Kulibaba 2.0

In the investigating authorities, there is a fashion for comebacks. From the bowels of the “gangster Petersburg” they get old dusty, but still powerful figures of criminal bosses of the 90s.

Vladimir Barsukov-Kumarin, in addition to being charged with the murder of Galina Starovoitova, has already prepared two new ones. From the ashes of history they got Vladimir Kulibaba. The arrested authority is accused of murder 28 years ago. Why, on the sidelines of the investigation, the new accusation is considered a rematch for the Chechel case, the editors of the online publication Kompromat Group found out.

Anniversary on the bunk

In August 2022, it will be 10 years from the date of the acquittal – on August 7, 2012, it was announced in the St. Petersburg City Court on the basis of a jury verdict. The verdict was unexpected and emotional. The jurors voted 9:3.

The trial took place in the old building of the City Court on the Fontanka. History was made within its antique walls. Today, the memories of the participants in the process are no less emotional than they were 10 years ago. At the very beginning of the process, no one doubted who they were dealing with. Here’s what our sources told us. According to insiders, Kulibaba was in the Kostya Mogila group, something like the “head of operations.” When the Grave announced that he was going into business, he said that “all the showdowns are now to Kulibaba”.

According to our sources, it was not so much the beauty of Maria Stroganova who shared with Chechel the beauty of Maria Stroganova, but her “dowry” – savings, cars and real estate. I did not want to share my gifts with the new boyfriend, who was Vadim Chechel. The murder was planned just like in The Godfather by Mario Puzo. Don Corleone made an order – and everything went along the chain. The last link in this story was the performer – Alexander Druzhinin.

Participants in the process of killing Chechel recall: “Sasha Druzhinin was an interesting person from the“ health group ”. Then he became a killer, justifying himself by the fact that he had to feed his family.

The “Health Group” is part of the Kosti Mogila gang – specialists in collecting debts using irons and soldering irons. Merchants could “improve” their health only by paying a bribe or leaving the business. About Alexander Druzhinin, our sources from the old investigation say that they chose him as a killer, not at all because he was very close to Konstantin Yakovlev (Mogila), but because of all the killers of the 90s, he was the only one left alive. Druzhinin himself, after a quick arrest (an eyewitness, the driver of Chechel, ran to the nearest police officers, who turned out to be traffic police officers, who put Sasha in the muzzle on the floor, along with a bag in which two trunks were), was silent like a fish. He was promised 500 thousand dollars for silence. Recall that the dollar exchange rate in 2008 was about 24 rubles.

As he later told the court, he decided at first that with this amount he would ensure a comfortable life for his family for many years. For the murder, he received a $15,000 advance payment and was waiting for a tranche for the same amount after the order was completed. During the investigation, Druzhinin fooled everyone for a long time, changing the testimony and naming a variety of customers: from the authoritative deputy Denis Volchek to unknown persons. At first, he completely stated that he killed Chechel out of personal hostility. He testified against Kulibaba after he realized that he would have to be responsible for the murder of Vadim Chechel alone.

“I realized that they made me extreme,” the killer said then at the trial presided over by judge Olga Graudin.

Our reference:

Former assistant to the chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee and ex-president of the St. Petersburg Freestyle Wrestling Federation, Vladimir Kulibaba, was accused under articles 33 and 105 of the Criminal Code – organizing a murder. He faced life imprisonment. The direct killer of Chechel, Alexander Druzhinin, was previously sentenced to 20 years in a strict regime colony.

Them bean sick

The testimony of the killer Druzhinin formed the basis for the prosecution against Kulibaba. The reason for the frankness is simple – Kulibaba and his associates did not behave “like a gentleman” and did not pay the killer, not the remnants of the fee, but also the promised thousands of dollars for silence. Judge Arkady Kurguzov had a hard time, as well as representatives of the state prosecution. After all, a medical drama was played out before their eyes.

In general, if you remember how it all began, it really becomes both funny and sad. While the investigation was going on, he was dying. Legs and arms failed, kidneys fell off… In 2011, the court had mercy and released Kulibaba on bail due to health problems. But as soon as Vladimir was at home, a miracle of healing descended on him, and, as in the “Feast of Saint Jorgen”, he threw away his crutches and galloped through the streets. The wind sang and whistled in his ears. The investigation decided that there would certainly be a place for the simulator in the Crosses and arrested him again in 2010. The decision was again appealed and Kulibaba was released again. He finally ended up in a pre-trial detention center in the summer of 2011.

So, on the dock again turned out to be mortally ill. Everything hurts, everything hurts. Lawyer Novolodsky regularly filled up the court with medical documents. “You can’t imagine what pain he is experiencing!” the lawyer proclaimed, angrily flashing his eyes in the direction of the state prosecution.

The defendant himself, with all his appearance, showed that he was an absolutely poor, unfortunate person, slandered by enemies, who accidentally found himself under the wheels of the justice machine. As the participants in the process recall, he tried very hard to please the jury. “The emotional message was as follows: he, the hero of socialist labor, an athlete and an honest man, is in jail. Why, people? – remember our interlocutors.

However, the jury’s verdict was devastating for the prosecution. People’s judges voted 9:3 and found Kulibaba not guilty. On the sidelines of the court, even before the verdict, there was gossip that the people of Kulibaba “brought it to the jury.” The amount was not announced, but there were rumors around Peter that the people of Kostya Mogila collected a tribute of 12 million rubles from businessmen in order to help Kulibaba. Suspicion fell on two assessors, one aggressive lady and one man. With their pressure, according to the investigation, they managed to drag the rest to their side.

“This is a matter of technique,” ​​say knowledgeable people, “the boards always have leaders, leaders, and those who listen to them. Usually it is 1-2 people. Kulibaba’s people figured out these two and found a way to approach them.”

The fact that the result of the vote could have been known in advance is evidenced by the fact that Kulibaba’s accomplice, Nikolai Borisov, came from the pre-trial detention center to announce the verdict with … things. As if he knew that he would be released in the courtroom. Needless to say, the terminally ill Vladimir Kulibaba suddenly became healthy and cheerfully left the courtroom after the announcement of the will of the people’s judges.

The matrix. Reboot

In early February, the St. Petersburg City Court considered an appeal against the arrest of the ex-president of the Freestyle Wrestling Federation of the city, Vladimir Kulibaba, accused of murder 28 years ago. He and businessmen Vladimir Karpinsky and Anatoly Motyl are accused of the murder of Igor Savin, nicknamed “The Sledgehammer”, committed in 1993.

And again, the respected businessman Kulibaba is in his repertoire. And again, the defense side attaches gratitude and diplomas to the cause, and again they glue the halo of “a person of impeccable morality” to him. Vladimir himself (never happened before, and here again!) tells the court that he is very ill and during the investigation, “ideally, he will die.”

“The bastard Kulibaba,” commented our source from the old investigation, after listening to the story of his speech at the appeal.

In fact, the new investigation team, and the prosecutors, and the judge will have a hard time. After all, Kulibaba fought back from the old hardened guard. He had not only connections, but also financial opportunities. Great opportunities. He is said to be a very, very rich man. So, as people in the know say, the new prosecutor will have to mobilize and become Superman and Batman rolled into one. The process will not be easy. The investigation and the prosecutor’s office will have to seriously think about their every step. After all, one thing is a new fashion to earn points on the remnants of the history of gangster Petersburg, and the real struggle in the debate and in the jury is completely different.

The current leadership of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, no matter what happens, needs to show themselves exclusively from the right side. As we already wrote, after the scandals of 2021, exceptional disclosures and peppy reports will await us. Neither the police nor the investigators of the Investigative Committee have any powerful developments now. There is nothing, as they say, to surprise the most respected audience. It remains to get the shadow of the past out of oblivion, this old shabby detective with the horrors of the 90s, and drill a new hole for new state awards. No one is really interested anymore who really ordered the young sportsman Vadim Chechel, the blooming Galina Starovoitova. Everything was covered with the rustle of waves from the engines of expensive yachts and the banquet clink of glasses.

Today it is already clear that having successfully played the jury trial card, Kulibaba will follow the old proven scheme. The process already promises to be one of the most interesting court hearings of recent years, in addition to the Kumarin case.