A Russian government official who was believed to be dead for more than a decade has been found alive — and investigators say her own husband helped pull off the elaborate ruse.
Marianna Stupina, a former deputy to regional housing minister Nikolai Yarovoy in Russia’s Astrakhan region, allegedly faked her death in 2012 to avoid serving a seven-year prison sentence tied to a fraud and embezzlement scheme, according to Russian outlets Komsomolskaya Pravda and Izvestia.
Disappeared in Russian style — ex-deputy housing minister faked her death and hid for 13 years
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 20, 2026
Marianna Stupina, former first deputy minister of housing in the Astrakhan region, was sentenced to 7 years for corruption in 2012. After the sentence, she fled to Tatarstan and… pic.twitter.com/baOOH4kDtZ
Authorities now say the disappearance was anything but mysterious. It was carefully planned.
Back in 2012, Stupina was sentenced to prison for her role in a fraud scheme. Instead of reporting to serve her time, she allegedly fled to the Russian republic of Tatarstan.
That’s when investigators believe she began crafting an escape plan worthy of a crime thriller.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, Stupina closely monitored missing persons reports while in hiding. When the body of a woman who reportedly resembled her was discovered, prosecutors say she seized the opportunity.
Authorities allege Stupina sent her husband to identify the body as hers.
According to Izvestia, he pointed to a C-section scar as supposed proof of her identity. He then obtained a death certificate and arranged for the burial — officially closing the case on his “late” wife.
With that, Marianna Stupina was legally dead.
For more than 13 years, the fraud case stalled. Prosecutors halted proceedings, believing the convicted official had passed away.
Investigators say Stupina lived under an assumed identity, reportedly using a photocopy of someone else’s passport to avoid detection. For over a decade, the plan appeared to work.
She lived quietly in her home, keeping a low profile while authorities believed she was six feet under.
That changed during an unrelated investigation.
According to Izvestia, investigators were probing a double murder case connected to individuals tied to the original fraud scheme when they stumbled upon new evidence.
That trail led them straight to Stupina.
Footage shared by Nexta reportedly shows officials searching her residence and questioning a woman whose face was blurred on camera. During the search, Stupina allegedly attempted to present the same passport photocopy she had relied on for years.
Her husband, authorities say, ultimately gave a full confession.
Investigators also reportedly examined her daughter’s phone and discovered the two had remained in regular contact throughout the years she was presumed dead.
Stupina is now back in prison and serving her original sentence. Russian authorities are reportedly considering additional charges related to falsifying her death and obstructing justice.
After more than 13 years of living as a ghost, the woman once declared dead is once again very much on the record — and facing the consequences.
It’s a case that raises a chilling question: how many other “closed” files might not be as final as they seem?
Could have been out 6 years ago, dummy!