Vyacheslav Ivankov did not protect himself from a shot in the stomach

The Moscow Department of the Investigative Committee under the Russian Prosecutor's Office yesterday opened a criminal case regarding a high-profile attempt on the life of Vyacheslav Ivankov (Yaponchik). Mr. Ivankov is in serious condition in the intensive care unit of the Botkin Hospital. Law enforcement agencies fear that the assassination attempt on Vyacheslav Ivankov could provoke a bloody war between criminal clans in Moscow.

The attempt on the life of 69-year-old Vyacheslav Ivankov became known late on Tuesday evening, after he was admitted to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed a through bullet wound in the stomach. Mr. Ivankov underwent a serious operation, and just yesterday evening doctors refused to give encouraging specific prognoses even to the patient’s relatives.

Later the circumstances of the crime became known. The assassination attempt took place around eight o'clock in the evening near the Thai Elephant restaurant on Khoroshevskoye Highway, where Vyacheslav Ivankov visited quite regularly (the office of the company of Mr. Ivankov's friends is located nearby). According to operatives, the crime was carefully planned: the killer had previously equipped himself with a hidden firing position in the back of a Gazelle cargo truck on the opposite side of the highway from the restaurant. When Vyacheslav Ivankov left the "Thai Elephant", the killer shot him once with a Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD) (used in the armed forces). The bullet went right through the authority. Mr. Ivankov's security guard and driver first carried the wounded man back into the restaurant lobby and then took him to the nearby Botkin Hospital.

The killer had enough time to escape unnoticed. The place in the back of the small truck from which he fired was not immediately discovered. Later, the investigative team found in the Gazelle an SVD with seven cartridges, a 7.62 mm caliber cartridge case and a hunting knife, which the killer used to cut a hole in the awning through which he fired. A glove and a work jacket made of camouflage fabric were found next to the rifle. A man dressed like that in the back of a truck could not arouse suspicion. The detectives consider it a great success that they discovered a thumbprint on the handle of the body locking mechanism.

Yesterday, investigators already interviewed the owner of the Gazelle, but he said that he sold the car by proxy three years ago and has not seen it since then. Yesterday, the investigation found out that during these three years, traffic rules were violated twice in this Gazelle: in one case, the driver was a citizen of Moldova, in the other, a citizen of Ukraine. In both cases, the fines according to the protocols issued by the traffic police inspectors were not paid. Now criminal investigators are looking for those drivers.

Vyacheslav Ivankov became, perhaps, the most famous leader of the criminal world, on whom an assassination attempt was made (for the attention Russian television channels paid to this event, see the “Access to TV” section on page 2). For many years, he not only enjoyed enormous authority in criminal circles, but was also extremely popular among public people - pop stars, famous athletes and politicians sought his friendship. Even the early release of Mr. Ivankov from prison in 1991 was preceded by the guarantee for him of the singer Joseph Kobzon, human rights activist Sergei Kovalev and ophthalmologist Svyatoslav Fedorov.

The biography of Vyacheslav Ivankov can be considered a classic for the leader of the criminal world. For the first time, at the age of 26, he was convicted of the “correct” crime - pickpocketing. Then he was involved in the case of Gennady Korkov’s (Mongolian) gang, which was engaged in extortion. In 1972, gang members were arrested, but Mr. Ivankov escaped punishment then. At the beginning of 1974, Vyacheslav Ivankov was arrested for participating in a fight in the Rus restaurant with representatives of Georgian criminal circles. According to law enforcement agencies, it was during the investigation into this case in the Butyrka prison that Vyacheslav Ivankov was “crowned” and received the status of thief in law. Since that time, his nickname Jap has become increasingly famous (it is believed that Mr. Ivankov received it in his youth for his somewhat slanted eye shape). Meanwhile, the case of the fight fell apart in court - the witnesses refused to testify. Subsequently, Mr. Ivankov was subjected to criminal prosecution on charges of minor crimes, until in 1981 KGB officers detained both Yaponchik himself and his closest henchmen. This time the sentence was harsh - 14 years in prison. Later, Mr. Ivankov’s sentences were added for crimes committed in the colonies, but, as already noted, thanks to the intercession of famous people, the criminal leader was released much earlier than the term set for him by the court - in 1991.

Vyacheslav Ivankov gained international fame already in the USA, where in 1992 he arrived together with the film crew of Rolan Bykov. In the United States in 1995, Yaponchik was detained by FBI agents on charges of a fictitious marriage with a US citizen, illegal entry into the country and extortion of $3.5 million from the owners of Summit International, Alexander Volkov and Vladimir Voloshin. Mr. Ivankov himself claimed that he only sought to return to Russia the money stolen from the defrauded depositors of Chara Bank. In an American maximum security prison, the hot-tempered Vyacheslav Ivankov remained true to himself, beating an African-American cellmate convicted of rape.

After extradition from the United States, Vyacheslav Ivankov had to go through another trial in Russia - on charges of murder in 1992 in Moscow of two Turkish citizens and the attempted murder of a third Turk. The jury acquitted Yaponchik.

In recent years, the general public has heard practically nothing about Vyacheslav Ivankov. People close to him said that he focused on raising his grandchildren, writing memoirs and children's books. When he was reminded of his past life, he usually limited himself to the remark: “Now there are different authorities.” And in general he began to avoid conversations on criminal topics. “In general, like most people of his age, he is now mainly concerned with his health. His eyesight has deteriorated greatly and he has problems with blood pressure,” one of the people who knows Mr. Ivankov well told Kommersant.

However, according to the main version of the investigation, the attempt on Mr. Ivankov could be connected precisely with a criminal conflict between two criminal clans headed by thieves in law Aslan Usoyan (Ded Khasan) and Tariel Mulukhov, better known under his former name Oniani. Several thieves in law from both sides have already become victims of the conflict. At the same time, operatives say, Vyacheslav Ivankov, who was always supported by Slavic “authorities,” did not remain aloof from these events and supported Ded Hasan.

Tariel Oniani, we recall, in June of this year was unexpectedly detained in his own mansion in the elite village of Gorki-2 on charges of extorting a small amount. The court arrested the thief in law, he faces a considerable prison sentence. Investigators do not rule out that Tariel could have suspected his enemies of involvement in his arrest and tried to take revenge on them.

According to detectives, the assassination attempt on Vyacheslav Ivankov in the near future could lead to a full-scale bloody war between criminal clans. Yesterday, according to Kommersant, a meeting was already held at the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department to develop preventive measures to prevent this war. As a main measure, it was proposed to intensify the investigation of crimes, within the framework of which, theoretically, it would be possible to bring even minor charges against the leaders of a future criminal war.

Alexander Kommersant-Zheglov, Sergey Kommersant-Mashkin

Don't swear off prison and shooting