Vladimir Kumarin
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Kumarin, aka Vladimir Barsukov is a Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n businessman, former vice president of the Petersburg Fuel Company
Petersburg Fuel Company
The Petersburg Fuel Company is a joint stock company of Saint Petersburg, Russia, specializing mostly in gasoline refining, storage, transportation and retailing, founded in September 1994, after a fuel supply crisis had hit the city hard...

 (PTK) in 1998—1999, and allegedly the boss of the powerful Tambov Gang
Tambov Gang
The Tambov Gang is a large gang in Saint Petersburg, Russia. According to common allegations, it was organized in St. Petersburg in 1988 by two men from Tambov Oblast, Vladimir Kumarin and Valery Ledovskikh. The gang is named after their region of origin, Tambov Oblast...

 of St. Petersburg.

Allegedly founding the Tambov syndicate in 1989 to run protection rackets, Kumarin later expanded into nightclubs and strip clubs.

During the early 1990s, Kumarin was allegedly connected to former Russian president Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

.

In 1994, as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Putin awarded the Petersburg Fuel Company
Petersburg Fuel Company
The Petersburg Fuel Company is a joint stock company of Saint Petersburg, Russia, specializing mostly in gasoline refining, storage, transportation and retailing, founded in September 1994, after a fuel supply crisis had hit the city hard...

, or PTK, the highly prized right to be the sole supplier of gasoline to the city.

The deal allegedly triggered a violent gang war during which there was an attempt on Kumarin's life. After being sprayed by machine gun fire he fell into a month-long coma. His right arm had to be amputated at the shoulder and bullets pierced his stomach, chest and lungs. To this day he still has bullet fragments left in his heart.

In June 2003, the magazine Der Spiegel mentioned that, according to the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 ministry of criminal affairs, the German firm SPAG had fallen under suspicion of being involved in a money laundering scheme with connections to Kumarin. Putin was an advisor to this firm over the course of seven years. It has been suggested that Kumarin maintains good relations to Russian politicians Mikhail Glushenko and Alexander Filatov
Alexander Filatov
Alexander Alekseyevich Filatov is a Russian politician.He is a former member of the Duma for the LDPR, elected for Tula Oblast. He was a member of the Geopolitical Affairs Committee....

.

After Putin became president in 2000, Kumarin sought to clean up his image via donations to charities and the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

 of which he was a devout follower as well as securing the release of two kidnapped children. During this period his celebrity grew as well. He played the role of King Louis XIV in a film and dozens of celebrities and politicians attended his 50th birthday party in 2006.

Allegedly after refusing to back down from a business deal in favour of a politician close to Vladimir Putin, Kumarin was raided and arrested by 300 special forces officers on August 24, 2007. Prosecutor General Yury Chaika
Yury Chaika
Yury Yakovlevich Chaika is the current Prosecutor General of Russia.-Career:Chaika began his career as an electrician in a shipyard. After serving in the army, he graduated from Sverdlovsk Institute of Law in 1976 and began work at Irkutsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office where he served as an...

accused him of banditry and organizing a gang. He is also accused of the murder attempt on businessman Sergei Vasiliev, a rival in the oil business. In 2006, two men with automatic rifles sprayed Vasiliev's car with gunfire, wounding him and killing one of his bodyguards.

He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for fraud and money laundering on November 12, 2009.
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