Residents of Volgograd Region claim local officials’ links with crime boss

Several residents of the Gorodische District claim that as a result of the local officials' failure to act, they are being subjected to pressure from a local crime boss. According to the complainants, they are being threatened and beaten; however, they are unable to seek the protection of the law enforcement bodies, since the latter follow the orders of the local crime boss.

Valentina Petrunina, a resident of the village of Erzovka, has claimed that the local crime boss of the district was involved in the murder of her eldest daughter, who was killed on June 14, 2001.

According to the woman, the criminal case was repeatedly transferred from one investigator of the District Prosecutor's Office to another, and the killers were never found. The number of the persons suspected of the murder included the local crime boss and his fighters.

Entrepreneur Eldar Abdinov has claimed that he suffered from the actions of the local crime boss and the inaction of the local officials. In July 2013, Eldar Abdinov placed a trade trailer at one of the markets of the Gorodische District. He worked there for less than a month, and he had to close his trade trailer. According to Eldar Abdinov, the local crime boss bought the land plot and demanded from him to demolish his trade point.

Local residents Natalya Nagavichko and Yuri Zakladny have also complained about numerous offenses committed by the local criminal boss and the inaction of the law enforcement bodies. In particular, according to Yuri Zakladny, he was beaten by the order of the local criminal boss.

Mikhail Yasin, the leader of the NGO "Human Rights Centre of Volgograd", has reported that his NGO intends to provide legal assistance to residents of the Gorodische District in the fight against tyranny.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.