Necropolis of Russian Shanghai (Некрополь русского Шанхая) record
- ID: 1066
- Surname: Melnikoff
- Forename and paternity: P.
- Фамилия: Мельников
- Имя и отчество: П.
- S: m
- Date of birth // Дата рождения: ?
- Date of death // Дата смерти: 1932-04-05
- Occupation // Профессия: Bodyguard
- Details of death // Детали смерти: Suicide by shooting, together with friend
- Obituary // Некролог: NCH 1932-04-12
- Notes // Примечания: “At about 9.35 pm, on Apr 5, two Russians shot themselves with the same pistol in a food shop in the Wayside district, and from remarks overheard by friends it was thought they had agreed to do the act. They were friends of long standing, I. Kropnikoff was the owner of the food shop, and his friend P. Melnikoff a bodyguard, in possession of a Colt .38 pistol. During the early evening the two men and several patrons of the shop sat round drinking vodka, several being in a well advanced stage of intoxication. Kropnicheff and Melnikoff were talking in an undertone, and the latter remarked: ‘How are you going about shooting yourself, your right hand being incapacitated?’ Nothing was thought of the remark at the time. Later Melnikoff handed his friends his wallet, saying: ‘There is nothing there except two passes to a theatre; keep it as a souvenir.’ At 9.30 Kropnicheff evicted the patrons and his shop assistant; the assistant lingered in the alleyway for five minutes and heard two pistol shots. The police were called and found the bodies inside the shop; both had shots through the temple. In reconstructing the incidents, the police concluded that the bodyguard had loaded the weapon, handed it to Kropnicheff, who then ended his life in the back room. Melnikoff then rushed in, took the weapon and blew out his brains in the front room. He had written a short note begging to forgive him for killing himself.”