Attached dossier
Soon it will be a month since the last year before expiration of the established period of limitation on the case of Galina Starovoitova’s murder began. On November 20, 2013, if there is no fundamental breakthrough in the investigation, it will be buried. It will have to assume that a major political figure, people's deputy of the USSR and the Russian State Duma deputy, presidential adviser and liberal ideologist, insider of European royal houses was shot at the request of Jura Bryanskiy, a mediocre brigadier.
Name can be resource
He cannot explain, of course, why he needed it. And this is not surprising: it is unlikely that he had heard the name of Starovoitova before he received the order.
This crime is in its own way unique. Murders in post-Soviet Russia seldom can be considered to be truly political, without any financial and commercial impurities. But it was lust the political nature of the murder of Galina Starovoitova made the accusations extremely hard to prove. There is no documentary or physical evidence in the form of payment orders, certificates of ownership, debentures or safe deposit boxes with cash. There are only certain relations and oral statements, which can’t be filed to the case. Even if everything is obvious.
There were no claims on property or debts to Galina Starovoitova. She wasn’t seriously engaged in business. She had connections but didn’t solve issues. For the same Michail Mirilashvili, once “gambling king” of St. Petersburg, her function was limited to image support. Commercial conflicts were not her role. They require special skills, which she didn’t possess. In addition, by the fall of 1998, her political influence had been reduced to a vanishingly small quantities.
The times when the presidents of USSR and Russia listened to Starovoitova, when her concepts of international relations were adopted as the state policy have gone never to return. “We, leaders of democratic parties, have been turned into an isolated community”, Konstantin Borovoy, who had no habit of wishful thinking, said soberly after the death of his ally. Her Democratic Russia party (once a multimillion movement breaking CPSU) remained known only to their own members. In the Duma, Starovoitova could not even join any fraction as she was an “independent” - that was tightly isolated – deputy, a bright speaker but didn’t really influence anything.
Starovoitova could not lobby for a project worthy of mention neither in politics nor in business. It was easier for her to contact the Belgian king than to force even a small Russian official, from whom anything depended, to listen to her. Her own political projects - with all respect to Galina Vasilyevna personally - were marginal. This was confirmed by at least the fact that on the elections to the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg - a month after her tragic death caused a wave of public sympathy – her block Soglasie suffered a full breakdown.
Thus, Galina Starovoitova didn't possess any capital in literal sense, and she almost completely spent her political capital. In this case, a question arises: why the murder was at all?
It is a strange fact at the time but such reasons were present. And they were quite serious. The brand of Starovoitova had a powerful symbolic resource. Her presence in politics created a link of times and didn’t allow to finally turn the history page. This name entailed too many associations of the recent past. Now the authorities can ignore even one hundred thousandth meeting (or in extremis to call in “banderlogs”). But fifteen years ago, the concepts were different. It was necessary to answer criticism of known persons. It heavily interfered with career promotions. Starovoitova’s enemies could not ignore her statements. In addition, the more clearly Galina Vasilyevna saw that political deadlock, the fiercer she became. She was paid back in the same coin.
Red color in brown version
She had had so many enemies that it was wide open space for various versions appeared after the murder on November 20. The tragedy coincided with the “anti-Semitic scandal”, which was provoked by General Albert Makashov, a deputy from the CPRF, at one of political meetings (“When the Jews come to kill, I’ll take a dozen of them away with me!”). Communists began to be literally pointed. But it made people laugh, “What communists? What do you suppose?” And there a characteristic screw-loose sign was given. For it was very difficult to associate the personality of comrade Zyuganov and his party members with the building on Griboyedov’s Canal and Yugoslavian machine gun.
No doubt, communists had and have very different cadres. Take, for example, Victor Tsimik. The former Secretary of Krasnoyarsk City Committee of CPSU became a large aluminum businessman. He was famous for fierce cruelty in knocking-out of debts. For what he was killed in the midst of “hard ninetieth”. But this case was exclusive. Starovoitova personally never experienced such exceptions. And it was necessary to have something personal for shooting.
However, she faced the St. Petersburg National Security Academy– it was not a very coherent organization with vague statutory objectives of “monitoring and analysis in all directions”. NSA was created by those who came from the Soviet power structures under the auspices of the then Chairman of the State Duma, communist Gennady Seleznev. The Academy quickly became a hub of criminal attraction, especially for structures of Konstantin Yakovlev (also Kostya Mogila, a watchdog from the treff of “thieves in law”). But Starovoitova’s criticisms about some muddy business projects (mainly in telecommunication close to Kostya Mogila) and criminal connections of NSA wasn’t based on accurate information and did not cause much concern. By the way, the NSA is still alive. Eighteen months ago one of its advisors was shot there again.
Even then, radical youth especially stood out among communists. It was the youth that undermined the monument to Nicholas II and mined a monument to Peter I. But ... “Our thugs are incapable of such things. Blowing up a plaster statue is one thing, shooting a woman is quite another”, a source from Komsomol leadership said in a confidential conversation. “And it is nonsense at all about Seleznev”, he added.
The communists quickly fell down. “A woman was killed, a mother!” figures from Zyuganov environment horrified, and it seemed, quite sincerely. “What will happen next? The last brakes are switched off”. But there were people in the Russian politics, bravely and courageously undergone terrible news.
Nationalists often refused to stand up at the official announcement of the death of Starovoitova. And some people shrugged his shoulders, “We warned”. And, indeed, they warned. “People like her ought to be killed”, parliamentary faction leaders and activists of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) publicly spoke of the liberal and democratic politician Starovoitova.
Most frequently this phrase was said by the very Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Without hesitating of presence of Galina Vasilyevna's friends and relatives.
Essay on parliamentary manners
Zhirinovsky began saying like that especially often just in the autumn of 1998. And he had some very specific reasons. According to our sources, Starovoitova became a potential political danger for him especially.
The summer of 1998 passed under the sign of financial stress. The debt policy of previous years turned out to be disastrous. Even a multibillion IMF loan couldn’t prevent it. The first received tranche was immediately squandered on blockish maintenance of the exchange rate. Stabilization bills of the government of Sergey Kiriyenko were rejected by the communist majority of the State Duma without being read. All ended with unprecedented collapse on August 17.
On August 24, President Boris Yeltsin dismissed Kiriyenko’s government and tried to return Viktor Chernomyrdin instead. Whom he had dismissed five months earlier. From Boris Nikolayevich, it was unequivocal madness. The reason was solely in wishing ubiquitous at the time Boris Berezovsky, who had recently picked up the ownerless Victor Stepanovich Chernomyrdin and settled him to be on hand.
The Duma’s communists took a firm stand blocking the candidature. Possibly, they wouldn't have shown such irreconcilability but the leadership of the Communist Party caught the top trends - from the Federation Council where a group of governors headed by the mayor of Moscow was determined to block the return of Chernomyrdin. A plan of triumphant capture of the Kremlin through the White House was already developing at 13 Tverskaya Street.
Zhirinovsky ordered to LDPR faction to support Chernomyrdin in the second ballot. But the votes of LDPR even in alliance with “Our Home is Russia” faction’s votes were not enough. Therefore, in the presidential administration, according to our informed sources, they decided to play it safe. Zhirinovsky got access to some amount of cash to work on members of the Communist Party.
But Vladimir Zhirinovsky, though extravagance, is rational and thrifty person. The mood of the Duma majority was obvious to him. It was not his habit to throw money away. Chernomyrdin had to withdraw his candidature. And the LDPR provided him moral support by voting against Yevgeny Primakov. Zhirinovsky considered that a good word was a business too and therefore it cost money.
Duma morals allowed such things. In the late 1990s, weakness of the presidential power ruled out any serious punishments. (It is significant that two months later, when the same Zhirinovsky removed the former electoral list, he returned all the money received, to the last penny, for the inclusions from “authoritative” candidates like Krasnoyarsk citizen Anatoly Bykov or Petersburger Mikhail Glushchenko. Again, being a reasonable man, he understood dos and don’ts.) Problems could only be created by some individuals who knew the story and were able to give it a public interest concern. For example, it was Galina Starovoitova, who was in a relationship of mutual hatred with the LDPR (Liberal Democratic Party) and some of its specific members.
This especially concerned St. Petersburg “authoritative businessmen”. First of all, it was Mikhail Glushchenko. The fugure of Mikhail Ivanovich best served to prove the thesis about criminal nature of LDPR.
Strong man of Zhirinovsky’s party
This person was very rarely called by his last name. More often he was named respectfully as Michail Ivanovich, at least - simply Misha. Or - Misha Khokhol. That was just the name he had in the leading circles of the Tambov criminal group. In which he oversaw the “power block” and was a confidant of Vladimir Kumarin (Barsukov).
Glushchenko was 42 years old then. He left behind a long train of gangster romance of 1980-1990's. Having started with banal robberies in Leningrad “nosebleed gallery”, through racketing he came up the first echelon of St. Petersburg authorities. It was believed that the rise took place in September 1989, at the legendary showdown in Devyatkino between members of Tambov criminal group and Malyshev’s criminal group. Khokhol really showed some courage there, although the stories how he put himself in front of Kumarin covering him from automatic gunfire (and still remained alive), most likely, is a “pious legend”. Anyway, in 1998, Mikhail Glushchenko was not only a famous coach and boxer but a major criminal authority. And he was also a State Duma deputy from the LDPR.
Sometimes he was also called a businessman but it was not true. He did not own a business. He built his relations with a number of St. Petersburg companies in a different way. Misha Khokhol was responsible for enforcement maintenance, commonly referred to as “racketeering”. Besides the disciplined athletes, he had at least three fighting brigades. The units were under the command of Igoryan Tolsty (businessman Igor Sbitnev), Bob Kemerovsky (criminal Vladimir Belyaev), and Jura Bryansky (retired officer of GRU Yury Kolchin).
The fate of the three Khokhol’s brigadiers was different. Sbitnev was killed in 2005 - as they say, he knew too much about the affairs of the chief. Belyaev was convicted of a series of murders and now is serving his 21 years term. And Kolchin became neither more nor less than an “organizer of the murder of Starovoitova”. For which he was sentenced.
The investigation of the case was initially just in the idle mode. In the first year, it didn’t develop at all. But as public interest cooled down, results began to appear. Inconspicuously, FSB operatives (as Starovoitova was a politician and a deputy her death was investigated not by law enforcement but intelligence agency) gradually closed the ring. The arrests came just four years after the shooting at Griboyedov’s Channel. All six of those arrested in the autumn of 2002 and two added to them later belonged to the brigade of the Jura Bryansky.
In 2005, the City Court of St. Petersburg passed a sentence: Yury Kolchin (the organizer) received 20 years, Vitaly Akishin (the direct shooter-executor) - 23.5 years, and the other accomplices were sentenced to shorter terms. Two more gangsters, including the second shooter Oleg Fedosov, remain in the federal wanted list. But there is little doubt that the search has to look for the corpses.
Khokhol and Tambov gangsters are not friends
Uniqueness of this assassination is that the court did not define the customer. Any intelligible motive also wasn’t announced. It is only known that Kolchin professed extreme nationalist views of clerical tone (among defense witnesses, there was a black-hundred journalist Konstantin Dushenov unsuccessfully inventing an alibi). But it is also known that Kolchin was a long-term relationship of Mikhail Glushchenko. Once he even incurred his criminal guilt and served the sentence instead of him. The St. Petersburg security company “Holy Nobleborn Prince Alexander Nevsky”, in which Kolchin worked, located in an office on Demian Bedny street, 5 - in the premises of the deputy reception of Misha Khokhol.
Glushchenko was in Petersburg until 2002. Though, he hadn’t been a deputy by the time. It is important to note that in the late 1990-2000s, the situation in the shadow world of St. Petersburg became extremely complicated. Firstly, another criminal war between Tambov criminal group and criminal group of Kostya Mogila broke out. Secondly, there was a split among the very Tambov gangsters.
Petersburg Fuel Company (a network of gas stations serving the city services and private vehicles of residents) was associated with the name of Vladimir Barsukov. Nord Holding was associated with the names of brothers Sergey and Vyacheslav Shevchenko. These businessmen together with Mikhail Glushchenko were the leadership of “Tambov business club” which was no longer called “criminal community”.
Barsukov's leadership remained indisputable. However, relations between the brothers Shevchenko and Misha-Khokhol got bad. Glushchenko claimed to divide shares of PTK (Petersburg Fuel Company) and Nord, the Shevchenkos (especially the older brother Vyacheslav) were strongly objected and Barsukov was not inclined to it. There could be expected a bloody feud as an inevitable consequence of the division.
A weak point of Glushchenko’s position was absence of formal rights to any share. Strong points were the complex of brigades and established link with Roman Tsepov (the owner of Baltic-Escort elite security company, a long-time friend and partner of Vladimir Putin). Glushchenko was also joined by another authoritative security officer of Tambov criminal group - Vasily Vladykovsky, also Vasya Bryansky. Businessman Alexey Sargin, being in charge of communication with the authorities at Barsukov, also supported Misha Khokhol.
Having consolidated his resources of support, Glushchenko took the offensive. In reply Shevchenkos withdrew the assets to offshore zones of Cyprus. Then Tsepov entered the case and initiated prosecution against the brothers through his contacts in the then GUBOP (City Directorate for Combating Organized Crime) and Prosecutor General’s Office. A relatively small occasion - threatening tone of the conversation with journalists - was exaggerated in a grandiose case. Vyacheslav had to emigrate for two years and Sergey even had to spend a few months in Kresty (a prison in Saint Petersburg). This undermined positions of the criminal group in general but didn't affect Shevchenko’s position.
Wise man can make mistakes too
In the summer of 2002, Vyacheslav Shevchenko returned to Russia. And in the autumn, Glushchenko left Russia. His departure accurately coincided with arrests of Kolchin and his fighters. The step was more than provident: the name of Mikhail Ivanovich began to sound in the context of the case of Starovoitova almost immediately and appeared in the court.
In a private telephone conversation, Mikhail Ivanovich responded rather bluntly to a direct question: “Ask Zhirinovsky about it. There was discipline in the party - far from others ones”. Considering that at first Igor Lelyavin and then Yury Kolchin at various times managed to call Mikhail Glushchenko the customer of the murder of Starovoitova - again with no formal consequences, data of our sources no longer appear unfounded. According to them, since the summer of 1998, Vladimir Zhirinovsky more and more insistently brought his wishes “to shut up” her to Mikhail Ivanovich. And he didn’t forget to hint that Starovoitova with her exposures spoiled the personal political career of Glushchenko.
Perhaps Glushchenko misunderstood Zhirinovsky. Is it possible that such a respectable politician charged bandits with a murder? On the other hand, even in the Liberal Democratic Party fraction, only one deputy could carry out that.
So, in the summer and fall of 2002, Shevchenko and Glushchenko changed places. Vyacheslav Alekseevich again became St. Petersburg entrepreneur close to Vladimir Barsukov (from time to time, he had to go to the Kuibyshev district court, but his case was close, if not to discharge, to probation). Mikhail Ivanovich became a persecuted emigrant with a very uncertain future. But it roused him not to reflections about impermanence of life but to aggressive demand of payments from Shevchenko.
However, dream on! Shevchenko firmly defended the controlled assets. Glushchenko passed to more and more undisguised threats. And their seriousness was confirmed by actions. In August 2003, in the Crimea, their mutual friend Ruslan Kolyak – a Tambov authority, security businessman, and well-known throughout the city cheerful swindler - was shot. The last attempt on his life was the tenth in the row. “Eight wounds incompatible with life. Now it seems to be work. We recognize Michail Ivanovich”, Shevchenko Sr. said in his laconic style. But the warning was not taken. Verbal threats continued until March 2004, when Vyacheslav Alekseevich was killed with a butcher knife in his country house in Cyprus.
Glushchenko didn’t receive required money or other assets. But he once again confirmed his reputation of a person who didn’t waste words. And a reputation happens to be more valuable than money.
Silence about confession
The years passed. In September 2004, Roman Tsepov, the main ally of Glushchenko, died. In 2005, direct murderers of Starovoitova were convicted. It was implied that there was no customer in the case, as well as no motive. A little later, Igor Sbitnev was shot. Two years later, Vladimir Barsukov was arrested. “Tambov business group”, defeated all the enemies, itself suffered a defeat. Sergey Shevchenko Jr., who hadn’t been inclined before neither to politics nor to shadow operations, focused on his legal business. Vladimir Zhirinovsky finally settled down and became one of vice-speakers of the State Duma. Mikhail Glushchenko started to be forgotten. But in June 2009, the indefatigable Mikhail Ivanovich reminded of himself.
He suddenly came to St. Petersburg and as if nothing had happened went for the passport. From there, he went straight to jail. Even today nobody can understand how he could make the mistake. Even a wise man stumbles, informed observers agreed. Then a long legal process began. Glushchenko was accused of extortion of $ 10 million from Shevchenko -those assets that he claimed in 1999, achieving sharing the commons property of Tambov business community.
The vicissitudes of life did not break Misha-Khokhol. At the trial, he didn’t defend but advanced. He shifted all the charges onto Shevchenko. And he publicly, through the media, threatened the younger brother that would get out (from prison) and “sort him out”. An Internet site named The Prisoner Michail announced Glushchenko victim of political repressions provoked by “Tambov bandits of Shevchenko”.
Changing lawyers lead the court through labyrinths. And it must be said that it is not without success: the sentence for extortion to 8 years has already cancelled. The process has started the new circle. Now no one can predict when the court on the second charge - on the Cyprus murder of Shevchenko Sr., his partner Yury Zorin and assistant Valentina Tretyakova –takes place and how it ends.
On this background, testimony of Michail Glushchenko on another case has hardly been noticed. He personally signed a confession that he was the customer of the murder of Galina Starovoitova. Thus he confirmed what executors, starting from Kolchin, had said before. It is difficult to say what motivated him to the sincerity - he has already mastered the cat and mouse game with investigators going to construct and then abruptly coping out. However, it has not drawn special attention. FSB once again suspends the investigative actions and doesn’t hurry to renew them. In the end, there is just a year to go - and it can be forgotten. It can be forgotten about the extra problems that through Glushchenko and Zhirinovsky can come to those who have built a close business relationship with them for two decades.
But on the other hand ... We clearly see a new turn of the wheel in Russian politics. In the context of the anti-corruption campaign, some affiliated figures can be intended for “leaking”. And in this case, the Glushchenko’s confessions on the case of Starovoitova can be useful. What if Michail Ivanovich miscalculates for the second time?
Zhirinovsky repeatedly applied for admission to the Communist Party, but they would not let him join even the army, despite the fact that he worked there in the Political Department. The part refused to admit him allegedly due to the fact that his views were not consistent with the program and ideology of the party. According to some reports, in 1977 he nearly became a member of the underground party. Its members were arrested before the meeting Zhirinovsky was to be present at.
Source: Bolshaya Politika, December 2005
On December 13, 1989 Zhirinovsky at the invitation of Vladimir Bogachev took part in the meeting of the initiative group of the Liberal Democratic Party of the Soviet Union (LDPSS). Zhirinovsky gave the party his new program and became the leader of this organization. He received permission from the District Communist Party Committee and the KGB to hold the constituent congress of LDPSS, which took place on 31 March 1990; he became chairman of the party. On October 6, 1990 there was the second (extraordinary) Congress of LDPSS, during which at the suggestion of Bogachev, main coordinator of the Central Committee of LDPSS, Zhirinovsky was dismissed from his post as chairman and expelled from the party. Zhirinovsky did not recognize the congress and its decision and the party split in the LDP and LDPSS. On October 20, 1990 Zhirinovsky held a conference of LDPSS, during which those behind the previous congress- decision were excluded from the party.
Source: Novy Chronograph, 22 October 1990
In 1995, Torah Annunziata (a city near Naples) city prosecutor accused Vladimir Zhirinovsky of supplying the Serb Army of Radovan Karadzic with so-called fuel-air explosives and heavy multiple rocket launchers BM-30 Smerch. Zhirinovsky was working with a Slovenian businessman Nicholas Oman, which in turn cooperated with the Srpska Garda (Serbian irregular militia) and Radovan Karadzic. Weapons came from Tula. Karadzic received a toll of 6 million German marks. The money was transferred to an account at Banca del Gottardo, an offshore company owned bySarmos Establishment Vaduz.
The Italian police, when investigating the scheme of arms supply on several contracts with Bosnia and Kosovo, encountered a structure, which was even bigger than expected. "Most transport was provided with bank guarantees from a Swiss lawyer”, says Giovanni Lepori, Carabinieri general (Italian police). “As soon as we were able to find out who paid for the guarantee, we noticed that all these people are somehow connected with "Al-Qaeda."
Further investigation results of were shocking. The underground organization not only sold weapons to Karadzic, but also to anyone acting on a global scale. Vladimir Zhirinovsky was just one of many suppliers. A small Sicilian community, Gamma centre, turned out to be the coordinator. Michel Papa, president of the company was at the same time head of the Islamic Centre of Catania and the Italian-Arab national association.
In 2000 a Venice court found all Italian companions of Zhirinovsky guilty. If only Zhirinovsky appeared in court, he would also have been convicted.
Source: Vslukh o.., January 2004
In February 1996 there was a murder attempt aimed at Aleksander Vengerovsky, former deputy chairman of the State Duma from the Liberal Democratic Party. Vengerovsky said that at first Zhirinovsky saw a competitor in him, then sold his post $ 4.5 million to the Ingush tycoon Mikhail Gutseriev, and when the deputy speaker protested, he was shot in the knee. In an interview with journalist Andrey Karaulov, Vengerovsky directly accused Zhirinovsky of the assassination attempt, citing information received from the deceased Shevchenko and a call from Zhirinovsky, who allegedly wanted to know the outcome of the attack exactly 10 minutes after the shot. In addition, the victim accused those close to the head of the Liberal Democratic Party of several criminal episodes and pointed out that the liberal-democratic members of parliament, Sergey Abeltsev, Michael Musatov, and Sergey Sigarev defiantly refused to give testimony in the case.
Source: Ruspres, 20 November 2009
Back in 1992 all property of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, according to available records, consisted of only a Volga car (GAZ-2410) and a small one-bedroom flat on Sokolnichesky Val, provided for him be the department of municipal housing in Moscow.
Living entirely on a single salary of an MP, from 1994 to 1997 deputy Zhirinovsky spent just under 12 billion rubles only for the acquisition property and real estate. According to the documents, he is the sole owner of the acquired property. Cited facts are only those confirmed and proven by the tax authorities. At the same time, absolutely all 122 apartments in 44 federal entities Zhirinovsky paid for in cash only.
Source: Novaya Gazeta, 06 October 1998
On September 30, 2004 Iraq Study Group, established by the Ministry of Defense and U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, released a report which indicated that Saddam's Iraq violated the UN-imposed sanctions and sold oil, using a system of double contracts. Vladimir Zhirinovsky was mentioned among others on the list of Russian recipients of vouchers. According to the ISG, in 1999 Nafta-Moscowbought on his voucher, 550 000 tonnes (3.85 million barrels) of oil. In the second half of 2000, Zhirinovsky also received vouchers for 9 million barrels of oil, which were used through Tyumen Oil Company (TNK).
Source: Vedomosti, 02 December 2004
In 2004 Vladimir Zhirinovsky was a witness in the trial over the murder of Galina Starovoitova, who had been killed in her apartment building in St. Petersburg on November 20, 1998. At the time of the murder Ruslan Linkov, an assistant to the deputy, was with her and was shot in the head. The investigation found the killers and the organizer of the murder. They were sentenced to terms ranging from 11 to 23.5 years in prison.
Zhirinovsky was summoned to the city court of St. Petersburg as a witness. He volunteered to participate in the litigation over the murder of Starovoitova after Lyudmila Narusova, a member of the Council of Federation, said in court that Starovoitova and MPs from the Liberal Democratic Party had a serious conflict. Zhirinovsky said that Starovoitova really was for him the main political opponent, but the leadership of the Liberal Democratic Party did not aim to murder her.
Source: Lenta.ru, 19 November 2004
Media wrote that the relationship between Zhirinovsky and Starovoitova was so nasty that when he returned to St. Petersburg to testify in the case, on the sixth anniversary of her murder Zhirinovsky made a cynical show at the grave. Although the tomb was on the restoration, the main Liberal Democrat demolished the fence around it, put a table with vodka on the tombstone, started speculating over the nasty character of the murdered MP, and hoisted a bottle of cologne named after himself on Starovoitova’s gravestone. Just to think of it, contracting the murder of a person you hate so much even years after the death is not so rare a thing to do.
Source: Nasha Versiya na Neve, 27 November 2009
Yury Kolchin, the convicted organizer of the murder of State Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova, said during questioning that the contractor was a former State Duma deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party, Mikhail Glushchenko.
Meanwhile, Starovoitova’s assistant had no doubt concerning being involved in the murder, but stresses that one should judge all the parent organizers. "My personal opinion is that Glushchenko should be responsible for the death of Galina Starovoitova. But charges should also be brought against those who gave him orders ", said Linkov. “I would like to hear the names of all of them”, he added.
Source: Ediny Rossiysky Portal, 04 March 2011
The crime biography of Glushchenko began in 1979 when he was convicted for the gang rape of a minor (Article 101 part 3 of the Criminal Code of the Kazakh SSR), and was sentenced to eight years of imprisonment. However, in the same year, after a forensic psychiatric examination at the Serbsky Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry in Moscow, Glushchenko was found insane and sent for compulsory treatment in the Inter-Republic psychiatric hospital № 1 of a special type under MIA of the Kazakh SSR. Glushchenko had been until January 1982.
Source: Izvestia, 18.06.09
In the late 80's Michael Glushchenko became a member of the Tambovskoe criminal community, and engaged in money extortion from traders and businessmen in St. Petersburg. Then he was known by the nickname Trener. The interests of the Tambovskaya gangsters became crossed with other criminal groups and in 1989 in the area of St. Petersburg "Devyatkino" an armed conflict between members of criminal groups took place. Since then the Petersburg underworld parted into the Tambovskaya and the Malyshevskaya criminal gang.
Given the evidence, criminal proceedings were instituted, and in 1990, 72 members of the Tambovskaya gang were brought to trial, including its leader, Vladimir Kumarin-Barsukov; he was sentenced to four years of imprisonment. With the same disassembly the criminal career of Mikhail Glushchenko began, hitherto he had been a ordinary member of the Tambovskaya OPG (“organized crime group”). He approved himself in the armed conflict and became the leader of the so-called power block of the Tambovskaya OPG and was given the nickname Misha Khokhol. In the late 80's Glushchenko met the now dead crime boss, “thief in law” Yuri Alexeyev (Gorbaty), who supported Glushchenko and later began to effect his political career.
Sources: "Novye Izvestiya" of 23.06.2009, "Tayny Sovetnik" from 22.06.2009, "Kommersant" from 16.06.2008
In the early 90's, Mikhail Glushchenko along with his driver-bodyguard Yury Kolchin (now he is recognized by the court to be the murder customer of the Duma deputy Galina Starovoitova), were detained by the police, who found them carrying fire-arms and grenade battle. Subsequently, Yuri Kolchin took the blame upon himself, denying acquaintance with Glushchenko, and the latter was targeted in the case as a witness, though, he had been in custody as a suspect for five months. Before he got out of "Kresty", Glushchenko claimed that he had been recruited by the Turkish intelligence. Allegedly, on this purpose the foreign spies fabricated a case of rape in the early 90's against him, and then sent for treatment in the Alma-Ata psychiatric hospital. Glushchenko said that later in St. Petersburg he was found by the representatives of Turkish intelligence and proposed him cooperation - consisting of the transfer of certain classified information and the preparation of subversive activities, in particular, an explosion of Zaporozhsky tank-production plant. Glushchenko said to security officials his nickname in the CIA - John Kelton.
Sources: "Tayny Sovetnik" from 22.06.2009, "Novaya Gazeta" on 09.07.2009
In April 1993, Glushchenko’s life was attempted in St. Petersburg. One of the versions of the attempt was associated with the name of the former director of St. Petersburg Planetarium - Vahan Ayvazian. Some time before Ayvazian’s murder, he said members of the Tambovskaya OPG had been preparing an assassination attempt against him. At the same time Ayvazian turned for protection to a certain Alexander Snyatkov from the association "Zashchita"; a serious conflict began, which turned into a gunfight at once. Ayvazian instructed Snyatkov to carry out actions against the gangsters of the Tambovskaya OPG and, in particular, against Mikhail Glushchenko. But he never learnt the results as he was killed. Perhaps, the attempt and wounding of Glushchenko in 1993 was the «protection’s" responsive action to the death of Ayvazian
Source: www.compromat.ru
In 1993, Mikhail Glushchenko and Yuri Kolchin were suspected of killing Officer of the RUBOP Vladimir Trotsenko in St. Petersburg. Later members of the Kazanskaya OPG were convicted under that criminal case.
Source: "Nevskoe Vremya” № 110 (1992) on 18.06.1999
At the end of December 1995, after learning of Glushchenko’s intention to run for the State Duma, the journalists of the two television companies- from Finland and from the program "A television security service" of the St. Petersburg television came to his cottage on the Vyborg highway. But those TV journalists were beaten at the entrance to the house; Mikhail Glushchenko himself was among the attackers. Then, the Finns received death threats in case the event appeared on TV broadcasts, while the St. Petersburg journalists were taken over the videotape with the footage.
Source: “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” № 209 from 26.10.1995
Mass media reported that staff of ChOP “Baltic Escort” - owned by the close friend of Vladimir Putin’s family, Roman Tsepov - guarded Michael Glushchenko. The address of the object stated under protection in the contract between Glushchenko and the Security Company was the house of Glushchenko at Vyborgskoe highway in St. Petersburg and the office of “Baltic Escort” on the Fontanka embankment. Mikhail Glushchenko was assumed to spend a lot of time at that address.
Source: "Moscovskie Novosti" from 08.10.2004
In early 2000’s, there was a big quarrel between Michael Glushchenko and Vladimir Golubev, who was known in criminal circles as Barmaley and wanted to quit the Tambovskaya criminal group. Glushchenko called 1 million dollars on Barmaleev as compensation. As a result of the conflict, Golubev had to go hiding in Israel, and Glushchenko instructed to take over his business. During the confrontation there were explosions organized in the sites controlled by Barmaleev in St. Petersburg - the restaurant "Adamant" and the clothing market on Vasilevsky Island.
Source: www.criminalhistory.ru from 16.02.2010
Mikhael Glushchenko is a suspect of the murder of Galina Starovoitova, which occurred on November 20, 1998. The suspicion fell on him after the arrest of Yuri Kolchin (Jura Bryansk), who was close to Glushchenko. They wrote that Glushchenko and his friend, former State Duma Deputy Vyacheslav Shevchenko, were a link between the customer and the murder of Starovoitova. At that time a member of the Federation Council of the Republic of Tuva, Lyudmila Narusova stated that Glushchenko threatened Starovoitova. In turn, Vladimir Zhirinovsky defended Glushchenko, saying that he rarely engaged in political activities and was not in conflict with Starovoitova. In April 2010, being convicted for the murder of Starovoytova, Yuri Kolchin went to bargain with investigators and called the name of the assassination customer - Sergei Shevchenko, brother of Vyacheslav Shevchenko, who was also a member of the Tambovskaya gang, thereby he tried to remove suspicion from Mikhail Glushchenko.
Sources: Kommersant »№ 218 (3057) on 20.11.2004,"Vremya Novostey” № 167 (842) on 09.09.2003,"Novaya Gazeta" on 25.06.2009
Mikhail Glushchenko was called a leader of the power block of the Tambovskaya criminal group by Vladimir Barsukov-Kumarin. Glushchenko was also told to have relation to the criminal group of Vladimir Belyaev, nicknamed Bob Kemerovsky, and to the criminal group boss Igor Sbitnev (by some resources, both of them led killers’ groups in the Tambov criminal association). at one time Sbitnev was accused of assassination attempt on Mikhail Osherov - Adviser to the Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznev, as well of the last attempt on a reputable businessman Ruslan Kolyak and preparing the assassination attempt on the director general of security company "Baltic escort" Roman Tsepov. Subsequently Sbitnev was acquitted as the chief witness for the prosecution had been killed. After some time, Igor Sbitneva himself was killed - some media believed that Mikhail Glushchenko was involved in his murder.
In 2003, when Sbitnev and his companions had been accused, Glushchenko left Russia and went to Europe (presumably to Spain or Switzerland). He lived abroad until 2009. They wrote that Glushchenko actively communicated with the Greek, Spanish, Georgian and Ukrainian security services during his immigration. As for his businesses, he opened a casino in Europe on shares with a former State Duma deputy from the LDPR, the leader of the Tambovskaya OPG members Mikhael Monastyrsky. The latter died in a car accident in Switzerland in 2007.
Sources: "Tayny Sovetnik" from 22.06.2009, "Novye Izvestiya" on 23.06.2009, www. newsru.com from 17.06.2008, Kommersant № 68 (2671) on 18.04.2003, Kommersant № 27 of 17.02.2003.
In 2004, there was information about the possible involvement of Mikhail Glushchenko into two high-profile murders - Ruslan Kolyak in Yalta and the criminal leader Konstantin Yakovlev in Moscow; he was close to the thieves in the law. Both of them were at odds with the Tambovskaya criminal group. Ruslan Kolyak had survived after nine assassination attempts; he openly accused Vyacheslav Shevchenko of one the attempts, the teammate of Mikhael Glushchenko from the Tambovskaya group, and Mikhail Glushchenko himself.
Sources: "Tayny Sovetnik" from 12.07.2004, "Tayny Sovetnik" from 22.06.2009
Journalists talked about Mikhail Glushchenko in 2008 as well in connection with the murder of two crime bosses in St. Petersburg, whose activity was associated with the Tambovskaya criminal gang - Gennady Urban and Alexander Bojtsov. They were members of the group by Basil Khimichev nicknamed Khimik who in his turn was under the command of Mikhail Glushchenko. The evidence of the relationship between Glushchenko and Himicheva was the fact that in 2008 the latter tried to bring a new passport in the name of Mikhail Glushchenko from St. Petersburg to Odessa (passport of Mikhail Glushchenko became invalid in 2002 when he turned 45 years old. Since then, the businessman had been living abroad without Russian passport), for that he was detained by law enforcement officials. At the same time Deputy Head of the passport service of the Vyborg district of St. Petersburg Olga Evseeva was prosecuted for the issue of the passport in the name of Michael Glushchenko to Khimichev. Supposedly, the passport was needed for Glushchenko in order to leave the United States for permanent residence, where he had some property acquired.
Sources: www.gazeta.spb.ru, «Vremya novostey" from 18.06.2009
In 2009, Mikhail Glushchenko himself came to St. Petersburg for a passport, but was arrested by the FSB Directorate. He was charged with the murder of the former State Duma deputy, member of the Tambovskaya OPG, Vyacheslav Shevchenko, businessman Yuri Zorin and interpreter Victoria Tretyakova. According to one version, Shevchenko and Zorin came into conflict with their comrades from the Tambovskaya OPG. Supposedly, in December 2003 Glushchenko demanded either a share of the business Shevchenko brothers - Slava and Sergei, and proposed them to give him the building of “Metropol” in St. Petersburg, or 10 million dollars; and in case refusal he threatened them with death. Shevchenko brothers refused, whereupon one of the brothers was killed. Despite the fact that the murder took place in Cyprus, the case was initiated in Russia - it happened because the victim Yuri Zorin was on friendly terms with the head of the Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, and the widow of Zorin asked Bastrykin for such a favor. Subsequently, another person appeared in Shevchenko-Glushchenko case - the director of the security firm “Eles", Ashot Voskanyan, formerly member of the Tambovskaya criminal group. They said that during interrogation Mikhail Glushchenko pointed to Voskanian, as one of the organizers of the Cyprus murders. However, Voskanyan did not become the suspect, but a the witness on the case.
Sources: "Novye Izvestiya" of 23.06.2009, "Vremya novostey" from 18.06.2009, "Kommersant» № 111 (4166) on 24.06.2009, "" Kommersant № 144 (4199) on 08.08.2009
At the time Mikhail Glushchenko and leader of the Tambovskaya OPG Vladimir Barsukov conflicted because of the Petersburg Fuel Company, for which share Mikhail Glushchenko claimed. Glushchenko's claims were based on the fact that he had been involved in the company opening, but still he was not included in the business. "PTK" had been after Barsukov up to his arrest.
Source: "Tayny Sovetnik" from 22.06.2009
Regarding the business interests of Glushchenko, in 2001he organized a network of gambling clubs in Ukraine, in 2003 he had a timber company in Hungary. They said that Mikhail Glushchenko was the owner of a casino in Andorra. With regard to the property: Glushchenko has his own house in Spain, in Malaga.
Sources: "Vremya novostey" from 05.10.2009, "Novaya Gazeta" on 09.09.2009, "Tayny Sovetnik" from 03.03.2003
After his arrest in 2009, Mikhail Glushchenko said that he had relation to the business of Sergey and Vyacheslav Shevchenko, who were the owners and managers of OAO "Nord", the St. Petersburg clubs "Hollywood Nites" and "Golden Doles”, OOO “Vostochnye Sladosti" , "Sever" and "Metropol". According to Glushchenko, he and Shevchenko brothers bought restaurant Neva, on the basis of which the club "Hollywood Nights"was later opened, a restaurant and casino. Glushchenko invited Alexander Sobchak as an investor in this project, first cousin at one remove of Mayor of Leningrad Anatoly Sobchak, who invested 800 thousand dollars then. According to the statements of Glushchenko, his role in joint business projects was limited to searching for investors. In 2002 the businessmen transferred part of the business into offshore in Cyprus. Subsequently Glushchenko went to Spain and lived on the money, which Shevchenko brothers transferred to him as dividends from the St. Petersburg companies. In April 2004 Glushchenko stopped receiving money from Russia, in the same month Vyacheslav Shevchenko was killed.
Source: www.fontanka.ru from 14.07.2009
There was a suicide note by Vyacheslav Shevchenko posted in Internet, which he allegedly accused Mikhael Glushchenko in a number of serious crimes. In particular, in the murder of Igor Klitschko, Shevchenko's business partner, in the murder of Gennady Tuganov, coordinator of the LDPR in the North-West, who had known a lot of compromising information about Glushchenko and might have posed a risk on his political arena. As it followed from the note, Glushchenko had executed the assassination attempts on Deputy Chief of the RUBOP Nikolay Akulov, and he had also received instruction to remove Galina Starovoitova - from Stanislav Zhibrovsky, close ally to Vladimir Zhirinovsky - the murder of Starovoitova was a pay for Glushchenko's entry in the Duma. According to Shevchenko, Glushchenko participated in the murder of Paul Kapysh, head of ZAO "Baltic Financial and Industrial Group". Shevchenko accused Glushchenko of the organization of several attempts on the respected businessman Ruslan Kolyak, and then - in his murder; in an attempt to director general of the security agency "Baltic escort", Roman Tsepov. Allegedly, Glushchenko organized two unsuccessful assassination attempts on Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, Nikita Ananov. At different times he also killed several people whom Shevchenko had mentioned by the nicknames only: "Haidar", "Tormoz", "Helmanson", "Bravve", "Kirpich".
For the period of spring-summer 2010, Mikhail Glushchenko was accused of organizing the triple murder in Cyprus, due to which he had a gesture confrontation with the family of Shechvenko, whose members initiated the criminal case and the prosecution.
Source: www. recepter.livejournal.com from 17.06.2009
