Headstones on the graves of crime bosses. Alley of “Heroes” at Khovanskoye Cemetery
At the Shirokorechenskoye cemetery, located on the southwestern outskirts Ekaterinburg, many found their final refuge famous personalities cities: folk artists, scientists, heroes of World War II. But in one of the sections of the cemetery you can see unusual tombstones. They depict respectable men in expensive suits and leather jackets, with gold chains and tattoos. These extravagant monuments belong to crime bosses and their entourage, who were killed during gang warfare in the dashing 90s.
After the breakup Soviet Union in Russia and others former republics Anarchy has set in. The rapid transition to a market economy led to a sharp increase in organized crime. The line between legal and illegal has been virtually erased.
Yekaterinburg became the center of gang wars. The organized crime group Uralmash was engaged in a showdown for control over the leading enterprises of the city with another organized crime group, which called itself “Center”. During these clashes, many people were killed.
To honor the memory of the murdered “brothers,” criminal elements began ordering pretentious tombstones for their graves. On granite slabs in full height typical authorities of the nineties were depicted: in leather jackets, with thick gold chains. On some monuments you can see Mercedes or golden domes in the background. In some places you can even read not only the names of the dead, but also their “combat skills.” For example, "expert knife throwing" or "master of deadly fist combat."
Some tombstones depict women who took an equally active part in gang wars in the 90s.
The graves there are painted with all the colors of the rainbow.
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: . .
Brothers - composers? - the visitors are talking.
Prominent public figures! - the former cemetery worker, now a freelance tour guide, grins cynically world of the dead, Valera.
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 memory brothers Kvantrishvili, was created over several years. It obviously cost the customer a lot.
Otari Kvantrishvili was legendary personality Moscow in the late 80s - early 90s. They called him godfather 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 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 place 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 perfectly English language, but received a certificate of mental illness and therefore could no longer pass the commission to obtain a car license.
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 Slipy 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. “ Big people”, for example, they are buried with “live” music. The stars roll into the cemetery opera stage, perform pitiful arias from Italian operas. And coffins in general business card 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.
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, embracing Orthodox cross. At the feet of the deceased is a snake that is about to bite him. WITH different sides Two half-meter-tall angels are looking at Kostya Mogila: 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, and 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 person 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” playing cards, the keys to Mercedes in their hands are a thing of the past. IN last years monuments to “authorities” are created with imagination. For example, in Nizhny Novgorod At the Starozavodskoe cemetery there is a unique tombstone for 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 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, 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 life. labor activity. 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 the dull echo of thousands male voices, because 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 was 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.” IN sculptural group Also included are two half-meter-tall 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, killed in South Korea 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 nearby with 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”.
Even after their death, bandits are treated with particular reverence. In cemeteries they only get VIP seats: on the central alley or at the very entrance. Some monuments have special lighting; even in winter you won’t see any snow or ice on them, but in summer everything here is filled with fresh flowers. Graves crime bosses are available at all prestigious Danilovsky, Old Armenian or Nikolo-Arkhangelsk. There are even special private cemeteries for the gang, like the one located in Rakitki, near Moscow. In the 90s, bandits bought out entire plots of land so that the boys would remain together after death. Today we will go to short excursion Let’s “look” at the graves of crime bosses; photos of monuments to the most famous bandits will be presented below.
Legendary personality of Moscow in the late 80s
Otari Kvantrishvili was considered the godfather of capital crime and at the same time a fighter for justice. At first he was just a card player. By the way, he was one of the close friends of Vyacheslav Ivankov, known as Yaponchik. In 1993, Otari created a party called “Athletes of Russia” and took part in the destruction of the government building (White House). Headed the Fund for Social Protection of Athletes named after. Yashina. What else can be said about This is an honored Greco-Roman wrestling coach and businessman.
In 1994, on April 5, he was shot by a sniper killer while leaving the Krasnopresnenskaya bathhouse. The killer has still not been found. None of the versions put forward by the investigation were officially confirmed. There is an opinion that the famous Russian killer Alexander Solonik, aka Sasha the Great, was in the killer's wings. He has dozens of murders to his name, including crime bosses.
Head of the Ryazan criminal group
We walk further along the Vagankovsky churchyard. The prestigious cemetery is currently considered closed and is overcrowded. Only family line burials are possible here. However, new graves of crime bosses (bandits) still mysteriously appear in the churchyard. So, for example, it is unclear for what reasons the tombstone of Viktor Airapetov appeared here. Approaching the monument, you want to close your eyes. The heavy one is surrounded by a richly gilded fence. Some say that Airapetov himself came to admire the pompous grave. Not from the other world, of course, but from ours ordinary life. By official version the bandit is dead, but in fact (according to one version) shortly before his faked death he received Greek citizenship and new surname Aravidis.
Monuments to authorities
The graves of crime bosses in the Armenian section are similar to the monument to Pushkin on Tverskaya Square. The tombstone of Vladimir Sergeevich Oganov is made in the form of an antique chair on which a pensive bronze man sits. To his left is his brother, Rudolf. The entire space near the graves is filled with marble vases with roses, lilies and chrysanthemums. The Oganov brothers, also known as Vachigos Six-fingered and Rudik Bakinsky, were not just thieves, they occupied the highest places in the criminal hierarchy. This is exactly what they had to pay for. In the last century, the Oganov brothers and Grandfather Hassan (Aslan Usoyan) started a criminal war, which later became a war of mafia clans.
The most erudite “authority” of the late 80s
We move further through the cemetery, where we will see the graves of the criminal authorities of the Bauman criminal group. In the very center of the 28th section of the Vagankovsky cemetery there is a black monument, under which the leader of the lads, Bobon (Vladislav Abrekovich Vygorbin-Vanner), is buried. His bodyguard rests next to him.
Bobon was considered one of the most widely knowledgeable and powerful "authorities". His criminal group intimidated half of Moscow. He, in turn, was the right hand of the bandit Globus (Valery Dlugach). Bobon's passion was cars; he often drove his white Buick sports car without a driver's license, which he simply did not have. The fact is that he served one of his terms in a place where he mastered English perfectly, but with a certificate of mental illness, he could not pass the commission and obtain a driver’s license.
Due to a dispute that erupted in 1994 regarding a nightclub patronized by Globus and his group, Dlugacz unexpectedly asked to increase his percentage of the share. For which he was shot by the Kurganites, and Solonik decided to take all the blame for the murder upon himself. He later killed Bobon. The killers prepared in advance for the operation: holes were drilled in advance in the concrete fence on the territory of the shooting range located on Volokolamsk Highway. As soon as Bobon's car drove into the yard, shooting opened on it. Along with the crime boss, his bodyguard also died. The only survivor was her daughter, who fell to the floor just in time.
It's not the place that makes the man
At the Danilovsky cemetery, the graves of crime bosses are hidden from prying eyes. Once in the world of granite, the first thing you pay attention to is the Chograshi family burial place. The following are engraved on the marble stelae: “Nono”, “Kike” and “Dato”.
In 2001, in August, the 600th Mercedes in which the famous Armenian thieves in law, the Chogrash brothers, were driving, burned down in Khimki. The car was moving towards Sheremetyevo, but unexpectedly caught fire along the way. The cause of the fire was an explosion. Brothers Dato and Nono died in hospital from severe burns. Presumably the attempt is connected with the division of the thieves' common fund.
Deceased crime bosses roll into their final resting place in bronze and varnish. Their coffins can be considered a real work of art: they are made of mahogany, equipped with bronze handles, have lighting, air conditioning and even a built-in stereo music system, some are decorated with paintings famous artists. Double-lid coffins equipped with an elevator have become especially popular. The cost of such a “dwelling” is at least 10 thousand dollars. Places for the graves of crime bosses in Moscow cost 50-200 thousand rubles.
New attraction of the Vagankovskoe cemetery
In 2009, the entire criminal world saw off last way Ivankov (Yaponchik). His grave is located on one of the most famous cemeteries capital - Vagankovsky. These are buried here prominent figures, like the poet Yesenin, the actor Mironov, the athlete Yashin and the artist Surikov. In a word, mere mortals cannot get here. But Ivankov’s gang found his mother’s grave in the depths, so the city authorities gave permission to bury the authority. Hundreds of bandits attended the funeral.
In any city in Russia, the graves of criminal authorities stand out noticeably against the background of old, sometimes rusty monuments.
In addition to fat pieces of property, they were in a hurry to stake their claim on prestigious plots in city cemeteries. For all their coolness, the brothers understood that a person is mortal, and today you are the king of life, and tomorrow you are a corpse. After all, people were killed often and regularly in those days. So entire blocks of “authoritative” graves appeared in city cemeteries. Until the 90s of the last century, the funeral of a thief in law differed from ordinary ones only in the number of people who came to honor his memory. Otherwise, everything is the same as everyone else: a standard coffin, wreaths, grave, metal monument or best case scenario made of marble. But when the country began to rule the roost, everything changed.
In the early 90s, it was not even thieves who set the criminal tone, but “authoritative” entrepreneurs and “athletes.” These could include the Kvantrishvili brothers - and. The eldest, Amiran, in his youth, made friends with gamblers and became a card player. The younger one was engaged in wrestling, but following the example of his older brother, he also became involved in crime. In the 80s, despite the absence of the title “”, the Kvantrishvili brothers had the same weight at gatherings as the generals of the criminal world. And in the early 90s they were already dollar millionaires, communicating on equal terms with major officials.
Vagankovskoye Cemetery - authorities
But it was precisely this force that caused their death. On August 6, 1993, Amiran Kvantrishvili, together with thief in law Fedya Besheny, was shot dead in an office on Dimitrova Street in Moscow. A year later, a killer, now well-known to everyone, cut short the life of his brother, chairman of the Lev Yashin Athletes Fund, Otari, near the Krasnopresnensky Baths. Then even Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent condolences to the family of the deceased. It is not surprising that Otari’s funeral was attended by a huge crowd of people.
People such as Joseph Kobzon, Archil Gomiashvili, Ivan Yarygin and others came to honor his memory. The brothers were buried at a prestigious and long-closed burial place Vagankovskoe cemetery. Their grave at the main entrance has long become a landmark of the churchyard. A huge angel with a mournful face reaches out to two granite tablets on which the names of the brothers are inscribed. For the uninformed, it is worth noting that the monument is not just a hack job by an unknown master, but a work belonging to the chisel of the famous sculptor Vyacheslav Klykov. Among his works is a monument to Cyril and Methodius, Marshal Zhukov, Ivan Bunin, Dmitry Donskoy and other celebrities.
Vagankovsky churchyard became last resort and for authority - the head of the most powerful organized crime group in Ryazan in the 90s, Viktor Airapetov. On November 19, 1995, on Rublevskoye Highway, Airapetov’s car was stopped by fake riot police and taken away by mafiosi in an unknown direction.
His charred corpse was later identified by his wife. Although experts insist that it was a staged act, the black granite obelisk with a massive fence claims that this is where the leader of the criminal Ryazan is buried. However, there are rumors that already in the 2000s, Vitya came here in person and even laid flowers at his monument.
Khovanskoye Cemetery - authorities
Another pillar of organized crime in the 90s can be considered the founder of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group, nicknamed Sylvester. Officially, he died on September 13, 1994 as a result of the explosion of a Mercedes Benz 600SEC from a radio-controlled land mine. Sylvester was buried at the Khovanskoye cemetery in Moscow, traditional for the Orekhovskys. His black marble monument is made in the form of a huge bas-relief of the crucified Christ. Above is a photo of Timofeev and an Orthodox cross.
Grave of Timofeev Sergei - Sylvester
On back side- an image of the Virgin Mary, and below the epitaph: “Hurry up to admire man, for you will miss the joy...”. Compared to the monuments of deceased colleagues, Sylvester’s tombstone is quite modest. It is possible that the grave contains the remains of another person who was burned almost to ashes in the explosion. After all, no one carried out DNA testing in those years.
There, on Khovansky, there is a grave right hand Sylvester, founder - Grigory Gusyatinsky. Once a KGB officer, he became one of the prominent authorities in Moscow and did not disdain the bloodiest work. In January 1995, in Kyiv, Gusyatinsky was liquidated by the same Alexey Sherstobitov, better known in criminal circles under the nickname Lesha Soldier. The obelisk of Gusyatinsky is a black marble stele on which the sculptor carved the face of the deceased. There you can also see a woman’s hand reaching out to her face, bowed in grief.
In addition to Timofev and Gusyatinsky, on the “alley of heroes” of the Khovanskoye cemetery lie several dozen more brothers from the “Orekhovsky” and allied groups. Their graves are easy to distinguish by their black marble, pompous inscriptions and photographs of the deceased.
In addition to the gang from the 90s, the last pillar of crime, thief in law No. 1 Aslan Usoyan, nicknamed , is also buried on Khovanskoye. He managed to build the most extensive criminal empire. But not all thieves recognized Hassan as the leader. On January 16, 2013, another attempt was made on his life, which ended in the death of the authority. Relatives wanted to bury Usoyan in Tbilisi, but the Georgian authorities refused to accept the plane with his body. As a result, the thief was buried on Khovanskoye.
A permanent monument to authority appeared on the grave only a year and a half after the funeral. It consists of two black marble steles with epitaphs and years of life, between which stands a sculpture of Usoyan. The monument was made by the talented sculptor Aram Grigoryan, who created monuments to the first cartographer of Siberia Remizov and academician Marchuk.
The monument to another iconic thief, . Ivankov missed the dashing 90s, hanging out. But when he returned to his homeland in 2005, he began to actively interfere in the course of the thieves’ processes. Speaking on the side of Aslan Usoyan, Yaponchik still remained an independent and strong figure. Therefore, it did not suit many people. As a result, on July 28, 2009, while leaving the restaurant, Ivankov was wounded by a sniper, and on October 9, 2009, he died.
The authority was buried in front of a huge crowd of people at the Vagankovskoye cemetery. Despite the fact that times were already different, Ivankov’s mother was buried in the cemetery and he had the right to be buried next to her. The monument to the deceased also did not appear at the grave immediately. Nevertheless, he makes passers-by pay attention to him. Against the background of a three-meter block with a cross, an intelligent-looking man sits and looks into the distance. Local old-timers take people to the thief’s grave for a small fee. Provincial mafiosi often come here. There are always fresh flowers in a vase on the stove, and Ivankov likes to leave a glass of vodka in his hand. Others place a banknote under his leg. They say it's for good luck.
Bandit Cemetery of Yekaterinburg
It is worth noting that the province is not inferior to the capital in the pomp of thieves’ and bandits’ obelisks. In Yekaterinburg, the capital of the Urals, many authoritative people died in the 90s. The main ones are the founders, the famous and their protege. Now these people lie in the Northern Cemetery of the city. The first to be shot in 1991 was the founder of the organized crime group Grigory Tsyganov, then in 1993 the Uralmash authority Sergei Ivannikov died. And in 2005, the leader of the group, Alexander Khabarov, was found hanged in a jail cell.
All three authorities are buried nearby, on the central alley of the churchyard. Their monuments are made in the style of busts of party leaders buried near the Kremlin wall. The people nicknamed this place “three heads,” although today’s youth no longer know who these people are.
Banykinskoe cemetery - bandits
Another famous bandit graveyard is the Banykinskoye cemetery in Togliatti. In the mid-90s, a real one unfolded in the motor city. Bandits died here by the dozens a day, and the cemetery gates were almost never closed. The lads were buried depending on their rank. Thus, the central alley of the churchyard is occupied by the graves of the leaders and foremen of numerous organized crime groups: the Bukreev brothers.
The Banykinskoe cemetery amazes not so much with the pathos of the obelisks, but with the mass of burials. By the way, among these fallen gangsters you can hardly find those who lived to see
thirty. IN currently Tolyatti authorities are thinking about organizing a tourist route to the Banykinskoye cemetery under the sign “Tolyatti - Russian Chicago.” However, similar burials can be found in the cemetery of any major city in Russia, because the dashing 90s left unhealed wounds on the body of the entire country.
