Margarita Gracheva, 28, who had both of her hands severed by her former husband, recently landed a TV show gig on Russia 1 Channel.

The talk-show programme, Blizkiye Lyudi (Intimate People), features the stories victims, with show producers aiming to raise awareness about  domestic violence in Russia.

The program is a first-of- its kind in Russia which is seen as an outlier among developed countries for its weak legislation on domestic violence.

In Russia, Gracheva explained that restraining orders are non-existent with female victims having little legal mechanisms to keep violent partners out of the family home.

For Gracheva shows like the one she is the co-host of are necessary because though the country has very limited statistics on the issues, some groups estimate that three-quarters of Russian women will experience some form of domestic violence from a partner at some point in their lives.

In addition Gracheva says the pandemic has made the situation worse, with domestic abuse hotlines since seen a spike moving from 6,054 to more than 13,000 when the city of Moscow was locked down.

Gracheva’s Story

In December 2017, Gracheva’s then-husband, Dmitri Grachev, drove her to an isolated wooded and used an axe to hack her all over her body

In the attack, Gracheva had both of her hands severed.

While doctors were able to save Gracheva’s left hand, which fell into snow during the attack, she has little sensation in the hand.

As for her right hand, Gracheva has an artificial hand connected to her muscles so that she can grasp objects .

Her ex-husband was sentenced to 14 years in jail.