on 14 march 2008 bichkov was shot dead by a group on a manhunt orchestrated by the department of natural reserves. the group was composed of six police "specialists" (not local to the kologriv area), some of whom were veterans of the afghan war, and four park rangers. they hunted him down on snowmobiles in an attempt to arrest him. bichkov, who was armed, wounded two members of the posse when he ambushed them. after setting his house on fire, bichkov was shot dead by a sniper.