ST. PETERSBURG, November 11 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) – A professor of the St. Petersburg State University Oleg Sokolov, who had pleaded guilty to the murder of the postgraduate student Anastasia Yeshchenko, on Monday was ordered to be placed in detention until January 8, RAPSI reported from the city’s Oktyabrsky District Court.

According to investigators, rescuers pulled the 63-year reader out of a local river early on November 9 and hospitalized. Parts of a woman’s body and a nonlethal pistol were found in his backpack. The man was arrested when left the hospital the next day. He voluntary surrendered.

The victim was identified as the 24-year postgraduate student of the St. Petersburg State University and Sokolov’s partner.

Sokolov admitted that he gunned the woman and broke up her body.

During the court hearing, he did not object to possible detention, while his defense asked the court to place the suspect under house arrest.

Despite Sokolov pleaded guilty he refused to pour out the alleged crime citing the Article 51 of the Russian Constitution saying that nobody must witness against self, spouses or close relatives.

Sokolov is a historian and ideologist of reconstruction of Napoleonic period battles. He has been conferred the Legion of Honor, the French national award instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte.