In the past 2–3 years, the persecution and arrests of former “brothers” of the 90s have resumed with renewed vigor, and has turned the shadow world of Russia. Despite the fact that more than 20 years have passed since then, and it seemed that this page of history had long been turned over, the echoes of that bloody and merciless war for money and power are still felt today. In 2017, Dmitry Volobuev, a criminal authority from Kursk, was arrested and extradited to Russia at one of the world’s famous resorts. Legends circulated about this man, they have been and are still afraid of him, even when he is behind bars.
The situation in Kursk
Kursk is a city of military glory, whose inhabitants, together with the Red Army, fought bravely in the Great Patriotic War. In 1943-44 there were fierce battles, where hundreds of thousands of people from the German and Russian sides were killed. But since the late 80s, loud murders and abductions began to take place in the city, real power was concentrated in the hands of newly-minted authorities, among whom was Dmitry Volobuev from Kursk.
However, they whispered more about this character than spoke out loud. Investigating authorities became aware of his involvement in a series of murders in the city almost by accident. Since 2001, an organized criminal group led by Ruslan Sibilev has taken control of several areas of Kursk. The gang was not shy about extortion, robbery and abduction, members of the group collected tribute from entrepreneurs under the threat of reprisal.
Background
In 2010, Sibilev had a conflict with another criminal authority nicknamed Chopin. The latter owned a pig farm, a tidbit for frostbitten bandits. Members of the Chopin organized crime group Sergey Delyukin and Alexei Ukraintsev arrived at a meeting with Sibilev and his people and fired at them from a traumatic gun. So they wanted to stop the presumptuous arrogant. Sibilev held a grudge and after some time was shot by the Ukrainians, and a little later, Chopin himself.
Sibilev, having committed yet another murder due to debts, fled with his accomplices to Thailand. And there he was not particularly hiding, even posted his photos on a social network.
In 2015, he was detained, and the Russian authorities received permission to extradite him. Upon arrival at home, the former authority at first resisted the investigation and even tried to commit suicide several times, but very soon he began to give a confession. From his words it became clear that at the head of all the high-profile killings and generally many episodes in the city was a certain Dmitry Volobuev from Kursk.
Biography
The person is interesting and noteworthy. Almost no one knows his biography thoroughly. But rumors about this character are enough. For example, there is a journalistic assumption that Volobuev Dmitry Vasilievich from Kursk was a kind of "brainchild" of the former UBOP. He was led and allowed a lot for one purpose - to create in the criminal environment a counterweight to thieves in law. Indeed, Volobuev did not recognize the authority of the "kings" of the thieves' world, openly ignored their attitude to his activities and almost laughed in person.
In the early 90s, Volobuev worked as one of the “bulls” of the Kursk private security company. Together with other bandits he was paying tribute to entrepreneurs, traders in the market. Gradually, Dmitry began to master raiding, one of the most high-profile cases was the "acquisition" of the Chantal complex.
Today Volobuev has shares in the travel agency Renter, in the real estate company Stroytrest, the companies Lessor, Saturn, Bis and several others. The actual condition of the assets is not exactly known.
Interesting hypothesis
But even if it was a draft of power structures, after the dissolution of the UBEP, it got out of control and became an independent unit. Volobueva was distinguished by his mind, good organizational data, as well as cruelty and complete indifference to human life. He himself was an invalid, had no legs and was forced to move on a prosthesis. This fact, incidentally, was tried to beat the defenders of Dmitry Volobuev from Kursk. Photos of the disabled person were printed with the text stating that all the assumption of his criminal detail was nothing more than an invention of the special services.
Personal traits
Volobuev stood out against other similar "children" of the 90s. In society, he introduced himself as a strong-willed man, an athlete who was able to overcome the most serious trauma and lead a former lifestyle. He often donated money to charity, he and his wife seemed like an ideal married couple. The authority of Dmitry Volobuev in Kursk was unshakable, because after his unexpected arrest several months ago, people tried to resist the charge and defended their fellow countryman.
Meanwhile, among ordinary people, the name of Volobuev was pronounced only in a whisper. Everyone knew about the revenge, and, most importantly, the ruthlessness of Dmitry Volobuev. Photos about crime in Kursk periodically appear on the pages of local and national newspapers. And, according to journalists, almost half of everything that happened over the years in Kursk is related to Volobuev.
Criminal activity
All defenders of a disabled athlete cannot really explain such a “popularity” of a businessman in a criminal environment. He even got his injury, amputation of the foot after the first attempt in 2000. Then his car was blown up, but he managed to miraculously survive.
In subsequent years, the photo of the authority of Dmitry Volobuev from Kursk did not appear in the media, he preferred to work "by someone else's hands." The exact picture is not known until the end; Volobuev’s involvement in the redistribution of business in Kursk is now being investigated by the investigation. But it is known that "under his wing" went many high-profit enterprises of the city. In the mid-10s of the XXI century, the Chantal shopping complex unexpectedly changed its owner, it was Volobuev who became almost the full owner. His family still has a stake in this business.
It is known that the authority had assets in the construction business, not only in Kursk, but also in neighboring areas. When detaining the investigating authorities and the public, the question arose - how many years the crime of Dmitry Volobuev from Kursk went unnoticed. It is believed that he had great connections in the top leadership of law enforcement agencies. A thorough check was carried out on this subject, but no real evidence was found.
The media did not get a new sensation similar to the story of Shakro Molodoy, who had committed lawlessness for many years, crushing entrepreneurs under the “wing” of a high-ranking general.
Reason for the arrest
On March 7, 2017, Dmitry Volobuev was detained in Kursk. He was arrested in an apartment which, according to the wife of the authority, they rented with the children. For Volobuev himself, the arrest was a surprise, everything happened early in the morning, and a large group of police arrived along with special forces to detain him. Immediately upon arrival at the pre-trial detention center, he was placed in solitary confinement, where Volobuev is still to this day.
During the arrest, he was charged under Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (intentional murder). He was accused of organizing the elimination of a certain Delyugi, another authoritative person from the criminal environment of Kursk.
But upon further examination, the investigation revealed that the crime of Dmitry Volobuev from Kursk is not limited to only one murder. He is also charged with extortion, arson of a competitor’s car as intimidation. In addition, Volobuev tried to deceive the state in a fraudulent way. As a disabled person of group 2, he was allocated funds for the purchase of a prosthesis. But after some time, Volobuev tried again to receive funds from the regional budget in the amount of 2.5 million rubles. After the arrest, all episodes were combined into one clerical work.
The killings
Dmitry Volobuev from Kursk committed all known murders because of personal conflict situations with victims. The first murder of Sergei Delyukin or Delyuga occurred in 2013. He was preceded by an incident near the Chantal cafe, where Volobuev was seriously injured. Who really shot the authority in the stomach is unknown. Witnesses saw only in a hurry a man running away, dressed in all black.
Considering that it was Delyukin who committed the attempt, Volobuev ordered his people to crack down on the offender. February 9, 2013, Sergei Delyukin was shot dead near his own entrance. He went out to throw out the trash, before he even managed to get to the box. Nine bullets were fired at him at a short distance, there was no chance of survival.
As the investigation suggests, Volobuev sent his three subordinates to the business: Lifinsky, Pakhomov and Kozheykin. Lifinsky shot directly, Kozheykin covered his comrade, watched the situation with a walkie-talkie, and in the car he was waiting for Pakhomov's performers.
The following crime was also committed by strangers. After a conflict with one of his acquaintances, Khodyrkovsky, when the latter called names for Volobuev and threatened him with reprisal, he harbored an insult and again ordered his three close associates to remove the offender. Khodyrkovsky was shot two shots in the head.
Volobuev expressed his personal hostility to rivals in the form of threats. So in 2016, his people set fire to an expensive foreign car of his rival, thereby showing who dictates the laws.
Local Media Response
A photo of the crime boss Dmitry Volobuev from Kursk already appeared on March 8 in many periodicals of the region. The identity of the detainee was well-known to everyone, and mostly in a positive way, so the media reacted, if not sharply, then rather contradictory. Here, probably, the possible interest of the leadership of some newspapers in this matter also affected. There were no heavily accusing, devastating articles with a full investigation. Basically, already known information was printed along with examples of other unfairly accused people in Russia.
The outrage of some publications was caused by the fact that for several months Dmitry Vasilievich Volobuev was in solitary confinement in Kursk.
Crime is a huge opportunity for lovers to profit. But at the same time, Kursk is a modern civilized city. Therefore, many journalists wondered about the severity of such punishment.
One of the representatives of the Human Rights Department in an interview said that the reason here is not to morally break a person, but to really protect him from encroachment by other authorities.
Family support
Dmitry Volobuev met his wife at school, since then they have been inseparable for almost 25 years. Three sons grow up in the family, at the time of the arrest the eldest was finishing school, two younger twin brothers went to middle classes. After the arrest, Volobuev’s wife launched an active propaganda campaign in defense of her husband. Local newspapers came out with an interview with Irina Volobueva.
She did not want to admit that her husband was a monster and a killer, whom the media wanted to present him. Irina said that they want to make Dmitry a scapegoat for allegedly unwillingness to cooperate with the authorities. Volobuev's wife complained about inhuman conditions of detention. In his cell there is one rising bed, bedside tables, there are no people to talk to, in the cell there is constant cold. She even contacted a human rights organization. To all his wife’s complaints about poor conditions of detention, the press service of the Federal Penitentiary Service said that in the Kursk pre-trial detention center all conditions were the same and in line with international standards. Moreover, all the cameras have been recently repaired.
Those who accused her husband of involvement in the killings, Irina called not very healthy people who are not responsible for their actions.
Facts
A photo of Dmitry Vasilievich Volobuev from Kursk with information about his arrest appeared along with reports on the detention of the vice-mayor of Kursk Nikolai Zaitsev. It was this man, according to the investigation, who for many years covered up the activities of Dmitry Volobuev. Zaitsev for many years served in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, worked in senior positions. In 2015, he decided to change the scope of activities and left the bodies in the city hall. Here Zaitsev quickly found associates and zealously proved himself.
In 2016-2017, when investigators began an investigation into the murder of Kursk authorities and entrepreneurs, it became clear that Nikolay Zaitsev was involved in fraud, raider actions and other crimes. Today, he is charged under article 163 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for extorting 20 garages. Later, the son of Zaitsev, who is engaged in banking operations in some regions of Russia, was also arrested.
Journalists disseminate other information. According to some reports, Dmitry Volobuev, along with his brothers, almost controlled the entire housing and communal services system in the region, moreover, with the tacit consent of local officials.
From the moment of arrest, more and more facts surfaced about the criminal or near-criminal activity of Volobuev. Dmitry's brother Nikolai was also detained in August 2017 on charges of fraud. Investigators seriously took up the famous family of the city of Kursk.
Whatever the verdict was issued to Dmitry Volobuev, it is now clear how serious and large-scale cases were going on in Kursk under the leadership of this man.