One year after a man was found fatally stabbed inside a tent at Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, the homicide remains unsolved — and authorities say the victim’s final hours are still shrouded in uncertainty.
Vadim Kruglov, a 37-year-old Russian-born man who had been living in Washington state, was discovered lying in blood around 9:15 p.m. on Aug. 30, 2025, while the festival’s signature “Man” burn was taking place. As this year’s Burning Man event gets underway after opening Sunday and running through Labor Day, investigators have yet to announce any arrests.
Fresh information about Kruglov’s death and the days leading up to it has surfaced through KTLA and a yearlong SFGATE investigation that included interviews with more than 80 people tied either to Kruglov or to the massive desert gathering, which attracts as many as 80,000 attendees known as “burners.”
Pershing County Sheriff’s Sgt. Nathan Carmichael told SFGATE that investigators believe Kruglov was killed inside the red-and-white tent where his body was later found.
Vadim Kruglov, a 37-year-old Russian national who had been living in Washington state, was identified by the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada as the man found “lying in a pool of blood” at Burning Man 2025. He was discovered stabbed to death on the night of Aug. 30, 2025, and a year later, no arrests have been made. (Siobhan McAndrew/Reno Gazette Journal via USA Today /@sofi.co__ via Instagram)
A knife remained lodged in his neck, and an autopsy found no defensive wounds, suggesting he had little or no chance to fight back, according to the outlet.
“When you get stabbed in the manner that he was, you’re going to be out in seconds,” Carmichael told SFGATE.
The weapon was recovered at the scene and yielded several DNA profiles, then-Pershing County Detective Josh Nicholson told SFGATE.
Kruglov’s cellphone was also recovered, but had not been unlocked at the time of Nicholson’s interview, the outlet reported.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office released a stock image of a kitchen knife they believe is similar to the weapon found near the victim of the Burning Man festival murder. (Pershing County Sheriff’s Office)
One of the largest unanswered questions centers on the roughly four hours before Kruglov was found.
Black Rock Rangers — fellow burners who assist others in need — reportedly took him to Rampart, a temporary hospital on the festival grounds, where he spent much of Aug. 30, and received medical care, Nicholson told SFGATE.
He was released at about 5 p.m., but investigators have not publicly accounted for his movements between then and 9:14 p.m., when he was discovered with the fatal neck wound.
Earlier that morning, at about 2 a.m., Kruglov had reportedly been seen DJing with two men at a camp on the outskirts of the festival, not far from where his body would later be found.
A person records during the annual Burning Man Festival on Sept. 4, 2023. (JULIE JAMMOT/AFP via Getty Images)
Authorities have not identified those men, despite receiving hundreds of tips, according to KTLA.
Friends and campmates also described troubling behavior in the days before Kruglov’s death. They told SFGATE that he became increasingly paranoid after using cocaine and what may have been methamphetamine, at one point saying people were watching him and wanted him out of the camp.
One campmate, Alex Barnov, told the outlet he believed Kruglov’s paranoia was drug-induced and said Kruglov appeared fine after waking the next day.
Another campmate said Kruglov was focused on getting an Apple AirTag to work on Aug. 29, so others could track him, though the remote location made the device difficult to use, according to SFGATE.
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The sun rises behind a wood and neon statue, the center piece of the annual Burning Man festival north of Gerlach, Nev., Aug. 26, 2002. (AP Photo/Debra Reid, File)
Kruglov’s death unfolded as tens of thousands of festivalgoers gathered for the burning of “The Man,” the signature spectacle at the annual nine-day gathering dedicated to art, community and self-expression.
His death marked the first known homicide in Burning Man’s history, Carmichael told SFGATE.
A man initially alerted a deputy after finding Kruglov on the ground, according to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities secured the area and established a perimeter while the celebration continued around them.
An anonymous witness later told The Hollywood Reporter that she and her partner were leaving Black Rock City when an older woman in a red dress flagged them down and calmly said a man inside her tent was “bleeding out and might be dead.” The woman reportedly said she had not checked his pulse because she “didn’t want to touch him.”
Burning Man’s Orgy Dome launched a GoFundMe to raise money to cover the expenses associated with erected the dome. (Julie Jammot/AFP)
The group contacted a Black Rock Ranger using Starlink, and the information was relayed to law enforcement, the witness said.
Kruglov, who was originally from Omsk, Siberia, was identified through fingerprints by the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office days after the killing.
His father, Igor Kruglov, later released an emotional video from Russia calling for justice.
“Words can’t express my feelings,” he said. “I’m proud of my son, now known worldwide. He felt injustice deeply and fought for fairness always. I believe a similar situation occurred here. I want those responsible to face consequences.”
In the days after the killing, the sheriff’s office appealed for any information that could identify a suspect in what it called a “heinous crime.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office.
News Media reached out to the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office for an update on the investigation and Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office but did not immediately receive a response.