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Alexey Lvovich Sherstobitov(born January 31, 1967, Moscow) - member of the Medvedkovskaya organized crime group, known as "Lyosha the Soldier". He has 12 proven murders and attempted murders. He took up literary activities, wrote books of autobiographical content “Liquidator”, part 1 (2013); “Liquidator”, part 2 (2014), “Skin of the Devil” (2015), “Someone else’s wife” (2016), “Liquidator, full version(2016)".
Biography
Life before the organized crime group
Alexey Sherstobitov was born into the family of a hereditary career officer and dreamed of serving all his life. The family lived in Moscow on Koptevskaya Street, in a house where many military personnel lived, mainly from the Ministry of Defense. Sherstobitov's ancestors served in the Tsarist Army. Alexey Sherstobitov’s grandfather, Colonel Alexey Mikhailovich Kitovchev, took part in the battle for the liberation of Sevastopol, for which he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. From an early age, Alexey Sherstobitov knew how to handle weapons; after graduating from school, he entered the Leningrad Higher School of Railway Troops and Military Communications named after M. V. Frunze at the Faculty of Military Communications, which he graduated in 1989. He studied at the same football school together with Alexander Mostov and Oleg Denisov. During his studies, he detained a dangerous criminal, for which he was awarded an order. After military school, he was assigned to the Special Transportation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the Moscow Railway, where he worked as an inspector, and then as a senior inspector. At that time, Sherstobitov was fond of powerlifting and regularly went to the gym while still in the military. There he met former KGB senior lieutenant Grigory Gusyatinsky (“Grinya”) and Sergei Ananyevsky (“Kultik”), who at that time was the head of the Powerlifting and Powerlifting Federation and deputy leader of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group Sergei Timofeev ("Sylvester"). At first, Gusyatinsky instructed Sherstobitov to ensure the security of several trading tents. The senior lieutenant proved himself to be a good organizer, capable of solving (including by force) emerging problems. The leaders of the Medvedkovskaya organized crime group appreciated his abilities and forced him to agree to a new position - a full-time killer.
Killer career
The first task "Lyosha the Soldier" was an attempt to murder the former deputy chief of the special forces special forces unit, Filin, who subsequently resigned from the police and became a criminal. On May 5, 1993, on Ibragimov Street, Sherstobitov fired at Filin’s car from a “Mukha” grenade launcher. Owl and his friend, who were in the car, were slightly injured and survived, but Sylvester was pleased with the work done. Later, “Lesha the Soldier” killed several more people. Sherstobitov’s most famous crime was the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili on April 5, 1994.
In 1994, Timofeev had a conflict with thief in law Andrei Isaev ("Painting"). Sherstobitov placed a car filled with explosives near Isaev’s house on Osenny Boulevard and, when he came out, pressed the remote control button. Isaev himself was wounded but survived. A little girl died from the explosion.
After the murder of Timofeev on September 13, 1994, Gusyatinsky and Sherstobitov left for Ukraine for safety reasons. After this trip, Sherstobitov, together with the brothers Andrei and Oleg Pylev (“Maloy” and “Sanych”) agreed to liquidate Gusyatinsky. Sherstobitov seriously wounded his boss in Kyiv with a sniper rifle when he approached the window of a rented apartment. Gusyatinsky lay in a coma for several days, after which he was disconnected from life support devices. After this, the Pylevs allowed Sherstobitov to assemble his own team of three people.
In January 1997, Alexander Tarantsev, who headed Russian Gold, had a conflict with the owner of the Dolls club, Joseph Glotser. Sherstobitov, on instructions from the Pylyovs, went on reconnaissance to a night establishment located on Krasnaya Presnya Street, where he killed Glotser with a shot to the temple. The next task of his group was surveillance of Solonik, who, after escaping from the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center, lived in Greece. Sherstobitov’s people recorded a telephone conversation in which Solonik said the phrase “They need to be brought down”. In these words, the Pylev brothers felt a threat to themselves. Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha the Soldier) is considered the killer of Solonik.
In 1998, the Pylyovs had a conflict with the president of the Russian Gold company, Alexander Tarantsev, over the distribution of business income. Sherstobitov followed the businessman for almost four months and realized that he, having very professional security, was practically invulnerable. Sherstobitov built a remote-controlled device with a Kalashnikov assault rifle in the VAZ-2104. The car was installed at the exit from the Russian Gold office. Sherstobitov saw Tarantsev coming down the steps on a special display and pressed the remote control button, but the device did not work. The automatic fire rang out only 2 hours later, it killed the guard of “Russian Gold”, and injured two bystanders. Tarantsev survived. He also tried more than once to kill Orenburg thief in law Aliyev Astana, nicknamed "Ali", so in 2015 Aliyev's motorcade consisting of 7 cars was shot on the street. Donguzskaya, but then Aliyev remained alive, then Aliyev’s bodyguards worked professionally and saved the life of their authority, after which Sherstobitov was pursued by the gang, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers found him before they did.
Arrest
Law enforcement agencies learned about the existence of Sherstobitov only after the arrest of the Orekhovo-Medvedkov leaders in 2003, when Oleg Pylev wrote a statement asking to be released on his own recognizance with a promise find "Soldier", who committed the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili and Glotser. During interrogations, ordinary militants spoke about a certain “Lesha the Soldier,” but no one knew his last name or what he looked like. Investigators believed that “Lesha the Soldier” was some kind of mythical collective image. Sherstobitov himself was extremely careful: he did not communicate with ordinary bandits, did not participate in their gatherings. He was a master of conspiracy and disguise: when going on business, he always used wigs, fake beards or mustaches. Sherstobitov did not leave fingerprints at the crime scene, there were no witnesses.
Composition of the group:
- Alexey Sherstobitov ("Soldier")- senior lieutenant of the internal service (convicted).
- Sergey Chaplygin ("Chip")- Captain of the GRU MO (killed by his own people for drunkenness).
- Alexander Pogorelov ("Sanchez")- Captain of the GRU Moscow Region (convicted).
- Sergei Vilkov - captain of the Internal Troops (convicted).
Personal life
On June 9, 2016, Sherstobitov got married in a correctional colony in the Lipetsk region, where he is serving his sentence. His wife was a 31-year-old psychiatrist from St. Petersburg. Before the ceremony, the newlyweds had a photo shoot, for which they dressed in costumes of gangsters from the era of Prohibition in the United States; the photographs were published in social media, after which they were published in Russian media. A civil registry office employee arrived at the colony. The registration procedure took place in the room of the deputy head of the educational department of the ITK
Verdicts of the Moscow City Court
He was accused of committing 12 murders and attempted murders and more than 10 articles of the Criminal Code related to his activities.
First trial
- Jury verdict of February 22, 2008: “Guilty, not worthy of leniency.”
- The verdict of the Moscow City Court of March 3, 2008 is 13 years of strict regime, judge A. I. Zubarev.
Second trial
- Jury verdict dated September 24, 2008 - “Guilty, worthy of leniency”
- The verdict of the Moscow City Court on September 29, 2008 is 23 years of strict regime. Judge Shtunder P.E.
The term of the cumulative sentences is 23 years of imprisonment in a maximum security colony with retention of rank and awards.
At the trial, Sherstobitov stated that he fully admitted his guilt, but asked for leniency. In particular, he cited the following arguments in his justification: he refused to blow up 30 members of the Izmailovo group, saved the life of one businesswoman without eliminating her, and, having left the criminal community, was engaged in a peaceful craft - he worked as a plasterer. Sherstobitov often went against the interests of the criminal community and its leaders, refusing and delaying the elimination of persons they disliked: V. Demenkov, G. Sotnikova, A. Polunin, T. Trifonov, including not initiating an explosive device at the Vvedensky cemetery in Moscow , during the celebration of the anniversary of Shukhat’s death there, which is confirmed by the materials of the criminal case (resolution on refusal to initiate a criminal case dated June 25, 2007).
In popular culture
Music
- Don Siba - Confessions of a Killer
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Excerpt characterizing Sherstobitov, Alexey Lvovich
Rostov, blushing and turning pale, looked first at one officer, then at the other.- No, gentlemen, no... don’t think... I really understand, you’re wrong to think about me like that... I... for me... I’m for the honor of the regiment. So what? I will show this in practice, and for me the honor of the banner... well, it’s all the same, really, I’m to blame!.. - Tears stood in his eyes. - I’m guilty, I’m guilty all around!... Well, what else do you need?...
“That’s it, Count,” the captain of staff shouted, turning around, hitting him on the shoulder with his big hand.
“I’m telling you,” Denisov shouted, “he’s a nice little guy.”
“That’s better, Count,” the headquarters captain repeated, as if for his recognition they were beginning to call him a title. - Come and apologize, your Excellency, yes sir.
“Gentlemen, I’ll do everything, no one will hear a word from me,” Rostov said in a pleading voice, “but I can’t apologize, by God, I can’t, whatever you want!” How will I apologize, like a little one, asking for forgiveness?
Denisov laughed.
- It's worse for you. Bogdanich is vindictive, you will pay for your stubbornness,” said Kirsten.
- By God, not stubbornness! I can’t describe to you what a feeling, I can’t...
“Well, it’s your choice,” said the headquarters captain. - Well, where did this scoundrel go? – he asked Denisov.
“He said he was sick, and the manager ordered him to be expelled,” Denisov said.
“It’s a disease, there’s no other way to explain it,” said the captain at the headquarters.
“It’s not a disease, but if he doesn’t catch my eye, I’ll kill him!” – Denisov shouted bloodthirstyly.
Zherkov entered the room.
- How are you? - the officers suddenly turned to the newcomer.
- Let's go, gentlemen. Mak surrendered as a prisoner and with the army, completely.
- You're lying!
- I saw it myself.
- How? Have you seen Mack alive? with arms, with legs?
- Hike! Hike! Give him a bottle for such news. How did you get here?
“They sent me back to the regiment again, for the devil’s sake, for Mack.” The Austrian general complained. I congratulated him on Mak’s arrival... Are you from the bathhouse, Rostov?
- Here, brother, we have such a mess for the second day.
The regimental adjutant came in and confirmed the news brought by Zherkov. We were ordered to perform tomorrow.
- Let's go, gentlemen!
- Well, thank God, we stayed too long.
Kutuzov retreated to Vienna, destroying behind him bridges on the rivers Inn (in Braunau) and Traun (in Linz). On October 23, Russian troops crossed the Enns River. Russian convoys, artillery and columns of troops in the middle of the day stretched through the city of Enns, on this side and on the other side of the bridge.
The day was warm, autumn and rainy. The vast perspective that opened up from the elevation where the Russian batteries stood protecting the bridge was suddenly covered with a muslin curtain of slanting rain, then suddenly expanded, and in the light of the sun objects as if covered with varnish became visible far away and clearly. A town could be seen underfoot with its white houses and red roofs, a cathedral and a bridge, on both sides of which masses of Russian troops poured, crowding. At the bend of the Danube one could see ships, an island, and a castle with a park, surrounded by the waters of the Ensa confluence with the Danube; one could see the left rocky bank of the Danube covered with pine forests with the mysterious distance of green peaks and blue gorges. The towers of the monastery were visible, protruding from behind a pine forest that seemed untouched; far ahead on the mountain, on the other side of Enns, enemy patrols could be seen.
Between the guns, at a height, the chief of the rearguard, a general, and a retinue officer stood in front, examining the terrain through a telescope. Somewhat behind, Nesvitsky, sent from the commander-in-chief to the rearguard, sat on the trunk of a gun.
The Cossack accompanying Nesvitsky handed over a handbag and a flask, and Nesvitsky treated the officers to pies and real doppelkümel. The officers joyfully surrounded him, some on their knees, some sitting cross-legged on the wet grass.
- Yes, this Austrian prince was not a fool to build a castle here. Nice place. Why don't you eat, gentlemen? - Nesvitsky said.
“I humbly thank you, prince,” answered one of the officers, enjoying talking with such an important staff official. - Beautiful place. We walked past the park itself, saw two deer, and what a wonderful house!
“Look, prince,” said the other, who really wanted to take another pie, but was ashamed, and who therefore pretended that he was looking around the area, “look, our infantry have already climbed there.” Over there, in the meadow outside the village, three people are dragging something. “They will break through this palace,” he said with visible approval.
“Both,” said Nesvitsky. “No, but what I would like,” he added, chewing the pie in his beautiful, moist mouth, “is to climb up there.”
He pointed to a monastery with towers visible on the mountain. He smiled, his eyes narrowed and lit up.
- But that would be good, gentlemen!
The officers laughed.
- At least scare these nuns. Italians, they say, are young. Really, I would give five years of my life!
“They’re bored,” said the bolder officer, laughing.
Meanwhile, the retinue officer standing in front was pointing something out to the general; the general looked through the telescope.
“Well, so it is, so it is,” the general said angrily, lowering the receiver from his eyes and shrugging his shoulders, “and so it is, they will attack the crossing.” And why are they hanging around there?
On the other side, the enemy and his battery were visible to the naked eye, from which milky white smoke appeared. Following the smoke, a distant shot was heard, and it was clear how our troops hurried to the crossing.
Nesvitsky, puffing, stood up and, smiling, approached the general.
- Would your Excellency like to have a snack? - he said.
“It’s not good,” said the general, without answering him, “our people hesitated.”
– Shouldn’t we go, Your Excellency? - said Nesvitsky.
“Yes, please go,” said the general, repeating what had already been ordered in detail, “and tell the hussars to be the last to cross and light the bridge, as I ordered, and to inspect the flammable materials on the bridge.”
“Very good,” answered Nesvitsky.
He called to the Cossack with the horse, ordered him to remove his purse and flask, and easily threw his heavy body onto the saddle.
“Really, I’ll go see the nuns,” he said to the officers, who looked at him with a smile, and drove along the winding path down the mountain.
- Come on, where will it go, captain, stop it! - said the general, turning to the artilleryman. - Have fun with boredom.
- Servant to the guns! - the officer commanded.
And a minute later the artillerymen ran out cheerfully from the fires and loaded.
- First! - a command was heard.
Number 1 bounced smartly. The gun rang metallic, deafening, and a grenade flew whistling over the heads of all our people under the mountain and, not reaching the enemy, showed with smoke the place of its fall and burst.
The faces of the soldiers and officers brightened at this sound; everyone got up and began observing the visible movements of our troops below and in front of us - the movements of the approaching enemy. At that very moment the sun completely came out from behind the clouds, and this beautiful sound of a single shot and the shine of the bright sun merged into one cheerful and cheerful impression.
Two enemy cannonballs had already flown over the bridge, and there was a crush on the bridge. In the middle of the bridge, having dismounted from his horse, pressed with his thick body against the railing, stood Prince Nesvitsky.
He, laughing, looked back at his Cossack, who, with two horses in the lead, stood a few steps behind him.
As soon as Prince Nesvitsky wanted to move forward, the soldiers and carts again pressed on him and again pressed him against the railing, and he had no choice but to smile.
- What are you, my brother! - the Cossack said to the Furshtat soldier with the cart, who was pressing on the infantry crowded with the very wheels and horses, - what are you! No, to wait: you see, the general has to pass.
But furshtat, not paying attention to the name of the general, shouted at the soldiers blocking his way: “Hey!” fellow countrymen! keep left, wait! “But the fellow countrymen, crowding shoulder to shoulder, clinging with bayonets and without interruption, moved along the bridge in one continuous mass. Looking down over the railing, Prince Nesvitsky saw the fast, noisy, low waves of Ens, which, merging, rippling and bending around the bridge piles, overtook one another. Looking at the bridge, he saw equally monotonous living waves of soldiers, coats, shakos with covers, backpacks, bayonets, long guns and, from under the shakos, faces with wide cheekbones, sunken cheeks and carefree tired expressions, and moving legs along the sticky mud dragged onto the boards of the bridge . Sometimes, between the monotonous waves of soldiers, like a splash of white foam in the waves of Ens, an officer in a raincoat, with his own physiognomy different from the soldiers, squeezed between the soldiers; sometimes, like a chip winding through a river, a foot hussar, an orderly or a resident was carried across the bridge by waves of infantry; sometimes, like a log floating along the river, surrounded on all sides, a company or officer's cart, piled to the top and covered with leather, floated across the bridge.
“Look, they’ve burst like a dam,” the Cossack said, stopping hopelessly. -Are there many of you still there?
– Melion without one! - a cheerful soldier walking nearby in a torn overcoat said winking and disappeared; another, old soldier walked behind him.
“When he (he is the enemy) begins to fry the taperich on the bridge,” the old soldier said gloomily, turning to his comrade, “you will forget to itch.”
And the soldier passed by. Behind him another soldier rode on a cart.
“Where the hell did you stuff the tucks?” - said the orderly, running after the cart and rummaging in the back.
And this one came with a cart. This was followed by cheerful and apparently drunk soldiers.
“How can he, dear man, blaze with the butt right in the teeth…” one soldier in a high-tucked greatcoat said joyfully, waving his hand widely.
- This is it, sweet ham is that. - answered the other with laughter.
And they passed, so Nesvitsky did not know who was hit in the teeth and what the ham was.
“They’re in such a hurry that he let out a cold one, so you think they’ll kill everyone.” - the non-commissioned officer said angrily and reproachfully.
“As soon as it flies past me, uncle, that cannonball,” said the young soldier, barely restraining laughter, with a huge mouth, “I froze.” Really, by God, I was so scared, it’s a disaster! - said this soldier, as if boasting that he was scared. And this one passed. Following him was a carriage, unlike any that had passed so far. It was a German steam-powered forshpan, loaded, it seemed, with a whole house; tied behind the forshpan that the German was carrying was a beautiful, motley cow with a huge udder. On the feather beds sat a woman with a baby, an old woman and a young, purple-red, healthy German girl. Apparently, these evicted residents were allowed through with special permission. The eyes of all the soldiers turned to the women, and while the cart passed, moving step by step, all the soldiers' comments related only to two women. Almost the same smile of lewd thoughts about this woman was on all their faces.
- Look, the sausage is also removed!
“Sell mother,” another soldier said, emphasizing the last syllable, turning to the German, who, with his eyes downcast, walked angrily and fearfully with wide steps.
- How did you clean up! Damn it!
“If only you could stand with them, Fedotov.”
- You saw it, brother!
- Where are you going? - asked the infantry officer who was eating an apple, also half-smiling and looking at the beautiful girl.
The German, closing his eyes, showed that he did not understand.
“If you want, take it for yourself,” the officer said, handing the girl an apple. The girl smiled and took it. Nesvitsky, like everyone else on the bridge, did not take his eyes off the women until they passed. When they passed, the same soldiers walked again, with the same conversations, and finally everyone stopped. As often happens, at the exit of the bridge the horses in the company cart hesitated, and the whole crowd had to wait.
- And what do they become? There is no order! - said the soldiers. -Where are you going? Damn! There's no need to wait. Even worse, he will set the bridge on fire. “Look, the officer was locked in too,” the stopped crowds said from different sides, looking at each other, and still huddled forward towards the exit.
Alexey SHERSTOBITOV
[Lesha Soldier]
LIQUIDATOR
Confession of a Legendary killer
AN ERA IN OPTICAL SIGHT
“Killer number one” - this is what investigators dubbed Alexey Sherstobitov, nicknamed “Soldier”. Ten years of his crime rocked the news cycles. Everyone knew about his murders, but no one knew about his existence. He was a phantom, a genius of reincarnation: dozens of passports, names, images... His atrocities were attributed to others, including Alexander Solonik, who fled from the Matrosskaya Tishina special center and was then killed in Greece by his “brothers” in arms. All the country's intelligence services were hunting for the Soldier, who could not even imagine that they were dealing with a loner.
They took him when he retired, devoting himself to his family and little daughter. For twelve proven murders, the court sentenced the Soldier to 23 years in prison. The killer's targets were large businessmen, politicians, leaders of organized crime groups: Otari Kvantrishvili, Joseph Glotser, Grigory Gusyatinsky, Alexander Tarantsev... Alexey Sherstobitov also had an order for the liquidation of Boris Berezovsky, but seconds before the shot, the command “release” followed.
This is an extremely frank, true story about gang wars, in which the secret services actively participated, about the fate of the leaders of the most powerful organized crime groups. The author does not hide the methods he uses for collecting information, blackmail, conspiracy, preparing for liquidation... The scenes are shocking with cruelty, achieved not by savoring the physiological specifics of murder, but by the deep psychologism of the confrontation between the victim and the executioner. Killing is not for the sake of money and power, and certainly not killing for the sake of killing. Each subsequent crime of the Soldier is an attempt to save his loved ones from reprisals, to preserve love, which brings him to the dock.
“Liquidator” is not fiction, not a detective story, not a literary soap, not a boring memoir. Reading is not for sleep or out of boredom. We have never heard or read anything like this. From the first pages of “Confessions of a Legendary Killer,” an era unfolds before us in the reticle of an optical sight. Until now, this genre has been the fantasy of writers and screenwriters trying on the role of killers and executioners: sad caricatures or bloody comics. This book overthrows the psychologists who studied the minds of murderers and dared to elevate their conclusions to scientific truths.
Any glass has a critical point that destroys it, which is impossible to find, you can only stumble upon it by accident. In crime literature and psychology, this book became a similar point of collapse, erasing the usual ideas about life and death, killer and victim, fate and fatalism, love and morality. This is not a snotty repentance with an overlapping of self-flagellation and melancholy, this is not a cynical bravado of sniper virtuosity and elusiveness, this is not a love lament that covers up the bloody traces of life path author. Alexey Sherstobitov, with a cold mind, but with uncooled feelings and a passionate style, dissects his own destiny, in the stormy mirror of which the battlefields are reflected civil war for the socialist legacy. “Don’t cry, don’t laugh, don’t curse, but understand” - this philosophical aphorism very accurately reflects the author’s message of “The Liquidator” to its reader.
We met Lesha Soldat five years ago in prison, where I was held on suspicion of an attempt on the life of Anatoly Chubais. I wrote about this in detail in the book “Walled in. Chronicles of the Kremlin Central". We spent two weeks in the same cell - not long, but enough to get to know each other. Spiritual, intelligent in a good way, calm and reserved. Outwardly, he looked more like a vacationer than a prisoner, over whom hung the guillotine of criminal cases with a long list of victims who died at his hands. While in prison, Alexey read a lot: world history, philosophical treatises, popular psychology, revelations of the holy fathers. Reading was more than just leisure for him. Sherstobitov seemed to be trying to pick up the keys that could unlock the meaning of his own existence, the keys to righteous repentance.
And now, years later, a thick manuscript was in my hands, the price of which was human lives, torn love, years of search and timelessness of prison corridors. The author does not beg the reader for forgiveness, although the instinct of salvation sometimes sounds notes of justification. It seems that he humbly accepts the punishment, contempt and hatred with which society generously pays him, happily seeing in this redemption before people and God.
Ivan MIRONOV,
Candidate of Historical Sciences,
member of the Writers' Union of Russia
BOOK ABOUT A SCARY LIFE
Started on the first day of the week of the Last Judgment, 02/27/2011.
“I dedicate it to the million who did not live to read this book, having paved the way with their lives for those who wanted to live “better than the gods,” and to those of us who survived, but dream of freedom and family - finally realized real values. remember".
Each person, from birth, has his own path, leading into the unknown. Mine is like this - through the fate of mine and my loved ones, through other people's lives, misfortunes and tears. There is nothing to atone for the pain I caused, and, in most cases, no one... But even in such cases, there is a way out for every person - to begin his Anabasis to repentance.
Is the loneliness of a person who, by chance (in accidents, however, I long ago lost faith) who became a professional killer, is comparable with the loneliness ordinary person? How much can you dilute it or, having gotten used to it, no longer want anyone in your company?
I will say, judging from myself and because I have read or heard: only a book (but not fiction, but a book that makes you think) can replace an interlocutor, although sometimes even here one cannot do without lies, which one gets used to from loved ones, and even from outsiders, I couldn’t.
Of the books that humanity has created, the most remarkable, in my opinion, are works about history (especially those written by its participants). Many who do not recognize this science have never been interested in it and have only heard about it out of the blue. The passion that gripped me, of course, is on an everyday level, because I don’t speak the languages of primary sources and I don’t have contact with luminaries and artifacts. Even from this perspective, a point of view emerges, thanks to which anyone can enter into a debate with a scientist, at least in the form of a dialogue “to oneself.” Over time, as one of the beneficial consequences, some patterns begin to be traced in the life of states, cities, nations, politicians, leaders, warriors, and simply individuals who stood out from the general human historical mass. But each of us plays our own role, even if it’s just a screw or a nut, and it’s not at all about relationships, not about unity and cohesion, and not even about Divine Providence, but in the understanding of this by the person himself, and understanding every minute! And in combining the worldview and perception of a person of that time with the worldview and perception of a person today, which we generally rarely think about, simply dwelling on facts and emotions.
, USSR
Alexey Lvovich Sherstobitov(born January 31, 1967, Moscow) - killer of the Medvedkovskaya organized crime group and ally of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group. Known as "Lyosha the Soldier". He has 12 proven murders and attempted murders. He took up literary activities, wrote books of autobiographical content “Liquidator”, part 1 (2013); “Liquidator”, part 2 (2014), “Skin of the Devil” (2015), “Someone else’s wife” (2016), “Liquidator, full version (2016)”.
Biography
Life before the organized crime group
Alexey Sherstobitov was born into the family of a hereditary career officer and dreamed of serving all his life. The family lived in Moscow on Koptevskaya Street, in a house where many military personnel lived, mainly from the Ministry of Defense. Sherstobitov's ancestors served in the Tsar's army. Alexey Sherstobitov’s grandfather, Colonel Alexey Mikhailovich Kitovchev, took part in the battle for the liberation of Sevastopol, for which he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. From an early age, Alexey Sherstobitov knew how to handle weapons; after graduating from school, he entered Leningradskoe higher school Railway Troops and Military Communications named after M.V. Frunze at the Faculty of Military Communications, which he graduated in 1989. He studied at the same football school together with Alexander Mostov and Oleg Denisov. During his studies, he detained a dangerous criminal, for which he was awarded an order. After military school, he was assigned to the Special Transportation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the Moscow Railway, where he worked as an inspector, and then as a senior inspector. At that time, Sherstobitov was fond of power eventing and regularly went to the gym while still in the military. There he met former KGB senior lieutenant Grigory Gusyatinsky (“Grinya”) and Sergei Ananyevsky (“Kultik”), who at that time was the head of the Federation of Powerlifting and Powerlifting and deputy director of the Orekhovskaya OPG of Sergei Timofeev ("Sylvester"). At first, Gusyatinsky instructed Sherstobitov to ensure the security of several trading tents. The senior lieutenant proved himself to be a good organizer, capable of solving (including by force) emerging problems. The leaders of the Medvedkovskaya organized crime group appreciated his abilities and appointed him to a new position - a full-time killer.
Killer career
The first task "Lyosha the Soldier" was an attempt to murder the former deputy chief of the special forces special forces unit, Filin, who subsequently resigned from the police and became a criminal. On May 5, 1993, on Ibragimov Street, Sherstobitov fired at Filin’s car from a “Mukha” grenade launcher. Owl and his friend, who were in the car, were slightly injured and survived, but Sylvester was pleased with the work done. Later, “Lesha the Soldier” killed several more people. Sherstobitov’s most famous crime was the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili on April 5, 1994.
In 1994, Timofeev had a conflict with thief in law Andrei Isaev ("Painting"). Sherstobitov placed a car filled with explosives near Isaev’s house on Osenny Boulevard and, when he came out, pressed the remote control button. Isaev himself was wounded but survived. A little girl died from the explosion.
After the murder of Timofeev on September 13, 1994, Gusyatinsky and Sherstobitov left for Ukraine for safety reasons. After this trip, Sherstobitov, together with the brothers Andrei and Oleg Pylev (“Maloy” and “Sanych”) agreed to liquidate Gusyatinsky. Sherstobitov seriously wounded his boss in Kyiv with a sniper rifle when he approached the window of a rented apartment. Gusyatinsky lay in a coma for several days, after which he was disconnected from life support devices. After this, the Pylevs allowed Sherstobitov to assemble his own team of three people.
In January 1997, Alexander Tarantsev, who headed Russian Gold, had a conflict with the owner of the Dolls club, Joseph Glotser. Sherstobitov, on instructions from the Pylevs, went on reconnaissance to a night establishment located on Krasnaya Presnya Street, where he killed Glotser with a shot to the temple. The next task of his group was surveillance of Solonik, who, after escaping from the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center, lived in Greece. Sherstobitov’s people recorded a telephone conversation in which Solonik said the phrase “They need to be brought down”. In these words, the Pylev brothers felt a threat to themselves. Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha the Soldier) is considered the killer of Solonik.
In 1998, the Pylyovs had a conflict with the president of the Russian Gold company, Alexander Tarantsev, over the distribution of business income. Sherstobitov followed the businessman for almost four months and realized that he, having very professional security, was practically invulnerable. Sherstobitov built a remote-controlled device with a Kalashnikov assault rifle in the VAZ-2104. The car was installed at the exit from the Russian Gold office. Sherstobitov saw Tarantsev coming down the steps on a special display and pressed the remote control button, but the device did not work. The automatic fire rang out only 2 hours later, it killed the guard of “Russian Gold”, and injured two bystanders. Tarantsev survived. He also tried more than once to kill Orenburg thief in law Aliyev Astana, nicknamed "Ali", so, in 2005, Aliyev's motorcade, consisting of 7 cars, was shot on the street. Donguzskaya, but then Aliyev remained alive, Aliyev’s bodyguards worked professionally and saved the life of their authority, after which Sherstobitov was pursued by the gang, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs officers found him before they did.
Arrest
Law enforcement agencies learned about the existence of Sherstobitov only after the arrest of the Orekhovo-Medvedkov leaders in 2003, when Oleg Pylev wrote a statement asking to be released on his own recognizance with a promise find "Soldier", who committed the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili and Glotser. During interrogations, ordinary militants spoke about a certain “Lesha the Soldier,” but no one knew his last name or what he looked like. Investigators believed that “Lesha the Soldier” was some kind of mythical collective image. Sherstobitov himself was extremely careful: he did not communicate with ordinary bandits, did not participate in their gatherings. He was a master of conspiracy and disguise: when going on business, he always used wigs, fake beards or mustaches. Sherstobitov did not leave fingerprints at the crime scene, there were no witnesses.
In 2005, one of the leaders (convicted).
Personal life
On June 9, 2016, Sherstobitov got married in a correctional colony in the Lipetsk region, where he is serving his sentence. His wife was a 31-year-old psychiatrist from St. Petersburg. Before the ceremony, the newlyweds staged a photo shoot, for which they dressed in costumes of gangsters from the Prohibition era in the United States; the photographs were posted on social networks, after which they were published in the Russian media. A civil registry office employee arrived at the colony. The registration procedure took place in the room of the deputy head of the educational department of the ITK
Verdicts of the Moscow City Court
He was accused of committing 12 murders and attempted murders and more than 10 articles of the Criminal Code related to his activities.
First trial
- Jury verdict of February 22, 2008: “Guilty, not worthy of leniency.”
- The verdict of the Moscow City Court of March 3, 2008 is 13 years of strict regime, judge A. I. Zubarev.
Second trial
- Jury verdict dated September 24, 2008 - “Guilty, worthy of leniency”
- The verdict of the Moscow City Court on September 29, 2008 is 23 years of strict regime. Judge Shtunder P.E.
The term of the cumulative sentences is 23 years of imprisonment in a strict regime colony with retention of rank and awards.
At the trial, Sherstobitov stated that he fully admitted his guilt, but asked for leniency. In particular, he cited the following arguments in his justification: he refused to blow up 30 members of the Izmailovo group, saved the life of one businesswoman without eliminating her, and, having left the criminal community, was engaged in a peaceful craft - he worked as a plasterer. Sherstobitov often went against the interests of the criminal community and its leaders, refusing and delaying the elimination of persons they disliked: V. Demenkov, G. Sotnikova, A. Polunin, T. Trifonov, including not initiating an explosive device at the Vvedensky cemetery in Moscow , during the celebration of the anniversary of Shukhat’s death there, which is confirmed by the materials of the criminal case (resolution on refusal to initiate a criminal case dated June 25, 2007).
Moscow investigators are interrogating hired killers from the Orekhovskaya organized crime group - former special forces soldiers Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha Soldat) and Alexey Sherstobitov (Lesha Soldat). They had previously received long prison sentences, but detectives hope to use them to solve other high-profile crimes.
A source in law enforcement agencies told Interfax about the active investigative work in which the Orekhovsky killers are participating.
According to him, about a year ago, 41-year-old Alexander Pustovalov was transferred from the colony to the special block of the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center. Alexey Sherstobitov was also brought to Moscow from the colony.
“Both convicts were transported to the capital to carry out investigative actions, during which new episodes of criminal activity of the Orekhovskys and, in particular, the leaders of the organized crime group Sergei “Osi” Butorin and Dmitry “Belka” Belkin, sentenced to life imprisonment, were revealed,” - explained a law enforcement source.
According to him, the testimony of Sherstobitov and Pustovalov “could help solve a number of high-profile murders of past years.”
Based on the results of the investigation, Sergei Butorin will be charged with new murders; he has already been transferred.
Another Interfax source reported that in order for the defendants to remain in the capital's pre-trial detention center, Moscow courts issued sanctions for their detention. For example, Alexander Pustovalov’s arrest was extended until July 18, 2015.
As TASS reports, investigators were interested in the episode involving the murder of a member of the Bauman criminal group, with which the Orekhovsky gang competed.
“This episode of the criminal activity of the organized crime group, as far as I know, was taken over by the former regular killer of the Orekhovskaya gang, Alexander Pustovalov,” said the lawyer of one of the former members of the organized crime group, Mikhail Fomin.
However, according to him, the investigation of the new episode is fraught with a number of objective difficulties. “The body of the crime victim was not found, his name and surname are unknown. And this is how they are trying to investigate it,” he noted.
Fomin also denied information that Pustovalov and Sherstobitov were going to testify against Belk.
Let us add that Mikhail Fomin represents the interests of Oleg Pronin, sentenced to 24 years in prison for the murder of investigator Yuri Kerez. “The defense is now preparing an appeal regarding this episode,” the lawyer noted.
Sasha Soldier
According to law enforcement agencies, no later than 1991, Odintsovo resident Dmitry Belkin created a criminal group, the backbone of which was his closest friends - Sergei Filatov (Sportsman), Vladimir Kremenetsky (Pilot), Dashkevich (Golova), Polyakov (Tikhiy). Later they were joined by former special forces soldiers Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha Soldat) and Oleg Pronin (Al Capone).
Before becoming a bandit, Alexander Pustovalov served in the Marine Corps special forces. In civilian life, he tried to get a job in the special rapid reaction unit (SOBR) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but he was not hired. One day, in a cafe, Sasha Soldat had a conflict with the Orekhovsky gangster Dmitry Bugakov, nicknamed Pirog. In the fight, Dmitry appreciated the fighting qualities of his opponent and introduced him to his boss, Dmitry Belkin. Since then, Pustovalov began not only to carry out the most important murders for the Orekhovskys, but was also responsible for Belkin’s personal safety. If the boss was away, Sasha Soldat led the militants in the Odintsovo region.
By the time the gang appeared, most commercial structures in the Odintsovo district were under the control of the Golyanovskaya group. She was in conflict with the Orekhovskaya organized crime group, the leader of which was Sergei Timofeev, nicknamed Sylvester. Belkin and his accomplices joined the Orekhovsky bandits.
Sylvester had at his disposal teams of “Medvedkovsky” and “Orekhovsky” killers. They reported to Sergei Butorin, nicknamed Osya. The shooting of “Golyanovsk” competitors went on for almost a year, and random passers-by often suffered. So, once Al Capone was sent to the “action”, who put on a wig, false mustache and beard. Together with two accomplices, the killer came to the Odintsovo cafe "Dream", where they opened heavy fire. As a result, not only the rival bandits were killed, but also the policeman and private security company officer guarding the cafe.
When the Golyanovskys abandoned their claims to the Odintsovo region, they continued to be killed out of revenge. According to operatives, having “cleared” the territory, Belok began making appointments with local businessmen. He spoke to them only once, indicating the amount of tribute. The “authority” did not recognize any “bargaining” or negotiations. If the merchant did not bring the specified amount at the agreed time, he was killed. Gradually, Belkin’s brigade joined the Orekhovskaya group. The united organized crime group has become one of the bloodiest and most powerful in the criminal world.
In 1994, Sylvester was blown up in the center of Moscow, after which a struggle for leadership began within the Orekhovskaya group. The winners were Osya and Belok, who successively eliminated their competitors - the “authorities” Kultik, Dragon and Vitokha. Next, the Orekhovskys began to exterminate the leaders of other groups. One day, Kaligin, a bandit from the Kuntsevo organized crime group, and his fighters brought several cars to a car repair shop controlled by Belk for repair. The bandits did not like the service, and then they beat up the mechanics. In response, Belkin and Osya immediately gave the order to eliminate the entire top of the Kuntsevo gang.
Former special forces soldier Sasha Soldat, together with his accomplice Pirog, decided to set up an ambush near a cafe where bandits were gathering. For several days, killers dressed in overalls portrayed road workers drinking vodka while waiting for the necessary materials. And when Kaligin and his retinue arrived at the cafe, the “workers” shot them. After that, Pustovalov left by car, and Bugakov headed to the metro station, where another bandit was waiting for him. In the subway, two policemen decided to check the documents of suspicious men, but Pirog opened fire on them. One policeman was killed and another was seriously injured.
This was followed by reprisals against the leaders of the “Mazutka” group, with whom Belok and Osya did not share several retail outlets. Also, the Orekhovsky killers eliminated the leaders of the Assyrian group - they were shot in a cafe directly opposite the Moscow City Hall.
In 1996, Osi and Belk had a conflict with the leader of the “Greek” group, Kulbyakov. For several years he helped the Orekhovskys obtain Greek citizenship, and then took an advance payment of 100 thousand dollars, but did not complete the work and began to hide. One day Osya, relaxing in the capital's Santa Fe restaurant, saw Kulbyakov there. Butorin immediately called Sasha Soldier, who went to watch the victim at the exit of the establishment. When the leader of the “Greek” group got into the car, Pustovalov shot him along with the guards.
Having dealt with most of their competitors, Osya and Belok began cleaning up their own ranks. Moreover, it was Belkin who was responsible for “counterintelligence.” He organized surveillance of ordinary members of the Orekhovskaya group, wiretapping their phones, and denunciation began to flourish in the organized crime group. The constant search for enemies led to the fact that the bandits began to kill their own for the slightest suspicion: the reason was accusations of drug use, connections with law enforcement agencies, as well as the desire to leave the organized crime group. Disrespectful statements about the group's leaders were also followed by reprisals.
To eliminate “our own” Belok developed a whole ritual. Members of the group were gathered in a bathhouse to take a steam bath or in the forest for a picnic. Everyone knew that such a party would end with the death of one of the gang members, but they were afraid to refuse. On the spot, the victim was attacked by colleagues who either strangled her or beat her to death. Then the body was dismembered in front of everyone gathered, and the remains were burned or buried in the forest. To eliminate the unwanted, Belok always chose his closest friends in the organized crime group. “Friends should be killed by friends,” the fanatic cynically declared.
In 1998, the senior investigator of the 2nd Directorate of the Special Prosecutor's Office of the Odintsovo District, Yuri Kerez, was on the trail of the Belk brigade, who was investigating a number of extortions and murders of businessmen in the closed town of Vlasikha. With the support of MUR employees, he found out that Belkin’s brigade was behind the crimes. For the first time in Russian history a case was initiated under Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of a criminal community). Moreover, Kerezy managed to arrest one of the killers, Sergei Syrov, who began to confess.
Having learned about this, Belok came to the investigator and offered him one million dollars, demanding that the case be closed and the traitor Syrov handed over to his “brothers.” The honest investigator refused the offer, and then Belkin gave the order to eliminate him. Sasha Soldat again performed a whole performance. For several days, the former special forces soldier lay near one of the garbage dumps in Vlasikha in torn clothes, pretending to be homeless. And on October 21, 1998, the “tramp” suddenly pulled out a pistol and shot the investigator four times in the head.
Only after the murder of the detective did law enforcement agencies seriously pay attention to Dmitry Belkin. The crime boss had to escape and was put on the wanted list.
Over the next 13 years, law enforcement agencies in Russia and other countries managed to practically decapitate the Orekhovskaya group. Alexander Pustovalov, Sergei Butorin, Andrei and Oleg Pylev and others were arrested. Belkin was the last major “Orekhovsky authority” who remained at large and was on the international wanted list for more than 10 years.
One day Belk was tracked down in France, but the operation to capture him failed. The Russian mafioso was detained only on April 30, 2011 in one of the Madrid hotels. At the same time, a false Bulgarian passport was confiscated from Belkin.
As the RF Investigative Committee emphasized, from August 1995 to October 1998, Belkin and his henchmen committed more than 20 murders in Moscow and the Moscow region, as well as several assassination attempts.
Alexander Pustovalov was captured back in November 1999. In 2005, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for 18 murders and banditry. However, the investigation was unable to prove Pustovalov’s involvement in another 17 murders.
On October 23, 2014, Dmitry Belkin was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was considered the direct orderer of 14 murders, as well as several attempts on the life of deputy of the Odintsovo Municipal Assembly Sergei Zhurba.
Lesha Soldier
In the biographies of Alexey Sherstobitov and Alexander Pustovalov, clear parallels are visible. Both were security officials who later became disillusioned with their careers.
Alexey Sherstobitov was born into a military family and dreamed of serving all his life. From an early age he knew how to handle weapons, and after graduating from school he entered the military railway school. During his studies, he even detained a dangerous criminal, for which he was awarded an order.
Then Lesha Soldier served in a unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that provided special supplies. As Sherstobitov said during interrogations, a radical turning point in his life occurred during the days of the 1993 coup. He was returning home when he was beaten by demonstrators, believing that he, as a military man, posed a threat to democracy. Then Lesha the Soldier realized that a man in an army uniform no longer commands respect from his compatriots. Shortly thereafter he retired with the rank of first lieutenant.
Subsequently, Alexey Sherstobitov, who went through hot spots and was awarded the Order "For Personal Courage", met one of the "authorities" of the Orekhovskys - former KGB officer Grigory Gusyatinsky (Grisha Severny). In 1995, Sherstobitov, on the instructions of the brothers Oleg and Andrei Pylev, who led the group after the murder of Sylvester, himself killed Gusyatinsky.
The ex-special service officer arranged for Sherstobitov to work for the private security company Soglasie. There, the newcomer met former GRU officers Alexander Cheplygin and Sergei Pogorelov, who were specialists in electronic intelligence and explosives.
At first, Gusyatinsky instructed Sherstobitov to ensure the security of several trading tents, but then he was offered a new position - a full-time killer.
Later, the brigade, which included Sherstobitov, was transferred to an illegal position and reported directly to the leader of the Orekhovskys, Andrei Pylev.
Lesha Soldat was a master of conspiracy and disguise: when going on business, he always used wigs, fake beards or mustaches. Sherstobitov did not leave fingerprints at the crime scene, and there were no witnesses.
One of Lesha Soldat’s first tasks was to kill the “authoritative” head of the Athletes Social Protection Fund, Otari Kvantrishvili, with a rifle. The businessman was shot dead on April 5, 1994 near Presnensky Baths.
In 1997, a killer killed the owner of the Dolls nightclub, Joseph Glotser. According to Sherstobitov, the murder occurred spontaneously. He drove up to the club to look around and choose the most comfortable spot for shooting. I stopped my car on the other side of Krasnaya Presnya Street, opposite the entrance to the club. Suddenly he saw Glotser appear from the door and decided not to waste time, especially since he took a revolver with an optical sight with him “just in case.” Lesha Soldat shot from 47 meters and hit the club owner in the temple.
On June 22, 1999, he also organized an assassination attempt on the head of the Russian Gold company, Alexander Tarantsev. Sherstobitov decided to kill the businessman with a remote-controlled machine gun as he approached his office.
The killers borrowed the original method of murder from the film “The Jackal”: an optical sight and a portable video camera were installed on the machine gun placed in the VAZ-2104, which transmitted the image to the operator. When Tarantsev's car drove past the Quartet, the homemade electronic system did not work. Half an hour later, the system turned on spontaneously, and the machine gun shot passers-by: as a result of indiscriminate shooting, one person was killed and two more were injured.
In addition, Lesha Soldat was involved in the murder of Alexander Solonik in Greece, who was called “killer number one” in the press.
An incident helped to find Sherstobitov - in 2005, a conflict arose between the shareholders of the capital's NPO Physics. From their agents, operatives of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department learned that the conflict involved former members the Orekhovskaya group, which had already been defeated by that time. Fearing that the participation of bandits in the dispute would lead to the murders of the co-owners of Physics, detectives made arrests in February 2006. Among those detained was 39-year-old Alexey Sherstobitov, who himself began to testify to the investigation because, according to him, over the past years he had “tired of running” from justice.
In 2008, Alexey Sherstobitov was sentenced to 23 years in prison for 12 murders and attempted murders. At the same time, it was not possible to prove his involvement in many more similar crimes. It is assumed that Sherstobitov is responsible for dozens of murdered crime bosses and businessmen.
The killer admitted guilt only partially. During interrogations at the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department, Sherstobitov stated that he did not regret anything, since all his victims were unworthy to live.
In prison, Sherstobitov writes books and takes on the role of an expert in the field of ability to kill. He believes that after his capture, high-profile murders in Moscow began to be committed by “amateurs and half-educated people.”
In 2013, Lesha Soldat commented on the murder of the “king of the Russian mafia” Ded Hasan. Then he recalled that he was shot six times. “And out of all the shots, one hit! A wounded woman (if it is not a ricochet) is an unacceptable mistake. They say that they worked from the Val rifle complex. From such a device, from such a distance, the work is ugly,” Sherstobitov said.
And recently Sherstobitov commented in the same vein on the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. According to the convict, his followers in the killer case chose almost the worst place for the assassination attempt, exposing themselves.
In addition, out of six bullets from a distance of several meters, only four hit a target “three times larger in size than a target in a standard shooting exercise, which any self-respecting military man or policeman would not shoot,” Moskovsky Komsomolets quoted Sherstobitov as saying. .
Alexey Lvovich Sherstobitov(born January 31, 1967, Moscow) - killer of the Medvedkovskaya organized crime group and ally of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group. Known as "Lesha the Soldier". He has 12 proven murders and attempted murders. He took up literary activities, wrote books of autobiographical content “Liquidator”, part 1 (2013); “Liquidator”, part 2 (2014), “Skin of the Devil” (2015), “Someone else’s wife” (2016), “Liquidator, full version (2016)”.
Biography
Life before the organized crime group
Alexey Sherstobitov was born into the family of a hereditary career officer and dreamed of serving all his life. The family lived in Moscow on Koptevskaya Street, in a house where many military personnel lived, mainly from the Ministry of Defense. Sherstobitov's ancestors served in Tsarist army. Alexey Sherstobitov’s grandfather, Colonel Alexey Mikhailovich Kitovchev, took part in the battle for the liberation of Sevastopol, for which he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. From an early age, Alexey Sherstobitov knew how to handle weapons; after graduating from school, he entered the Leningrad Higher School of Railway Troops and Military Communications named after M. V. Frunze at the Faculty of Military Communications, which he graduated in 1989. He studied at the same football school together with Alexander Mostov and Oleg Denisov. During his studies, he detained a dangerous criminal, for which he was awarded an order. After military school, he was assigned to the Special Transportation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on Moskovskaya railway, where he worked as an inspector, and then as a senior inspector. At that time, Sherstobitov was fond of powerlifting and regularly went to the gym while still in the military. There he met former KGB senior lieutenant Grigory Gusyatinsky (“Grinya”) and Sergei Ananyevsky (“Kultik”), who at that time was the head of the Powerlifting and Powerlifting Federation and deputy director of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group of Sergei Timofeev (“Sylvestra”). At first, Gusyatinsky instructed Sherstobitov to ensure the security of several trading tents. The senior lieutenant proved himself to be a good organizer, capable of solving (including by force) emerging problems. The leaders of the Medvedkovskaya organized crime group appreciated his abilities and appointed him to a new position - a full-time killer.
Killer career
The first task of “Lyosha the Soldier” was an attempt to kill the former deputy chief of the special forces special forces unit Filin, who subsequently resigned from the police and became a criminal. On May 5, 1993, on Ibragimov Street, Sherstobitov fired at Filin’s car from a “Mukha” grenade launcher. Owl and his friend, who were in the car, were slightly injured and survived, but Sylvester was pleased with the work done. Later, “Lesha the Soldier” killed several more people. Sherstobitov’s most famous crime was the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili on April 5, 1994.
In 1994, Timofeev had a conflict with thief in law Andrei Isaev (“Painting”). Sherstobitov placed a car filled with explosives near Isaev’s house on Osenny Boulevard and, when he came out, pressed the remote control button. Isaev himself was wounded but survived. A little girl died from the explosion.
After the murder of Timofeev on September 13, 1994, Gusyatinsky and Sherstobitov left for Ukraine for safety reasons. After this trip, Sherstobitov, together with the brothers Andrei and Oleg Pylev (“Malaya” and “Sanych”), agreed to liquidate Gusyatinsky. Sherstobitov seriously wounded his boss in Kyiv with a sniper rifle when he approached the window of a rented apartment. Gusyatinsky lay in a coma for several days, after which he was disconnected from life support devices. After this, the Pylevs allowed Sherstobitov to assemble his own team of three people.
In January 1997, Alexander Tarantsev, who headed Russian Gold, had a conflict with the owner of the Dolls club, Joseph Glotser. Sherstobitov, on instructions from the Pylyovs, went on reconnaissance to a night establishment located on Krasnaya Presnya Street, where he killed Glotser with a shot to the temple. The next task of his group was to spy on Solonik, who, after escaping from the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center, lived in Greece. Sherstobitov’s people recorded a telephone conversation in which Solonik said the phrase “They need to be brought down.” In these words, the Pylev brothers felt a threat to themselves. Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha the Soldier) is considered the killer of Solonik.