A simple beekeeper from Stavropol Terrorized the whole region for several months and was not even among the suspects of the local operatives. On his account several ruined lives, but people called him the people's avenger. Who was this man hunting for and why did he take so long to evade punishment?
A family
Before the collapse of the USSR, Alexander Taran was in good standing on the collective farm and held the position of stoker, livestock specialist and even auditor. When the country began big changes, he retrained as a private entrepreneur. Raising bees and selling honey turned out to be very profitable, and soon his farm was on its feet. His wife and two children were of great help, and he did without wage workers.
Daughter
Natalia was an ideal child - a beauty, an excellent pupil and a good helper. The girl did not know the need, because her parents made good money selling honey. Pocket money made her easy money for a local drug addict. The girl fell in love and soon, along with her chosen one, began to take prohibited substances. Parents knew about this, but she was already 20 years old, and no one could influence her anymore. In June 1994, the girl was in a local hospital with a diagnosis of "overdose of narcotic substances." Natalia passed away.
The mystery of her death is still shrouded in darkness. The father was sure that the daughter died of an acute allergic reaction. She injected the drug, and the heart could not stand it. Taran sues the doctor, but the jury sided with Dr. Konoplyankin and sentenced.
Wife
Hope suffered greatly after the death of her daughter. Natasha was her only joy in life. And not accepting the loss, the woman leaves for Greece. There she is going to take care of the elderly, leaving her husband and son in the village. But for a long time she did not have to look after the weak: she quickly found a new spouse and began to live a happy life. Realizing that his wife did not think of returning from “earnings”, Taran brought a woman from his village to the house, and they began to look after the household together.
Son
Having lost his daughter, Alexander was very worried about his son. Vovka was not an ordinary guy - he had problems with his head. Nobody wanted to hire a problem person. So Vovka wandered around the village and helped his father in the apiary. Once he appeared on a rural holiday and joined the company of local guys. Among them was the nephew of the local millionaire Magomed Erkenov.
It was not possible to establish who started the fight, but the fight went well - they fought so that the summer fence of the dance floor collapsed. A group of children fell from a height of 6 meters, but received minor injuries. Only Vovka did not stand on his feet. And he remained lying dead in a pool of blood. So the third tragedy occurred in the biography of Alexander Taran. He buried his son next to his daughter and began to seek justice. Police detained his nephew, but failed to prove his involvement in the death of Vovka, or at least to foment a fight. The guy was released, and the patience of the beekeeper finally burst.
Voroshilov Sharpshooter
Having collected the next batch of honey, Taran went to Mozdok. Having sold his goods, he purchased a machine with the proceeds. But the man did not walk around the village with him, but hid and waited for a convenient moment. On New Year's Eve, he opened fire on the windows of businessman Erkenov. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and this incident was attributed to the competitors of a millionaire. Four months later, Taran again appeared near the house of his enemy, but this time he shot at the entrepreneur himself. An automatic rifle riddled Erkenov’s body, and he died.
Revenge to the Doctor
The man did not shoot Konoplyankin. He had already drunk by this time and was not of interest to the avenger. The bullet went to the head doctor. At this time, his wife was in the house and was able to provide first aid. A wound in the shoulder made Dr. Sergey Gresev disabled. The police were literally digging the ground, but they could not find the mysterious shooter. Soon they had to regret that absolutely all efforts were not made.
Two victims
Taran also had complaints against the police themselves. He was the first to shoot operative officer Oleg Tanchik right outside his house. The next was police chief Vladimir Shtan. But even after these crimes no one was able to connect the killings in a series and understand the motive. The third victim could be Andrei Radchenko - commander of a traffic police platoon. Taran fired a line through his windows, but no one was hurt.
Randomness
It is not known how many more people would become victims of the people's avenger if the local resident did not stumble upon a hidden machine gun in the forest. The locksmith who made the silencer for him helped identify the owner. He pointed to Alexander Fedorovich Taran. Everything immediately lined up in a logical chain. Even Radchenko turned out to be not an odd link - on the eve he deprived the beekeeper of his rights after he detained him in alcoholic intoxication while driving.
Court
A photo of Alexander Taran appeared on the front pages in the media. People called him almost a hero and demanded not to punish the heartbroken father. In May 2009, the jury fully acquitted the killer. The people rejoiced, and the prosecutor's office immediately appealed the verdict. The new court - and now, as a punishment, 23 years in prison and 1050,000 rubles. compensation to the families of the victims. In 2010, Alexander Taran tried to appeal the verdict, but the Supreme Court refused to review the case.
Not all victims consider the verdict fair. Tanchik's mother is convinced that Taran did not kill her son. Oleg for a long time and painstakingly collected incriminating evidence on officials and had nothing to do with Alexander’s affairs. And before shooting Erkenov, someone turned off all the surveillance cameras near his house and stole the hard drive from the computer. The beekeeper did not possess such skills. Alexander Taran himself did not confess to any crime.