'Black Widows': The Women Marrying Russian Soldiers for Death Payouts.

The Tragic Scam Exploiting Russia's War Casualties.

When Maria got the call from the Russian military, her world collapsed. Her 59-year-old father had been shot on the front lines in Ukraine and died from his wounds.

But the shock didn't stop there.

Not only had her dad Yury secretly enlisted something she never knew but he'd also gotten married just two days before shipping out. To a woman 22 years younger. A woman Maria had never met or even heard mentioned.

"I'm still in shock and still can't accept what happened," Maria said, sobbing at her kitchen table. "At first, it felt like a dream. Even now, I sometimes wake up thinking I must have just dreamt it all."

The bride Maria never knew is now her father's legal next of kin. That means she gets the military death payout starting at 5 million rubles (about $64,000) while Maria gets nothing.

"I've never even spoken to this woman," said Maria, 37. "I don't know what to say to her because I immediately suspected it was a scam."

A Growing Scandal:

These so called "black widows" are becoming a national obsession in Russia. Officials and state media have latched onto the term as stories spread about women manipulating lonely or vulnerable soldiers into marriage often right before they're sent to almost certain death.

One case last year sparked particular outrage: a military hospital nurse was fired after allegedly marrying five wounded soldiers under her care before they died. She pocketed the death benefits each time.

Leonid Slutsky, a prominent lawmaker in Russia's typically obedient parliament, is demanding action. "The families of Special Military Operation participants need protection from brazen criminals, from so-called 'black widows,'" he said. These crimes are reaching "serious proportions," he warned.

When the State Encouraged Marriage:

The irony? The Russian government actively pushed soldiers to get married after the 2022 invasion. Officials streamlined the process, waiving the usual waiting periods. State TV even broadcast mass weddings arranged by local officials.

The messaging was wrapped in Putin's promotion of "traditional values" and came amid Russia's demographic crisis. But cynics saw another angle: if a soldier has a wife and family, maybe he'll fight harder.

'Find a Soldier. Get an Apartment.'

Then came the podcast that made headlines across Russia.

In Tomsk, a real estate agent named Marina Orlova offered shocking advice to a host asking how to afford property.

"It's simple," Orlova said. "Find a man who's serving in the Special Military Operation and when he gets killed, you get 8 million rubles."

She laughed. "Lots of women are buying cheap apartments like that these days. It's business."

Both women were prosecuted, given long community service sentences, and forced to apologize.

A Battle Over Benefits:

In Ryazan, a public feud erupted between a soldier's mother and his new bride. Georgy Kostyrko met Angelina Varyukhina online, married her 10 days later, then returned to the front. His mother says the new wife soon posted photos with other men. Georgy filed for divorce but was killed before it finalized.

Varyukhina claims the accusations were an attempt to "blacken" her reputation and that she and Georgy reconciled. She says the photos were just meant to make him jealous.

The courts eventually overturned Varyukhina's claim to the benefits. But the scandal had already exploded across Russian media.

Even Soldiers Caught in the Scheme?

Perhaps most disturbing: reports that Russian security forces themselves may be running these scams.

In one alleged scheme in far-eastern Primorsky Krai, a warrant officer, a sergeant, and a military accountant were accused of recruiting vulnerable men including orphans and people with no family arranging their marriages, and then sending them to the most dangerous front-line positions. The goal? Maximize the chance they'd be killed so the conspirators could split the compensation.

No public updates on the case have emerged.

Nothing Left:

Back in St. Petersburg, Maria took CNN to her father's old apartment. It's been sold. The new owners say it was a legitimate sale, but they never met the seller.

Her father's widow is gone. The money is gone. And so is everything Yury owned.

"There is absolutely nothing left, and that is incredibly painful," Maria sobbed. "I don't have a single thing to remind me of him, just the keys to his apartment, which don't even work anymore. And that's it."