Vladimir Kumarin, widely known as the leader of the Tambov criminal group operating in St. Petersburg, has long terrified the entrepreneurs of the Northern capital. He is also known as a legal businessman, however, this is a thing of the past. We will talk in this article about the life and criminal path of this authority in gangster circles.
Birth, youth, education
Vladimir Sergeevich Barsukov (Kumarin) was born in 1956 in the village of Alexandrovka, which is located in the Tambov region. As a child, he successfully engaged in boxing. After graduation, he was drafted into the army. After demobilization, Vladimir Barsukov (Kumarin) moved to Leningrad, where he entered the Technological Institute of the Refrigeration Industry. However, he never completed his studies. Until the early 80s, he worked as a hotel porter, and then as a bartender in various restaurants in St. Petersburg.
First conviction and the beginning of a criminal career
Biography of Barsukov (Kumarin) reports the first criminal liability,which he suffered for possession of cartridges and forgery of documents. The verdict was handed down in 1985, and a couple of years later he was released on parole. Almost immediately after his release, Vladimir Barsukov began to recruit supporters for his bandit group, mainly among fellow countrymen - natives of the Tambov region. So a new Tambov group entered the criminal scene in St. Petersburg. And Barsukov himself gained fame as the leader of the Tambov organized crime group. The main competitors in the criminal field for the "Tambovites" were members of the so-called Malyshev group, one of the showdowns with which became famous throughout the country, after which the operational authorities tightly took up the Kumarin gang. As a result, Vladimir Barsukov, along with seven dozen of his accomplices, was convicted in 1990. For the next three years, the group did not make itself felt until its leader was freed. However, immediately after his release, a wave of bloody retribution swept through St. Petersburg, which made it clear that the Tambovites had returned.
A year later, an attempt was made on the life of Kumarin. He was shot while in his own car. This killed his driver and bodyguard, but he himself survived, although he was hospitalized in critical condition. Vladimir Barsukov (Kumarin) was in a coma for a month. In addition, his arm was amputated, and after being discharged, he went abroad, where he lived for quite a long time.
Business
When Vladimir Barsukov left for Europe, the organized crime group left by himsplit into several parts, between which a period of confrontation began. Showdowns, assassination attempts and numerous arrests of leaders did not stop. If you believe the rumors, then, having outlived each other, they practically ceased to pose a threat to competing groups, and therefore their leading position was greatly shaken. This continued until 1996, when Barsukov (Kumarin) returned from Germany. Being a born leader, he managed to smooth out almost all the contradictions between the disparate "Tambovites" and again united them into one group. At the same time, the goal was set for the team of bandits to actively develop various areas of business, consolidating private successes and integrating them into a common structure. Ultimately, this led to the fact that the Tambovites turned from a gang of criminals into a rather influential force in the economic and political sense. Already by 1998, representatives of this criminal organization occupied key positions in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region in the sectors of real estate, fuel and energy business, mechanical engineering, food industry and the financial sector.
The legalization process led to the fact that Kumarin tried to distance himself from everything criminal and distance himself from his past. For this, he changed the name "Kumarin" to "Badgers". In the same 1998, businessman Vladimir Barsukov (Kumarin) occupied the chair of the vice-president of the Petersburg Fuel Company.
Standoff for the fuel and energy complex
The fuel and energy complex is a special article inbiography of this person. Vladimir Barsukov, the leader of the Tambov organized crime group, passionately sought undivided control over this area. The war for this sector began back in 1994 with a change in the charter of Surgutneftegaz, which thus limited the possibilities of its subsidiaries and their shareholders in St. Petersburg. In other words, almost the entire fuel and energy complex of the northern capital (oil storage facilities, gas stations) was taken out of control of St. Petersburg financial circles, to which Kumarin was also related. The Tambovskie organized crime group took this step as a declaration of war, since it was at that time that they were actively establishing control over this area. In addition, the change in the charter was not to the liking of local directors of enterprises either. As a result, having teamed up with the "Tambovskaya", they were able through the media to cause significant damage to the image of "Surgutneftegaz", which the government of St. Petersburg even blamed for all the fuel problems of the city. As an alternative, the "Petersburg Fuel Company" was proposed, the ownership of which was shared by the mayor's office and two dozen other large enterprises of St. Petersburg. However, these were only formalities. There were three real owners of the PTK: the leader of the "Malyshevsky" Alexander Malyshev, the businessman Ilya Traber and the leader of the "Tambovskaya" organized criminal group Vladimir Barsukov. It was with the money of these three people that this company was created.
Over the next four years, TPK took over everything that was previously controlled by Surgutneftegaz. In addition, Malyshev and Traber gradually left the game, even the city administration lost its stake in the company. As a result, the fuel company created by the mayor’s office ceased to haveVladimir Barsukov, the leader of the "Tambovskaya" organized criminal group, established any relation to the state and sole control over it.
Relations with administration
“Tambovskaya” organized crime group takes the lead in the full use of administrative resources to influence its competitors. Thanks to this, they managed to win in the confrontation with their main enemy - the “Malyshevskaya” organized criminal group.
One of Kumarin's strategically correct moves was the appointment of Dmitry Filippov, head of the St. Petersburg tax inspectorate, to the post of head of the PTK, who was a significant figure with huge connections. His presence at this location has allowed the company to develop successfully and rapidly.
Confrontation with the "Mogilov"
The biography of Barsukov (Kumarin) contains information about his close cooperation with the deputy of the City Legislative Assembly Viktor Novoselov. But the latter also had close contacts with another criminal authority - Konstantin Yakovlev, known by the nickname "Kostya-Grave". In the end, Novoselov was killed, and a confrontation began between the leaders of the two criminal syndicates. It went down in history as a war between the criminal groups "Tambov" and "Mogilov".
Results of the war
The criminal confrontation between the two most powerful gangster organizations ended in relative peace. But the results of it were significant losses on the part of Coumarin. Firstly, the murder of Novoselov deprived his conductor of his own interests in the State Duma. Secondly,Coumarin himself lost his post as Vice President of the PTK. In addition, several of his closest accomplices were physically eliminated. By the way, there were no significant losses on the part of the Grave. Several attempts were thwarted, as the hired killers from Novgorod were detained by the police before they could do anything. In the end, after the meeting, the warring parties concluded a truce, thus demonstrating the legal nature of their activities. After that, many of Barsukov's nominees took a number of major positions in St. Petersburg, and he himself received a personal office in the government of St. Petersburg.
Coumarin and Putin
A lot of rumors also circulated at one time about the connections that Kumarin had with the future president, and then the chairman of the Committee of the Mayor's Office of St. Petersburg on external relations, Vladimir Putin. The press wrote that Putin, also acting as a consultant and member of the Russian-German real estate company SPAG, assisted Kumarin in laundering money through this company. Later, in this case, as part of mutual assistance, at the request of the German police, Russian law enforcement officers interrogated Barsukov. However, no criminal case was initiated.
Coumarin and Nevzorov
With Alexander Nevzorov, Kumarina is connected by the post of his assistant. In addition, Barsukov made his film debut with his help, playing the role of King Louis XIV in Nevzorov's film The Horse Encyclopedia.
Accusations
2007 was marked for Coumarin with criminal tones. He wasarrested as a suspect in a contract killing where his own bodyguard was the victim. In addition, he was charged with an attempt on the life of Sergei Vasilyev, who was a co-owner of the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal. At the same time, he was charged with organizing the "Tambovskaya" organized criminal group and carrying out raider seizures of a number of enterprises. In 2009, on the last charge, Barsukov was found guilty and sentenced to 14 years in a strict regime. In addition to him, seven other people received long terms. He was also found guilty of a number of other crimes, including extortion. Kumarin did not admit his guilt in any case. In 2011, Kumarin's prison term was reduced to 11.5 years due to changes in the Criminal Code. But a year before that, Barsukov received a new accusation of some other crimes, which, however, were not reported. Later it became known that he was accused of inciting the murder of Yan Gurevsky, a former colleague of Kumarin.
The time spent in custody had a negative impact on Barsukov's he alth, which resulted in his hospitalization in serious condition. In the end, he was transferred to honey. part of the pre-trial detention center "Matrosskaya Tishina". In parallel, he and two accomplices were accused of extorting a large amount of money (21 million rubles) from the owners of the Elizarovsky shopping mall. In the end, Barsukov was found guilty in this case, as were his accomplices. Taking into account the previous unserved term, the sentence ruled to deprive him of his liberty for a period of 15 years in a strict regime.
In the spring of 2013, a new case began, which considered the involvement of Kumarin in the assassination attempt on Sergei Vasiliev, co-owner of the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal. The trial took place in Moscow in the summer of 2014, at which the verdict of acquittal was announced by a group of jurors. However, at the end of autumn 2014, the Supreme Court of Moscow overturned this verdict and returned the case to the St. Petersburg City Court to the jury selection stage for a new trial. The case is still ongoing, therefore, answering the question about where Barsukov (Kumarin) is now, it can be argued that he is under investigation in one of the detention facilities.
Property
A number of media mentioned Barsukov as the owner or co-owner of a number of large St. Petersburg companies - business centers, the Grand Palace shopping center, a line of restaurants, the Parnas-M meat processing plant and a network of gas stations. The leadership of the Petersburg Fuel Company, however, denied the fact of Kumarin's involvement in this company since he left the post of its vice president. Barsukov officially positions himself as a pensioner (in addition, he has a 1st disability group). He insists that his main activity comes down to charity. Among other things, he pointed out that several churches, bell towers were built at his expense, and other sponsorship of the Orthodox Church is regularly provided. For example, the bell of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg was cast with his money and the backlight was arranged, inin the center of the northern capital projecting several crosses into the sky with the help of lasers. He also regularly provides material assistance to the Moscow Novodevichy Convent, the Church of St. Eugenia in Kolomyagi and the Svyatogorsky Monastery. For his services to the Russian Orthodox Church, Vladimir Barsukov has church awards presented by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow. In addition to charity for the church, he is known for sponsoring several regular sporting events, financially helping the Tambov nuclear submarine, and also providing one-time assistance to those in need. He himself supplements this list by actively maintaining compatriotic ties in St. Petersburg and helping people from Tambov and the Tambov region.
Private life
According to some reports, including Kumarin's own autobiography, he was married three times. The first marriage was fictitious, and its conclusion pursued the only goal - obtaining a St. Petersburg residence permit after his expulsion from the institute. The third and last marriage to Marina Gennadievna Khaberlakh also ended in divorce. However, there were rumors that the break with the third wife was as fictitious as the marriage with the first. The former spouses continued to live together.
Vladimir also has a child. The only daughter of Vladimir Barsukov (Kumarin) Maria Kumarina is a graduate of the Faculty of Law of the State University of St. Petersburg. According to several media reports, she is often seen at social events. According to other information,she is the director of Violet, a toy business.
In addition, other relatives of Vladimir Kumarin were mentioned in the press. Firstly, this is his nephew Sergey, as well as his sister and brother. However, the press did not name the latter. Another representative of the Kumarin (Barsukov) clan is his second cousin Evgeny Kumarin. The latter occupies the chair of the general director of the oil company IBG FTM. By the way, he also appeared in criminal reports - as accused of tax evasion, for which a criminal case was initiated against him in 2008.
