NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia -- Russian police arrested a man who was found to be living with the mummified bodies of 26 women.
Historian Anatoly Moskvin, 45, stole the dead bodies of females aged between 15 and 25 years from their graves, dressed them like dolls and then kept them in his three-room apartment in the city of Nizhny Novgorod in western Russia.
He visited hundreds of cemeteries to dig up the women's skeletal remains and carried the corpses home in plastic bags, Life News reported Thursday.
Photographs of the corpses show them wearing dresses, stockings, ribbons and other items, and one appears to have been dressed as a teddy bear.
Moskvin's crime was reported by his elderly parents, who made the grim discovery after visiting their son.
Described as a "genius" by neighbors, the historian and journalist speaks 13 languages and gave lectures in a local museum.
Police said they had arrested Moskvin and later released him. It was not immediately clear what charges he will face.
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