20 years of investigations and courts. What the "unsinkable" Anatoly Bykov was convicted for

Sergey Baimukhametov

The jury does not pass a verdict - it determines whether guilty or not guilty. The verdict is passed by the judge. The court is considered independent, moreover - the third power, along with the legislative and executive.

Now let's imagine - in 2002 the jury found the defendant guilty of organizing the murder.

The court passed the verdict - 6.5 years of imprisonment CONDITIONALLY.

The following year, the same man was found guilty of "concealing a murder". The court sentenced him to 1 (one) year in prison - and immediately released him under an amnesty announced in honor of the 55th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.

We, alas, know: it is important not FOR WHAT the judge is judged, but WHO.

This person is Anatoly Bykov.

The fate of a physical education teacher from the Krasnoyarsk regional center Nazarovo, who became a permanent deputy, oligarch, the actual owner of Krasnoyarsk, is a characteristic chronicle and mirror of post-Soviet Russia. This state-oligarchic criminal saga was written in full and continues to be written (the saga continues!) By the Russian journalist Alexei Tarasov.

In the 1990s, criminal groups arose everywhere, combining outright aggressive criminality with commercial and other entrepreneurial activities. Many of their members were involved in sports clubs, and therefore the new criminal community was dubbed "athletes." They called the criminals-blatars of the old formation "blue" - by the color of their tattoos. A merciless war of the "athletes" against the "blues" began throughout the country. In which the "athletes" won. Because there was a lot of money behind them, an unprecedented abundance of firearms (they were shot from machine guns). The young criminals were also used by state-oligarchic structures in the redistribution of spheres of influence, for example, in the struggle for the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant (KrAZ), and by law enforcement agencies in the struggle against the old criminal world. Alexey Tarasov writes: “In the fall of 94th, during the confrontation at the gates of KrAZ between Muscovites (the Cherny brothers and their partners) and Krasnoyarsk citizens, when Bykovskys were standing next to the UOP members, Ageev (Gennady Ageev - head of the Krasnoyarsk Department for Combating Organized Crime - S B.) told me: “This is the policy of Glaucus. He, Bykov, has a good goal - to remove the "blue".

From the certificate of the UOP dated March 30, 1994, first published by Aleksey Tarasov: “In the future, the UOP will influence the crime situation in the city and the region through two progressive groups - A.P. Bykova. and Tolmach. At the same time, giving preference to the group of Bykov, who has never been tried before, is more thinking, does not support the traditions of thieves, whose opinion is listened to by other groups not only in Krasnoyarsk, but also in the region.

But given that the leader should not be alone, as it will be operationally difficult to control, opposition is needed to adjust the balance. In this situation, such a balance will be the Tolmach's group, whose leader has been repeatedly convicted, enjoys authority among those convicted.

Thus, the groups of Bykov and Tolmach will control each other, preventing anyone from getting ahead. " End of quote.

In the end, everything turned out the other way around. By 1998, Bykov became the owner of the Krasnoyarsk aluminum plant - the second in the world in terms of production volume, the owner of many other companies and enterprises, in general and in general - the owner of Krasnoyarsk.

In 2002, when Bykov was sentenced to a suspended sentence for organizing a murder, Yulia Latynina, an economic observer for Russian Public Television (now Channel One), in an interview with Radio Liberty (included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of foreign media agents) commented on the incident as follows: it is not a question of whether Tolya Bykov is guilty, because he ordered "Tsvetomuzyka" ("Pasha Tsvetomuzyka" - the nickname of Vilor Struganov, once comrade Bykov - SB), or not, but the question of the relative weight of the two groups was decided in court. On the one hand, there is the "Family", which is close to Oleg Deripaska - the man whom Bykov calls his main enemy, the man who took the KrAZ away from Bykov. And on the other hand, there is a "KGB" group, a group of St. Petersburg KGB, which does not like Deripaska very much, which understands that Bykov at large represents the maximum discomfort for Deripaska ... will only relate to the relative strength of the two factions. In principle, the existing system of power is arranged in such a way that a compromise is maintained between these two groups: they give a piece to one - they give a piece to the other;

“Family” was the name of a powerful clan of top government officials and oligarchs associated with the family of President Yeltsin in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The well-known dollar billionaire Oleg Deripaska, head of Basic Element and Rusal (Russian Aluminum), the world's largest aluminum company, was married to Polina Yumasheva, daughter of the head of the Kremlin administration, Valentin Yumashev, who was married to President Yeltsin's daughter, Tatyana Dyachenko...

In early 1999, on the personal instructions of President Yeltsin, a special commission of the Ministry of Internal Affairs headed by Deputy Minister Vladimir Kolesnikov went to the Krasnoyarsk Territory to inspect the aluminum, energy and coal industries. In the first three months alone, 58 criminal cases were initiated. The loudest - against the chairman of the board of directors of the Krasnoyarsk aluminum plant Anatoly Bykov. Kolesnikov told reporters that the work of investigators has gone beyond the Krasnoyarsk Territory, including checking firms in the United States involved in Bykov's business. Earlier, the Accounts Chamber established that the state-owned 20% stake in KrAZ was not sold at a free auction, but, in fact, was transferred at par. Legal entities owned 92% of the shares. Of these, 50.33% belong to 17 foreign companies, and the labor collective retained only 2.2% of the shares.

Bykov said at a press conference that Kolesnikov's commission was "ordered", that Kolesnikov refused to answer the questions of the deputies of the Regional Legislative Assembly about the course of the audit. The labor collective of KrAZ sent a letter to President Yeltsin in defense of Bykov. But Yeltsin did not heed him and supported Kolesnikov. By that time, the head of the regional police and the regional prosecutor had submitted their resignations.

So Bykov lost KrAZ.

"The liberation of the enterprise from the networks of crime, which became possible thanks to the efforts of law enforcement agencies, revived the plant: it entered the Rusal holding, and already in 2004 a large-scale modernization program was launched there," the government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta stated.

However, “liberation from the networks of crime” was also peculiar. As the press wrote, "in April 2004, Deripaska settled property disputes with Bykov, concluding a settlement agreement with him and paying $ 107 million in compensation".

A year earlier, in 2003, Bykov was found guilty of "concealing a murder", sentenced to a year in prison and immediately, in the courtroom, released under an amnesty announced in honor of the 55th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War.

If you bury in one place all those killed and missing in the "Krasnoyarsk showdown" of those groups and in the two "Aluminum Wars" already at the level of all-Russian state and oligarchic structures, you will get a separate cemetery.

Despite his convictions and high-profile stories, Anatoly Bykov remained the most prominent person in Krasnoyarsk. For 20 years, from 1997 to 2016, he was a deputy of the Krasnoyarsk Regional Legislative Assembly.

Here is one of the photos.

On this day, Bykov was awarded the badge of distinction "For services to the city of Krasnoyarsk", the badge "Coat of arms of the city of Krasnoyarsk" and the Certificate of Honor of the head of the city administration and the Krasnoyarsk City Council of Deputies.

However, criminal cases against Bykov resumed in 2020. One of them was recently considered in the Sverdlovsk District Court of Krasnoyarsk. Four out of 6 jurors found him guilty of organizing the murders of Kirill Voitenko and Alexander Naumov in July 1994.

We should especially note that the court sessions were held without the presence of the press and listeners - that is, behind closed doors.

The verdict was to be announced on September 3. But postponed to September 6. Then postponed to September 7.

And the court sentenced Anatoly Bykov to 13 years in prison in a general regime colony.

Is it possible to consider that, as they say in some circles, “with Bykov is finished”?

Another criminal case is on the "turn" - under two articles of the Criminal Code: "Incitement to commit murder for hire" and "Incitement to attempted murder of two persons for hire", committed in 2004.

Then - the case on charges of organizing a criminal community.

But this is not all. You can even say: these are particulars.

Another "next step" is a criminal case on tax evasion. It received little press attention. But it can become very loud if it automatically pulls the clarification of all the circumstances of the "economic policy" of that time.

First of all, privatization.

How, under whose patronage the newly created foreign company Trans World Group (TWG) became the master of the aluminum industry in Russia, taking possession of the Achinsk alumina refinery, Bratsk, Sayan, Novokuznetsk, Nadvoitsk and Krasnoyarsk aluminum smelters? And this - with the strictest restrictions on the participation of a foreign partner in the authorized capital of Russian enterprises?

Everyone knew then how. A Russian company with 100% foreign participation was registered. Then this firm established a 100% Russian firm. Then this 100% Russian firm bought up shares in its own name.

Of course, the introduction of "Muscovites" provoked the resistance of those who instantly lost in the struggle for the enterprise. And here representatives of TWG attracted Bykov and his group.

Then the First Aluminum War began under the “patriotic” slogan of fighting “foreign Muscovites”. Bykov went over to the side of the "patriots" and so, unexpectedly for both sides, became the actual owner of KrAZ.

Then the Second Aluminum War began - this time to oust Bykov and the Bykovites from the fantastically profitable business.

And therefore the upcoming trial over him, the testimony of the defendant may cause a flow of information about the "affairs of long-forgotten days", undesirable for very, very many in higher spheres. Unpleasant questions will arise. Including and in particular - this: "How, through whom, with whose assistance 20% of the state shares of KrAZ were transferred into private hands?" As the people say - privatized.

After all, this case, despite the order of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin of 1994 and the report of the Accounts Chamber of 1998, was never investigated - it was hushed up and buried.

Therefore, it is quite possible that today only Bykov's tax evasion will be considered. Privatization and loans-for-shares auctions have been an explosive topic for the past 25-27 years of Russian life.

In 2004, the Accounts Chamber prepared a report, which, in particular, stated:

“A large number of facts of direct violation of legislative restrictions have been revealed... Violations by representatives of state bodies were mainly expressed in the abuse of official powers in the interests of commercial structures in order to obtain personal gain...

Lending transactions in the Russian Federation secured by shares of state-owned enterprises can be considered feigned, since banks actually “credited” the state with state money... The alienation of federal property was carried out at significantly reduced prices, and the competition was actually feigned ”.

The word “feigned” in this case means “fraudulent”.

The report of the Accounts Chamber was supposed to have sounded in the State Duma on December 8, 2004. But it was "postponed to the spring", and then completely "forgotten", canceled.

The Chairman of the Accounts Chamber Sergei Stepashin continued to work in his post for another 8 years. In October 2012, he, his deputy Valery Goreglyad and all twelve auditors (6 auditors are appointed by the State Duma, 6 by the Federation Council) submitted their resignation letters of their own free will. Finally, in an interview with journalists, Stepashin expressed everything that had accumulated over the years: “The last straw that overflowed the cup of my patience ... was the scheduled audit carried out last month of the Moscow enterprise Tehmashoboron, controlled by the Ministry of Defense. We have uncovered the facts of embezzlement of state funds in the amount of 3 billion rubles. The materials of the check were transferred to the General Prosecutor's Office, which once again refused to initiate a criminal case.

And at that moment I finally ceased to understand - why does our department exist? For 10 months of this year, we uncovered embezzlement from the state budget for 37 trillion rubles. Just think about this figure! Only a little more than 19 trillion rubles will be spent on the purchase of new weapons, equipment and modernization of the units in service, salaries for military personnel and pension provision for retired military personnel - in the period from 2011 to 2020. And here, in just 10 months, an amount was stolen from the country's budget and taken abroad, through various offshore companies, almost twice the budget of the Ministry of Defense for a decade!

Did you know that the depreciation of fixed assets in all industries reaches 90% today, while the dynamics of their renewal does not exceed 2%? Compared to 1970, the average age of equipment in the domestic industry has increased almost sevenfold ... Did you know that half of the equipment just needs to be thrown into the trash - it is dangerous for the lives of workers and cannot be used in production?

And we all know this - this is our job.

Now, what do you think, how many criminal cases were opened by the prosecutor's office based on the materials of our inspections provided to it? Five! Yes, yes, there are only five criminal cases ... Now tell me, how many people have been prosecuted? Not a single one! And if today you ask me: “What is the meaning of the existence of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation?”, I will not be able to answer this question ... In this regard, I submitted a letter of resignation... I and my subordinates made our choice - to aimlessly eat up money We no longer intend to taxpayers of the Russian Federation”.

Perhaps it should be added that everything Stepashin said, including 37 trillion rubles stolen from the budget in 10 months, is just the result of the "development of economic policy" of the 1990s.

However, the new government from the very first years firmly declared and then repeated more than once: "There will be no revision of the results of privatization".