A native of Novosibirsk born in 1979, he had a small criminal record with arrests for burglary, but was considered an ordinary, married man who worked as a taxi driver in the local area.
Enraged by his wife's infidelity, Ivanov sought to punish those whom he deemed as "harlots", beginning a killing spree that would last several months and frighten the local population.
[3] Ivanov's modus operandi was to pick up certain women from the Moshkovsky and Kalininsky City districts of Novosibirsk, with his victims being prostitutes with drug or alcohol dependencies and inclinations for promiscuous sex.
[3] When questioned about the reasons for the murders, Ivanov cited his wife's betrayal as his breaking point, for which he developed a hatred towards women and a desire to "keep the city's moral purity.
"[5] Due to the similarities of his killings and the then-unsolved murders of 17 prostitutes in the city, dating back to 1998, Ivanov was briefly considered a prime suspect but later ruled out.