The gangster 90s were not something amazing and unique. Many states experienced a sharp surge in crime, a period when there was a separation of spheres of influence in the country. Somewhere it takes place peacefully and “between one’s”, and somewhere, like in Russia, with “show-offs”, threats and shootings. Twenty years ago, in every region of the country, practically their own local gangs were operating openly, holding authorities and ordinary people in fear. Among such groups, the criminal Schelkovo organized criminal group was especially brutal and cynical in Russia.
It cannot be denied that the events of the 90s and the activities of thousands of young people who imagined themselves masters of the situation left an indelible mark on the history of Russia. Today we are watching with interest and without fear films about the bloody events of those years, and in fact hundreds of people died, whole factories were shamelessly taken from the owners, people were abducted, raped and all this with almost impunity. Many of those gangsters today are quite decent and respected entrepreneurs, but they all started the same way - with racketeering, extortion and showdowns.
The Shchelkovo organized crime group, as well as those similar to it, was formed around one strong leader. The main idea and aspiration of all the gangs was a beautiful life without much effort. Freebie romance quickly encompassed young, not always well-educated people. They felt themselves to be masters of life, although they often did not manage to live this life even to half.
Grouping History
The Shchelkovo organized crime group is associated with the name of Alexander Matusov, nicknamed Basmach, who became the founder and leader of the group. In his native Shchelkovo district, the charismatic Matusov very soon turned from an ordinary fighter of the Izmailovsky gang into the creator of his own criminal group. Having gathered around him the backbone of the villagers of his native village of Biokombinat, he quickly subjugated all the local businessmen.
Cruelty
The gang had very cruel methods of influencing entrepreneurs and competitors. They did not spare anyone and never, almost none of the people stolen by them for ransom returned home alive. It is not surprising that in his native Biocombine they tried not to talk about Matusov and his people, all businessmen, officials and even the police were afraid of him.
Gang activities
Newly formed groups did not reckon with thieves' laws and regulations. For them, the romance of the thieves' world was not important; their method was to instill fear and show strength. First of all, the Shchelkovo OPG redirected the entire business of the village of Biokombinat and neighboring settlements to itself, which, of course, was not pleasant to other groups, including Izmaylovskaya. Fierce conflicts on the basis of the redistribution of spheres of influence occurred regularly.
Along with criminal activity, Matusov established legal business. 6 companies were recorded in his name. One of them was engaged in the repair of machinery, some of which were transported in Russia and the CIS, while others, in general, did not have an exact indication of the type of activity. Until now, most of the land and firms in the village of Biokombinat belong to accomplices Matusov and their children.
Today, firms such as Tekton LLC, Reverse LLC, and Prospect-2, which are also related to members of the Schelkovsky gang, continue to work. A few years ago, the leaders of these firms even sued the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper over an editorial article on the criminality of these companies.
Working methods
The leaders of the Shchelkovo organized crime group, among whom, in addition to Basmach, were Pavel Bondartskov and Igor Rozhnev, were not shy about any methods of wanting to make money. According to the investigation, they teamed up with the team of Sergei Finagin called “Kingisepp”. Two groups established a mutually beneficial business: some abducted and brought businessmen to a remote place, where Matusov and his associates tortured them, demanded money or property and, most often, then killed businessmen.
During the investigation, it turned out that members of the group liquidated more than 60 people, including the heads of other gangs, entrepreneurs and government officials. The leader Matusov preferred not to hold long discussions, but to kidnap and torture people to obtain money and information. As the investigation later shows, most of the hostages were killed by Matusov himself. During the investigation, the leader of the Shchelkovsky will show the burial places of 15 people killed in the 90s.
Happened at bandits and misses. In 2002, an order was received to liquidate the founder of one large company. The killer prepared an explosive device, but during transportation the mechanism worked and the performer died. The second attempt was also unsuccessful, an agent who had specially arrived from the capital was detained by police and subsequently died during interrogation.
Slaughter in the village
On November 17, 1996, all neighboring regions and the capital learned about the Shchelkovo organized crime group. Gang members planned and attacked members of a rival group. That evening, four future victims were in the restaurant of the village of Sverdlovsk. The Shchelkowski drove up to the establishment and surrounded it.
They tracked down the first two friends one by one and killed them, they attacked the third with a knife, he was seriously injured, and the fourth with incredible efforts managed to stay alive. In total, the massacre lasted more than an hour until police detachments arrived at the scene. The surviving businessman flatly refused to testify and talk about the attackers. But the wounded witness agreed to speak out against the Shchelkovskys, for which he paid. He was shot dead right in the hospital ward, and one of the hospital’s doctors conducted the killer.
Why could not they arrest for a long time?
The leader of the Schelkovo organized criminal group Basmach developed a very cunning cover system. He conspired with the Kingisepp group and used it as a shield. For almost 15 years, Matusov and his people managed to go unnoticed until the investigators launched an investigation into the activities of the Kingisepp gang.
Former officer Alexander Pumane was detained while trying to plant a bomb in the car of one of the Moscow Region businessmen. His accomplice was also arrested, who confessed to being involved in another 5 killings. Gradually, all members of the Kingisepp group were arrested, including their leader Imran Ilyasov. All team members received terms from 4 to 19 years. Studying the activities of Ilyasov’s gang gradually led investigators to spin up the case against the Shchelkovsky.
The elimination of organized crime groups
Throughout the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, the gang worked with impunity in the Shchelkovo district, until the end it was not established how many people really suffered from their actions. Investigators suggested that Matusov and his team were involved in high-profile killings and cases of extortion, but it was practically impossible to prove anything. None of the victims wanted to testify against the gang, fearing for their lives.
Critical for Basmach, the leader of the Shchelkovo organized crime group, was the year 2006, when gang members kidnapped a businessman who owed Igor Rozhnov, one of the founders of the team. The businessman was brought to the country in the suburbs, beaten and tortured for a long time. The businessman managed to trick the guard and escape, with a statement about the abduction, he turned to the prosecutor.
The fate of the leader
The investigation lasted several years. Matusov managed to escape abroad. For several years he lived quietly in Thailand on forged documents. In 2014, police in a small Thai town unexpectedly recognized an internationally wanted Russian criminal as an overweight man and detained him.
A few months later, the investigating authorities of Russia received the right to extradition. Serious accusations of murder, kidnapping and robbery awaited Matusov’s homeland. The investigation lasted almost 3 years, the judge and the prosecutor's office could not come to a common opinion. Finally, the case was referred to court, but the outcome of the proceedings surprised everyone. For unknown reasons, the jury, which was collected only on the third attempt, acquitted the ruthless killer, and Matusov was released in the courtroom.
The fate of the participants
Members of the criminal Schelkovskaya organized crime group Bondartskov and Rozhnev received long sentences of 16 and 19 years, the court did not even take into account that the statute of limitations for their crimes had already expired at the time of the investigation. Later, Rozhnev was added another three years for his connection with the Kingisepp group.
Most of all, the “doctor” of the team was lucky, who not only treated bandits, but also was responsible for the safety of the “common fund”. The court stopped the criminal prosecution against him due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Another gang member Oleg Rogatin is still on the federal wanted list.
Photos of the Shchelkovo organized crime group were actively circulated on all news feeds, all were discouraged by the cynicism and impunity of such people. Unfortunately, this is far from an isolated case for Russia in the 1990s; each region of the country can boast of such criminal stories.