prolific serial killers.
Did You Know?
He earned the nickname 'The Chessboard Killer' from both the media and his own stated motive.
He often placed a vodka bottle next to his victims' bodies as a signature.
He was finally caught because a intended victim survived and identified him.
Prior to his arrest, he had been interviewed by police in connection with the murders but was not initially suspected.
“I wanted to kill sixty-four people, a number corresponding with the squares on a chessboard.”
