Cruel trolls have sparked outrage in Russia by taunting a mother who posed for a glamorous photoshoot to ‘feel sexy again’ after her husband hacked off her hands.
Margarita Grachyova, 26, has faced abuse after posing in a glamorous outfit and showing off her robotic right hand, the left hand that was sewn back on by doctors, and the scars on her leg that were left by the attack.
Her husband Dmitry Grachyov inflicted the injuries in December 2017 after accusing her of having an affair.
One abusive commenter said she would have ‘chopped my daughter’s hands off if she was to pose like this’ while another said her husband’s attack ought to have ‘given her a good lesson’.
Some accused her of ‘enjoying the publicity’ and making ‘provocative’ poses while another nasty comment read: ‘Looks like he had every reason to chop her hands’.
Glamorous: Margarita Grachyova, 26, wore a revealing black outfit as she posed for a set of pictures showing off her robotic right hand
However, an undeterred Margarita deleted the most hateful comments and hit back at the trolls, saying: ‘I simply like trying different images.
‘I am not trying to please anyone, this is just my desire of trying new things.’
Coming to her defence, Russian blogger Ilya Varlamov hit out at the ‘whole freak parade’ who attacked Margarita ‘all because of a couple of pictures’.
The images showed ‘a beautiful woman who had strength to overcome a terrible tragedy’, he said, condemning the ‘moral degenerates (who) want to lynch Margarita’.
‘Every big case shows that there is a huge number of inadequate people living in our country who justify torture and murder in the name of their crooked values,’ he said.
‘If a victim does not fit the values of the patriarch society, then ‘she is the one to be blamed. For example, because she’s wearing a mini skirt.’
Defiant: Margarita Crachyova, pictured with her robotic hand on display, has faced abuse since sharing the pictures from the glamorous photoshoot
Margarita Grachyova with ex-husband Dmitry who attacked her in 2017 after suspecting her of having a love affair
Striking poses: The Russian’s right hand – an artificial limb – and her left, which was sewn back on after the attack, are both visible in these images
Acceptance: Grachyova said she had often felt she was no longer attractive since the December 2017 attack and took part in the photoshoot to prove otherwise
Missing limb: The Russian’s left hand during surgery, after it was hacked off in December 2017
Another popular social media commentator, Mila Levchyuk, said she ‘froze’ when she read the troll comments.
‘I’m scared, people are so inhumane,’ she wrote. ‘This is victim-blaming.
‘There turned out to be some men for whom it is important to find a sensible explanation for a psychopath’s behaviour (in chopping off his wife’s hands).
‘And they did so in the allegedly immoral conduct of the victim. Without any evidence, and based on a photo session.’
Publishing the pictures, she said: ‘Since the incident, I have often thought that I am not attractive anymore.
‘I turned into a woman with a robotic hand with numerous ugly scars on my arms and legs.
‘To tell you honestly I have not learned to accept myself as I am now. But sexuality is not only about appearance. It is also about something deeper inside.’
Progress: Margarita Grachyova posed for these pictures more than 18 months since she was violently attacked by her husband
Robotic hand: German doctors replaced her lost right hand with a specially-designed bionic prosthesis, after sewing her left hand back on
Margarita suffered the injuries in December 2017 when her husband Dmitry Grachyov drove her into the woods, tied her up, crushed her fingers and and hacked off both her hands.
Grachyov, a psychologist, had suspected his wife of having an affair before he launched the axe attack in December 2017.
After the attack, he took her with blood gushing from her arms to a hospital before turning himself in at a police station.
In November 2018 Grachyov was charged with kidnapping and causing grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Doctors performed a 10-hour surgery and managed to sew back Margarita’s left hand, even though eight bones were broken, crushed by blows from the axe.
German medics also used electrical impulses to stimulate the muscles in her left arm.
Later the German doctors replaced her lost right hand with a specially-designed bionic prosthesis.
Attacker: Margarita Grachyova, right, lost both hands during the axe attack by her husband Dmitry Grachyov, left