Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast · Blue Ewe Media

411: The Murder of Zoya Fyodorova w/ Chris Pouy

·1 hr 26 min·5 clips

Eric Rivenis introduces Chris Poi as a guest with a striking personal story rather than his usual author interview. Chris says he is grateful to be asked about it. The conversation begins with his grandmother, Zoya Fedorova, a Russian film actress. Eric makes clear that this is different from his normal chats. Chris explains that much of what he knows comes through his mother, Victoria, so the story stays grounded in family memory. From there it widens into Fedorova’s life and the murder that changed everything. The pace stays measured and direct throughout. One key thread concerns his father, who had been a captain in the Navy and later flew for Pan Am. That part of the story starts with a newspaper article about a dog that needed to be returned to Moscow. Customs and travel rules made the trip difficult. Chris’s father offered to carry the dog to Moscow on one of his flights. That gesture led to contact with Jackson Tate. Jackson invited him to a party before Chris’s mother left. Eric points out the irony that the meeting echoed the way his grandfather and grandmother had met. The conversation also shows how a small chance encounter became part of the family story. It returns to Victoria and the devastation she felt after Fedorova was killed. Chris describes the loss as a breaking point. He talks about the hope of a new life in America with a new husband, a new son, and a new dog. The episode treats that hope as real before it was taken away. Near the end, Eric points listeners to the BBC Outlook episode Murder in Moscow for a shorter version with more detail about Victoria. He also mentions Victoria’s out-of-print book, The Admiral’s Daughter, as another place to learn more.

As heard by us

A family centered murder story that leans on grief, history, and memory more than shock.

Chris Poi frames the murder of his grandmother, Zoya Fedorova, as a family story shaped by loss and history. Eric Rivenis keeps the conversation steady and unhurried, which gives the family details, the Soviet backdrop, and the odd turns between generations room to land.

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Why you'd press play

For when you want a murder story told through family memory, not lurid framing.

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