Tombstones of bandits. Unknown beauty of the bandit cemetery

The Khovanskoye cemetery is located near Moscow and adjoins the remote metropolitan district of Solntsev, which until recently was considered to be located near Moscow. The Khovanskoye Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Europe, but finding the alley where the leaders of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group are buried is not particularly difficult. It is located in a new section of the cemetery. The fact that the “godfathers” of the criminal south of Moscow are buried here, in my opinion, transparently hints at a close connection with the famous Solntsevo “brothers”, at their common criminal roots. Indeed, sometimes the relationships of individual persons are so intertwined that it is difficult to understand which of them is “Orekhovsky” and which one is “Solntsevsky”. It is curious that in almost all the graves the front sides of the tombstones and busts are turned with their backs to the pedestrian alley, thereby emphasizing the shady, criminal lifestyle of the deceased. It remains to add that all other “Orekhovites” are buried in Vvedensky, Danilovsky, Kotlyakovsky and Shcherbinsky cemeteries.

Anticipating your appropriate sarcastic grins about the pompous monuments in the churchyard, Orthodox symbols, I want to remind you that on Red Square in his Mausoleum for many decades lies a man who, during his short term as head of state, managed to ruin and destroy, for example, hard-working peasants in the name of utopian ideals and personal ambitions. As a gift from grateful descendants, the author of the cry “Take and divide!” received a permanent residence permit at the foot of the Kremlin, and the untimely peace of his sidekicks, tightly packed in the Kremlin wall, is guarded day and night by sentries. This seems to bother almost no one: they’ve already gotten used to it. What happens, dear comrades? A bandit and a murderer killed ten, but a great leader and teacher killed millions?

As a supplement, there is a video in which Valery Karyshev somehow explains who is who in the Orekhovsk mafia:

Sergei Ivanovich Timofeev (1955-1994) nicknamed Sylvester does not need any special introduction. In fact, this entire site is dedicated to his activities.

Grigory Evgenievich Gusyatinsky (1959-1995) - founder of the Medvedkovskaya organized crime group. In the early nineties, during Sylvester’s life, the group did not play a very independent role, but was a kind of North Moscow branch of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group. Gusyatinsky was involved in various kinds of sensitive cases, such as organizing the high-profile murder of Otari Kvantrishvili. When Sylvester was blown up in September 1994, Gusyatinsky again headed the Medvedkov group, but not for long. In January 1995, in Kyiv, Grisha was shot by his subordinate - the hired killer Alexei Sherstobitov, nicknamed Lesha Soldat, the direct executor of the order for Kvantrishvili. Apparently, Sherstobitov was afraid that he knew too much about the biography of Sylvester’s bait and therefore decided to fix the problem. Speaking about Gusyatinsky’s personality, for some reason I recall the words of the same Lesha Soldat about how Gusyatinsky ordered his subordinates to be killed for the slightest mistake. For example, he ordered one to be killed because a champagne cork got into him, and another because he refused to carry his wife’s bag. Since it is customary to say good or nothing about the dead, we will remain silent.

Stella on the graves of a prominent figure in the group, Alexander Garishin, nicknamed Sasha Ryzhiy (he did not like his other nickname - Screw), who was part of Sylvester's inner circle from the moment of his release from Tver Correctional Colony No. 1 (in the jargon "weaving"), and his younger comrade Vladimir Baklanov (1968-1996) nicknamed Cucumber.

Sergei Taraskin (1951-1992), wrestling coach of the Kuntsevo sports school, a kind of debutant in the alley of “heroes”, occupied a prominent place in the team of Sergei Kruglov, nicknamed Seryozha Boroda, who in turn was a personal friend of Sylvester. It is known that the latter studied karate at that sports school in the seventies, and therefore probably knew Taraskin. This is evidenced by other signs: Timofeev’s grave is adjacent to Taraskin’s grave, and those who buried Sylvester - and he was the third in the alley - for some reason placed the authority next to Taraskin, and not somewhere else.

Sergei Taraskin died in the famous massacre in Butovo on May 6, 1992, when several Moscow region and Moscow groups came together to fight: on the one hand, the Balashikha group (leader German Starostin, born in 1963, nickname Gera), on the other hand, the Podolsk group ( leader Sergei Lalakin, born in 1955, nickname Luchok), Chekhov (leader Nikolai Pavlinov, born in 1957, nickname Pavlin), as well as three Moscow groups - Anton, Petrik and Seryozha Boroda.

From operational information: “Taraskin’s funeral took place at the Khovanskoye cemetery. All members of Beard's group gathered. Participants in the gathering were armed with short-barreled machine guns. The militants on duty at the entrances radioed about the appearance of strangers. Thieves in law and authorities arrived at the cemetery. They recommended stopping the bloodshed and deciding peacefully. The participants in the gathering agreed, but the leader of the “Balashikha people” Starostin and his closest connection Sukhoi, as well as the Lyubertsy leaders Sam and Mani who supported them, were sentenced to death. Seryozha Boroda took upon himself the execution of the action.”

The name Taraskin is still well known among professional athletes. On December 12-14, 2014, an open All-Russian Greco-Roman wrestling tournament was held in the Sports Complex of the Olympic Village - 80 in Moscow, dedicated to the memory of the USSR Master of Sports Sergei Taraskin.

Sergei Vladimirovich Kotov, nicknamed Kot, was among the authoritative people in the Orekhov group and knew Sergei Ivanovich Timofeev personally. Andrei Viktorovich Mikhailov, nicknamed Fantik, was a member of the brigade from 1993 to 1996, and when the latter was killed, he began working with Kot.

On March 1, 1997, Kotov and Mikhailov went to a routine meeting, apparently with someone they knew well and, leaving their wives in the restaurant, expected to return in an hour, but disappeared. About five days later, the car they left in (an armored Mercedes 140) was found in one of the parking lots with broken bulletproof glass. The guys were found a week later in the forest, it seems, on the fortieth kilometer of the Kyiv highway...

Alexander Loginov, nicknamed Bul (1977-2001), was seen in the company of Igor Smirnov (Bear), and it seems that he was somehow involved in, since he was buried nearby. It wasn’t the bullet that killed the bullet, it was the drugs that killed it. At the beginning of the 2000s, shooting in Orekhovo-Borisovo generally subsided.

Nikolai Pavlovich Vetoshkin (1961-1998) was part of Sylvester’s inner circle, but he was involved mainly in “dirty” work. They met back in the eighties, when Vetoshkin worked as a loader in an Orekhovsk store and had the opportunity to get alcohol during Gorbachev’s anti-alcohol campaign.

After the murder of the boss, a real war broke out in the south of Moscow; The once cohesive group began to split into separate brigades, one of which was headed by Vetoshkin. When the district authority Dvoechnik was shot, in 1996-1998. Vetoshkin actually became the main bandit of the southern outskirts of Moscow. Since Nikolai Palych often resorted to the traditional means of resolving controversial situations, namely shooting, by the end of the decade he managed to make a lot of enemies. Extraordinary precautions and an armored Mercedes did not save him from the natural end - execution from a Kalashnikov assault rifle.

Vladislav Albertovich Gorpishchenko, nicknamed Garp (1965-1994). Nikolai Modestov: “...Near his own apartment, one of the promising fighters, Garpishchenko (nickname Garp), was found dead. The killer fired a single shot to the head from the PM...” Garp was killed while Sylvester was still alive, in August 1994, and he became second in the alley after Taraskin.

Sergei Nikolaevich Volodin (1969-1996), nicknamed Dragon, was killed under circumstances unknown to me. According to one version, the Kurgan people dealt with him for the debts of Sergei Ivanovich. It is possible that the killer was Alexander Solonik.

Sergei Dmitrievich Ananyevsky (1962-1996) nicknamed Kultik, honored coach of Russia in powerlifting (powerlifting), champion of the USSR in 1991, first president of the Powerlifting Federation in Russia and part-time... Orekhov’s authority.

Ananyevsky is more often mentioned as the mastermind of the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili. Shot during the power struggle that followed the Sylvester bombing in early March 1996 near the US Embassy on Novinsky Boulevard. According to one version, the murder was committed by “Kurgan people.”

The graves of Volodin and Ananyevsky are united, which speaks of the joint affairs of the deceased and, possibly, friendship.

A common story for the 1990s: the parents of the “brothers” sometimes outlived their children by decades.

We all know that the nineties were very hot times. Then legal and illegal business began to emerge. At times they were closely related to each other. This symbiosis was so profitable that influential groups fought for the right to work together with legal businessmen, sometimes starting real wars. As an echo of them, today we can observe the unusual graves of bandits of the 90s, which capture the imagination of ordinary people.

A little history

In the early 90s of the last century, various groups and gangs actively developed. They took control of small, medium, and later large businesses. Without doing practically anything, they made good profits. Of course, each gang wanted to conquer as wide a field of influence as possible. For this purpose, bladed weapons and firearms were used. And the graves of bandits of the nineties appeared in cemeteries.

It is known that the heads of groups who were worshiped and who had the most money from illegal business were the first to be shot. For example, in Yekaterinburg, the “lads” even managed to establish international illegal connections to make money from the sale of scrap metal. The very first big war began here, as a result of which several hundred “brothers” died on both sides. There were similar wars in St. Petersburg and other cities.

Unprecedented luxury

After high-profile murders, luxurious graves of bandits began to appear in cemeteries. Uralmash was one of the first to begin erecting real masterpieces in honor of its leaders.

These monuments are characterized by the fact that granite and marble were not spared for their construction. Tombstones were made both in the form of a classic slab and a full-length monument. The greater the position the deceased held, the more granite was used for his monument.

Sometimes you can even find entire memorials that occupy a huge area. In addition to the monument and tombstone, in such places there are also stone flowerpots, tables and benches for relaxation.

Friends and relatives tried to ensure that the monuments on the graves of the bandits fully reflected the fact of how significant a person the deceased was during his lifetime. Even more luxury can be observed at family graves, where relatives who were members of the same group are buried. In this case, the burial place looks especially regal.

Full length portrait

But no matter how luxurious the tombstone is, the graves of 90s bandits are also distinguished by the special style of the portraits on it. The deceased is usually depicted at full height. Outwardly, he has a typical look for that time: the clothes of a classic bandit.

There are several options here. The deceased can be depicted in a tracksuit and an eight-piece cap, if this is how the “brothers” knew him. But he may appear before you in a leather jacket with a typical cut for that time and in jeans.

Later graves show businessmen wearing crimson jackets. It is not even necessary that the portrait be in color. It is immediately clear to everyone that it is raspberry in color.

As for the image itself, the engraving on the stone is often done in color, although this is much more expensive than the usual two-color design.

It's all in the details

Not the least important thing in portraits is their detail. Almost every one depicts the famous gold chains - the main attributes of the leaders of that time. It doesn’t matter whether these are the graves of bandits in Moscow or in other cities.

There are also very specific details. There are portraits with a bunch of car keys in their hands or with their favorite keychain. In some portraits, the deceased is depicted with a handful of seeds, which he loved so much during his lifetime.

Items such as a lighter, matchbox, cigarette, mobile phone, rings, rings, signets are also common. All these details create the impression as if a living person is looking at you from a tombstone and is about to call you out. This causes fear and apprehension among strangers, as it did during the life of the person depicted on the tombstone. Looking at him, you immediately understand that this is a real authority of the criminal world.

Embracing the angels

It is known that criminals have a special concept of the Christian faith. They created their code based on its main postulates, bringing them to their own realities. Therefore, the monuments on the graves of bandits are often strewn with Christian symbols.

The most common one is a cross. But this is not surprising, since it is also on the graves of other people; it is under the cross that a person is sent to the afterlife. The cross protects his soul in the “other world.”

But images are rare for ordinary people. Since most of the authorities did not die by their own death, it is not just crosses that must protect their peace, but the highest deities. Therefore, the monuments on the graves of bandits are hugged by angels, and they stand over the deceased, as if fulfilling their mission, which they failed to accomplish during his lifetime.

Tombstones in the form of churches and domes are also typical for bandits. In the criminal world, this is a special symbol that the “brothers” transferred to cemeteries for their brothers and colleagues.

On a Mercedes to the afterlife

Probably the most amazing part of the tombstones that decorate the graves of 90s bandits is their cars. It was the 600th Mercedes that became a symbol of that time, it was the one that the most authoritative bandits drove, and it was its image that was transferred to the tombstones.

Some people thought a simple drawing was not enough, so the graves of bandits in Togliatti and other cities are decorated with monument cars. Carved from granite to life size, they stand directly on the grave of the deceased.

True, Mercedes is not the only brand that can be found in cemeteries. There are even tombstones in the shape of motorcycles. Particularly interesting examples are a car half hewn from stone, while the other half remains untreated stone.

Paired graves

Along with single graves in cemeteries where bandits of the 90s lie, there are also double graves. Close relatives are buried there. For example, the graves of the Uralmash bandits in Yekaterinburg are famous for the common burial place of the brothers who founded this sports-gangster group. They are united by one tombstone, on which those who are buried in them are carved in full height.

The same graves are typical for a brother and sister, and for a husband and wife. There are even family graves in which their children also lie next to their parents, since the gang wars were extremely cruel. They killed everyone: both children and adults. As a tribute to their memory, the most luxurious tombstones and family crypts were erected.

Simplicity and conciseness

But not all 90s gangster graves are so striking. There are simple but tastefully decorated places in cemeteries. And this does not mean that the person was completely uninfluential during his lifetime, or that he had little money. It’s just that his relatives and friends understood that he no longer needed excessive showing off. Therefore, such graves are decorated with a simple tombstone, on which, in addition to the main portrait, there may be 1-2 more minor ones, illustrating the life of this person in all its manifestations.

Decades later, we can already talk about such a cultural phenomenon as the bandits of the 90s, and what is left of them. These are unusual tombstones that demonstrate the special attitude of people towards the memory of their deceased comrades.

mzk1.ru

At all the prestigious cemeteries of the capital: Vagankovsky, Staroarmyansky, Danilovsky, Nikolo-Arkhangelsky - the best places are given over to gangster alleys

Granite steles, multi-pound crosses, gilded fences, angels one and a half human height... Famous sculptors worked on these monuments. Prophetic epitaphs from Dante and other classics were selected by distinguished writers. If you grieve and remember, then on a grand scale!..

There is a particularly reverent attitude towards criminal authorities even after death. At cemeteries they invariably get VIP seats: at the entrance, on the central alley. The monuments are illuminated, in winter the staff clears them of snow and ice with soft brushes in any weather, and in the summer they place fresh flowers. There are “brotherly” alleys in all the prestigious cemeteries of the capital: Vagankovsky, Staroarmyansky, Danilovsky, Nikolo-Arkhangelsky... There are even private “brotherly” cemeteries, like the one located in Rakitki near Moscow. In the early 90s, the gang bought entire plots of land in rural and urban churchyards. So that the boys can be together in the next world.

Our special correspondents went on a raid through the capital’s prestigious churchyards, to the graves of “gentlemen of fortune.”

At the entrance to the Vagankovskoe cemetery there is a skyscraper stele, above it there is a marble angel, arms outstretched over the tombstones with bronze wreaths. Engraved on two paired granite slabs: Amiran Kvantrishvili. Otari Kvantrishvili.

Brothers - composers? - the visitors are talking.

Prominent public figures! - the former cemetery worker, now a freelance guide to the world of the dead, Valera, grins cynically.

The angel on the grave is so big, no match for Listyov’s skinny seraphim (nearby is the grave of TV presenter Vladislav Listyev. - Author), - the guests of the graveyard pay tribute to the grave.

Still would! - Valera agrees. - The famous sculptor Klykov worked on the monument to the Kvantrishvili brothers, the first of whom was shot by sworn friends in 1993, the second a year later.

The one that sculpted Zhukov on a horse? - the listeners are surprised.

Valera says that the epochal building, dedicated to the memory of the Kvantrishvili brothers, took several years to create. It obviously cost the customer a lot.

Otari Kvantrishvili was a legendary figure in Moscow in the late 80s and early 90s. He was called the godfather of the capital's mafia and at the same time a fighter for justice. Otari started out as a card player. He was a close friend of Vyacheslav Ivankov (Yaponchik). In the fall of 1993, he created the “Athletes of Russia” party and took part in the destruction of the White House. He was the head of the Lev Yashin Fund for the Social Protection of Athletes, against which the Moscow RUOP had a grudge for a long time. Honored coach of Russia in Greco-Roman wrestling. Patron and businessman...

On April 5, 1994, Otari was shot by a killer sniper at the exit from the Krasnopresnensky baths. The killer has still not been found. The investigation put forward the most fantastic versions, none of which found official confirmation. They say that the killer was the famous Solonik - Sasha the Great.

However, Otari received the “black mark” a year before his death. On August 6, 1993, his brother Amiran was killed in the office of a small business. He arrived at the company's office together with the thief Fedya Besheny (Fedor Ishin). The mercenaries shot both of them.

We walk further along the Vagankovskoye cemetery. The prestigious churchyard is now considered closed and is overcrowded. Here it is possible to carry out burials only along the family line, if space allows: to “share” the deceased with the deceased grandmother, uncle, nephew. True, a hero, honorary or other particularly distinguished citizen can receive the honor of lying in a famous cemetery. But this must have special permission from the city administration.

How the grave of the head of the Ryazan criminal group, Viktor Airapetov, appeared on Vagankovo is doubly a mystery.

It is not known for certain whether Airapet or anyone else was buried for him. The documents are most likely fictitious. Any good owner always has a couple of unregistered graves hidden away. If you start digging, you won’t prove anything. The cemetery archive burned down back in October 1941,” Valera enlightens us.

When approaching the burial place of Viktor Airapetov, you want to close your eyes. The massive marble slab is framed by a fence with abundant gilding. Rumor has it that Viktor Airapetov himself came more than once to admire his pompous grave. Not from the underworld, but from our hectic life. Did the crime boss simply fake his own death?

In the early 90s of the last century, master of sports in freestyle wrestling Viktor Airapetov created the most powerful underground fighting organization in Ryazan - “Ayrapetovskaya”. At the international level, she was supported by Yaponchik himself. By 1993, Airapetov moved to Moscow. “Ayrapetovskie” were divided into brigades and numbered from 800 to 1,500 members. But soon they encountered a serious obstacle - the “elephant” group. They shot the elite of the “Ayrapetovskys”. The gang leader himself managed to escape only by a miracle. And a great criminal war began in Ryazan. And on November 19, 1995, at about three o’clock in the morning, the death of Viktor Airapetov was recorded. Special forces officers took part in the kidnapping of the founder and leader of the group of the same name. Masked people put the guards face down, and the authority itself was taken away in an unknown direction. Two weeks later, an anonymous call gave the number of the plaque in the general burial ground. A Rolex watch and the bandit’s famous belt with silver plates were found on the corpse dug out of the ground. The wife looked at the burnt corpse with a hole in the head and calmly said: “Yes, that’s him.” Later, she and the “authority’s” mother left for permanent residence in Europe. Shortly before his disappearance, Airapetov received Greek citizenship and changed his last name to Aravidis. A few years later, Ryazan entrepreneurs accidentally met Vitya Ryazansky in Europe. But officially Airapetov is dead.

Take a look at the ******** site, Valera advises us. - There are monuments to thieves in law, similar to the monument to Pushkin on Tverskaya or Minin and Pozharsky on Red Square.

We go through the massive gate to the indicated churchyard. On the right hand, in an antique chair, sits a bronze man with a thoughtful look. Engraved on the pedestal: Vladimir Sergeevich Oganov. On the left is the bronze Rudolf Sergeevich Oganov. The entire space near the brothers’ graves is filled with marble vases. Flowers - roses, lilies, chrysanthemums - at the premiere at the Bolshoi Theater.

The Oganov brothers (Rudik Bakinsky and Vachigos Six-fingered) were not just famous thieves. They occupied some of the highest places in the criminal hierarchy. For which they paid. At the end of the last century, a criminal war broke out between the Oganovs and Aslan Usoyan (better known as Ded Hassan), which escalated into a war of mafia clans. Three times convicted 53-year-old Rudik was killed in February 1999 in a cafe on the Moscow Ring Road, after at a thieves' meeting he accused Ded Hasan of embezzling money from the common fund. Grandfather Hassan was then “uncrowned.” And Oganov, who had just returned from the south, received more than 40 bullets from the killers. The reason was the previous execution of thieves from the Hasan clan in Essentuki. After him, the influential Moscow “criminal general” Boris Apakia (Khripaty) gathered the mafiosi supporting Usoyan, and they passed a final verdict on Oganov. After some time, the same fate befell Vladimir Oganov.

We go in search of the grave of another crime boss - Peso Kuchuloria. Experienced gravedigger Sergei Ivanovich stops us:

Don't look, you won't find. I dug Peso's grave myself. Then the gopstopniks paid us 200 rubles each. Only a week later a scandal broke out. Peso's grave turned out to be the burial site of an Afghan warrior. The latter's relatives made a fuss. The pesos were dug up and taken to the Domodedovo cemetery.

Officially, Valerian Cuculoria, nicknamed Peso, went missing in 1993. He was one of the close friends of the same Otari Kvantrishvili.

Knowing that at the 28th precinct of Vagankov lie many members of the once powerful Bauman criminal group, in the very center of the precinct we look for a monument made of black marble, under which their leader, Bobon, rests. The grave, again, is a steam room. Next to Bobon (“in the world” - Vladislav Abrekovich Vygorbin-Vanner lies his bodyguard. Bright yellow apples are laid out in a pyramid on the slab: someone close to him came here for the Apple Spas.

Bobon was one of the most erudite and powerful “authorities” of the late 80s. His Bauman group kept half of Moscow in fear. Bobon, aka Vladislav Vygorbin, was considered the right hand of the thief Globus. Bobon was very fond of cars and drove around Moscow in a snow-white sports two-door Buick without a driver's license, since he spent one of his three terms in a psychiatric hospital, where he learned English perfectly, but received a certificate of mental illness and therefore had to pass a commission to obtain a car license. could no longer be right.

In 1994, a dispute broke out over a nightclub, the “roof” of which was provided by Globus and his team. Globus unexpectedly demanded to increase its share. He was shot by the Kurgan people, and Solonik took responsibility for the murder. Then the same Solonik killed Bobon. He and his bodyguard were going to practice at a shooting range on the Volokolamsk highway. The killers drilled holes in the concrete fence ahead of time. As soon as Bobona's Ford taxied into the yard, they opened fire on him. Bobon, his bodyguard, and Bobon's dog were killed. And the daughter of the “authority” managed to fall on the floor between the seats of the car.

At the Danilovskoye Cemetery, VIP burials are hidden from prying eyes. Only twice - following the worker Grishany - having overcome the holes in the fence, we find ourselves in the granite world.

“It’s all Karelian granite here, guaranteed for more than a hundred years,” says our guide. - This stone is the most expensive. A crypt with a sliding slab and a tombstone costs 10 thousand “greens”, engraving a portrait costs another 4.5 thousand. And if you sculpt a sculpture with all the bells and whistles - borders, steps - 300 thousand “greenery” must be prepared.

Wandering among the “concrete monuments”, we find the family burial of the Chograshi family. The following are engraved on the marble steles: “Nono”, “Dato”, “Kike”.

In August 2001, an armored Mercedes 600 burned down in Khimki, in which two well-known ********* thieves in law - Dato and Nono Chograshi - were traveling. A Mercedes with a driver and two passengers was heading towards the capital from Sheremetyevo airport. Suddenly, while driving, the Mercedes caught fire. The fire was caused by an explosion. The brothers died of burns in the hospital. It was assumed that the attempt was connected with the division of the thieves' common fund.

“I remember how Nodar Chograshi was buried,” continues Grisha. - There weren't many people at the ceremony. There were about twenty thieves in law and “authorities”; among them, knowledgeable people identified Miho the Blind and Besik. I also remember that the grave was lined with bricks and the coffin was filled with concrete. I was then surprised: why? It turns out that in the homeland of the deceased - in Armenia - the dead are buried in the mountains, in carved out niches.

The gravedigger Grisha smells not of vodka, but of expensive perfume. He is not wearing greasy overalls, but ironed overalls. By caring for the graves, by Grisha’s own admission, he “rows” up to 50 thousand rubles a month with an official salary of 5 thousand.

When a heartbreaking funeral march sounds in the depths of the cemetery, Grisha winces:

Brass bands are in bad taste these days. “Great people,” for example, are buried with “live” music. Opera stars arrive at the cemetery and perform pitiful arias from Italian operas. And coffins are generally the calling card of the deceased. It is in the outback that reusable dominos - “shuttles” - walk around in circles. To deliver the deceased to the cemetery, a coffin decorated with ruffles and bows is rented to the poor for 200-300 rubles. With us, everything is different.

Deceased VIPs are rolled to their final resting place in varnish and bronze. Elite coffins are a real work of coffin art: made of mahogany, equipped with bronze, “antique” handles, illuminated, air conditioning, built-in stereo music system, decorated with a reproduction of a painting by a famous artist. Particularly popular are double-lidded “senator” coffins, which are also equipped with a so-called elevator that raises or lowers the body. The cost of such a house starts from 10 thousand “green” and rushes to infinity.

How the grave is covered with wreaths, they give a funeral salute - they release a rocket with black twinkling stars, - Grisha sums up.

Having telephoned the administration of several capital cemeteries, we were convinced: despite the “overcrowding,” there are no problems with organizing burial places in cemeteries. Enough to pay. The price of the issue of “resettlement” in closed cemeteries ranges from 50 to 200 thousand rubles.

Inscriptions and epitaphs on the graves of “authorities” are a separate issue. In Togliatti, on the monument to the leader of the criminal community Dmitry Ruzlyaev - Dima Bolshoi - there is a laconic inscription: “Dima”. On the tombstone of a difficult man nicknamed Blue, friends wrote: “And nothing will grow from the spiritual ashes, only time will mercilessly punish for those who will not come again.” In Vladivostok, the grave of thief in law Miho is decorated with an unambiguous inscription: “Here sleep goodness and justice.” But Mukha Bely’s friends and associates outdid everyone: they decorated the stele in the shape of a cell phone with the inscription: “The subscriber has left the service area.”

Monuments depicting “brothers” with playing cards and keys to Mercedes in their hands are a thing of the past. In recent years, monuments to “authorities” have been created with imagination. For example, in Nizhny Novgorod, at the Starozavodskoe cemetery, there is a unique tombstone of a man known in criminal circles named Zaron. Next to the full-length statue of the deceased, a stone swan “swims”, from whose eyes... tears flow.

Majestic monuments cannot but attract the attention of non-ferrous metal collectors. All kinds of bronze details are dragged from the graves: boards, ribbons, flowers. It happens that looters break out entire busts and take them away for melting down. It’s paradoxical, but, according to the assurances of cemetery workers, there are never any thefts from the burials of thieves in law and “authorities.” Thieves are afraid of the deceased “positioners” even after their death. The power of crime extends not only to earthly life?..

The boys didn’t forget Kostya Mogila
The most expensive tombstone, worth $200,000, was installed in the Northern capital for an ordinary former gravedigger from the Southern cemetery

The famous St. Petersburg businessman Konstantin Yakovlev, better known in certain circles as Kostya Mogila, was shot dead on May 25, 2003 in Moscow. The Nissan Maxima car, in which, in addition to Yakovlev, there were his bodyguard, driver and close friend, was riddled with a machine gun by a killer passing by on a motorcycle. The men died on the spot from their wounds, and the woman, who accidentally bent over a second before the shooting, was seriously injured, but remained alive.

The tragedy occurred during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Until the end of the celebrations, the authorities banned funerals in the city on the Neva. Therefore, the deceased waited 10 days for burial in the Moscow Lefortovo morgue. Only on June 3, Yakovlev’s body was delivered to St. Petersburg.

Many years ago, Konstantin Yakovlev worked as a gravedigger at the Southern Cemetery. For his incredible achievements in digging speed - he dug a grave in 40 minutes - he received his nickname. It was assumed that the mortal body of Konstantin Yakovlev would be given to the graveyard where he began his career. However, they did not bury him at the Southern Cemetery; they chose the Northern Cemetery, where his relatives were buried.

They say that when the funeral procession of 50–60 foreign cars headed to the Northern Cemetery, accompanied by four traffic police cars, and on Arsenalnaya Embankment drew level with the famous “Crosses,” lingering signals from the column of cars were heard. And the prison responded with a dull echo of thousands of male voices, since they knew in advance when Kostya Mogila would be transported past the pre-trial detention center.

When Yakovlev was buried, before the monument was made, a huge oak Orthodox cross was installed on a freshly grown mound. A sea of flowers and wreaths lay on the grave. On one of the wreaths there was a mourning ribbon with the inscription: “Sleep well, Konstantin, we will never forget you! Guys."

And the monument to Konstantin Yakovlev was erected, the most magnificent in the entire Northern capital. It is rumored to be worth $200,000. In the center of the monument is the figure of the Bone of the Grave itself. The deceased embraces the Orthodox cross with his hands. But a snake crawled to his feet. She has already opened her mouth and is about to bite him. On the black granite, inscribed in gold, are the words: “I kissed those who betrayed me on the forehead, and not the one who betrayed me on the lips.” The sculptural group also includes two half-meter angels who look at Kostya Mogila from different sides. One folds his hands in prayer, the second, on the contrary, pulls them towards authority.

* Prices for monuments to brothers start from $5-10 thousand.

* For a long time, in the criminal environment, there was a fashion for depicting dead “comrades-in-arms” on black marble with the keys to a Mercedes and a cell phone in their hands.

* For the authority of Vasily Naumov, nicknamed Yakut, who was killed in South Korea, the Russian gang bought a coffin inlaid with gold, with an electronic refrigerator and an automatically opening lid worth $15 thousand.

* The grave of the Nizhny Novgorod criminal leader nicknamed Zaron is decorated with the figure of the deceased standing next to a crying stone swan.

* The alley of brothers at the Togliatti cemetery is opened by a monument to the leader of the criminal group Dmitry Ruzlyaev - a huge marble slab with the inscription “Dima”.

At all the prestigious cemeteries of the capital: Vagankovsky, Staroarmyansky, Danilovsky, Nikolo-Arkhangelsky - the best places are given over to gangster alleys

Our special correspondents went on a raid through the capital’s prestigious churchyards, to the graves of “gentlemen of fortune.”

Brothers - composers? - the visitors are talking.

Prominent public figures! - the former cemetery worker, now a freelance guide to the world of the dead, Valera, grins cynically.

The angel on the grave is so big, no match for Listyov’s skinny seraphim (nearby is the grave of TV presenter Vladislav Listyev. - Author), - the guests of the graveyard pay tribute to the grave.

Still would! - Valera agrees. - The famous sculptor Klykov worked on the monument to the Kvantrishvili brothers, the first of whom was shot by sworn friends in 1993, the second a year later.

The one that sculpted Zhukov on a horse? - the listeners are surprised.

Valera says that the epochal building, dedicated to the memory of the Kvantrishvili brothers, took several years to create. It obviously cost the customer a lot.

How the grave of the head of Viktor Airapetov appeared on Vagankovo is doubly a mystery.

Take a look at the ******** site, Valera advises us. - There are monuments to thieves in law, similar to the monument to Pushkin on Tverskaya or Minin and Pozharsky on Red Square.

We go in search of the grave of another crime boss - Peso Kuchuloria. Experienced gravedigger Sergei Ivanovich stops us:

Officially, Valerian Cuculoria, nicknamed Peso, went missing in 1993. He was one of the close friends of the same Otari Kvantrishvili.

At the Danilovskoye Cemetery, VIP burials are hidden from prying eyes. Only twice - following the worker Grishany - having overcome the holes in the fence, we find ourselves in the granite world.

Wandering among the “concrete monuments”, we find the family burial of the Chograshi family. The following are engraved on the marble steles: “Nono”, “Dato”, “Kike”.

When a heartbreaking funeral march sounds in the depths of the cemetery, Grisha winces:

How the grave is covered with wreaths, they give a funeral salute - they release a rocket with black twinkling stars, - Grisha sums up.

St. Petersburg does not lag behind Moscow's funeral. In August, at the Northern Cemetery, on the grave of the influential shadow “authority” Konstantin Yakovlev, better known as Kostya Mogila, an incredibly pompous monument worth 600 thousand “greens” was erected. In the center is the figure of Kostya Mogila himself, hugging an Orthodox cross with his hands. At the feet of the deceased is a snake that is about to bite him. Two half-meter-tall angels look at Kostya Mogila from different sides: one folds his hands in prayer, the second pulls them towards the “authority”. The words are inscribed in gold on the black granite: “I kissed those who betrayed me on the forehead, not the one who betrayed me on the lips.” Inscriptions and epitaphs on the graves of “authorities” are a separate topic. In Togliatti, on the monument to the leader of the criminal community Dmitry Ruzlyaev - Dima Bolshoi - there is a laconic inscription: “Dima”. On the tombstone of a difficult man nicknamed Blue, friends wrote: “And nothing will grow from the spiritual ashes, only time will mercilessly punish for those who will not come again.” In Vladivostok, the grave of thief in law Miho is decorated with an unambiguous inscription: “Here sleep goodness and justice.” But Mukha Bely’s friends and associates outdid everyone: they decorated the stele in the shape of a cell phone with the inscription: “The subscriber has left the service area.”

The boys didn’t forget Kostya Mogila
The most expensive tombstone, worth $200,000, was installed in the Northern capital for an ordinary former gravedigger from the Southern cemetery

The famous St. Petersburg businessman Konstantin Yakovlev, better known in certain circles as, was shot dead on May 25, 2003 in Moscow. The Nissan Maxima car, in which, in addition to Yakovlev, there were his bodyguard, driver and close friend, was riddled with a machine gun by a killer passing by on a motorcycle. The men died on the spot from their wounds, and the woman, who accidentally bent over a second before the shooting, was seriously injured, but remained alive. The tragedy occurred during the celebration of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. Until the end of the celebrations, the authorities banned funerals in the city on the Neva. Therefore, the deceased waited 10 days for burial in the Moscow Lefortovo morgue. Only on June 3, Yakovlev’s body was delivered to St. Petersburg.

* The grave of the Nizhny Novgorod criminal leader nicknamed Zaron is decorated with the figure of the deceased standing next to a crying stone swan.

* The alley of brothers at the Tolyatti cemetery is opened by a monument to the leader of the criminal group Dmitry Ruzlyaev - a huge marble slab with the inscription “Dima”.

On August 8, 2003, one of the last surviving leaders of the Orekhovskaya group, Andrei Pylev, nicknamed Dwarf, was detained in the Spanish resort of Marbella. Among the most notorious crimes of the organized crime group is the murder of the killer Alexander Solonik and businessman Otari Kvantrishvili. Who were the Orekhovskys and what happened to them - in the Kommersant-Online photo gallery.
The Orekhovskaya organized crime group was formed in the south of Moscow in the area of Shipilovskaya Street in the late 1980s. It mainly included young people aged 18–25 with common sports interests.

Over the years, the organized crime group has grown into one of the largest criminal communities in Moscow. The group became famous as one of the most brutal Russian gangs of the 1990s, responsible for such high-profile cases as the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili and the assassination attempt on Boris Berezovsky in 1994, as well as the murder of the famous killer Alexander Solonik in Greece in 1997. In the second half of the 1990s, the organized crime group, most of whose leaders fell victims to internal strife, weakened. In the early 2000s, the remaining Orekhov “authorities” were put on trial and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.

In the photo: members of the organized crime group Viktor Komakhin (second from left; shot in 1995) and Igor Chernakov (third from left; was killed in 1994 the day after the murder of the leader of the organized crime group Sylvester)

In the 90s, playing thimbles brought serious profits. Orekhovskaya brigades protected thimbles from the “Polish Fashion”, “Leipzig”, “Electronics”, “Belgrade” stores near the “Domodedovskaya” and “Yugo-Zapadnaya” metro stations

The Orekhovskaya organized crime group also extorted money from drivers engaged in private transportation near the Kashirskaya metro station. In 1989, gas stations in the Sovetsky and Krasnogvardeisky districts of Moscow came under the control of the group.
In the photo (from left to right): Andrei Pylev (Karlik; in prison), Sergei Ananyevsky (Kultik, killed in 1996), Grigory Gusyatinsky (Grisha Severny; killed in 1995) and Sergei Butorin (Osya; received a life sentence)

The leader of the group was Sergei Timofeev, who received the nickname Sylvester for his resemblance to actor Sylvester Stallone. He was killed on September 13, 1994 - his Mercedes 600 was blown up on 3rd Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street. Sylvester’s murder was a blow to the organized crime group, and the division of his inheritance cost the lives of most of the Orekhovskaya leaders. The killers have still not been found, and even Boris Berezovsky was named among the possible organizers: it was Sylvester who was associated with the assassination attempt on the businessman in the summer of 1994

According to one version, Sylvester’s murder could have been revenge for the shooting of the leader of the Bauman organized crime group, Valery Dlugach, nicknamed Globus (pictured on the right). Dlugach was killed in 1993 by Alexander Solonik, a killer of the Kurgan organized crime group, which at that moment collaborated with the Orekhovskaya group.

While Sylvester was alive, his power united several brigades, whose leaders were friends: pentathlete Igor Abramov (Dispatcher; killed in 1993), 1981 USSR boxing champion Oleg Kalistratov (Kalistrat; killed in 1993), hockey player Igor Chernakov (Double student; pictured on the right; killed in 1995), boxer Dmitry Sharapov (Dimon; killed in 1993), bodybuilder Leonid Kleshchenko (Uzbek Sr.; pictured on the left; killed in 1993)

In 1993–1994, the Medvedkov group joined the Orekhovskaya organized crime group.
In the photo: one of the Orekhovskaya leaders Sergei Butorin (left) with Medvedkov’s colleague Andrei Pylev (Karlik; currently serving a prison sentence).

One of the most high-profile cases of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group was the murder of businessman Otari Kvantrishvili, associated with criminal circles. He was killed on April 5, 1994, while leaving the Krasnopresnensky baths by one of the Orekhovskys - Alexey Sherstobitov (Lesha Soldat; sentenced to 23 years in prison in 2008)

Sylvester's heirs fought for power for many years. On March 4, 1996, not far from the US Embassy on Novinsky Boulevard, Sylvester’s closest assistant and his heir in the organized crime group, Sergei Ananyevsky (Kultik; pictured in the middle), was killed. He got his nickname because he was involved in bodybuilding and was the 1991 USSR champion in powerlifting. As it turned out later, the killer was a member of the Kurgan organized crime group Pavel Zelenin

After the death of Sergei Ananyevsky, Sergei Volodin (Dragon; pictured on the left) became the leader of the organized crime group.
In the photo: the funeral of Sergei Ananyevsky at the Khovanskoye cemetery

Soon after the murder of Sergei Ananyevsky, Sergei Volodin (on the right) was also shot. Sergei Butorin (Osya) becomes the new leader of the organized crime group.

Having become the leader of the organized crime group, Sergei Butorin entered into an alliance with the Medvedkovsky brothers Andrei and Oleg Pylev (Malaya and Sanych) and collaborated with the Kurgan organized crime group, which did not prevent him from becoming a customer of the main killer of the Kurgan gang, Alexander Solonik. In 1996, Butorin staged his own funeral and went into the shadows for a while, and in the early 2000s he fled to Spain, but was arrested in 2001 and sentenced to life imprisonment, which he is now serving

Alexander Solonik (Valeryanych) is a killer of the Kurgan organized crime group, involved in the murder of the adopted son of thief in law Yaponchik and the leader of the Bauman organized crime group, Vladislav Vanner, nicknamed Bobon. He escaped from custody three times. He was killed in Greece in 1997 by a member of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha Soldat; sentenced to 22 years in prison in 2005) on the orders of Sergei Butorin

Sergei Butorin (pictured) and his accomplices are behind many high-profile murders: the leaders of the Kuntsevo group Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Kuligin, the falcon group Vladimir Kutepov (Kutep) and others

Marat Polyansky is a killer, member of the Orekhovskaya and Medvedkovskaya organized crime groups. He was involved in the murder of the Kurgan organized crime group killer Alexander Solonik, as well as Otari Kvantrishvili. He was detained in February 2001 in Spain. In January 2013, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Oleg Pylev (pictured) was detained in 2002 in Odessa, Andrei Pylev in 2003 in Spain. Oleg Pylev was sentenced to 24 years in prison, Andrey - to 21 years