IT IS NOW NOT FASHIONABLE TO KILL IN ST. Petersburg

INVESTIGATIONS

Killed another St. Petersburg authority. No, not the head of the criminal community, although many associated his name with the activities of the notorious St. Petersburg "Tambov" group. One of those about whom it is customary to speak of an "authoritative businessman" was killed...

Killed another St. Petersburg authority. No, not the head of the criminal community, although many associated his name with the activities of the notorious St. Petersburg "Tambov" group. One of those about whom it is customary to speak of an “authoritative businessman,” Vyacheslav Shevchenko, was killed. It happened not on the foggy banks of the Neva, but in far sunny Cyprus near the city with the textbook name of Paphos.

The circumstances of the death are still not fully known. The information leaking into Peter acquires more and more sinister details each time. It is only known for certain that Vyacheslav Shevchenko and two other Russians - a man and a woman were killed on the night of March 23-24 in a private villa near Paphos. Three bodies - Vyacheslav Shevchenko himself, his business partner, the president of JSC "Nord" Yuri Zorin and a young 26-year-old woman - were allegedly found in a bathroom packed in plastic bags. That is, they were professionals.

But after all, Shevchenko was not a bastard. According to a number of indications, the murder was accompanied by a serious physical fight. Fifty-year-old Shevchenko was well aware of the realities of life and his position in it. “There are even fewer of us,” he said, learning about the next St. Petersburg murder. But, probably, he could not overcome some of the features of his character. It's hard to believe, but in Cyprus he was unguarded. They say that in extraordinary circumstances it was natural for him to rely on himself, his strength, in extreme cases - luck ...

The Shevchenko brothers (senior Vyacheslav and junior Sergei) are well-known figures in St. Petersburg. We can say legendary, accompanied by rumors and legends. Fertile ground for which are numerous juicy details from the business biography of both. Plus politics: both brothers were deputies: the eldest - in the State Duma, the youngest - in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly.

Vyacheslav Shevchenko was the founder and head of the Nord Industrial and Commercial Corporation. The holding, which today owns dozens of enterprises - from the high-tech industry to the confectionery trade (which Petersburger does not know the famous "sweet" shop "Sever" on Nevsky Prospekt?). Plus entertainment establishments - restaurants, clubs, casinos. (One of those who opened Shevchenko's famous Hollywood Nights club was at one time Anatoly Sobchak.) However, his last official status was an occupation quite distant from business: Doctor of Economics Shevchenko headed the department at the State Polar Academy.

In 1995 - 1999, Shevchenko Sr. was a State Duma deputy from the Liberal Democratic Party. Together with him, according to the St. Petersburg party lists, gentlemen no less famous in certain circles, Mikhail Monastyrsky (aka Misha Faberge) and Mikhail Glushchenko (aka Khokhol) passed to the Duma. Both now live abroad: one in France, the other in Spain. And both are mentioned in connection with the organization of contract killings. Monastyrsky was even on the federal wanted list because of this for several years. And Glushchenko is remembered in connection with the “Starovoitova case”, when it comes to a possible customer of the murder. Vyacheslav Shevchenko is sometimes drawn into the same orbit, at least as a party ally. However, he left the party a long time ago - due to a conflict with Vladimir Volfovich.

In April 1993, the Shevchenko brothers were brought under an “economic” article in a criminal case on embezzlement of state property. There is information that pressure was put on the brothers in order to obtain evidence against each other and against third parties. But the case fell apart, never reaching the court, and in 1995 it was terminated under an amnesty.

Heightened attention was drawn to Shevchenko Sr. in 1999 as an alleged victim of the so-called Shutov gang. Shevchenko's car was supposedly going to be blown up by a mine. It is worth mentioning here that, among other things, Yuri Titovich Shutov is accused of preparing an assassination attempt on Shevchenko. Some experts attribute this episode to the revelations made by the elder brother during the investigation into the murder of Lieutenant Governor Manevich. His testimony included the names of the then governor and his deputy, Viktor Yatsuba, with whom Shutov had close business relations.

The so-called Shevchenko case of 2000, when the brothers were accused of extorting several thousand dollars from a publisher, also caused a huge resonance. This time the case went to court. The younger brother was given a suspended sentence, after which he lost his mandate as a deputy of the Legislative Assembly. And the eldest was on the run for more than two years - he was put on the federal wanted list. In the summer of 2002, when the preventive measure was changed to a written undertaking not to leave, Vyacheslav Shevchenko returned to St. Petersburg.

The main witness for the prosecution was the "authoritative lawyer" Ruslan Kolyak, released from prison a few weeks before the start of the Shevchenko case and surprisingly easily got rid of a similar charge of extortion, claiming, by the way, that the eighth and ninth assassination attempt (Kolyak was killed on the tenth attempt! ) it was the Shevchenko brothers who organized it. It is also characteristic that Kolyak was killed shortly after reconciliation with Vyacheslav Shevchenko.

Now Shevchenko himself has been killed.

The events in Cyprus are, of course, an echo of our deeds. Another link in the chain of bloody events accompanying the change of power in the northern capital. Old authorities are leaving, they are being replaced by new ones. It just happens differently in different circles. If in the corridors of city power the new redistribution is accompanied by a fierce political struggle and undercover intrigues, then in the "shadow" issues are resolved by shooting.

In October 1999, towering over the coffin of Viktor Novoselov (the deputy of the city Legislative Assembly was blown up along with the car), the governor of the Northern capital, Vladimir Yakovlev, announced menacingly: “We will prove to them that St. Petersburg is not a place for murder.” And now, less than five years have passed, as it can be stated: in the homeland of the GDP, it is now not fashionable to kill. If it’s too hot, wait until the “object” leaves somewhere - to Moscow, like Kostya Mogila in May 2003, to the Crimea, like Ruslan Kolyak in August of that year, or to Cyprus, like Vyacheslav Shevchenko now ...