I had come across this a while before, but ran into it again today and wanted to post it for our edification. New Martyred Soldiers For Christ Our Lord:
When one of our associates was in Moscow last year [2002], just about every parish bookstall had a Xeroxed notice about a young soldier named Evgeny, who had been captured by the Chechnens along with five of his buddies.Posted by Clifton at March 13, 2006 10:13 AM | TrackBackThe Chechnens promised to spare the young Russians their lives if they converted to Islam. The others agreed, but Evgeny refused, insisting that he was an Orthodox Christian. The Chechnens beheaded him and subsequently sent his severed head to his mother as a sort of memento. This young lad had been recognized everywhere as a (Moscow & environs, Sergiev Posad, Murom, Diveevo, Arzamas) martyr, in a spontaneous, popular movement of piety. His picture was everywhere, usually with the caption "Martyred Soldier Evgeny". He was martyred on his 18th birthday, 6 months after he started his service.
Chechnen field commander Rusland Haihoroev beheaded Evgeny, after Evgeny denied conversion to Islam and refused to give up his cross (which by the way was part of the medal for bravery). Many months his mother searched for his body, and finally after paying $500, was shown the forest where he was buried. She found the bodies of 4 more boys along with his. A giant wooden cross has since been erected on his grave. His own cross, the one that he refused to give up, his mother, Lubov Radionova, has donated to St. Nicholas Church in Ordinka, Moscow.
The New Martyr Evgeny the Soldier was canonized on August 20th. A Church in his name is to be build in Hankala, near Groziniy. It will be the only Orthodox Church in Chechnya.
Source: Orthodox Heritage. The Greek Orthodox Brotherhood of St. Poimen. Florence, Arizona. Volume 01, Issue 1 January 2003 p. 4.
For more information about the martyrdom of St. Evgeny, visit http://english.pravda.ru/society/2003/01/08/41724.html