Chesnokov, 45, was arrested Friday and has confessed to killing Lyudmila Medvedeva, 31, said criminal investigator Andrei Vasilega of the Timiryazevsky region prosecutor's office.
Police said another man, Alexei Blyoskin, 43, also was arrested.
"The witnesses told us that the three had a drinking party in the apartment of another friend," said Vasilega. "After they got drunk the two men wanted to have sex with the woman. When she refused they beat her up severely, breaking her nose, then choked her to death."
Neighbors at Dmitrovskoye Shosse 37, called police after hearing noise and screams for help.
Chesnokov played for 10 seasons on the Central Red Army soccer squad and also played for the Russian national team. According to the prosecutor, Chesnokov had trouble finding work following his soccer career and often spent time drinking with friends.
Vasilega said that after further investigation the two would be charged with murder. If convicted, they would face up to 15 years in prison.
At present two other famous Soviet athletes are serving time for murder. Former champion high jumper Igor Paklin was sent to prison for killing his business partner in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, last year, while Estonian Toomas Lejus, who won several Soviet tennis titles in the 1960s and 70s and played for eight years on the Soviet Davis Cup team, is serving 10 years for murdering his wife.
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