Lesha is a soldier from the Orekhovskaya organized crime group. A new life behind bars of the legendary killer Lesh soldier. A book about a terrible life

The legendary killer Alexei Sherstobitov, while imprisoned in the Lipetsk colony, writes books, composes songs, got married again and leads an active network life.

Sentenced to 23 years for murders committed in the 90s, the killer of the famous Medvedkovskaya group, Alexei Sherstobitov, does not lose courage and regularly shares his photos from the colony, supplementing them with philosophical quotes. The conclusion in no way affected his love of life, but only made him a prolific writer and poet.

Aleksey Sherstobitov, 51, is serving a 23-year sentence in the Lipetsk colony for 12 contract killings committed in the 1990s.

Fame came to Sherstobitov in the middle of the 2000s, after he successfully hid from justice for many years. It's interesting that long time Sherstobitov was considered a fictional character, and his pseudonym - Lesha Soldier - was a collective image of a group of assassins.

Sherstobitov in 2002, 4 years before his arrest and trial.

His life changed dramatically after his arrest in 2006. Then he made a sensational confession about 12 contract killings of crime bosses and businessmen, and as a result received 23 years of strict regime. But even in the colony, he found something to do, starting to write poetry and prose. The starting point of his career behind bars was his autobiography The Liquidator. After its release, Alexey continues to try himself in new genres, and just a few days ago he saw the light of his A new book"Demon on Yavoni".

But the famous killer did not stop at these achievements. Now he is learning a “new craft” - he has become active in the network directly from the Lipetsk colony: Sherstobitov’s accounts have been found in almost all social networks. The outrageous prisoner is of great interest to users. Online, he shares some of the details of his time in prison and advises readers to start every day with a smile.

Photo from an Instagram account that has already been deleted from the network.

The famous prisoner supplied the pictures with philosophical quotes like this one:

They say that history cannot be changed. But it's not. It is impossible to return the past day, but it is quite possible to correct yesterday's mistakes today. And then "it was bad" will turn into "it was bad, but since then everything has changed." The story of your life is yours, so that you and only you yourself be its creator and rewrite it yourself, if necessary.

Lesha Soldier has an official website, group in VKontakte dedicated to his life, and quite popular YouTube channel. However, until recently, the most interesting news about Sherstobitov could be found from Istagram. The account, which was recently deleted during publicity in the media, was run by the killer's current wife, Marina. By the way, the story of their love surprised the world back in June 2016, when they registered their marriage.

Sherstobitov and his fiancee Marina, a psychiatrist who used to work as a medical examiner.

With his future wife, 33-year-old psychiatrist from St. Petersburg Marina Sosnenko, the genius of disguise met through correspondence. Previously, a spectacular brunette was married to famous actor Sergei Druzhko. Letter after letter, Alexei and Marina got to know each other better and eventually decided to get married. The ceremony itself, carefully coordinated with the administration of the colony, lasted only about 15 minutes. And from the photo gallery of the official website of the crime writer, it became known that the young people also consecrated the bonds of marriage with a wedding.

The marriage registration procedure was carried out in the office of the deputy. head of the ITC For this, a registry office employee was specially invited. Among the few invited were only the closest relatives and friends of the newlyweds - Lesha Soldat's sisters, childhood friends of both spouses and the killer's lawyer. After the marriage, the young, as legal spouses, received permission for a long meeting. Also on the occasion of the marriage, the prison authorities allowed a photo shoot. The newlyweds posed in the costumes of American gangsters of the Prohibition period.

Despite the fact that many events from his personal life have become public, Alexey continues to be a man of mystery. In many ways, this is facilitated by his past life, many situations from which have not yet been voiced. Only sometimes Sherstobitov opens this curtain of mystery, talking about the ups and downs of the 90s.

One of his loudest statements was his confession to the murder of Otari Kvarntrishvili in 1994. It was this high-profile case that caused a storm of emotions among those around him and made Lesha Soldat re-realize how slippery his path as a killer became after this order.

Boris Berezovsky after the assassination attempt in 1994

But the most difficult target, according to Sherstobitov, was Boris Berezovsky. The oligarch visited him at gunpoint in the same 1994. The reason for "this meeting" was the controversial 100 thousand dollars between the famous crime boss and businessman. After Berezovsky survived the explosion of his car, Alexei was ordered to finish him off. But just a few seconds before completing the task, the killer learned that the decision to eliminate was canceled.

Aleksey was detained at the beginning of 2006, at a time when he had already retired. Law enforcement agencies learned about the existence of Sherstobitov only in 2003, when the leaders of the Orekhovo-Medvedkovskaya organized criminal group were arrested. One of them wrote a frank confession, where he first "leaked" his killer. Ordinary militants spoke during interrogations about a certain "Lesha the Soldier", but no one knew either his last name or what he looked like. The investigators believed that "Lesha the Soldier" was some kind of mythical collective image. Sherstobitov himself was extremely cautious: he did not communicate with ordinary bandits, did not participate in their gatherings. He was a master of conspiracy and reincarnation: going to work, he always used wigs, fake beards or mustaches. Sherstobitov left no fingerprints at the crime scene, and there were no witnesses.

In 2005, Andrey Koligov, one of the leaders of the Kurgan organized criminal group (she was associated with the Orekhovskaya and Medvedkovskaya organized crime groups), who was serving a long term, unexpectedly called the investigators to him and stated that a certain killer had once beaten off his girlfriend (it was Irina). Through her, the detectives went to Sherstobitov, who was detained in early 2006, when he came to the Botkin hospital to visit his father. During a search of Sherstobitov's rented apartment in Mytishchi, detectives found several pistols and machine guns.

Recall that while serving his sentence, Sherstobitov wrote 11 books on criminal topics. The controversial literary value of the works does not interfere with the popularity of the writer. Readers note the usefulness of books in cognitive terms. After all, the events of those years are still fresh in my memory. In anticipation of the verdict, Alexey Shestorbitov wrote a cycle of poems devoted to the themes of remorse and death.

Everything that you want to say to the outside world today, the ex-killer pours out with the help of creativity. He tries to remember his “past sins” as little as possible and looks to the future with optimism.

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Moscow investigators are interrogating hired killers from the "Orekhovskaya" organized criminal group - former special forces officers Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha Soldier) and Alexei Sherstobitov (Lesha Soldier). Previously, they have already received long prison terms, but the detectives expect to solve other high-profile crimes with their help.

A source in law enforcement agencies told Interfax about the active investigative work, in which the "Orekhovo" killers participate.

According to him, about a year ago, 41-year-old Alexander Pustovalov was transferred from the colony to the special block of the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center. Alexey Sherstobitov was also brought to Moscow from the colony.

"Both convicts were transferred to the capital for investigative actions, during which new episodes of the criminal activity of the Orekhovskys and, in particular, the leaders of the organized crime group Sergei "Osi" Butorin and Dmitry "Belk" Belkin, who were sentenced to life imprisonment, were revealed," explained a law enforcement source.

According to him, the testimony of Sherstobitov and Pustovalov "may help uncover a number of high-profile murders of past years."

As a result of the investigation, Sergei Butorin will be charged with new murders, he has already been transferred.

Another Interfax source said that in order for the defendants to be in the capital's pre-trial detention center, Moscow courts issued sanctions for their detention. For example, Alexander Pustovalov's arrest was extended until July 18, 2015.

According to TASS, investigators were interested in the episode with the murder of a member of the "Bauman" criminal group, with which the "Orekhovskaya" competed.

"As far as I know, this episode of the criminal activity of the organized crime group was "taken over" by the former regular killer of the Orekhovskys, Alexander Pustovalov," said Mikhail Fomin, a lawyer for one of the former members of the organized criminal group.

However, according to him, the investigation of the new episode is fraught with a number of objective difficulties. "The body of the victim of the crime has not been found, his name and surname are unknown. And in this form they are trying to investigate it," he said.

Fomin also denied the information that Pustovalov and Sherstobitov were going to testify against Belok.

We add that Mikhail Fomin represents the interests of Oleg Pronin, who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for the murder of investigator Yuri Kerez. "On this episode, the defense is now preparing an appeal," the lawyer said.

Sasha Soldier

According to law enforcement agencies, no later than 1991, a resident of Odintsovo Dmitry Belkin created a criminal group, the backbone of which was his closest friends - Sergey Filatov (Athlete), Vladimir Kremenetsky (Pilot), Dashkevich (Head), Polyakov (Tikhiy). Later, former special forces soldiers Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha Soldat) and Oleg Pronin (Al Capone) joined them.

Before becoming a bandit, Alexander Pustovalov served in the Special Forces of the Marine Corps. On the "civilian" he tried to get a job in a special rapid reaction unit (SOBR) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but they did not take him. Once in a cafe, Sasha Soldat had a conflict with the "Orekhov" gangster Dmitry Bugakov, nicknamed Pirog. In a fight, Dmitry appreciated the fighting qualities of an opponent and introduced him to his boss, Dmitry Belkin. Since then, Pustovalov began not only to carry out the most important murders for the "Orekhovskaya", but was also responsible for Belkin's personal security. If the boss was away, Sasha Soldier led the militants in the Odintsovo district.

By the time the gang appeared, most of the commercial structures in the Odintsovo district were under the control of the Golyanovskaya group. She was in conflict with the "Orekhovskaya" organized crime group, the leader of which was Sergei Timofeev, nicknamed Sylvester. Belkin and his accomplices joined the Orekhovsky bandits.

At the disposal of Sylvester were brigades of "Medvedkov" and "Orekhov" killers. They obeyed Sergei Butorin, nicknamed Osya. The shooting of "Golyanov's" competitors went on for almost a year, and often bystanders also suffered. So, once Al Capone was sent to the “action”, who put on a wig, false mustache and beard. Together with two accomplices, the killer came to the Mechta cafe in Odintsovo, where they opened heavy fire. As a result, not only bandits-competitors were killed, but also a policeman and an employee of the private security company guarding the cafe.

When the "Golyanovskiye" renounced their claims to the Odintsovo district, they continued to be killed out of revenge. According to operatives, having "cleared" the territory, Belok began to make appointments for local merchants. He spoke to them only once, indicating the amount of tribute. The "authority" did not recognize any "bargaining" and negotiations. If at the agreed time the merchant did not bring the specified amount, he was killed. Gradually Belkin's brigade joined the "Orekhovskaya" group. The united organized crime group has become one of the bloodiest and most powerful in the criminal world.

In 1994, Sylvester was blown up in the center of Moscow, after which a struggle for leadership began within the Orekhovskaya group. Osya and Belok emerged as the winners, having successively eliminated their competitors - the "authorities" of Kultik, Dragon and Vitokha. Following the "Orekhovskaya" began to exterminate the leaders of other groups. Once, a bandit from the "Kuntsevo" organized criminal group, Kaligin, with his fighters, drove several cars for repair to a car service station controlled by Belok. The bandits did not like the service, and then they beat the locksmiths. In response, Belkin and Osya immediately gave the order to eliminate the entire top of the "Kuntsevskaya".

Former special forces soldier Sasha Soldat, together with his accomplice Pirog, decided to set up an ambush near the cafe where the bandits gathered. For several days, the killers, dressed in overalls, portrayed road workers drinking vodka in anticipation of necessary materials. And when Kaligin and his retinue arrived at the cafe, the "workers" shot them. After that, Pustovalov left by car, and Bugakov went to the metro station, where another bandit was waiting for him. In the subway, two policemen decided to check the documents of suspicious men, but Pirog opened fire on them. One policeman was killed and another seriously injured.

This was followed by reprisals against the leaders of the "Mazutka" group, with whom Belok and Osya did not share several outlets. Also, the killers of the "Orekhovskaya" eliminated the leaders of the "Assyrian" group - they were shot in a cafe right in front of the Moscow mayor's office.

In 1996, Axis and Belok had a conflict with the leader of the "Greek" group, Kulbyakov. For several years he helped the "Orekhovskys" to obtain Greek citizenship, and then took an advance payment of 100 thousand dollars, but did not complete the work and began to hide. One day, Osya, who was relaxing in the Santa Fe restaurant in the capital, saw Kulbyakov there. Butorin immediately called Sasha Soldat, who went to watch for the victim at the exit from the institution. When the leader of the "Greek" group got into the car, Pustovalov shot him along with the guards.

Having dealt with most of the competitors, Osya and Belok began a purge in their own ranks. Moreover, it was Belkin who was responsible for the "counterintelligence". He organized surveillance of ordinary members of the "Orekhovskaya" group, "wiretapping" of their phones, denunciation began to flourish in the organized criminal group. The constant search for enemies led to the fact that the bandits began to kill their own for the slightest suspicion: the reason was accusations of drug use, connections with law enforcement agencies, as well as the desire to leave the organized criminal group. Disrespectful statements about the leaders of the group were also followed by reprisals.

To eliminate "his" Squirrels developed a whole ritual. Members of the group were gathered in the bath for a steam bath or in the forest for a picnic. Everyone knew that such a party would end in the death of one of the gang members, but they were afraid to refuse. On the spot, colleagues attacked the victim, who either strangled her or beat her to death. Then the body was dismembered in front of all those gathered, and the remains were burned or buried in the forest. To eliminate the objectionable, Belok always chose his closest friends in the organized crime group. "Friends should be killed by friends," the fanatic declared cynically.

In 1998, Yury Kerez, senior investigator of the 2nd department of the special prosecutor's office of the Odintsovo district, was on the trail of Belk's brigade, who was investigating a series of extortions and murders of businessmen in the closed town of Vlasikha. With the support of the MUR staff, he found out that the Belkin brigade was behind the crimes. For the first time in Russian history a case was initiated under article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of a criminal community). Moreover, Kerez managed to arrest one of the killers, Sergei Syrov, who began to confess.

Upon learning of this, Belok came to the investigator and offered him one million dollars, demanding that the case be closed and that the traitor Syrov be handed over to the “brothers”. The honest investigator refused the offer, and then Belkin gave the order to eliminate him. Sasha Soldat again played a whole performance. For several days, the former commando was lying near one of the garbage dumps in Vlasikha in torn clothes, pretending to be a homeless person. And on October 21, 1998, the "tramp" suddenly pulled out a pistol and shot the investigator four times in the head.

Only after the murder of the detective did the law enforcement agencies seriously pay attention to Dmitry Belkin. The criminal authority had to hide, and he was put on the wanted list.

Over the next 13 years, law enforcement agencies in Russia and other countries managed to practically decapitate the "Orekhovskaya" group. Alexander Pustovalov, Sergei Butorin, Andrei and Oleg Pylev and others were arrested. Belkin was the last major "Orekhovian authority" who remained at large and was on the international wanted list for more than 10 years.

Belk was once tracked down in France, but the operation to capture him failed. It was possible to detain the Russian mafioso only on April 30, 2011 in one of the Madrid hotels. At the same time, a fake Bulgarian passport was confiscated from Belkin.

As emphasized in the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, from August 1995 to October 1998, Belkin and his henchmen committed more than 20 murders in Moscow and the Moscow region, as well as several assassination attempts.

Alexander Pustovalov was captured back in November 1999. In 2005, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for 18 murders and banditry. However, the investigation failed to prove Pustovalov's involvement in another 17 murders.

On October 23, 2014, Dmitry Belkin was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was considered the direct customer of 14 murders, as well as several assassination attempts on the deputy of the Odintsovo municipal assembly, Sergei Zhurba.

Lesha Soldier

There are clear parallels in the biographies of Alexei Sherstobitov and Alexander Pustovalov. Both were security officials, who later became disillusioned with their careers.

Aleksey Sherstobitov was born into the family of a career military man and dreamed of serving all his life. From an early age he knew how to handle weapons, and after graduating from school he entered the military railway school. During his studies, he even detained a dangerous criminal, for which he was awarded an order.

Then Lesha Soldat served in the unit of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which provides special supplies. As Sherstobitov said during interrogations, a radical turning point in his life occurred during the days of the 1993 coup. He was returning home when protesters beat him up, believing that he, being a military man, poses a threat to democracy. Then Lesha the Soldier realized that a man in an army uniform no longer commands respect from his compatriots. Shortly thereafter, he retired with the rank of first lieutenant.

Later, Aleksey Sherstobitov, who went through hot spots and was awarded the Order "For Personal Courage", met one of the "authorities" of the "Orekhovskaya" - a former KGB officer Grigory Gusyatinsky (Grisha Severny). In 1995, Sherstobitov, on the instructions of the brothers Oleg and Andrei Pylev, who led the group after the murder of Sylvester, killed Gusyatinsky himself.

The ex-special service officer arranged for Sherstobitov to work in the private security company "Consent". There the newcomer met former employees GRU Alexander Cheplygin and Sergei Pogorelov, who were experts in electronic intelligence and explosives.

At first, Gusyatinsky instructed Sherstobitov to ensure the safety of several stalls, but then he was offered a new position - a full-time killer.

Later, the brigade, which included Sherstobitov, was transferred to an illegal position and reported directly to the leader of the "Orekhovskaya" Andrei Pylev.

Lesha Soldat was a master of conspiracy and disguise: going to work, he always used wigs, fake beards or mustaches. Sherstobitov left no fingerprints at the crime scene, and there were no witnesses.

One of Lesha Soldat's first assignments was the murder of the "authoritative" head of the Athletes' Social Security Fund, Otari Kvantrishvili, with a rifle. The businessman was shot dead on April 5, 1994 near the Presnensky baths.

In 1997, a killer killed Joseph Glotser, owner of the Dolls nightclub. According to Sherstobitov, the murder happened spontaneously. He drove up to the club to look around and choose the most convenient place for shooting. I stopped my car on the other side of Krasnaya Presnya Street, opposite the entrance to the club. Suddenly I saw how Glotser appeared from the door, and decided not to waste time, especially since he took a revolver with an optical sight with him “just in case”. Lesha Soldat fired from 47 meters and hit the owner of the club in the temple.

On June 22, 1999, he also organized an assassination attempt on the head of the Russian Gold company Alexander Tarantsev. Sherstobitov decided to kill the businessman from a remote-controlled machine gun at the entrance to the office.

The killers borrowed the original method of killing from the film "Jackal": an optical sight and a portable video camera were installed on the machine gun placed in the "VAZ-2104", which transmitted the image to the operator. When Tarantsev's car drove past the "four", a home-made electronic system didn't work. Half an hour later, the system turned on spontaneously, and the machine gun shot at passers-by: as a result of indiscriminate shooting, one person was killed and two more were injured.

In addition, Lesha Soldat is involved in the murder of Alexander Solonik in Greece, who was called "killer number one" in the press.

A case helped to reach Sherstobitov - in 2005, a conflict arose between the shareholders of the capital's NPO "Physics". From their agents, the operatives of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department learned that former members of the "Orekhovskaya" group, which had already been defeated by that time, were also participating in the conflict. Fearing that the participation of bandits in the dispute would lead to the murders of the co-owners of "Physics", in February 2006 the detectives carried out arrests. Among the detainees was 39-year-old Aleksey Sherstobitov, who himself began to testify to the investigation, because, according to him, over the past years he was “tired of running” from justice.

In 2008, Aleksey Sherstobitov was sentenced to 23 years in prison for 12 murders and attempted murders. At the same time, it was not possible to prove his involvement in many other similar crimes. It is assumed that dozens of murdered crime bosses and businessmen are on Sherstobitov's account.

The killer admitted guilt only partially. During interrogations at the MUR, Sherstobitov stated that he did not regret anything, since all his victims were unworthy of life.

In prison, Sherstobitov writes books and tries on the role of an expert in the field of the ability to kill. He believes that after his capture, resonant murders in Moscow began to be committed by "amateurs and half-educated."

In 2013, Lesha Soldat commented on the murder of the "king of the Russian mafia" Ded Khasan. Then he recalled that he had been shot six times. “And of all the shots, one hit! A wounded woman (if it’s not a ricochet) is an unacceptable oversight. They say that they worked from the Val rifle complex. From such a device, from such a distance, the work is ugly,” Sherstobitov said.

And recently, Sherstobitov commented in the same vein on the murder of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov. According to the convict, his followers in the killer case chose almost the most unfortunate place for the assassination, illuminating themselves.

In addition, out of six bullets from a distance of several meters, only four hit a target "three times larger than a target in a standard shooting exercise, which any self-respecting military or policeman does not smear," Moskovsky Komsomolets quoted Sherstobitov's reasoning .

The legendary killer Alexei Sherstobitov, while imprisoned in the Lipetsk colony, writes books, composes songs, got married again and leads an active network life.

Sentenced to 23 years for murders committed in the 90s, the killer of the famous Medvedkovskaya group, Alexei Sherstobitov, does not lose courage and regularly shares his photos from the colony, supplementing them with philosophical quotes. The conclusion in no way affected his love of life, but only made him a prolific writer and poet.

Aleksey Sherstobitov, 51, is serving a 23-year sentence in the Lipetsk colony for 12 contract killings committed in the 1990s.

Fame came to Sherstobitov in the middle of the 2000s, after he successfully hid from justice for many years. Interestingly, for a long time Sherstobitov was considered a fictional character, and his pseudonym - Lesha Soldier - was a collective image of a group of assassins.

Sherstobitov in 2002, 4 years before his arrest and trial.

His life changed dramatically after his arrest in 2006. Then he made a sensational confession about 12 contract killings of crime bosses and businessmen, and as a result received 23 years of strict regime. But even in the colony, he found something to do, starting to write poetry and prose. The starting point of his career behind bars was his autobiography The Liquidator. After its release, Alexei continues to try himself in new genres, and just a few days ago his new book "Demon on Yavoni" was published.

But the famous killer did not stop at these achievements. Now he is learning a “new craft” - he has become active in the network directly from the Lipetsk colony: Sherstobitov’s accounts have been found in almost all social networks. The outrageous prisoner is of great interest to users. Online, he shares some of the details of his time in prison and advises readers to start every day with a smile.

Photo from an Instagram account that has already been deleted from the network.

The famous prisoner supplied the pictures with philosophical quotes like this one:
“They say that history cannot be changed. But it's not. It is impossible to return the past day, but it is quite possible to correct yesterday's mistakes today. And then "it was bad" will turn into "it was bad, but since then everything has changed." The story of your life is yours, so that you and only you yourself be its creator and rewrite it yourself, if necessary..
Lesha Soldat has an official website, a VKontakte group dedicated to his life, and a fairly popular YouTube channel. However, until recently, the most interesting news about Sherstobitov could be found from Istagram. The account, which was recently deleted during publicity in the media, was run by the killer's current wife, Marina. By the way, the story of their love surprised the world back in June 2016, when they registered their marriage.

Sherstobitov and his fiancee Marina, a psychiatrist who used to work as a medical examiner.

With his future wife, 33-year-old psychiatrist from St. Petersburg Marina Sosnenko, the genius of disguise met through correspondence. Previously, the spectacular brunette was married to the famous actor Sergei Druzhko. Letter after letter, Alexei and Marina got to know each other better and eventually decided to get married. The ceremony itself, carefully coordinated with the administration of the colony, lasted only about 15 minutes. And from the photo gallery of the official website of the crime writer, it became known that the young people also consecrated the bonds of marriage with a wedding.

The marriage registration procedure was carried out in the office of the deputy. head of the ITC For this, a registry office employee was specially invited. Among the few invited were only the closest relatives and friends of the newlyweds - Lesha Soldat's sisters, childhood friends of both spouses and the killer's lawyer. After the marriage, the young, as legal spouses, received permission for a long meeting. Also on the occasion of the marriage, the prison authorities allowed a photo shoot. The newlyweds posed in the costumes of American gangsters of the Prohibition period.

Despite the fact that many events from his personal life have become public, Alexey continues to be a man of mystery. In many ways, this is facilitated by his past life, many situations from which have not yet been voiced. Only sometimes Sherstobitov opens this curtain of mystery, talking about the ups and downs of the 90s.

Criminal authority, founder of the party of athletes of Russia Otari Kvantrishvili.

One of his loudest statements was his confession to the murder of Otari Kvarntrishvili in 1994. It was this high-profile case that caused a storm of emotions among those around him and made Lesha Soldat re-realize how slippery his path as a killer became after this order.

Boris Berezovsky after the assassination attempt in 1994

But the most difficult target, according to Sherstobitov, was Boris Berezovsky. The oligarch visited him at gunpoint in the same 1994. The reason for "this meeting" was a controversial $100,000 between a well-known crime boss and a businessman. After Berezovsky survived the explosion of his car, Alexei was ordered to finish him off. But just a few seconds before completing the task, the killer learned that the decision to eliminate was canceled.
Aleksey was detained at the beginning of 2006, at a time when he had already retired. Law enforcement agencies learned about the existence of Sherstobitov only in 2003, when the leaders of the Orekhovo-Medvedkovskaya organized criminal group were arrested. One of them wrote a frank confession, where he first "leaked" his killer. Ordinary militants spoke during interrogations about a certain "Lesha the Soldier", but no one knew either his last name or what he looked like. The investigators believed that "Lesha the Soldier" was some kind of mythical collective image. Sherstobitov himself was extremely cautious: he did not communicate with ordinary bandits, did not participate in their gatherings. He was a master of conspiracy and reincarnation: going to work, he always used wigs, fake beards or mustaches. Sherstobitov left no fingerprints at the crime scene, and there were no witnesses.

Sherstobitov at trial in 2006.

In 2005, Andrey Koligov, one of the leaders of the Kurgan organized criminal group (she was associated with the Orekhovskaya and Medvedkovskaya organized crime groups), who was serving a long term, unexpectedly called the investigators to him and stated that a certain killer had once beaten off his girlfriend (it was Irina). Through her, the detectives went to Sherstobitov, who was detained in early 2006, when he came to the Botkin hospital to visit his father. During a search of Sherstobitov's rented apartment in Mytishchi, detectives found several pistols and machine guns.
Recall that while serving his sentence, Sherstobitov wrote 11 books on criminal topics. The controversial literary value of the works does not interfere with the popularity of the writer. Readers note the usefulness of books in cognitive terms. After all, the events of those years are still fresh in my memory. In anticipation of the verdict, Alexey Shestorbitov wrote a cycle of poems devoted to the themes of remorse and death.
Everything that you want to say to the outside world today, the ex-killer pours out with the help of creativity. He tries to remember his “past sins” as little as possible and looks to the future with optimism.

, the USSR

Alexey Lvovich Sherstobitov(born January 31, 1967, Moscow) - a killer of the Medvedkovskaya OPG and an ally of the Orekhovskaya OPG. Known as "Lesha-Soldier". On account of his 12 proven murders and attempts. Engaged in literary activity, wrote autobiographical books "Liquidator", part 1 (2013); "Liquidator", part 2 (2014), "Skin of the Devil" (2015), "Someone else's wife" (2016), "Liquidator, full version(2016)".

Biography

Life before the organized crime group

Aleksey Sherstobitov was born into the family of a hereditary career officer and dreamed of serving all his life. The family lived in Moscow on Koptevskaya Street, in a house where many military men lived, mainly from the Ministry of Defense. Sherstobitov's ancestors served in the Tsarist Army. The grandfather of Alexei Sherstobitov, Colonel Alexei Mikhailovich Kitovchev, participated in the battle for the liberation of Sevastopol, for which he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. From an early age, Aleksey Sherstobitov knew how to handle weapons, after graduating from school he entered the Leningrad Higher School of Railway Troops and Military Communications named after M.V. Frunze at the Faculty of Military Communications, which he graduated in 1989. He studied at the same football school together with Alexander Mostov and Oleg Denisov. During his studies, he detained a dangerous criminal, for which he was awarded an order. After the military school, by distribution, he got into the Special Transportation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation on the Moscow Railway, where he worked as an inspector, and then as a senior inspector. At that time, Sherstobitov was fond of power triathlon and regularly went to the gym, while still in the military. There he met the former senior lieutenant of the KGB Grigory Gusyatinsky ("Grinya") and Sergey Ananievsky ("Cult"), who at that time was the head of the Federation of power triathlon and powerlifting and deputy director of Orekhovskaya OPG Sergey Timofeev ("Sylvester"). Initially, Gusyatinsky instructed Sherstobitov to ensure the safety of several stalls. The senior lieutenant showed himself to be a good organizer, able to solve (including by force) emerging problems. The leaders of the Medvedkovskaya organized crime group assessed his abilities and appointed him to a new position - a full-time killer.

Killer career

First task "Lyosha-Soldier" was an attempt to assassinate the former deputy head of the special forces of the OMSN Filin, who subsequently resigned from the authorities and became a criminal. On May 5, 1993, on Ibragimov Street, Sherstobitov fired at Filin's car from a Mukha grenade launcher. Owl and his friend, who were in the car, were slightly injured and survived, but Sylvester was pleased with the work done. Later, "Lyosha-Soldier" killed several more people. The most famous crime of Sherstobitov was the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili on April 5, 1994.

In 1994, Timofeev had a conflict with thief in law Andrey Isaev ("Painting"). Sherstobitov installed a car filled with explosives near Isaev's house on Osenny Boulevard and, when he left, pressed the button remote control. Isaev himself was injured, but survived. The explosion killed a little girl.

After Timofeev's assassination on September 13, 1994, Gusyatinsky and Sherstobitov left for Ukraine for security reasons. After this trip, Sherstobitov, together with the brothers Andrey and Oleg Pylev ("Small" and "Sanych") agreed to liquidate Gusyatinsky. Sherstobitov severely wounded his boss in Kyiv with a sniper rifle when he approached the window of a rented apartment. Gusyatinsky lay in a coma for several days, after which he was disconnected from life support devices. After that, the Pylevs allowed Sherstobitov to assemble his own team of three people.

In January 1997, Alexander Tarantsev, who headed Russian Gold, had a conflict with the owner of the Dolls club, Joseph Glotser. Sherstobitov, on the instructions of the Pylevs, went on reconnaissance to a nightclub located on Krasnaya Presnya Street, where he killed Glotser with a shot to the temple. The next task of his group was to spy on Solonik, who, after escaping from the pre-trial detention center "Matrosskaya Tishina", lived in Greece. Sherstobitov's people recorded a telephone conversation in which Solonik uttered the phrase "They need to be thrown". In these words, the Pylev brothers felt a threat to themselves. The killer of Solonik is Alexander Pustovalov (Sasha the Soldier).

In 1998, the Pylevs, on the basis of the distribution of business income, had a conflict with the president of the Russian Gold company, Alexander Tarantsev. Sherstobitov followed the businessman for almost four months and realized that he, having very professional security, was practically invulnerable. Sherstobitov built a remote-controlled device with a Kalashnikov assault rifle in a VAZ-2104. The car was installed at the exit from the Russian Gold office. Sherstobitov saw Tarantsev descending the stairs on a special display and pressed the button on the remote control, but the device did not work. An automatic burst rang out only after 2 hours, a Russian Gold guard died from it, and two bystanders were injured. Tarantsev survived. He also tried more than once to kill the Orenburg thief in law Aliyev Astana, nicknamed "Ali", so, in 2005, Aliyev's cortege, consisting of 7 cars, was shot on the street. Donguzskaya, but then Aliyev remained alive, Aliyev's bodyguards worked professionally and saved the life of their authority, after which Sherstobitov was pursued by the lads, but the police officers found him before they did.

Arrest

Law enforcement agencies found out about the existence of Sherstobitov only after the arrest of the Orekhovo-Medvedkovo leaders in 2003, when Oleg Pylev wrote a statement asking him to release him on a subscription not to leave with a promise find "Soldier" who committed the murder of Otari Kvantrishvili and Glotser. Ordinary militants spoke during interrogations about a certain "Lesha the Soldier", but no one knew either his last name or what he looked like. The investigators believed that "Lesha the Soldier" was some kind of mythical collective image. Sherstobitov himself was extremely cautious: he did not communicate with ordinary bandits, did not participate in their gatherings. He was a master of conspiracy and reincarnation: going to work, he always used wigs, fake beards or mustaches. Sherstobitov left no fingerprints at the crime scene, and there were no witnesses.

In 2005, one of the leaders (convicted).

Personal life

On June 9, 2016, Sherstobitov married in a penal colony in the Lipetsk region, where he is serving a term. His wife was a 31-year-old female psychiatrist from St. Petersburg. Before the ceremony, the newlyweds had a photo shoot, for which they dressed up in costumes of gangsters from the time of Prohibition in the United States, the photos ended up in social media, after which they were published in Russian media. An employee of the registry office arrived at the colony. The registration procedure took place in the room of the deputy head of the educational department of the ITC

Moscow city court sentences

He was accused of committing 12 murders and attempted murders and more than 10 articles of the Criminal Code related to his activities.

First judgment

• Jury verdict of February 22, 2008 "Guilty, not worthy of leniency."
• The verdict of the Moscow City Court dated March 3, 2008 - 13 years of strict regime, Judge Zubarev A.I.

Second judgment

• Jury verdict of September 24, 2008 - "Guilty, worthy of leniency"
• The verdict of the Moscow City Court of September 29, 2008 - 23 years of strict regime. Judge Shtunder P.E.

The term by adding sentences is 23 years of imprisonment of freedom in a strict regime colony with the retention of the title and awards.

At the trial, Sherstobitov stated that he fully admits his guilt, but asked for leniency. In particular, he cited the following arguments in his defense: he refused to blow up 30 members of the Izmaylovo group, saved the life of one entrepreneur without eliminating her, and, having left the criminal community, was engaged in a peaceful craft - he worked as a plasterer. Sherstobitov often went against the interests of the criminal community and its leaders, refusing and delaying the elimination of persons they did not like: V. Demenkov, G. Sotnikova, A. Polunin, T. Trifonov, including did not initiate an explosive device at the Vvedensky cemetery in Moscow , during the celebration of the anniversary of Shukhat's death there, which is confirmed by the materials of the criminal case (the decision to refuse to initiate a criminal case of 06/25/2007).

Convicted to 23 years for 12 murders in the 90s, hired killer Alexei Sherstobitov (Lyosha Soldat) is now in prison, but this does not prevent him from being active in social networks. So, “friends and relatives” maintain the killer’s account on Instagram, where new photos from the colony regularly appear, accompanied by Sherstobitov’s philosophical quotes. And it seems that during his imprisonment he managed to become a prolific writer.

Alexey Sherstobitov, aka Lyosha Soldat, became known to a mass audience in the middle of the 2000s. In the 90s, Sherstobitov was a killer of the Medvedkovskaya organized criminal group and an ally of the Orekhovskaya organized criminal group, whose identity remained a secret for more than a decade. Due to the killer's professional skills and ability to keep his identity secret, some even believed that Lyosha the Soldier was not a real person, but a collective image of assassins of that time.

In 2006, Sherstobitov confessed to 12 murders, received 23 years in a strict regime and went to a colony. There he became a writer. From 2013 to the present, the killer has released more than ten books. It all started with the autobiographical “Liquidation. Confessions of a legendary killer”, and now Aleksey is already trying himself in various genres. So, most recently, on August 14, 2018, he released the mystical detective "Demon on Yavoni".

As follows from the description, the account of “the writer and author of the bestseller “Liquidator. Confessions of a legendary killer” is conducted by friends and relatives of Alexei. And one of the entries in the Soldier’s VKontakte group clarifies that his “most close person”, so we can assume that the account is maintained by Marina Sherstobitov’s wife. They got married in 2016, having arranged a photo shoot in the images of gangsters right in the colony.

There are many photos of Alexei on Instagram, both from life before the trial, and directly from the colony. And each of them is accompanied by a philosophical quote.

So, the writer talks about history and whether it can be changed.

Alexey Sherstobitov