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Malchik (Russian: Мальчик, 'Little Boy'; c. 1996 – December 2001) was a black mongrel stray dog living in Moscow, Russia. For about three years, Malchik lived at the Mendeleyevskaya station on the Moscow Metro. Malchik became a popular station "resident" among rail employees and commuters, and defended his territory against drunks and other dogs. Malchik was killed when a 22-year-old woman Yuliana Romanova stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Later it was revealed that Romanova has a long history of cruelty to animals and psychiatric treatment. The incident sparked a wave of public outrage regarding the treatment of animals, and, in 2007, a monument was erected in Malchik's honour at Mendeleyevskaya station.
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Death
On a winter evening in 2001, 22-year-old Yuliana Romanova (Volkova) was passing through Mendeleyevska station with her pet Staffordshire Bull Terrier. They encountered Malchik in a pedestrian underpass, and the stray dog barked at the pair. One report holds that Romanova set her dog on the sleeping Malchik. Romanova reached into her purse, removed a kitchen knife, and stabbed Malchick six times in the back, chest and stomach. The dog died several minutes later. Romanova was arrested and tried, and underwent one year of psychiatric treatment.
Monument
In 2007, a monument entitled "Compassion" (or "Sympathy") was erected at Mendeleevskaya station. It was erected on the night of 15/16 February 2007 and officially unveiled on 17 February. A bronze sculpture of Malchik was placed on a monolithic pedestal of serpentine. Among the artists responsible for the monument were sculptor Alexander Tsigal, artist Sergey Tsigal, architect Andrey Nalich, and designer Peter Nalich. The unveiling ceremony was attended by notable artists, many of whom had donated money for the monument's installation, including Andrey Makarevich, Mikhail Shirvindt, Veniamin Smekhov, Oleg Anofriev, Ludmila Kasatkina and Sergey Yursky.