Rustam Musadinovich Kiknadze was born in 1980 in the Jambyl Region of Kazakhstan. Little is known about his early life, family background, or upbringing. His name first entered the criminal record in 2004, when he committed a heinous double murder involving two women whom he allegedly raped and killed. Their bodies were subsequently burned. While the rape charges were dropped under unclear circumstances, he was convicted of the murders and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by the Jambyl Regional Court.

Despite the brutality of his crimes, Kiknadze was released early on parole on August 15, 2013, after serving just 9 years. Not long after his release, he committed another violent crime — sexually abusing a young girl with cerebral palsy in the Karaganda Region and coercing her friend to participate under death threats. This deeply disturbing case resulted in only a 7.5-year sentence, later modestly increased to 8 years, despite the nature of the crime involving children and physical threats.

Following another early release in mid-2020, this time sanctioned by the Abay District Court, Kiknadze returned to Taraz and lived transiently, often sleeping on the streets and consuming alcohol. This period of vagrancy would soon erupt into a new wave of murders, highlighting severe systemic failings in Kazakhstan’s parole and criminal justice system.

Kiknadze resumed his killing spree on October 22, 2020, just months after his second release from prison. That day, he physically assaulted a woman and stole her wallet — an ominous foreshadowing of the carnage to come. While drinking in Taraz, he met 46-year-old Nikolai Demin, who invited him to his apartment. While socializing, Demin proposed that they invite his 48-year-old neighbor Natalya Budzinovskaya to join them. She declined, but Kiknadze, now further intoxicated, forced entry into her apartment, raped her, and stabbed her to death.

After the killing, he locked the door from the inside and exited through a window. Her body was discovered after her mother hired a cleaner to check on her, only to find a scene of blood-soaked walls and disturbed belongings. Shockingly, police initially ruled her death as alcohol poisoning, despite obvious signs of sexual assault and violence. Outraged, her mother contacted a local journalist who pressed authorities to re-examine the case. Only after media involvement did law enforcement acknowledge it was a homicide, and a proper investigation began.

While police remained slow to act, Kiknadze continued his spree. On October 29, 2020, he committed another robbery. On November 16, he met a known local bully while drinking again. Together, they visited a home occupied by 48-year-old Zhanna Musabekova and 77-year-old Valentina Lashchukhina. The other man left, but Kiknadze stayed. He then raped Musabekova in front of Lashchukhina, then stabbed her to death. He proceeded to stab the elderly woman once, killing her instantly.

Kiknadze was arrested later in November 2020. During interrogation, he initially claimed he was romantically involved with Budzinovskaya and acted as an accomplice, but later confessed to all three murders. The case sparked outrage across Kazakhstan, as the public condemned the legal system for repeatedly releasing a violent repeat offender. Police officials issued public apologies, and the Deputy Head of the Jambyl Regional Criminal Police admitted that their negligence had led to the preventable deaths.

His trial began on May 21, 2021, in the Jambyl District Court. Over the course of eleven days, gruesome evidence and survivor testimony outlined the scope of his brutality. Despite overwhelming evidence, and the prosecution demanding a life sentence, the court instead handed down a 26-year prison term. This verdict was met with fury from the victims' families, many of whom accused the judiciary of corruption and negligence. One relative declared publicly that they had “lost all faith in the Kazakhstani justice system” and vowed to appeal the ruling.