Those who turned out to be more successful have long been in legal business. In fact, this is what they were aiming for. "Infantrymen" have always been just unskilled workers, consumables with incorrigible criminal thinking.
Well, damn it, you give Experts and ordinary citizens worried about what is in the head of those who return, and how this return will affect the criminal situation. According to an optimistic scenario bordering on fantasy, the colony has re-educated the fighters, and the fear of a new conclusion will keep them from crime. According to another, more realistic version, the former militants will go about their usual business, and there will be a new surge in crime.
However, the fighters who recently returned from prison are themselves at a loss. “First of all, they are struck by the cult of consumption: life is ruled not by gangster romance, but by money,” one of the investigators in the case of the Orekhovo-Medvedkovskaya organized criminal group told Trud. - Former prisoners cannot believe that there are no gangster "roofs" in the country for a long time, laws work, and businessmen and even criminal groups resolve their disputes in a civilized way and through the courts. They are still confident that all issues in life can be solved by force, connections and status.
Some of the former fighters are trying to live according to the laws of the harsh 90s, which often leads to funny things. As Ruslan Mustafin, the owner of the capital's mini-printing house, told Trud, the other day, a man blue from tattoos came to his office and asked: "Who is your roof?" The office staff broke into laughter, which pretty much embarrassed the racketeer. As it turned out, before the conclusion he was the foreman of the "Taganskaya" and "protected" all the firms in this building.
For a long time he could not believe that such a phenomenon had not existed for a long time. A similar incident recently occurred in the Izmailovo microdistrict of the capital. There, the former "bulls" tried to take under their "roof" the parking lot of the local HOA, but they were also ridiculed. It's easier with the police And yet, according to some experts, the psychology of most former militants will never change. - Several generations must change before a new formation of criminals and their leaders appears in the criminal environment. Relatively speaking, civilized,” expert psychologist Mikhail Vinogradov told Trud. - It is already noticeable how many bandits of the 90s have degenerated into civilized businessmen and solve issues by other methods. “Now it’s easier to resolve the issue with competitors through the hands of policemen, because it’s cheap, legal and safe for the bandits themselves,” one of the Moscow prosecutors told Trud. In addition, the organized crime groups themselves have long been no longer groups, but business structures.
Their leaders sit in their own offices, wear suits and ties, make friends with the authorities, shake hands with the generals of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB and the prosecutor's office, and through them resolve controversial issues. But more often all the same through the court and lawyers. They monitor their business image, do not like to stir up the past and distance themselves from crime. Including from personnel with an ambiguous reputation. New life Some of the released prisoners are trying to break with crime and start a new life.
Most often, these are people who cooperated with the investigation and distanced themselves from the criminal world. Those who do not know how to do anything else and do not want to return to crime. Someone is not returning to an empty place. Some managed to launch a business that they controlled from imprisonment, others are waiting for their own organized criminal group, or rather, what it has turned into.
In Moscow and St. Petersburg, for example, there are no longer those groups of the 90s, and even more so there is no division of the city into criminal spheres of influence. There are successful business structures that solve all problems in a civilized way, and they simply do not need the previous number of bayonets.
However, they supported the most valuable and useful people: they paid for the services of lawyers, “warmed up” in the colonies, helped to be released early, and supported their families. Such will be hired for individual power actions: raider seizures, protection of markets and business.
Unexpected work in a crisis was found for former racketeers. “There are, so to speak, collection agencies in which former “bulls” communicate with debtors,” one of the operatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs told Trud. - I dare to assure you that few people will be able to withstand the psychological pressure on the thieves hair dryer and according to the concepts. In general, according to experts, there will be no criminal redistribution with explosions and murders, although individual excesses are possible. After all, everything has long been divided, and the current owners will not allow destabilization.
And the majority of the released bandits will not have enough mind for a new redistribution. And whoever tries, he will quickly sit down again, or even lie down. In vain, did they sit? Most experts agree that the released prisoners will pose a danger not because they were once part of some kind of organized criminal group. Traditional criminals, the so-called "bruises", are no less, if not more dangerous for ordinary citizens. In addition, those who have sat down for a banal “everyday life” or simply out of stupidity can also go onto the “high road”.
In the wild in a crisis, they are unlikely to be able to find more or less decent work. “The system does not correct anyone,” says Doctor of Sciences, psychologist Mikhail Vinogradov. - In conclusion, people are recruited not labor, but criminal experience, the application of which will then be sought. And if there is a surge in crime, it will not be associated with the exit of former members of the groups, but with the general situation in the country. The Federal Penitentiary Service is more optimistic. “Next year, no major changes are expected in the contingent of citizens who will be released,” FPS spokesman Valery Zaitsev told Trud. - The composition and quantity will remain approximately at the level of previous years.
And this means that all the talk about a possible "criminal explosion" is groundless. Figures Forecast of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for 2009 3.3 million expected number of crimes in Russia 2% overall increase in crime 3.5% increase in crimes committed as part of organized criminal groups 3.5% increase in acquisitive crimes 5% increase in the number of thefts 14% increase bribery 1/5 of all crimes are committed under the influence of drugs and alcohol. In Moscow, there are twice as many of them as the national average.
An increase in such crimes is predicted this year. Direct speech Sergei Iliy, Deputy Head of Research Center No. 1 of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs: - According to our forecasts, crime in Russia will increase by about 2% next year. But the types of crimes will be different. For example, more acquisitive crimes are expected, and fewer murders.
Now there are 248 crimes per 100,000 people committed by those with previous convictions. More than half of them are thefts. However, the level of recidivism varies greatly by region. For example, in the Perm Territory or Magadan, it is much higher, since there are a large number of camps and many commit crimes immediately after release. However, the largest increase in crimes in previous years was not there, but in the Ivanovo, Astrakhan, Kemerovo and Oryol regions, Chukotka and Chuvashia.
The smallest increase was and is expected in Chechnya and Ingushetia. And in Moscow, for example, most crimes are committed in a drug frenzy: twice as many as the average for Russia. In previous years, the level of criminal recidivism was significantly influenced by the practice of administrative supervision of persons who had served their sentences. Now it's gone.
This dark and wild period of modern Russian history began in the late 1980s. The total control of the state suddenly turned into absolute freedom, but for many it was simply too tough. New heroes of that time entered the field: unprincipled and cruel groups capable of doing anything for their own benefit.
-
Transport
Normal guys cut through the area on the VAZ 2109 - it was convenient to jump into this with the whole brigade after the job. More serious guys also had more serious cars: BMW “fives” and, of course, the legendary SUVs Jeep Grand Cherokee were popular. The main symbol of that lawless era was undoubtedly the Mercedes S 600.
Weapon
An extensive inventory was used as an everyday tool for business: nunchucks, brass knuckles, butterfly knives and even baseball bats, rare at that time. Firearms were found in large quantities, the bandits loved the Chinese TTs, but did not disdain the "parabellums" and "Walters" that had remained since the war.
Sport
For easy money, first of all, those who had nothing to lose, and there was really nothing to hope for, reached out. The children of the sleeping areas whiled away their puberty in the basement rocking chairs, so the sport, as they say, was in their blood. Often, failed guys from big sport, wrestlers and boxers adjoined the already formed teams.
Entertainment
Money appeared as quickly as it was mined. The "lads" had not yet imagined any special entertainment for themselves - a sauna, girls, expensive tracksuits, and body kits for their favorite car. In the early 90s, nightclubs and casinos became one of the main signs of the times: the Moscow Metelitsa, for example, completely gained fame as the main gangster establishment.
Crimson jacket and gold seals
Today, tales of crimson jackets are perceived as anecdotes, but at that time they really became a hallmark of the development of banditry throughout the country. The image of a swindler in the first place signaled impudence: they say, here I am, standing smartly and you can see me a mile away. Gold rings came back into fashion, and a signet on several fingers at once became a hit.
gang wars
The main redistribution of the market took place in the capital. The war began as a wild fight of all against all, but gradually the groups had to unite first against SOBR and OMON units, and then against much more evil and unscrupulous people from Chechnya.
sports cars
The constant threat to life forced the "boys" to reconsider their understanding of the "right" cars. Of course, frets-nines have not gone anywhere - consumables, convenient for bypassing your area. But executive cars were replaced by more practical, fast and maneuverable sports cars, with preference given to the Pontiac sports coupe and, of course, the Jaguar.
We continue a series of publications about the criminal Tula of the 90s. The first part.
The beginning of the 90s went down in history with an unprecedented rampant crime. For comparison: in 1991, in the Tula region,
23,557 crimes, and a year later - over 31 thousand. Not a week went by without commercial tents, security booths at the first parking lots, offices, shops and markets not burning in Tula or in the regions. Rarely did any of the entrepreneurs try to seek protection from the police: everyone knew "where the wind blows from." From Kosaya Gora, from where Bourgeois (Sergey Khimin) ran the Railway Station and part of the Soviet and Central regions. From the District, where the Leshie brothers and the Osipov brigade ruled. From Novo-Medvensky, from where the brothers of Kazanets commanded affairs in the Proletarsky, Venevsky and Kireevsky districts. From Krivoluchye, where the "Isakovsky" patrimony was ...
Arson of cars, abductions with export to the forest, intimidation with irons and other abominations, so effectively shown in crime series, were a terrible and harsh truth of life. In the 90s there was no merchant who did not pay tribute. If you refuse the "roof", you will burn. If you don’t accept the conditions, they will put it on the “counter”, and the debt will instantly grow so that you have to give everything just to stay alive.
Racketeering was treated as a necessary evil. These were the unspoken rules of the game: if you open even the most trifling business, you have to pay for protection from other brothers.
Ambarnikov (Ambar) is considered the founder of the Tula racket: he was the first to put together a brigade to take money from merchants, and he was the first to go to another world. Ambar's group worked big. Their last case: on June 29, 1993, they got a new car from the owner of one of the Tula "car dealerships" in the open. In case of disobedience, they threatened to burn the parking lot and kill the owner.
Sloboda wrote about gang warfare. These were clear "greetings from the dashing 90s." On October 4, 2003, the recently released Sergei Gatilov (Greek) was killed at the Zarechensky cemetery. December 19, 2003 on the street. Bondarenko's former "comrades-in-arms" planted explosives under the front axle of Kazanets' (Gennady Kazantsev's) jeep. Kazantsev, whose legs were torn off by the explosion, died in the hospital
But Ambar himself was the first to say goodbye to his life: in the summer of the same 1993, in Ryazanka, an improvised explosive device tore a car to shreds along with its new owner.
Even years later, Tula detectives recalled with disgust the terrible sight: pieces of the car, parts of the body, everything was mixed up. For our criminologists, this was the first explosive or, as it began to be called, explosive sump examination in their practice.
The power of the criminal underground rested on the "concepts" and authority of criminal leaders. But, according to the laws of the jungle, the leaders of the pack sooner or later had to go into the shadows, leaving the throne young. Nobody wanted to give up their powers voluntarily.
How many heads were laid in the criminal battle of the 90s, no one counted. Grigory Pavlovich Zubarev is already in the rank of deputy. The head of the criminal police service, the Internal Affairs Directorate, recalled that in the early to mid-90s - every month, it was a bloody "arrow" with burned cars and explosives.
In 1995, in the Leninsky district (the name of the “regional burial ground” stuck to it), 40 dead were found, 20 of them could not be identified.
In addition to the internal squabble over the right to dominate the brigade and the status of "authority", no less sharp were the showdowns for spheres of influence between individual gangs: for the right to "milk" specific areas, enterprises, parking lots, the market and other grain places. It was a new round of confrontation, when the gangs ate each other. The rule of the Roman conquerors “divide and conquer” worked flawlessly: in order to seize the zone of responsibility of competitors, it is enough to quarrel them among themselves.
This is exactly what happened to the Zarechenskaya group of Osipov and Gatilov (Popik and Grek), who were engaged in extortion in Tula and the region. In 1994, a split occurred in the brigade, Gatilov claimed the role of leader and decided to kill the leader. According to one version, the two leaders of the brigade were pitted against another Zarechensky authority - Andrey Leshkov (Leshy).
On May 25, 1994, Gatilov's people gathered on the site near the mass graves in the old Zarechensky cemetery, armed themselves and set off in several cars to look for Osipov. A few hours later, at the entrance to the Zarechensky bridge across the Upugatilovskys, Popik's car was shot at. Together with Osipov, the leader of the "group of athletes" Tsarev, who accidentally ended up in the car, also died.
It is noteworthy that the murder took place on the day of the commemoration of another criminal authority of Zarechye, Puchkov, nicknamed Puchok. He was shot dead in a casino after an argument with one of the brothers. Many of his "boys" came to commemorate the authority in the Tulitsa cafe.
The day before, the Gatilovites shot the driver Osipov and threw the corpse into Bezhka. The leader knew nothing about this, but he felt threatened.
It is no coincidence that at the memorial dinner it sounded: “Greek, do you want war? You will get it!" But the roles of the hunter and the victim were already distributed. Tsarev got into this game by the will of fate: after the wake, Osipov could not drive and asked a more sober Tsarev to replace his missing driver.
Victims of the bloody showdown in 1994: Igor Osipov (Popik), head of the Zarechensk group, and Valery Tsarev, leader of the "athletes"
The participants in the massacre on the bridge were quickly caught by the police. The detention saved many lives, although only temporarily.
At this place, "Gatilov's" waylaid the car,
in which Tsarev and Osipov rode
Gatilov and his people were brought to trial in 1996, the ringleader received 5 years in prison and 8 years in a penal colony. In 2003, the Greek was released, having received the right to early release for good behavior. Subsequent events showed that he hurried to freedom in vain. On October 4, 2003, he died from five shots in the head at the mass graves at the Zarechensky cemetery: according to the investigation, he arrived in a "nine" with someone to meet, but did not even have time to get out of the car. It is symbolic that the murder took place at the site of the former gatherings of the Gatilov and Popik brigade.
The same fate - years of atrocities, arrest, imprisonment, release and retribution - was prepared for Gennady Kazantsev, the leader of the largest Tula brigade in the early 90s.
The Kazanets gang was created in the summer of 1993 - in the spring of 1994. The leader of the group, Gennady Kazantsev, a resident of Novo-Medvenskoye, who had no previous conflicts with the law, gathered around him scumbags from all over the region. As in the gang of Popik and Grek, there were almost no criminals among Kazantsev: criminal records and Zon tattoos will appear among the brothers of the second wave of the 90s.
The backbone of the Kazants gang was made up of Venev and Kireev brothers, young, impudent, who did not have rich parents, connections to break out into the people.
In addition to Kazantsev, the affairs in the group were run by two former employees of the Station District Department of Internal Affairs, who officially worked as the general director and deputy director of the private security company BIS.
Former policemen helped Kazantsev with weapons, some he bought himself in Izhevsk. The gang's arsenal included a Kalashnikov, four TTs, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, explosives and grenades. All this was seized during the search after the arrest of the leader.
Kazantsevskaya, under the guise of "BIS", made a living racketeering, taxing not only private stores, but also large enterprises in Venev, Kireevsk, Arsenyevo. For example, Arsenyevsky and Venevsky dairies. Monthly bandits received an average of about $100-150 per object for "protection". If a businessman did not want to work with BIS, armed thugs burst into the office, and no one refused the “roof”. They were afraid to contact Kazantsev and other brigades. Enough of the story of the murder of a recidivist in Venev. He tried to share the area with Kazantsev. The competitor was visited by bandits in the form of police officers, they offered to drive to the regional department. But in fact, they took him to a deserted place in the Mikhailovsky district near Ryazan, hacked to death with an ax, burned and buried him.
Most of the gang was arrested on May 23, 1995. One of the accomplices, who was caught stealing, wrote a confession, where he spoke about all the atrocities of Kazantsev. The bandits were charged with four murders, extortion and robbery. The trial lasted more than 6 (!) years. The ringleader was threatened with up to 20 years, but the case fell apart. The intimidated witnesses refused to corroborate their earlier testimony. In February 2002, the prosecutor dropped the charges for three of the four murders and asked for only 7 years and 9 months for Kazanets - six months more than the Kazantsevs had already spent in a pre-trial detention center. A month later, Kazantsev was released, and in December 2002 he exploded in his jeep on the street. Bondarenko.
To be continued
11.11.2016
The last decade of the 20th century in Russia is called the “dashing 90s” for a reason. Organized criminal communities, especially openly, controlled almost all spheres of life.
The CrimeRussia website published a list of the most influential and brutal Russian organized crime groups of the 1990s.
1. Shchelkovskaya
Alexander Matusov
The Shchelkovskaya organized crime group was based in the Shchelkovo district near Moscow from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. The organized crime group included residents of the local village of Biokombinat. The Shchelkovskys gained notoriety for a number of murders they committed. According to investigators, they account for at least 60 deaths of entrepreneurs, gangsters and their own accomplices.
The founder of the group was the criminal "authority" Alexander Matusov, known by the nickname "Basmach". Before creating his own gang, he was a member of the Izmailovsky organized criminal group. "Basmach" created a group that kept the entire village in fear - from policemen to officials. "Shchelkovsky" were known in the criminal world for their particular cruelty. The people of "Basmach" preferred not to negotiate, but simply to eliminate competitors. Soon, the organized criminal group began to work at the request of customers throughout Russia - to kill or take hostages, who were brutally tortured, demanding to pay money. As the investigators noted, most of the victims (regardless of whether they paid a ransom or not) were killed and buried in the Shchelkovsky district.
Video: The plot of "Vesti" about the trial of Matusov
The bloody crimes of the "Shchelkovites" became known to law enforcement agencies only during the investigation of the case of the friendly "Kingisepp" group. In 2009, a criminal case was opened against members of the Shchelkovskaya organized criminal group, and the escaped leader of the Basmach gang was put on the federal wanted list. However, in 2014 he was detained in Thailand and extradited to Russia. Now a jury is being selected for him to judge.
2. "Slonovskaya" organized criminal group
Vyacheslav "Elephant" Ermolov
The group originated in Ryazan in 1991; its organizers were the former driver of the Ryazan city prosecutor's deputy Nikolai Ivanovich Maksimov ("Max") and the taxi driver Vyacheslav Yermolov ("Elephant") - it was thanks to the latter that the gang got its name. The first capital was made by criminals, "protecting" local "thimble-makers".
Soon the group mastered larger-scale businesses: fraud with the sale of cars and racketeering; then the "elephants" moved on to capture entire enterprises. In a short time, virtually the entire city was under the control of the organized criminal group.
However, in 1993, the "elephants" had a conflict with another gang operating in the city - the "Ayrapetovskie" (in honor of the leader - Viktor Airapetov, "Viti Ryazansky"). During the "shooter" between the heads of the groups - Yermolov and Airapetov - there was a fight, during which the "Elephant" was severely beaten. This marked the beginning of a large-scale gang war. In response, the “elephants” shot at the club of the Ryazselmash plant, where the Airapetovskys rested. The Vitya Ryazansky himself miraculously escaped - he managed to hide behind a column. Soon Airapetov struck - "Max" was shot in the entrance of his own house. "Elephants" got to "Ryazan" only in 1995 - he was kidnapped in front of his own guards, his body was found only a month later in the forest near the highway.
"Slonovskaya" organized crime group
Already in 1996, the "Slonovskaya" organized criminal group was actually liquidated. The most influential members of the gang were convicted in 2000, receiving various terms of imprisonment (the maximum is 15 years). At the same time, the head of the group - Vyacheslav Yermolov - managed to escape. According to some reports, he now lives in Europe.
3. "Volgovskaya" organized criminal group
Dmitry Ruzlyaev
The "Volgovskaya" criminal gang was created by two natives of the city of Togliatti, employees of the Volga Hotel, Alexander Maslov and Vladimir Karapetyan. The main activity of the gang was associated with the sale of stolen parts from the local VAZ automobile plant.
Gradually, its influence and income grew: during the heyday of the gang, when the group controlled half of the shipment of the company's cars and dozens of dealer companies, the Volgovskys earned over $400 million a year.
In 1992, shortly after his release, the head of the gang, Alexander Maslov, was shot. The murder of the criminal leader took place during the war between the "Volgovskaya" and the group of Vladimir Vdovin ("Partner"). After the death of Maslov, the organized criminal group was headed by his closest associate, Dmitry Ruzlyaev, nicknamed Dima Bolshoy, in connection with which the gang began to be called "Ruzlyaevskaya". Soon the "Ruzlyaevskaya" made an alliance with local groups - "Kupeevskaya", "Mokrovskaya", "Sirotenkovskaya", "Chechen".
As it turned out during the arrest of "Dima Bolshoy" in 1997, he was in close contact with some influential security officials, which to a certain extent confirmed the rumors that the "Volgovskys" were supported by the local police to create a counterweight to the "Naparnik" organized crime group.
On April 24, 1998, Dmitry Ruzlyaev, along with a driver and two bodyguards, was shot from four machine guns in his own car. "Dima Bolshoi" was buried on the famous "Alley of Heroes" of Togliatti, along with other local "brothers".
By the beginning of the 2000s, the group was actually liquidated - most of the leaders and killers of the gang were either killed or sentenced to long terms. The last head of the Volgovskys, Viktor Pchelin, was caught in 2007 after being on the run for 10 years.
Grave of Ruzlyaev
In March 2016, it was reported that one of the previously caught active members of the gang, Vladimir Vorobey, was found dead in the hospital of correctional colony No. 9 with signs of suicide. Sparrow, who had been on the wanted list since 1997, was detained only in January 2016 in St. Petersburg, where he lived under the name of Vadim Gusev.
4. "Malyshevskaya" organized criminal group
Gennady Petrov and Alexander Malyshev
The Malyshevskaya OPG is one of the most influential gangs in St. Petersburg, operating from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s. Its organizer is a former wrestler Alexander Malyshev. He began his criminal career, working as a "thimble" under the "roof" of the "Tambovskaya" organized criminal group. However, already in the late 80s, Malyshev managed to assemble a gang under his command. In 1989, the first clash between the "Tambovskaya" and "Malyshevskaya" took place with the use of firearms, after which the groups became enemies.
After a skirmish with the Tambov gang, Malyshev and another influential member of the gang, Gennady Petrov, were arrested on suspicion of banditry, but were soon released. Immediately after the release, the “brothers” hurried to hide abroad: Malyshev fled to Sweden, and Petrov to Spain.
After the case was closed, the leaders of the organized crime group returned to St. Petersburg, where they continued their activities. The influence of the Malyshevskys grew until the mid-1990s, when they were supplanted by the more powerful Tambovs. After the murder of most of the gang members by competitors, Malyshev and Petrov again fled abroad. However, the enterprising "brothers" did not give up and continued to develop their criminal network already in Europe. Malyshev received Estonian citizenship, then lived in Germany, and from there moved to Spain, where Petrov also moved.
As the Spanish police later established, the Malyshevskys began to actively create a complex system for laundering illegally acquired money invested in real estate. Subsequently, it is Petrov who will become one of the main defendants in the high-profile case of the “Russian mafia in Spain”, in which, in addition to him, a number of prominent businessmen and politicians of the Russian Federation are mentioned. In 2008, there was a mass arrest of Russian mafiosi - more than 20 gang members were detained. At the same time, the investigation took place in a very strange way - Petrov was soon released to his native Petersburg under the pretext of restoring health. For some reason, he did not dare to go back to Spain.
But Malyshev spent time in a Spanish prison until 2015, after which he also returned to St. Petersburg. According to him, he retired and decided to live a quiet life, not connected in any way with crime.
5. "Izmailovskaya" organized criminal group
Anton Malevsky, Valery Dlugach
Originated in Moscow in the mid-1980s. She grew up from the capital's youth gangs, historically opposed to the "lubers". Its leader was Oleg Ivanov, who moved to Moscow from Kazan. Later, the leadership of the group included Viktor Nestruev (“Boy”), Anton Malevsky (“Anton Izmailovsky”), Sergey Trofimov (“Trofim”) and Alexander Afanasiev (“Afonya”), thief in law Sergey Aksenov (“Aksen”) .
The gang consisted of about 200 people (according to other sources, from 300 to 500). At the same time, Izmailovskaya united several more groups under its wing - in particular, Golyanovskaya and Perovskaya. Therefore, organized crime groups are often called "Izmailovo-Golyanovskaya". It operated in the Eastern, Southeastern, Northeastern and Central administrative districts, as well as in the Lyubertsy and Balashikha districts of the Moscow region.
At the same time, the gang was at enmity with representatives of Chechen groups. Initially, the Izmailovskys, like many others like them, were engaged in robberies, robberies and "protection" of small businesses. Subsequently, not without the help of former security officers who joined the organized criminal group, private security companies were opened, under the cover of which the gang could already quite legally acquire firearms and, in general, legalize their activities. Plus, communication with law enforcement officers made it possible to receive insider information and avoid punishment for bribes.
One of the active members of the gang - Anton Malevsky in the criminal world of Moscow was considered the greatest "lawlessness" who does not recognize "authorities". According to some operational data, it was he who was guilty of the murder of thief in law Valery Dlugach (Globus) and his associate Vyacheslav Banner (Bobon).
The money obtained by criminal means was “laundered” by the group with the help of casinos and high-ranking officials who helped the bandits carry out monetary transactions for a certain percentage. In addition, finances were withdrawn abroad, where they invested in real estate. Also, "Izmailovsky" created a number of enterprises for the production of jewelry from precious metals and stones. In addition, the “brothers” actively participated in commercial wars for the right to own the largest Russian metallurgical enterprises.
In the mid-90s, competitors on the one hand and law enforcement officers on the other began to smash the group. In 1994, during the persecution by the police, Alexander Afanasyev (“Afonya”) was seriously injured. The following year, during an assassination attempt, the treasurer of the gang, Liu Zhi Kai ("Misha the Chinaman") and Fyodor Karashov ("The Greek"), were killed. Literally a month later, two more members of the gang died during the “showdown”. In addition, MUR officers detained Viktor Nestruev (“The Boy”) and Sergei Korolyov (“Marikelo”). Anton Malevsky ("Anton Izmailovsky") first emigrated to Israel, and in 2001 he died in South Africa during a parachute jump. Finally, in 2012, another former gang member, Konstantin Maslov (“Maslik”), was convicted of murdering a Chechen businessman.
6. "Tambovskaya" organized criminal group
Vladimir Barsukov (Coumarin)
This organized group was considered one of the most powerful criminal groups operating in St. Petersburg in the 90s and early 2000s. The "Tambovskaya" organized criminal group is named after the homeland of its founding fathers - Vladimir Barsukov (until 1996 - Kumarin) and Valery Ledovskikh are natives of the Tambov region. Having met in St. Petersburg, they decided to organize a gang, where they "recruited" fellow countrymen and former athletes. Like many organized crime groups, the Tambovskaya started out guarding the thimbles, then switched to racketeering.
In 1990, Kumarin, Ledovskikh and many members of their gang received terms for extortion. After being released, the “Tambovskaya” returned to criminal activity again. At this time, the flourishing of the "Tambovskaya" organized criminal group begins, which is rapidly growing and establishing ties with politicians and businessmen.
In 1993, the Tambovites began to take part in bloody showdowns. According to some reports, the gang often involved people from Chechnya in solving their problems.
The members of the "Tambovskaya" organized criminal group operated in a variety of areas - from the export of timber and the import of office equipment to the gambling business and prostitution. From the mid-1990s, they began to "launder" the capital earned by criminal means, curtailing criminal activity. They created a number of private security companies and monopolized the entire fuel and energy business in St. Petersburg. By that time, Barsukov was given the nickname “night governor of St. Petersburg” - he had such a powerful influence.
Galina Starovoitova
However, in the 2000s, the group began to have problems, followed by a series of high-profile arrests. Barsukov was sentenced to 23 years in a strict regime colony for the attempted murder of businessman Sergei Vasiliev. In the future, Vladimir Barsukov has two more trials - in the case of the murder of State Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova, where the organizer of the crime, deputy Mikhail Glushchenko, called him the customer, and on the organization of the murder of two associates Grigory Pozdnyakov and Yan Gurevsky in 2000.
7. Uralmash
Konstantin Tsyganov and Alexander Khabarov
An organized criminal community arose in the city of Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) in 1989. Initially, the “working” territory of the group was considered the Ordzhonikidzevsky district of the city, in which the giant Uralmash plant was located. The founders are the brothers Grigory and Konstantin Tsyganov, whose inner circle included Sergey Terentyev, Alexander Khabarov, Sergey Kurdyumov (foreman of the Uralmash killers), Sergey Vorobyov, Alexander Kruk, Andrey Panpurin and Igor Mayevsky.
In the "best" years, the OPS included about 15 gangs with a total number of about 500 people. In the first half of the 90s, the "Uralmash" were known as adherents of harsh forceful methods (up to "contract" killings - which were later counted about 30).
Very soon, the "Uralmash" gang entered into a confrontation with representatives of another gang - the "center". The result was the murder in 1991 of Grigory Tsyganov (his younger brother Konstantin takes his place). In response to this, in 1992, the leader of the "center" Oleg Vagin was liquidated. He, along with three bodyguards, was shot from machine guns in the city center. In 1993 - early 1994, several more leaders and "authorities" of a rival group were killed (N. Shirokov, M. Kuchin, O. Dolgushin and others).
Further, Uralmash became the most powerful criminal group in Yekaterinburg. It was led by Alexander Khabarov. In the second half of the 90s, the group gained enormous weight and began to influence the political life of the region. For example, in 1995, Uralmash helped Eduard Rossel in the election of the governor of the region. A year later, during the presidential elections, Alexander Khabarov organized the "Movement of workers in support of Boris Yeltsin." In 1999, he officially registers the OPS "Uralmash" (stands for "socio-political union"). In November 2000, with the direct support of the OPS and Khabarov personally, the head of Krasnoufimsk was elected. In 2001, Alexander Kukovyakin became a deputy of the Yekaterinburg City Duma, and in 2002 Khabarov himself. All this helped the gang to gain control over the criminal sectors of the economy and, having created a network of commercial enterprises (from 150 to 600), gradually legalize their activities.
Alexander Khabarov
In December 2004, Alexander Khabarov was arrested on charges of coercion to make a deal or refusal to make it (Article 179 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). A year later, the leader of the "Uralmash" was found hanged in a pre-trial detention center. Since then, the "Uralmash" have greatly lost their influence, active members of the group for the most part became businessmen or fled abroad. One of the leaders, Alexander Kruk, was found dead in 2000 at the dacha of another gang member, Andrey Panpurin, in a suburb of Sofia (Bulgaria). And Alexander Kukovyakin was extradited to Russia from the UAE in 2015 and appeared in court on charges of bankruptcy misconduct and non-payment of wages.
8. "Solntsevskaya" organized criminal group
Sergei Mikhailov
The "Solntsevskaya" criminal gang arose in the late 1980s. The name of one of the largest organized crime groups operating in the CIS is associated with the municipal district of the capital Solntsevo. It was here that persons with a criminal past united Sergey Mikhailov (“Mikhas”), Khachidze Dzhemal (“thieves' curator of the gang), Alexander Fedulov (“Fedul”), Aram Atayan (“Baron”), Viktor Averin (“Avera Sr.”) , his younger brother Alexander Averin ("Sasha-Avera", aka "Avera Jr.") Gradually, members of the organized crime group occupied the entire South-West of the capital. Other, smaller criminal structures fell under their control - "Yasenevsky", "Chertanovsky", "Cheryomushkinsky".
From primitive racketeering, the "Solntsevskaya" gang moved into the sphere of economics, taking as a basis the model of American mafia clans. Basically, the "Solntsevo" were engaged in smuggling, drug transit (for this they established contacts in America), organizing prostitution, kidnapping and killing people, extortion and the sale of weapons. Among the economic machinations of the "Solntsevo" are fake deals that the group concluded with Russian Railways contractors with the help of "friendly" banks "Russian Credit", "Transport", "Western", "Most Bank", "Antalbank", "Russian Land Bank" , Taurus, European Express, Rublevsky, Interkapitalbank (all of them have now had their licenses revoked - editor's note), etc.
The money of the "Solntsevskaya" organized criminal group was invested in real estate, large enterprises, banks, hotels - about 30 establishments in total. The number of organized crime groups controlled then included the Radisson-Slavyanskaya, Cosmos, Central Tourist House hotels, shopping arcades and tents, the Solntsevsky car market and all the clothing markets of the South-Western Administrative District, including Luzhniki, Danilovsky, Kyiv, etc. .
The leader of the "Solntsevo" "Mikhas" is now actively involved in business and charity. He was among the first to use the so-called "law of oblivion" in an effort to hide his criminal past.
9. "Podolsk" organized crime group
One of the most powerful organized crime groups in Russia in the 1990s was a gang called Podolskaya. Its founder and permanent leader is an entrepreneur from Podolsk, an honorary resident of this city Sergey Lalakin, nicknamed "Luchok". Lalakin was not convicted, but it was reported that he twice became a participant in hooligan brawls. However, the cases did not reach the courts. After graduating from vocational school, Lalakin served, and after the "term" in the late 1980s, he embarked on a criminal path. According to open sources, he, along with his friends, was engaged in racketeering, playing "thimbles" and fraud with currency. But all these were “flowers”, which in the future made Lalakin a criminal ace, able to bribe an entire investigative department.
In the history of the "Podolsk" gang, there were many internal "showdowns" due to the struggle for power, but it was Luchok who survived everyone. All applicants for the role of the head of the organized criminal group eventually stepped aside. Under the leadership of Luchka, the group took control, in addition to Podolsk itself, of the Chekhov and Serpukhov districts of the Moscow region and most of the commercial organizations located on this territory, including banks, oil companies and even production firms. By the mid-1990s, the gang had become one of the most organized and wealthy criminal groups in Moscow and the Moscow region. According to some statements, "Luchok" at a certain stage surpassed "Sylvester" himself, and many major figures took into account his opinion, such as "thief in law" "Yaponchik" and Otar Kvantrishvili.
Until the mid-1990s, the "Podolsk" in bloody battles won a "place in the sun" for themselves. During the criminal showdown, several dozen leaders of the organized criminal group were killed, including Sergei Fedyaev, nicknamed "Psych", "authorities" Alexander Romanov, aka "Roman" and Nikolai Sobolev, nicknamed Sobol, head of the "Shcherbinsky" brigade (subdivision "Podolsky" groups) Valentin Rebrov, "authority" Vladimir Gubkin, Gennady Zvezdin ("Cannon"), Volgograd "authority" Mikhail Sologubov ("Sologub") and many others. It is noteworthy that some of these crimes had witnesses who pointed to Lalakin, but he did not appear as a defendant in any of these cases. However, on October 10, 1995, Lalakin was detained by the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office of Russia, he was charged under the article "fraud". However, after some time, this matter also came to naught.
Boxer Alexander Povetkin, Sergey Lalakin and boxer Denis Lebedev
By the mid-1990s, the crime situation in Podolsk and its environs had stabilized. It was a time of reincarnation, when the “brothers” had to get out of their outdated “sports” and put on something more presentable. Then "Luchok" for the first time declared himself as a "successful entrepreneur": it became known that he entered the board of directors of a number of companies and became a shadow founder of the Soyuzkontrakt and Anis firms, controlled the Central International Tourist Complex, the Orkado firm and " Metropol. Today, according to Kartoteka, Sergei Lalakin, his son Maxim, and their partners are the owners of many different companies covering almost the entire spectrum of the market - from food and cafes to oil products, construction and exchange operations.
10. "Orekhovskaya" organized criminal group
Sergey Timofeev ("Sylvester") is engaged in martial arts. 1979-1980
One of the most influential (if not the most influential) criminal group of the 1990s emerged in 1986 in the south of Moscow. It consisted of young people aged 18-25 who were fond of sports and lived in the Orekhovo-Borisovo area. The founder of the gang was the legendary Sergei Timofeev, named "Sylvester" for his love of bodybuilding and resemblance to the famous actor.
“Sylvester” began his criminal career, like many others at that time, with the “protection” of “thimble-makers” and extortion. Gradually, Timofeev united many different groups under his leadership, including such large ones as Medvedkovskaya and Kurganskaya (of which the famous killer Alexander Solonik was a member), and his commercial interests began to cover the most profitable areas. During their heyday, the Orekhovskys controlled about thirty banks in the Central Region, and also managed multimillion-dollar businesses: trading in diamonds, gold, real estate, and oil. The harsh methods of the "Orekhovskys" were not in vain - on September 13, 1994, the Sylvester Mercedes-Benz 600SEC car was blown up using a remote device.
After the death of such a strong leader, a bloody struggle unfolded for his place. As a result, in 1997, relying on the support of two other influential members of the gang - the Pylev brothers, one of the “foremen” of the organized crime group, Sergei Butorin (“Osya”), took power. On his orders, the famous killer Alexander Solonik, who was resting at his villa in Greece, was killed. The performer was the no less legendary killer Alexander Pustovalov (“Sasha the Soldier”). He, like another well-known killer of the 90s - Alexey Sherstobitov ("Lesha the Soldier"), was a member of the "Orekhovskaya" organized criminal group.
Alexey Sherstobitov
Alexander Pustovalov was born into a poor Moscow family. After serving in the Marine Corps, he tried to get a job in the police special forces, but was refused due to the lack of higher education. After a fight in a bar, he was accepted into the Orekhovskaya fighters. In the trial of “Sasha the Soldier”, his involvement in 18 murders was proved, although, according to the investigation, there were at least 35 of them. baranov, lawyer for the Kurgan organized crime group, Naumov, head of the Koptevskaya organized crime group, and Alexander Solonik. "Sasha-Soldat" was caught in 1999. The investigation into his case lasted 5 years. At the trial, the killer fully admitted his guilt and repented of his deed. The final term for him was 23 years in prison. However, over time, more and more details of Pustovalov’s activities are revealed: in the summer of 2016, the involvement of “Sasha the Soldier” in six more murders was discovered.
Aleksey Sherstobitov, a hereditary military man, detained a dangerous criminal during his studies, for which he was awarded an order. On account of his 12 proven murders and attempts. He got into the gang after meeting influential members of the "Orekhovskaya" organized crime group - Grigory Gusyatinsky ("Griney") and Sergey Ananyevsky ("Kultik"). At the hands of "Lesha-Soldier" the well-known businessman in criminal circles Otar Kvantrishvili, Grigory Gusyatinsky (who brought Sherstobitov to the gang), the owner of the "Dolls" club, Joseph Glotser, died. According to the killer himself, he even had the oligarch Boris Berezovsky at gunpoint, but at the last moment the order was canceled by phone.
For a long time, investigators did not believe in the existence of Lesha the Soldier, considering him to be some kind of collective image of a whole gang of killers. Sherstobitov was very careful: he never communicated with ordinary members of the gangs, he never left prints. Going out "on business", the killer skillfully disguised himself. As a result, the "Soldier" was caught only in 2005, when he came to the Botkin hospital to visit his father. Prior to this, a separate group of investigators "developed" Sherstobitov for several years.
According to the totality of crimes, the killer, who admitted his guilt and agreed to cooperate with the investigation, received 23 years in prison. In the Lesha-Soldat prison, he writes autobiographical books.
Dmitry Belkin and Oleg Pronin
The collapse of the Orekhovskys began with the murder of investigator Yuri Kerez, the first in Russia to initiate a case under article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Organization of a criminal community”). Kerez was the first security official who managed to get on the trail of the "Orekhovskaya" gang. According to some information, Dmitry Belkin, the leader of the Orekhovskys, tried to “hush up” the case with a bribe of $1 million, but the investigator refused. Thus, he signed his own death warrant. The employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs did not forgive the murder of their colleague and threw all their forces into the fight against organized crime groups.
Sergey Butorin
Over the next 13 years, law enforcement agencies in Russia and other countries managed to practically decapitate the Orekhovskaya group. Alexander Pustovalov, Sergei Butorin, Andrei and Oleg Pylev and others were arrested. Dmitry Belkin was the last major “Orekhovsky” “authority” who remained at large and was on the international wanted list for more than 10 years. In October 2014, Belkin and Orekhovskaya killer Oleg Pronin, nicknamed Al Capone, were found guilty of murder and attempted murder. Belkin was sentenced to life imprisonment with serving in a special regime correctional colony. Oleg Pronin was sentenced to 24 years in a strict regime colony. Earlier, Oleg Pronin had already been sentenced by a court to imprisonment for a period of 17 years for participating in a gang and committing especially serious crimes in it. In addition, the "Orekhovskaya" are behind the repeated assassination attempts on the deputy of the Odintsovo municipal assembly, Sergei Zhurba.
, .This dark and wild period of modern Russian history began in the late 1980s. The total control of the state suddenly turned into absolute freedom, but for many it was simply too tough. New heroes of that time entered the field: unprincipled and cruel groups capable of doing anything for their own benefit.
Transport
Normal guys cut through the area on the VAZ 2109 - it was convenient to jump into this with the whole brigade after the job. More serious guys also had more serious cars: BMW “fives” and, of course, the legendary SUVs Jeep Grand Cherokee were popular. The main symbol of that lawless era was undoubtedly the Mercedes S 600.
Weapon
An extensive inventory was used as an everyday tool for business: nunchucks, brass knuckles, butterfly knives and even baseball bats, rare at that time. Firearms were found in large quantities, the bandits loved the Chinese TTs, but did not disdain the "parabellums" and "Walters" that had remained since the war.
Sport
For easy money, first of all, those who had nothing to lose, and there was really nothing to hope for, reached out. The children of the sleeping areas whiled away their puberty in the basement rocking chairs, so the sport, as they say, was in their blood. Often, failed guys from big sport, wrestlers and boxers adjoined the already formed teams.
Dog fights and personal temples
The constant danger made the bandits very pious. Private chapels appeared on the territories of suburban dachas, where local priests were invited on weekends - to forgive sins. It became fashionable to remove the accumulated stress at dog fights, where pit bulls of fighting breeds were especially popular.
Entertainment
Money went down as fast as it was mined. The "lads" had not yet imagined any special entertainment for themselves - a sauna, girls, expensive tracksuits, and body kits for their favorite car. In the early 90s, nightclubs and casinos became one of the main signs of the times: the Moscow Metelitsa, for example, completely gained fame as the main gangster establishment.
Crimson jacket and gold seals
Today, tales of crimson jackets are perceived as anecdotes, but at that time they really became a hallmark of the development of banditry throughout the country. The image of a swindler in the first place signaled impudence: they say, here I am, standing smartly and you can see me a mile away. Gold rings came back into fashion, and a signet on several fingers at once became a hit.
gang wars
The main redistribution of the market took place in the capital. The war began as a wild fight of all against all, but gradually the groups had to unite first against SOBR and OMON units, and then against much more evil and unscrupulous people from Chechnya.
graveyard fashion
Constant disassembly led to the formation of a special attitude of brothers to death and burial. They buried their own with pomp: a cavalcade of expensive cars rolled through the city center to the anguished cries of horns. Monuments to the departed warrior resembled works of art, musical coffins came into fashion.
