FBIS4-68846 "jpusr056___94027"
FBIS-USR-94-056 JPRS
FBIS Report: Central Eurasia 16 April 1994 RUSSIA ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Gangland Murders Investigated

Gangland Murders Investigated 944F0690C Moscow PODMOSKOVYE in Russian No 15, 16 Apr 94 p 7 944F0690C Moscow PODMOSKOVYE Russian CSO [Article by Nikolay Modestov: "Who Is Next? Today Even Recognized Criminal World Authorities Are Not Immune From Criminal Lawlessness"] [Text]
The "Queen of England" of the Caucasus Mafia
The first victim arrived in the admissions room of the Balashikha TsRB [central rayon hospital] at 0940. Surgeons diagnosed the condition without hesitation: bullet wound to the right thigh. The wounded man--30-year-old Chechen Osmayev--reported that he had been shot on Razina Street near the office of the Rosinter company. At 1010 local resident Marina B. was brought to the same hospital with a bullet wound to a buttock. A group of operatives that went to the site of the incident barely got there in time. In the Volga sedan speeding out of the city they detained a Rosinter company administrator and two local residents without any particular employment. Under the car seat the detectives from the ninth department of the oblast GUVD [City Administration of Internal Affairs] Regional Organized Crime Administration [RUOP] discovered a TT handgun and a couple of loaded magazines (with three and seven cartridges). It soon became clear why the magazines were not full. In the trunk of the car was the body of mortally wounded 30-year-old Deryabin, a resident of Zheleznodorozhnyy, also not employed. He died an hour later without regaining consciousness in the intensive care unit of the Balashikha TsRB from a bullet would to the eye. The operatives encountered the main "surprise" later, however. In the course of a ground search near the woods behind Novaya village they discovered another corpse. The body of a young man dressed in a well-made denim suit had been dumped in a roadside ditch and covered with snow. The experienced detectives realized that they were not dealing with an ordinary "score-settling." They recognized the man, killed by a shot through the back of his head, as 38-year-old Daudov--a well-known "crime boss" nicknamed Sultan... In the complex and constantly changing table of ranks of the criminal world, Sultan had long held a special place. Suffice it to say that he had been the only "crime boss" among the Chechens. As is known, this ethnic group does not recognize the traditions of "bosses" commonly followed in the criminal world. Chechens remain faithful to their tribal ties and treat clan elders with respect. Even the so-called "kitty"--a "thieves'" treasury which exists mainly to support authorities and "bosses," delivering parcels of "gravy" to investigative detention facilities and labor camps, is made up of foreign currency--not "wooden" rubles--"contributions" among Chechens. Because of these circumstances, Sultan was considered a stranger among their own both among Chechens and among Russians. Sultan had four convictions. The first--a three-year prison term--he got in his native Groznyy back in 1972. All in all he had accumulated 14 years behind barbed wire... He did time in the zone in Saratov, Bryansk, Tula, Voronezh, Rostov, and Moscow Oblasts. As operatives who had known him tell it, Sultan was not a simpleton. An offspring of a prominent Chechen family (according to some data his father had worked as a party functionary in Chechnya), he had his own view of many things, and intellectually was far above most criminals around him. Sultan liked to philosophize, gladly proffered advice (and not bad at that, from what we heard), and was moderate in his use of alcohol. He did have a weakness--grass; he could not stay off it. However, even in prison Sultan kept up appearances--was cleanly shaven, neat, and calm. He left his family, was "crowned" in prison by Georgian "bosses," and since then became something like the "Queen of England" among Chechens. They recognized his authority, but did not consider him "kin." Perhaps these circumstances eventually led to Sultan's demise.
Are "Thieves" Brothers?
That morning Sultan, accompanied by his bodyguard Deryabin, was leaving for Crimea for a meeting with a local authority nicknamed Shoe. When their Jeep was on its way to the airport, Sultan suddenly suggested that they stop briefly at Rosinter on business. Deryabin was the first to walk into the office. Sultan lingered for a moment--he was showing something to driver Osmayev on the car's dashboard. Subsequent events are still to be reconstructed in detail. (For quite understandable reasons, witnesses to the murder prefer to keep their mouths shut.) It is obvious, however, that Sultan and his "cover" were dealt with professionally, calmly, and cruelly. The operatives also believe that the victim had a large amount of money from the "kitty" on him. The money has not yet been found. Oblast RUOP detectives also know the names of the murderers. What is not entirely clear is the motive for the murder--who is behind the shooting in the Rosinter office? One of the versions is revenge for Balashikha authority Frol, killed on the last day of last year (PODMOSKOVYE No. 9 devoted an article "Epitaph for a `Godfather'" to this event). Frol had a long-running feud with the "Chechen community"--he was one of the leaders of the "Slavic wing" of the domestic mafia. He was threatened many times, and the confrontation, which by some estimates had been going on since 1988, in 1993 spilled out into a series of score-settling altercations between Frol's shock troopers and the Caucasians. On 18 August, for instance, Frol's villa was fired at by a grenade launcher. The victim decided not to report the incident to the militia. "Maybe gasoline canisters exploded in the garage," he told detectives. Frol's response was much more "tangible." Soon a series of explosions rolled through Chechen-"protected" sales outlets in Balashikha Rayon. Sultan lived in Balashikha and of course knew Frol well. Frol even contributed money to the "kitty." So far there are no grounds, however, to contend that he was the person who gave the "green light" to Frol's killing. Neither can one say with certainty that Frol's group had something to do with Sultan's death. There are other versions as well. Frol was not the only one to take a stand against the Chechens' preponderance in the capital city metropolitan area. According to operatives, "bosses" do not like the Chechens, considering them people who do not live by the law of the criminals. The Chechens constantly clash with "bosses" and invade the territory of others, which results in armed clashes and score-settling. This also explains the attitude of the "bosses'" lobby to the Chechen authorities. "Crime bosses" do not want Chechens to have a voice at "conferences." In this respect, Sultan's behavior was indicative in that he had tried twice to promote Mairbek, a Chechen, to "thief" status. The attempts failed twice... The late Globe [Globus] was also unhappy with Sultan. The famous "boss" said more than once that Sultan was "flaky," that is, gave the "boss" title to young criminals who had not earned this "high honor." Interestingly, a young leader nicknamed Pushkin (he controlled Podolsk and Serpukhov), who had been "crowned" by Sultan last year, was "quietly" shot dead by an unknown assailant. For a real authoritative "boss" this is impermissible. The death of any of them is an extraordinary event, which is discussed at a "conference," with appropriate "organizational conclusions." Sultan's relations with the late "boss" Barberry [Kalina] were no less strained. Barberry's derogatory remarks about the Chechens (behind his back he called Sultan an ape and a Czech) compelled Sultan to threaten to kill him. So Barberry, having figured out that he was playing with fire, went to Serpukhov, where Sultan was sitting in the SIZO [preliminary investigative detention facility], and apologized to the "comrade" for "accidentally dropped words." In the Serpukhov SIZO, on the other hand, the attitude toward the Chechen was that of utmost respect. Two local "bosses" treated Sultan with attention appropriate to his rank. This is understandable--no "boss" will insult another one in his face. As is known, "bosses" are brothers.
Going to Crimea--Taken to Chechnya
After Sultan's murder, an assassination attempt was made against his good friend, a Lyubertsy authority nicknamed Avil. The latter was nearly shot to death in Solntsevo by an unknown criminal. The killer fired several shots from a Makarov handgun when Avil left his apartment to walk his dog. He did not die, but ended up in a very serious condition in a hospital. The operatives remember an incident that happened back in 1989 at the Old Castle restaurant. It all started with some Caucasians occupying a table next to the one where Sultan and Avil were sitting began to get rowdy. Sultan walked over to them, introduced himself, and asked them to tone it down. The mountain people, high from all the wine they had drunk, told the "boss" to get lost. Naturally, a fight ensued in which the "boss" ended up with broken ribs and a cracked skull. The next day Avil came to the Old Castle, shot the bartender dead with a sawn-off shotgun, and mortally wounded one of Sultan's offenders with a sharpened screwdriver... Does this story offer an explanation of the demise of the Chechen "boss"? I think this version does not hold water even by a long stretch of imagination. Neither does another one frequently discussed by journalists. They talk about the so-called supersecret "White Arrow" team allegedly created on the personal orders of the Russian MVD [Ministry of Internal Affairs] leadership for secret suppression of criminal "authorities." Those who have gained a knowledge of the criminal world mores from operational work experience rather than from newspaper articles do not take this tale seriously. It is obvious that the "White Arrow" myth is being spread precisely by those bandits who want to write off the blood and murder of their own confederates to the militia. The causal connection here is much more simple and material. Behind the death of every "boss" is enormous money, influence, and a complex disposition of forces in the criminal world and the criminal economy. So why did Sultan, who was heading for the warm sea of Crimea, end up traveling in a casket to his native Chechnya? Operatives think it possible that the cause of Sultan's demise may lie in his sharing a neighborhood with Zakhar, also a "boss" who lives in Balashikha. The latter is known as an authority who sticks to strict labor camp traditions. He never concealed his Slavic orientation and claim to leadership in his territory. According to detectives, Zakhar cannot stand the Chechens. He knows the "law" very well, but he knows equally well the golden rule: As a rule, the fight is won by whoever strikes first and strikes hard. And, as they say, the winners are not judged... Was a "shoot" set up for Sultan in the office? And if it was, by whom and why? In keeping with tradition, only an equal--that is, another "boss"--can make an appointment for a "boss." Actually, the hidden springs of this incident are still not known. But the operatives, while not dismissing the possibility of Zakhar's involvement in the bloody "score-settling," know perfectly well that he himself did not kill Sultan. It is just that any lead deserves attention and discussion. ...Over the last half-year alone dozens of criminal world authorities have been killed in the Moscow region; well-known crime bosses have fallen victim to shootouts and contract murders. It is an unprecedented situation; not a single one among experienced detectives can recall anything like this. These days a bullet fired by a small-time criminal, who has barely staked his place among his kind, may take the life of a criminal world "patriarch," a single word from whom in the past could change the situation in entire oblasts of Russia. The "thieves" Globe, Pipiya, Pushkin, and Arsen have been killed. Givi Scarface disappeared without a trace. Georgian "boss" Roin also faded into the night while driving home from a casino. Sultan has been shot dead... And an uncountable number of less prominent personalities. Bobon was torn apart by a submachine gun burst; Little Falcon [Sokolenok] shot dead in front of his apartment; Mikota died of a gunshot would to the head in a cafe in Kolomenskoye; in Lyubertsy, Hare [Zayats] died at the door of his own home; Kruglov, nicknamed Beard [Boroda], was found in Yauza river with a garrote around his neck. There is a virtual hunt for the "boss" nicknamed Signature [Rospis], who is considered the most active fighter against the Caucasian preponderance in the capital city region. Signature has been hit by a sniper bullet twice. The first time he was saved by a bullet-proof vest; the second--by his bodyguard Sharapov, who was killed on the spot. Signature did not escape unharmed, though. The same bullet that killed Sharapov hit the "boss" in the liver and tore through his kidney. It was a miracle that he lived; he flew to the United States, had surgery there, returned, and came under fire again. When he left his home accompanied by his bodyguard Shaykhullin and headed for his Volga car, unknown perpetrators blew up a car parked nearby. The charge was so powerful that all the windows in the building--from the first to the 10th floor--were shattered. This is not the worst, however. Innocent bystanders were hurt--two girls playing in the courtyard, and two passers-by. The bodyguard was also killed on the spot. Signature survived and was taken to hospital in a critical condition. Doctors list his condition as satisfactory. Quite possibly, Signature will soon get back into business again. A reasonable question, through: For how long? And another one: What will the killers come up with this time to find a more reliable way to eliminate the adversary? Perhaps blow up an overpass as Signature's car travels on it? Or will they blow up an entire rayon when the authority holds an appointed meeting? Operatives believe, however, that Signature may feel it is prudent to leave again for the United States... Lawlessness [bespredel]. This slang word, which means mocking even the norms of "morality" commonly accepted in the criminal world, is increasingly often defining our current life. First we registered a rise in crime, then we had to admit that it had practically got out of control. And finally we agreed that crime itself has undergone a qualitative change. Now lawlessness has become the norm rather than the exception, and fighting gangsters who have long lost the notion of propriety is not just difficult--it is nearly impossible. "Our laws, the criminal and criminal process codes, normative acts, and other juridical mechanisms were created with a civilized society in mind," is the opinion of Aleksandr Kartashev, chief of the Moscow Oblast GUVD Regional Organized Crime Department. "They do not meet the requirements of the current situation, cannot protect to a full extent society and its citizens. People get shot, blown up, and stabbed to death in broad daylight. Brainless, stupid retards pull the trigger without a second thought. The situation is increasingly often characterized as extraordinary. What do we have to counter this lawlessness? Almost nothing except the courage and enthusiasm of our staff. Hiding behind the letter of the law, leaders and authorities find loopholes in the criminal code with the help of high-powered lawyers and escape punishment. In order to realistically grab a gang organizer, we need a law on criminal activities, a law on protection of witnesses, and a law on organized crime. It is necessary to toughen the penalties for illegal possession of weapons and ammunition. We should think through how to punish the mercenaries who are coming here from "hot spots" and are ready to commit any crime. Until these issues are resolved, we can hardly expect results commensurate with the militia's efforts in its struggle against runaway crime.