Who are you, Mr. Kumarin-Barsukov?
Reflections on the leader of the Tambov criminal group, his relationship with Vladimir Putin, and the murder of Galina Starovoitova
After the announcement of the sentence on August 28 to former State Duma deputy Mikhail Glushchenko (17 years in a strict regime colony for involvement in the murder of politician Galina Starovoitova), stories about the "criminal Petersburg" of the 1990s gained new popularity. Defending himself, Glushchenko claimed that when preparing the crime, he was fulfilling the order of Vladimir Kumarin (Barsukov), the leader of the so-called Tambov criminal group, about whose relationship with city government officials various things were said.
Was Vladimir Kumarin (Barsukov) involved in the murder of Galina Starovoitova? Was he a friend of Vladimir Putin? The interlocutor of Radio Liberty is the general director of the Information and Analytical Agency for Journalistic Investigations, writer Andrei Konstantinov.
– Andrei, you knew Vladimir Kumarin (Barsukov) well, you communicated with him a lot. What impression did the sentence of Mikhail Glushchenko and his statement make on you?
– Nothing really new or special happened, except that initially, the prosecutor’s office requested an unexpectedly lenient sentence of 13 years for him. Then they corrected it, but there was some light intrigue in all of this. Well, of course, it looked quite funny that he finally officially indicated that, they say, the customer of the murder of Galina Starovoitova was Kumarin. Why funny? Even the relatives of the deceased were not very pleased and were a bit puzzled. After all, it’s understandable that 17 years have passed, and now you can say anything. Most people simply do not remember either the murder or Starovoitova herself, let alone any possible reasons, and therefore it is easy to say: "Oh, there was such a ’night governor’, who committed crimes, killed and strangled everyone, drowned them, so he also killed Starovoitova."
I really don’t want to be an advocate for Kumarin. Kumarin is a person who is, as they say, "very, very." If he had to send half of the State Duma to the other world, he might well have done so if he had a reason, some reason. But for what purpose would he kill Starovoitova? To this question, besides some empty chatter about how "she was dealing with issues of combating organized crime, was a threat to him, etc.," there is still no answer. There is even a feeling of embarrassment for those who say such absolute nonsense. She did not engage in any special, systematic fight against organized crime at the time of her death. She was dealing with regional elections. And what does Kumarin have to do with it, it is completely unclear.
Kumarin (theoretically) could have acted as another intermediary for someone else. One can assume the emergence of such a chain: Someone – Kumarin – Glushchenko – Kolchin. But I even doubt this, because Glushchenko was a deputy of the State Duma, and it seems to me that his deputyship allowed him, when he mingled with the ’big fish’ in Moscow, to encounter a person who would be interested in Starovoitova’s murder. Further possibilities arise. Either it was indeed an order, a direct request, or sometimes it happens: "I understand that you would, in principle, like this person to be killed. I will give you such a gift, and then I will say that I did it, and my shares will grow from this." Purely theoretical…
Kumarin falls out of this scheme because he was not a deputy; he was a person whom not all political figures wished to meet, although more than ten State Duma deputies arrived for his 50th birthday. By the way, he was an assistant to State Duma deputy Alexander Nevzorov.
I do not take seriously the version that law enforcement agencies aimed to "close" Kumarin and for this, they offered Glushchenko a deal: "You allegedly name the surname ’Kumarin’, and for this, we offer you protection and security." I do not think it was so. I think no one forced Glushchenko to name this surname. Glushchenko, I think, tried to guess what they wanted to hear from him. He was made to understand that he would face life imprisonment if he did not name anyone, so he began to babble. What else could he say? He could name even the pope! Over the past 17 years, what traces remain besides his word?
– Mikhail Glushchenko portrayed Vladimir Kumarin as some kind of terrible person who can still threaten his life and the life of his relatives.
– Listen, he did a lot with Kumarin. And there was a completely different system of relations there. I observed this personally. There was quite a friendly atmosphere: friends, colleagues. There wasn’t that chief vampire walking around while everyone else tiptoed, afraid to sigh. Kumarin himself was a famous humorist. I played backgammon with him, and he would shower me with jokes! They are both serious guys. Both have committed a lot. So when Glushchenko says he was afraid of Kumarin, I can say that Kumarin was also afraid of him because he knew what ’Uncle Misha’ was capable of. And ’Uncle Misha’ was a capable person. They are worth each other.
– If we remember that autumn of 1998, we can be horrified by what was happening in Petersburg. Here’s a rough timeline. On September 28th, the deputy chairman of the city’s consumer market committee, Yevgeniy Ogarev, was blown up (presumably with hexogen); on October 10th, well-known politician Dmitriy Filippov was blown up (also presumably using hexogen); on November 12th, the former head of the Leningrad KGB department, the former boss of Vladimir Putin, Anatoliy Kurkov, died under mysterious circumstances; on November 20th, Galina Starovoitova was killed. Doesn’t it seem to you that these are links of one chain?
– This scheme you have built is an artificial construction. It lacks a lot: other names, faces, etc. You forget what time it was. It was a time when the peak of gangster, criminal wars had not yet passed. I remember it well because we were already working during this time. At that time, murders happened every single day, several high-profile killings happened weekly. We didn’t have time to work them out; there was a real wave. It started to subside only by 2000. In 1998, there was very intense shooting. And linking these murders is difficult in the sense that your mosaic lacks many other deceased. It’s just that now many have been forgotten.
Then the Shutov team was operating. It’s hard to say how many people they sent to the other world! They engaged in murders; it was a form of business for them. They took contracts for elimination and worked like a conveyor. In this sense, by the way, Glushchenko and his Kolchin gang were not very professional. They were greedy, like peasants, which is why they took bad weapons – they were stingy. The magazine for the gun that was used to shoot Starovoitova had to be wedged with a stick so that it wouldn’t fall out. An ax would have been more reliable.
Galina Starovoitova
There is no need to search for the conspiracy you have drawn. We need to remember that time. Then, for many people, both in business and politics, murder was simply a way of conducting affairs, and it was very effective. And, in principle, it was not expensive. Millions of dollars only figure in movies. God be with you! Sufficiently educated freaks with guns who could more or less, adequately fulfill it did it for about one and a half to two thousand dollars. It was a bad time. From 1990 to 2000, about 6000 people died in Petersburg in such showdowns, not counting domestic ones (for comparison, during the same period of the war in Afghanistan, we lost 14,000 people). And that’s just in Petersburg.
– Still, Andrei, you cannot agree that Vladimir Kumarin ordered Galina Starovoitova’s murder?
– I believe that the question of the customer has not been worked out. You can hang everything on Kumarin now. It’s not that I feel terribly sorry for him. In the end, Kumarin won’t answer for many things anyway, simply because the investigation can’t grasp it all. His interests were too extensive. But when I just don’t understand what his ’trump interest’ is, it’s not good that I don’t understand. I really am a specialist in these matters, and I want to understand it.
– Vladimir Kumarin (Barsukov) was close to both Vladimir Putin and many members of his team. Guards from his private security company guarded the "Ozero" cooperative, and for several years he was the vice-president of the Petersburg Fuel Company and actively cooperated with Vladimir Smirnov, the founder of the same "Ozero" cooperative. The list can be continued.
So how does it turn out – a person close to Vladimir Putin and at the same time – a murderer who has already been in prison for eight years?
– I am not aware of the degree of their closeness. There are many legends about this. I have not seen them together and cannot say anything about it. I think that Putin knew many key figures in the city since he was the first deputy mayor, especially since he was a former KGB officer. But he should have had acquaintances with some key players, at least to imagine what it was, who it was, where it was going. I don’t even mention that if someone from the same Tambov group receives the status of a State Duma deputy, the head of the GUVD is obliged to receive him because it’s the status of a federal minister – like it or not, bandit or not. Sorry, he’s a deputy; schedule a meeting, he’ll come to you.
Kumarin always regretted his criminal past. He never directly said it, but of course, it burdened him. He loved to repeat the phrase: "I am ready to account for any of my millions, except the first." I think this was also sly – that he was ready to account for each of his millions. But it was unpleasant for him that he couldn’t enter all doors. He tried to compensate for this with acquaintances with athletes, Olympic champions, opera singers. For example, he once introduced me to Anna Netrebko. He made some pop-artistic festival, gave money for it. He loved it.
By the way, his thanks are in the credits of the series "Idiot", and not because director Vladimir Bortko was intimidated. There, it was very simple: Bortko was filming this movie "Idiot", filming, filming… The financing was carried out by the "Russia" TV channel. But at some point, he runs out of money, the film runs out. Bortko calls me and says that he lacks $36,000 worth of film. I was surprised and asked: "Why are you calling me?" – "Can you call Kumarin and inform him about it?" – "God, with you, I never asked him for anything." – "Well, can you say to him that it’s for Bortko?" – "Okay, I can say, of course, although I don’t know how he’ll react." I call Kumarin, say: "Volodya, here’s the deal: Bortko, the movie ’Idiot’, they ran out of money for film." Kumarin replies: "No problem, but I won’t give money. Tell me the film’s marking and how much is needed, I’ll buy it myself and bring it." Apparently, he was experienced, sometimes under some surdas, something was asked of him, and then deceived. He bought the film, brought it to Bortko. Bortko said "huge thanks" to him, finished the film, and put thanks to Kumarin in the credits.
Why did he do so? He just wanted to communicate with normal people. How could he use director Bortko in his criminal activity? He couldn’t. Kumarin wanted legalization, he wanted to enter the legal establishment, but he failed, – notes the general director of the Information and Analytical Agency for Journalistic Investigations, writer Andrey Konstantinov.
06 September 2015 ã., 23:41
