Boxers, sambo wrestlers, shooters – where people are recruited into Wagner PMC

The list was published by the Prigozhin Press Service telegram channel on March 10. In total, it has 58 points in 42 cities of Russia. There are six such recruitment points in the St. Petersburg part of the list.

MIP Shooting Club

Back in 2018, it was under the jurisdiction of DOSAAF. But in October 2020, the non-profit organization Pushkin Shooting and Sports Club of the DOSAAF public-state organization was excluded from the register of legal entities due to inaccurate information.

Soon, Marinenko and Partners Shooting Club LLC was registered at this address. The legal entity is owned in half by Kirill Marinenko and Natalya Dulyar.

According to SPARK, in the past, Marinenko was engaged in a business related to the wholesale trade in food, drinks and tobacco, but his Optofood company lasted only a little over 2 years. In 2012-2015, the man was a co-owner of the Legion-M private security office – and now alive.

Dulyar’s business baggage includes a share in the company providing consulting and information services “TDK-Consulting” (now inactive).

On the site, the club offers anyone who wants to master the technique of shooting from real weapons, courses are offered for both adults and children.

The club’s page on VKontakte was created in December 2022, at the same time all posts were published. The page has not been updated since December 27th. None of the club’s resources about recruitment into PMCs “Wagner‘ there is not a word.

At MIP, the caller was immediately redirected to a recruiter. The man was interested in the name, age, place of residence, physical condition, the presence of addictions, criminal records, experience in the army. Bring your passport, military ID and driver’s license to the meeting, as well as an answer when the candidate is ready to leave for the training center in the Krasnodar Territory. Details were also promised at a personal meeting.

Sports club “White Wolves”

At the indicated address there is another institution of a similar profile: the VB PRO SPORT sports club. However, the administrator on the phone confirmed that the “White Wolves” – that’s what they are. The club specializes in martial arts: boxing, sambo, freestyle wrestling, Thai boxing, MMA. Also tennis and hockey players are based on the site.

The page on VKontakte in 2022 was sluggishly maintained by the White Wolves – 6 posts for the entire year. The page came to life only in March 2023, and even then, with the help of two reposts about tournaments.

Neither on the website nor in the social networks of the sports space is the opened representative office of PMCs advertised. However, on “Yandex.Maps”, moreover, on March 2, a week before the publication of the list of recruiting addresses, there was already a review about the opening of a “representative office of PMCs”Wagner“”. One of the users “respected” the club and assured that “everyone who is interested can drive up – they will tell you everything.”

Here, too, they immediately redirected to a recruiter, it turned out to be a girl named Diana. She began specifically: “I’ll only tell you the requirements in a personal conversation, we don’t consult by phone … I bring sports change clothes, sports shoes, a passport, a military ID.” Then the girl listed the questions that the candidate will face: on a criminal record, on health, physical training and understanding where and why a person is going.

The interlocutor confirmed that the training center is located in the Krasnodar Territory, training is up to a month, and the contract is signed on the spot, the terms of work are from six months.

Martial arts club “Crown”

The establishment has been operating since 2014. The club is engaged in various types of martial arts: boxing, wushu, taekwondo, sambo, kickboxing, and chess. On the wall there are mainly reports on the results of children’s tournaments and the success of the club’s athletes, but in January-February the page noticeably came to life. Neither on the website nor in social networks does the club advertise itself as a recruitment platform for PMCs.Wagner“.

The institution also hosts training in ARB – an abbreviation similar to “army”, but stands for differently: “absolutely real battle.” In February 2022, the regional public organization “Federation of the ARB” was registered at the address of the “Korona”, the head is 39-year-old Vladimir Kondratovich. He, according to SPARK, works as the general director of the Progress company, registered at the same address. The company specializes in the sale and purchase of own real estate. Its owner is Ilya Kadyrov, but his share in the authorized capital is encumbered. The well-known in the construction and development market LLC “MC Svinyin and Partners” is indicated as a pledgee.

In the Crown, a man answered the caller, children’s voices were heard in the background. First, the interlocutor asked where the information about the recruitment came from, and then replied: “Well, come and talk.” When asked what to take with me, he explained: a military ID and a passport. The man refused to give details on the phone – only in person.

Fight Club “Puncher”

From the name of the institution, the specificity is clear – martial arts. The schedule includes boxing, Thai boxing, judo, jiu-jitsu, crossfit, kickboxing. The club is owned by Nikolai Talalakin, who is also the head coach, owner and general director of Pancher LLC.

The Puncher website states that Talalakin is a master of sports, “a famous Russian boxer, a professional from 1998 to 2004. 29 fights, 24 wins, 8 of them by knockout. Champion of St. Petersburg, champion of the North-West, contender for the WBU world champion title, finalist of the Russian Cup, winner of many master tournaments, two-time champion of the CIS and Slavic countries in the middleweight among professionals (WBC CIS). Coaching since 2004. Talalakin actively starred in the YouTube project “Combat Nerds”.

Neither on the Puncher website nor in the club’s social networks are there any announcements of recruitment into PMCs.

The club itself said: “It is clear that no one talks about such things over the phone. Yes, and it’s wrong.”

“You definitely need to take a passport … At least there must be some kind of form, of course … The term is about six months plus, all this is under the contract. When you fill out the paperwork, everything is basically detailed there, ”the source said.

When asked if it is true that the training unit is located in the Krasnodar Territory, he answered: “Well, there is such a training unit, yes … Here you make a decision, sign a contract there.”

“[По деньгам] standard, this information is everywhere, it is available: 240 thousand plus certain combat … Well, then there are all the nuances that in the event of death, injury, etc. – well, this is, let’s say, separate information … “- said man.

When asked about the preparation, he answered: “Look, as a rule, this is 2-3 weeks in training, then you arrive at the place. You will have another two weeks there, let’s say, in Luhansk, let’s say, well, as far as I know. Here. And then go on to the combat unit.”

In a conversation with Fontanka, Nikolai Talalakin confirmed that the leadership of the PMC came to him with a proposal to organize recruitment in the club “Wagner“. To clarify who exactly, if not Prigozhin himself, the interlocutor replied: “Ha ha. Who cares. It doesn’t matter”.

Why did you decide to agree?

— Strange question… If you go to [соцсеть, доступ к которой запрещен в РФ] and read my last post there, then you will have no questions.

Talalakin’s social media posts speculate that the conflict was planned by the West for a long time, as well as the assumption that anti-Russian views in Ukraine began to be nurtured long before 2014.

– Some of the athletes of your club, or maybe you yourself do not plan to enroll in the PMC “Wagner“?

– As for athletes, I have no idea. This is unknown to me. Well, about myself I can say: anything is possible.

Boxing club “Monarch”

The club belongs to the non-profit organization “Center for the Development of Higher Sportsmanship “Friendship of Peoples””, the organization was established in 2019. According to SPARK, Alexei Mishalov is in charge of the center.

The man owns the Avtogruz company, which is engaged in the transportation of goods by non-specialized vehicles, however, information about this company was recognized as unreliable by the Federal Tax Service. In the past, Mishalov participated in the work of the public organization “Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights” Mezhregionpotrebkontrol “”, was a co-owner of the building materials company Stroy-Snab, now liquidated.

However, another person is indicated as the founder of the club and head coach – Said Tikhonov.

On the club’s page on VKontakte there are posts with Chicherina’s songs and an appeal: “Work brothers!!! Glory to Russia and our brothers – the wars!!!” (Spelling and punctuation are the author’s. — Approx. ed.)

This is the only one of the St. Petersburg clubs that posted information about the recruitment in the PMC “Wagner“- On March 4, Puncher published its own post, on March 10, the club reposted a public page with vacancies in PMCs.

“Come to our hall,” Said Tikhonov answered the call. “There is a specially trained guy sitting here. He explains everything to you, fill out the questionnaire, then pass the standards – 18 pull-ups, 60 push-ups from the floor and a 3-kilometer run. Then we send your data to the main office of the PMC “Wagner“. If everything is fine, they will call you – and that’s it, go ahead.

The sixth item on the list is the Sambo Peter martial arts club. But there information about recruitment was denied.

The club works within the framework of the interregional public organization of the same name. She is led by Andrey Shmelev – he is also one of the coaches. In open sources, you can find data that Shmelev is a master of sports in sambo and hand-to-hand combat, a winner of the city championship in Thai boxing. Work experience since 2003.

In a conversation with a correspondent, Shmelev denied the information about the presence of a recruitment center in his club. At the same time, he noted that he was indeed offered to place such an item, but he refused. He did not explain the reasons.

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