He has gained much admiration throughout Russia for the circumstances of his death, as his execution allegedly resulted from his refusal to convert to Islam and defect to the enemy side.

[1] Despite widespread popular veneration, he has not been glorified by the Russian Orthodox Church as a New Martyr due to lack of evidence about his death.

[4] After finishing ninth grade at a rural school of Kurilovo in Moscow Oblast, he began to work at a furniture factory and trained to be a driver.

[4] A month later, on 14 February 1996, accompanied by privates Andrey Trusov, Igor Yakovlev, and Alexander Zheleznov, he went to mount guard over a road.

During their duty, they stopped an ambulance car transporting weapons and driven by Chechen Republic of Ichkeria brigade general Ruslan Khaikhoroev.

Initially, the soldiers were announced as deserters, and military police came to Rodionov's mother's home to search for her missing son.

Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow personally blessed the popular account of Rodionov's life but worried that his cult would balloon into anti-Muslim rage.

Opponents of the decision, including Alexander Shargunov, a well-known priest, argued that an outbreak of people's love is enough for the truth and that Rodionov's grave works miracles, curing the sick and reconciling enemies.