Russian mafia 90s. "Dashing nineties": description, history and interesting facts

Many stories of our authors and readers have accumulated. However, most of our editorial staff are from the 90s themselves. Dashing, scary, but beautiful in their own way. We are from those times - from Tetris, dandy, from duck stories, from yupi and boomer. Don't get lost good material, we decided to publish these stories.

In Ukraine, in 1990, there was practically no gasoline, and people refueled their cars for a lot of money from hucksters and speculators.

My friends and an unfamiliar UAZ driver with a booth had a commercial trip to the Crimea. It should be noted that the driver in question is wearing a white shirt and tie.

We drive up to Melitopol, the fuel gauge is at zero, the red light is on and does not even blink, we drive along a two-kilometer queue for a gas station. Hopes to refuel at zero, and the chances are scanty.

Suddenly I see a fuel tanker merges at the gas station. He approached the driver with a request to pour gasoline, and he somehow immediately agreed, named a rather high price and said to go after him.

We drive in the opposite direction from the Crimea and show signs to the UAZ driving towards the meeting that we went to refuel.

The fuel truck driver turns into a landing, lets us through and we stop buried in a wheat field, and he blocks our exit with his car. We were immediately confused, and he comments - so as not to “wash away”. We collect gasoline from the sump, and we already pour the first canister into our tank.

Our UAZ car drives up, the driver in a white shirt and tie comes out and asks the fuel truck a question. What's going on here?

• The fuel truck is none of your business, back off.
• UAZ - takes out a certificate from his pocket - You are worried about the OBKhSS, do you know such an organization?
• The fuel truck - with trembling lips - just decided to help the boys.
• UAZ - did he also get rich by helping those in need? I have a feeling we'll deal with you on a grand scale.
• Fuel truck - sorry, maybe you need gasoline, I can help.
• UAZ - showed off a little - well, two canisters in the tank and two in the booth.
• Fuel truck - quickly refuels the UAZ, puts the canisters in the booth and he leaves. Fuel truck - phew, almost hit.

We - “didn’t understand, but where are our canisters?” The fuel truck revved up and forgot about the money.

Survived by their garden

About the year 93, I remember it, because my brother was born this year (Balta, Odessa region). Dad worked as a chief engineer at an agricultural enterprise, and during the season he collected wheat and sugar beets. Mom was on maternity leave with her newborn brother, the income was only dad’s salary, which they stopped paying in cash and gave it in kind, that is, he worked for a year without wages, and at the end of the season (after harvesting) he was given grain and sugar. They didn’t give it much, my parents fed the farm with grain, which we ate, and they sold sugar, which was money.

I remember how now, my little brother, he needs to buy something there, dad takes 2 bags of sugar and the two of us go to the market to sell it, if we sold then we buy, then what was needed, it happened that we went several times, to sell a couple of bags.

Everyone didn’t have a lot of money then, but no one went hungry, since everyone had a garden and a subsidiary farm, parents always had 10 pigs, which were slaughtered, and when it was very tight with money, they were given live weight. And so they survived.

Raid raiders

Valeria Alexandrova: In 1992, in Kirovograd, a friend of our family founded his own business selling auto parts. Things went very well, but soon he was threatened. He never talked about these people or their purpose. But we guessed that he himself got involved in something illegal, otherwise his income could not be explained.

Early one morning the door of his private house was kicked out by five masked men. They were looking for money. But the information was not immediately available. Then they tied the spouses to chairs and began torturing them. First, they cut the cat's throat in front of their eyes. Then they beat me.

The owner still did not want to talk, and the bandits tightened the measures. They began to bring the hands of the victims to an open fire, extinguish cigarettes on their bodies. But, as friends later told us, the worst was yet to come. From each finger of their burnt hands, the scoundrels tore out the nails alive. They still got their money and fled.

The owner did not report to the police. His wife still periodically undergoes treatment in a psychiatric hospital.

consumer goods on the market

Elena Mazur: immediately after the collapse of the Union, the store shelves were empty. It was impossible to properly dress, eat, or buy personal hygiene products. But they massively took away what was deferred from their savings books. It seems like a lot of money, but there is nothing to buy with them. My husband and I decided to dress up our dear people of Kiev. That's how our commercial project called "Quality denim jeans and sweaters from Turkey" started. In the nineties, there was no official business yet. They just paid "local" in the market and sold. They traded at the local "Bessarabka" in Kiev, it was 1992-93.

The goods were purchased at a huge Turkish wholesale, which was located in Khmelnitsky. They brought it to Kiev, "welded" literally 200-300 percent on each item. It was very profitable, since there was no strict taxation, and people had to dress. Yes, and all Turkish goods were of excellent quality, now there is definitely no such thing. The only thing that bothered us was the constant racketeers, as if they were "protecting" us. So they could make a lot of money. In general, there are many pleasant moments from grateful customers. Now we already have a personal store, but there is definitely no such excitement as in the 90s!

Hostel and gypsies

Vera Savina: in the 90s, immediately after college, it was difficult for students from the suburbs to find housing. Therefore, the first time after graduation, I lived in a hostel in Kharkov. Workers of state-owned enterprises were usually settled there. Resourceful people, it is worth saying, after the collapse of the Union, they immediately privatized real estate and sold it in order to improve living conditions. So did I later. V different time in my room lived two, three, or even four girls.

In 1996, it was Luda and Zoya. Luda all the time got into some ridiculous situations, accidents, became the cause of fights. Zoya was the calmest of the three of us. And thanks to her soft and accommodating nature, she was the fastest of all and was awarded a marriage proposal.

Lyuda and Zoya became close friends, because the second got a job in the canteen of the enterprise where the first worked. I have always been easy to get along with. different people, was the soul of any company. The three of us also most often went to the market, because thieves, gypsies, hunted heavily there. Once, when Lyudka with another boyfriend flew into a ditch on a motorcycle and was in the hospital, and I was with my sister in Kiev, Zoya was heading to Luda to the hospital. Before that, I decided to buy gifts on the market.

Gypsies were a terrible scourge, they "worked" there for a long time. The police didn't even touch them. The old woman approached Zoya and said something about the groom and promised to settle everything, and after that the friend remembered only what I witnessed: we sat with Zoya's future husband the next day, when I had already returned, and brought her to her senses. Chopped to the bone. Moreover, since there was no one at home, which cost at least some money, they took it out of the room. They did not even leave more or less normal dishes. But everything ended well. Things were not returned, but Zoya got married, Luda, when she was discharged from the hospital, was surprised by the empty room, but she understood everything.

Soon we stayed with her to live together, and after that she left - for Moscow. And there were already other girls and other stories.

In the cemeteries of our vast country, you can find unusual tombstones with images of respectable men. Expensive suits, leather jackets, tattoos and gold chains - all this flaunts on the monuments belonging to the criminal authorities of the dashing 90s and their entourage.

See how the monuments of Ded Khasan, Yaponchik and other pretentious graves of famous participants in gang warfare of the past look in our material.

Grandfather Hassan was called the main mafioso of Russia, who knows no mercy and is behind all the thieves' wars. His real name is Aslan Usoyan, his date of birth is February 28, 1937. Aslan committed his first crime as a child, and by the age of 16 he firmly decided that he would become a “professional” pickpocket.

Young Aslan Usoyan top row in the middle

At the age of 18, the future crime boss received his first term - a year and a half in prison. After that, more than once he ended up in prison and once was "crowned". Having become a thief in law, Ded Hasan gained power over the shadow business in almost all Russian regions. Dealt with thieves old school", has repeatedly acted as an "arbiter" in the showdown of large gangs.

In 2013, Ded Hasan was shot dead by a sniper. The grave of the crime boss is located at the very entrance to the Khovanskoye cemetery in Moscow. She looks pretty pompous.

Grave of thief in law Aslan Usoyan (Ded Khasan)

However, his grave is inferior in decoration and chic to the creation that the son of Bori ordered "Soda" for his late father.

The grave of Boris "Soda" Chubarov

And although he did not die as “heroically” as Grandfather Hassan (the cause of Boris Chubarov’s death was cirrhosis of the liver), a real work of art was built for his grave. It flaunts a monument to the deceased himself and a Mercedes car - all in full size.

It is noteworthy that the numbers on the car carry a certain hidden meaning, which is known only to the deceased and the customer of the project - his son. The thing is that the letter "F" is not used in Russian numbers. Unless it's an unfortunate mistake by the sculptor...

Grave of Ivankov Vyacheslav Kirillovich ("Jap")

Speaking of mistakes, the grave of the famous "Jap" - Ivankov Vyacheslav Kirillovich is shown above. And for some reason, when creating it, they were in such a hurry that they missed one letter in the surname, writing instead of "Ivankov".

Ivankov was one of the main Russian thieves in law and the head of a criminal clan in Moscow. On July 28, 2009, there was an assassination attempt on him. On October 9, "Yaponchik" died in the hospital from peritonitis that had developed in him.

Grave of Lev Genkin "Tits"

And this is the grave of Lev Leontyevich Genkin, or, as he was called in gang circles, Leo "Tits". Lyova went to every business with his daddy under his arm ... Why? Thus, he tried to create the impression of an intelligent business person and, when caught by operatives, claimed that he was an employee of the Jewish embassy.

Grave of Nikolai Tutberidze ("Matsi")

This unusual white tombstone with a monument to a person sitting on it is located on the grave of Nikolai Tutberidze, better known as Matsi. He passed away in 2003 from cancer. This disease does not spare anyone, be it a simple worker or a criminal authority.

Portrait of Malkhaz Minadze on the tombstone of his grave

On the gravestone of Malkhaz Minadze, the thief in law and his wife are depicted, who, by the way, is alive and well ... Very unusual artistic solution.

And here are a few more graves that stand out noticeably from others in the cemetery.

Internet users express their outrage at the honors with which criminals are buried:

“Historians of the distant future will dig up these statues and tombstones and will study, compare with even more ancient antique statues. There were gods, philosophers, emperors .. And in our era - thieves in law. Disgrace!

This is exactly what the last refuges of criminal authorities who ruled the thieves' world in the dashing 90s look like. Despite all the indignation of Internet users, it is worth noting that the work of sculptors who carry out projects is surprising and deserves respect.

What do you think of these creations?

The dashing 90s in Russia untied the hands of criminal business. The bandits did not shy away from anything: whether it was drug trafficking, racketeering or murder. After all, fabulous money was at stake.

Who is into what

Banditry flourished in Russia back in the perestroika period, however, Soviet organized crime groups were noticeably constrained in their actions, mostly engaged in “protection” of underground entrepreneurs, robbing passers-by or stealing social property. At the same time, it was these groups that became the soil that nurtured the ruthless and cynical criminals of the nineties. Some of them will fall into the ground, and someone will break into the authorities, occupying the chair of an official, or being a shareholder of a large company.

But still, most members of the organized crime group fed themselves and their families in more traditional ways: "protection", money laundering, fraud, racketeering, robbery, pimping, contract killings. After all, it was possible to receive considerable income from this kind of business.

Thus, the “Volgovskaya” criminal gang, one of the largest in the country, created by the natives of Togliatti, was engaged in the resale of stolen parts from the local VAZ automobile plant. Over time, under the control of organized crime groups were half of the shipment of cars of the enterprise and dozens of dealer companies, from which the "Volgovskie" had an income of over 400 million dollars a year.

No less large-scale was the criminal activity of the "Solntsevskaya" organized criminal group. She owned the Solntsevo car market, a third of the district's entertainment establishments, as well as taxi services in Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo-2 and at the Kiev railway station. One of the sources of profit for the "Solntsevskaya" was the Gorbushka market, which they shared with the "Izmailovsky". From one seller, the bandits received from 300 to 1000 dollars a month.

Bottoms

Each criminal gang had a strict hierarchy, on which the redistribution of income depended. At the bottom of the criminal chain was usually a youth gang. Her “pawns” are high school students aged 15–16 (“boys”) who collected tribute from their peers or younger students. These were either requisitions for a "roof", or an elementary robbery. Monthly "contributions" from each student in terms of modern money ranged from 200 to 500 rubles. The "boys" left almost nothing for themselves, they transferred the main amount up the hierarchical chain.

The next link in the organized crime group were the "boys", whose age ranged from 16 to 25 years. It was the strike force of the gangs, carrying out the orders of the "seniors", ranging from the "protection" of schoolchildren and security functions, ending with the sale of soft drugs and street battles for the territory. Often they were trusted to participate in racketeering and murders. Based on words former member Baumanskaya grouping (Moscow), one "kid" monthly brought organized crime groups in the region of 4-5 thousand rubles in terms of current money. Each even a small grouping of such suppliers had from a hundred to a thousand.

Above the "boys" were "foremen" who controlled and coordinated the activities of youth gangs. Their age, as a rule, ranged from 22 to 30 years. It was they who decided who to "protect", where to rob and how much one or another member of the gang would pay in the "common fund". In submission to the "brigadiers" were from 50 to 400 "boys". The leaders of the youth gangs accumulated all the incoming funds, they kept no more than 7% for themselves, the rest was passed on to the top.

Tops

The basis of the upper part of the organized crime group was the so-called "fighters". They no longer transferred money to the "common fund", but were kept by criminal "authorities". In terms of modern prices a month they earned from 70 to 200 thousand rubles. The "fighters" had additional income from the stolen property: cars, luxury furniture, imported equipment, jewelry.

The core of the criminal groups was a group of 30-50 people who can be called "managers". It was he who was engaged in the planning of all operations and the leadership of the "fighters". Often, "managers" could be found on the board of directors of "roofed" firms. By modern standards, their income was 600-800 thousand rubles a month.

Gang leaders - "authorities" tried to stay in the background. In one organized crime group, their number did not exceed 5-7 people. As a rule, they made collective decisions concerning the vital issues of the group's activities. Up to several million dollars could fall into the pockets of "authorities" every month, but they also paid a high price for this, since they were the main target for competing gangs.

Items of income

Criminal gangs of the 90s often had several main sources of income. The first is the "common fund": funds that were brought by the younger members of the gang. About 200 - 800 thousand dollars “ran up” per month. The "obshchak" was mainly formed thanks to the funds received as a result of proceeds from petty extortion, theft or theft of a car.

The second item of replenishment of the criminal budget is, as a rule, the planned activities of organized crime groups: racketeering of small and medium-sized businesses, participation in the privatization and corporatization of factories, contract killings and bank robberies. All this brought the gang from 2 to 5 million dollars a month.

The third source of income is prostitution, drug trafficking, weapons and gambling. Monthly this item of income gave from 3 to 9 million dollars. It should be noted that pimping was not honored by criminal communities. The “shameful” business was carried out either by small organized crime groups, or by those who were stranded.

The last and fattest source of income is the participation of the top organized crime groups in legal business as investors or shareholders, including the creation of their own business. Most often these are markets, shops, car dealerships and casinos. The amount of income here depended on the scale of the enterprise and could reach several tens of millions of dollars per month.

Murder for Hire

Contract killings can be called a separate source of income, or, as Lieutenant Colonel of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Igor Shutov calls them, murders committed for hire. Most often, according to an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they were killed because of cars, apartments and money in the account. However, high-profile contract killings, as a rule, were aimed at intimidation or revenge.

Kill-for-hire rates varied widely. So, the killer of the Kazan group "Zhilka" Alexei Snezhinsky told how "some serious people" turned to him and offered to organize the murder of the conditional "Sasha the bandit" for 10 thousand dollars. Snezhinsky himself acted as the organizer of the murder, taking 8 thousand dollars for himself, paying the performer 2 thousand. According to the killer, up to 50 thousand dollars could be requested for a more serious case.

In Moscow, according to the statements of former members of the organized criminal group, the highest rates were for the murder - an average of 25 thousand dollars. It cost much more to order a well-known "media" figure. So the investigation found that only the advance payment for the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya (although it was committed after the era of the 90s) cost the customer 150 thousand dollars.

The dashing 90s in Russia untied the hands of criminal business. The bandits did not shy away from anything: whether it was drug trafficking, racketeering or murder. After all, fabulous money was at stake.

Who is into what

Banditry flourished in Russia back in the perestroika period, however, Soviet organized crime groups were noticeably constrained in their actions, mostly engaged in “protection” of underground entrepreneurs, robbing passers-by or stealing social property. At the same time, it was these groups that became the soil that nurtured the ruthless and cynical criminals of the nineties. Some of them will fall into the ground, and someone will break into the authorities, occupying the chair of an official, or being a shareholder of a large company.

But still, most members of the organized crime group fed themselves and their families in more traditional ways: "protection", money laundering, fraud, racketeering, robbery, pimping, contract killings. After all, it was possible to receive considerable income from this kind of business.

Thus, the “Volgovskaya” criminal gang, one of the largest in the country, created by the natives of Togliatti, was engaged in the resale of stolen parts from the local VAZ automobile plant. Over time, under the control of organized crime groups were half of the shipment of cars of the enterprise and dozens of dealer companies, from which the "Volgovskie" had an income of over 400 million dollars a year.

No less large-scale was the criminal activity of the "Solntsevskaya" organized criminal group. She owned the Solntsevo car market, a third of the district's entertainment establishments, as well as taxi services in Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo-2 and at the Kiev railway station. One of the sources of profit for the "Solntsevskaya" was the Gorbushka market, which they shared with the "Izmailovsky". From one seller, the bandits received from 300 to 1000 dollars a month.

Bottoms

Each criminal gang had a strict hierarchy, on which the redistribution of income depended. At the bottom of the criminal chain was usually a youth gang. Her “pawns” are high school students aged 15–16 (“boys”) who collected tribute from their peers or younger students. These were either requisitions for a "roof", or an elementary robbery. Monthly "contributions" from each student in terms of modern money ranged from 200 to 500 rubles. The "boys" left almost nothing for themselves, they transferred the main amount up the hierarchical chain.

The next link in the organized crime group were the "boys", whose age ranged from 16 to 25 years. It was the strike force of the gangs, carrying out the orders of the "seniors", ranging from the "protection" of schoolchildren and security functions, ending with the sale of soft drugs and street battles for the territory. Often they were trusted to participate in racketeering and murders. Based on the words of a former member of the Bauman group (Moscow), one "kid" monthly brought an organized crime group in the region of 4-5 thousand rubles in terms of current money. Each even a small grouping of such suppliers had from a hundred to a thousand.

Above the "boys" were "foremen" who controlled and coordinated the activities of youth gangs. Their age, as a rule, ranged from 22 to 30 years. It was they who decided who to "protect", where to rob and how much one or another member of the gang would pay in the "common fund". In submission to the "brigadiers" were from 50 to 400 "boys". The leaders of the youth gangs accumulated all the incoming funds, they kept no more than 7% for themselves, the rest was passed on to the top.

Tops

The basis of the upper part of the organized crime group was the so-called "fighters". They no longer transferred money to the "common fund", but were kept by criminal "authorities". In terms of modern prices, they earned from 70 to 200 thousand rubles a month. The "fighters" had additional income from the stolen property: cars, luxury furniture, imported equipment, jewelry.

The core of the criminal groups was a group of 30-50 people who can be called "managers". It was he who was engaged in the planning of all operations and the leadership of the "fighters". Often, "managers" could be found on the board of directors of "roofed" firms. By modern standards, their income was 600-800 thousand rubles a month.

Gang leaders - "authorities" tried to stay in the background. In one organized crime group, their number did not exceed 5-7 people. As a rule, they made collective decisions concerning the vital issues of the group's activities. Up to several million dollars could fall into the pockets of "authorities" every month, but they also paid a high price for this, since they were the main target for competing gangs.

Items of income

Criminal gangs of the 90s often had several main sources of income. The first is the "common fund": funds that were brought by the younger members of the gang. About 200 - 800 thousand dollars “ran up” per month. The "obshchak" was mainly formed thanks to the funds received as a result of proceeds from petty extortion, theft or theft of a car.

The second item of replenishment of the criminal budget is, as a rule, the planned activities of organized crime groups: racketeering of small and medium-sized businesses, participation in the privatization and corporatization of factories, contract killings and bank robberies. All this brought the gang from 2 to 5 million dollars a month.

The third source of income is prostitution, drug trafficking, weapons and gambling. Monthly this item of income gave from 3 to 9 million dollars. It should be noted that pimping was not honored by criminal communities. The “shameful” business was carried out either by small organized crime groups, or by those who were stranded.

The last and fattest source of income is the participation of the top organized crime groups in legal business as investors or shareholders, including the creation of their own business. Most often these are markets, shops, car dealerships and casinos. The amount of income here depended on the scale of the enterprise and could reach several tens of millions of dollars per month.

Murder for Hire

Contract killings can be called a separate source of income, or, as Lieutenant Colonel of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia Igor Shutov calls them, murders committed for hire. Most often, according to an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they were killed because of cars, apartments and money in the account. However, high-profile contract killings, as a rule, were aimed at intimidation or revenge.

Kill-for-hire rates varied widely. So, the killer of the Kazan group "Zhilka" Alexei Snezhinsky told how "some serious people" turned to him and offered to organize the murder of the conditional "Sasha the bandit" for 10 thousand dollars. Snezhinsky himself acted as the organizer of the murder, taking 8 thousand dollars for himself, paying the performer 2 thousand. According to the killer, up to 50 thousand dollars could be requested for a more serious case.

In Moscow, according to the statements of former members of the organized criminal group, the highest rates were for the murder - an average of 25 thousand dollars. It cost much more to order a well-known "media" figure. So the investigation found that only the advance payment for the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya (although it was committed after the era of the 90s) cost the customer 150 thousand dollars.