From seduction to spy glasses and shock: Inside Russians' trail of viral shame

For a while, Kenya’s social media timelines morphed into a national amphitheatre of shock, speculation, and moral debate.

Screens filled with whispered allegations, blurred clips, memes, and heated commentary, all orbiting around a foreign national widely labelled online as “the Russian guy spread like wildfire.”

What began as viral chatter quickly snowballed into one of the most feverishly consumed digital scandals in recent memory, forcing an uncomfortable reckoning about privacy, gender, power, and the seductive pull of foreign fantasy.

At the centre of the uproar were allegations that intimate encounters involving Kenyan women were secretly recorded and circulated without consent by a man as Yayteslav Trahov.

Trahov is said to have been operating in different AirBnB apartments along Thika Road near Thika Road Mall (TRM).

From mama mbogas to married women and baddies shopping in supermarkets, the foreigner fished the women with his famous pick-up line: “I am Russian, little English, come with me.”

For some, he would exchange contacts for a later date. So daring was Trahov that he even went to a church to pick a girl from the congregants, who were all surprised by his appearance.

The church girl would soon make an appearance at his house. In some of the leaked videos, Trahov is heard requesting some of the women to dance semi-naked.

In one of the videos, a middle-aged woman he met earlier is seen driving to the Russian’s apartment.

After parking and being welcomed into the house, she comments that the man has a lovely house, clearly impressed by the furnished space.

In some apartments, he operates in a studio; in others, he is seen in a separate room.

In another video, filmed while in Mombasa, Trahov approaches a woman working as a security guard at a major telecommunications retail shop in a mall.

With a deep Russian accent, he tells her: “Hallo? How are you, I like how you look.” He compliments her while holding her hand.

Later, the woman is seen arriving in a cab after changing out of her uniform. “I live here,” Trahov tells his guest as he ushers her into the apartment.

So sleek was he when he approached a supermarket attendant, innocently asking her about the differences between a few packed washing powder.

“I like how you look, are you married?” he asked her. “No,” was her reply.

“I am from Russia, but I live here in Kenya,” he says. The next encounter shows the woman in the man’s bedroom, having a good time.

The videos were recorded using smart glasses, technologically advanced eyewear with features such as cameras and microphones.

As outrage surged, the story ceased to be a mere online spectacle and turned into a criminal investigation.

Some of the victims are now speaking out about their encounters with Trahov.

While the videos sparked a flurry of online speculation, the women involved are telling their own side of the story, painting a picture of calculated charm and digital manipulation.

Kalekye, a 19-year-old woman captured in one of the clips, confirmed to local media outlets that she was indeed the woman seen interacting with Trahov.

She tried to set the record straight, saying their encounter ended shortly after their first meeting and, contrary to circulating rumours, she never visited his apartment.

“I already told people on my TikTok. Yesterday, I went to the clinic and recorded everything, including the tests and the kits. I even told the doctor. I will be releasing the video for my future peace and also to shut down the rumour,” Kalekye explained, stressing that she is healthy and well.

She also revealed that, later that evening, Trahov allegedly sent her a location to a short-stay apartment, a request she found uncomfortable.

“I was not willing to visit a private apartment belonging to someone I had just met,” she said.

Another content creator, Choice Kinoti, shared her experience with the same man, revealing a different dimension of his influence. Speaking to local media, Choice described being in a relationship with Trahov and initially not noticing any red flags.

“Just like any man, when you are approached, you don’t see a future immediately. It depends on how the guy grooms you and marinates you. So don’t fall for the rage bait. He would ask me from morning to evening, ‘Where would you like me to take you? Do you want us to go to Russia for your birthday?’ I didn’t see a future, but I was going with the flow because he is capable,” she said.

Choice recounted that Trahov would film all their activities, including cooking and cleaning, and later admitted that private moments were captured on camera.

While she confronted him about the recordings, she expressed hope that nothing had been leaked.

She also clarified that their encounters were safe, noting that there were no unprotected moments.

Following the uproar generated by the leaked videos, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) announced it had launched a comprehensive probe into what it described as grave violations of privacy, dignity, and constitutional rights.

The DCI framed the alleged conduct as technology-facilitated gender-based violence and warned that the creation and distribution of non-consensual intimate content could amount to offences under cybercrime and penal laws.

Specialised cybercrime and gender-based violence units were activated to trace digital footprints and identify suspects, with authorities coordinating with international partners due to the cross-border dimensions of the case.

Investigators have cautioned the public that sharing or reposting such material could attract criminal liability, emphasising that viral circulation compounds harm through secondary victimisation.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Gender, Culture and Children Services, through Cabinet Secretary Hanna Cheptumo, condemned the alleged acts as violations not only of personal dignity and privacy but also of Kenya’s cultural and social values.

Cheptumo described the incident as a troubling example of technology-enabled exploitation and pledged a coordinated, whole-of-government response, combining investigation, prosecution, and strengthened online safety policies. Officials urged victims to seek confidential support services while calling on the public to refrain from amplifying harmful content.

The controversy nonetheless sparked widespread outrage with many Kenyans demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of the foreign national at the centre of the storm.

Among those who joined the growing chorus of condemnation was Suba North MP Millie Odhiambo Mabona.

“I wonder what the women implicated in the Russian criminal fiasco are going through with their faces all over social media. I hope the guy is arrested and jailed,” she wrote.

However, the legislator went beyond condemning the alleged crime. In remarks that have since fuelled heated debate, she challenged Kenyans to confront uncomfortable truths about social conditioning, race, and self-worth.

“That aside, we need to be honest. If a random Kenyan man were to approach a decent Kenyan woman for sex, would she willingly show up without question the way the women did?” she posed, arguing that the episode exposes a deeper societal problem, a lingering colonial mindset that elevates certain races above others.

Perhaps the most revealing undercurrent of the saga lay in what it exposed about perception.

For years, foreign men, particularly white or Western men, have occupied a complicated space in the popular imagination, shaped by global media, economic aspiration, and cultural myth-making.

In some circles, foreignness carries an aura of opportunity, prestige, or escape

The scandal, however, cracked that illusion open, with public reaction suggesting the controversy was not solely about alleged misconduct, but also about a confrontation with long-held assumptions.