Otari Kvantrishvili
Otari "Otarik" Kvantrishvili (January 27, 1948, Zestaponi 
– April 5, 1994, Moscow) was a prominent member of the Mafia up until his death in 1994.
A former sportsman who was convicted of rape in the 1960s, Kvantrishvili set up an organisation for retired athletes. The organisation was, in fact, a front for Kvantrishvili's extortion empire. After the breakup of the USSR at the end of 1991, Kvantrishvili found himself a place in the politics of the mafia as a mediator during the mob wars, especially those of 1993-1994.
However, his position of power was short-lived, as in 1994, on leaving a Moscow bath house surrounded by bodyguards, a marksman on the roof of an apartment shot him dead. Some believed the killer was Alexander Solonik, Russia's top professional killer. There was version that killing was organized by Chechen mafia.
On September 29, 2008, four members of the Orekhovo-Medvedkovo gang were convicted, among other things, for organizing Kvantrishvili's murder. Oleg Pylev was sentenced to life in prison, Aleksei Sherstobitov (knowns as Lyosha the Soldier Russian: Лёша Солдат) received 23 years of imprisonment, Pavel Makarov - 13 years and Sergei Yelizarov - 11 years. Sherstobitov was the one who actually killed Kvantrishvili. He received a Lada car as payment for Kvantrishvili's murder.[1]
References
- Khlebnikov P. Godfather of the Kremlin: Boris Berezovsky and the looting of Russia. - N.Y.: Harcourt Brace Trade, 2000
- Павел Хлебников. Крёстный отец Кремля Борис Березовский, или история разграбления России. М., 2001 (Russian translation)
- G. Glonty, G. Lobzhanidze. Professional crime in Georgia (thievs in law) (Профессиональная преступность в Грузии (воры в законе)). Tbilisi, 2004 (Тбилиси, 2004).
- Bandits, Gangsters and the Mafia (Martin McCauley)
- Darkness at Dawn: The Rise of the Russian Criminal State (David Satter)
- ^ Repentance did not count for Lyosha the Soldier Kommersant, September 30, 2008