A late rumor recorded by dissident communist Belu Zilber notes that young Bodnarenko specialized in murdering enemies of Budyonny "by his own hand". Tatiana Pauker-Brătescu, who was acquainted with Bodnarenko in the late 1940s, recalls him being "a sinister figure": "To what measure, we got to see during one of his drunken exploits.
A dissident communist Belu Zilber reported that Bodnarenko was skilled in killing enemies of Budyonny with his own hands. Tatiana Pauker-Brătescu, who knew him in the late 1940s, described him as a menacing figure: "We saw one of his drunken episodes.