The investigation believes that in the 1990s Bykov led a criminal community involved in many serious crimes, including murders. The convict is sure that the reason for his prosecution lies exclusively in the political plane, and the direct customer is the now former governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory Alexander Uss, who saw a competitor in Bykov. Bykov’s comments from the courtroom reminded many of the events of almost a quarter of a century ago. Then exactly the same statements the disgraced figure, who first encountered law enforcement agencies, made to another Krasnoyarsk governor – Alexander Lebed. The irony of fate is that with Uss Bykov was then on the same side of the political barricades.
On May 12, the Central District Court of Krasnoyarsk sentenced Anatoly Bykov to 17 years in a penal colony. 11 years is the sentence for incitement to attempted murder for hire, and another six is the term for the previous court verdict.
For almost three years, Anatoly Bykov has been living in the “pre-trial detention center – courtroom” mode. The investigation brought him several charges under heavy articles. In the fall of 2021, the former aluminum magnate was convicted of organizing the 1994 murder of two “fighters” from his entourage. At that time, Bykov’s name was not yet known to the general public. Now it’s time for the skeletons in the closet from those times when he was a recognizable figure not only in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, but also beyond.
Bykov received a new term for the 2004 episode.
The entrepreneur decided to order the murder of the Krasnoyarsk businessman Andrei Nekolov, who was engaged in secondary resources. The order was received by the regular killer Alexander Zhivitsa. Nekolov was valued at $50,000. The killer began to prepare for execution, but a new order arose, urgent. The target was Krasnoyarsk businessman and boxer Andrey Grabovsky. He was part of Bykov’s entourage, but began to show signs of independence (like the two “fighters” 10 years before).
“The motive for the murder of Nekolov was personal hostile relations because of his refusal to conduct joint business with Bykov and maintain relations with his ill-wishers. The motive for the murder of Grabovsky was Bykov’s dissatisfaction with the fact that Grabovsky began to act contrary to Bykov’s interests, ”explains Yulia Arbuzova, senior assistant to the head of the Main Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Republic of Khakassia.
Shots from the past
Grabovsky survived: the killer ambushed him on the highway and tried to shoot him in the car, but missed. The athlete immediately realized what was happening, and in the shortest possible time he moved to Moscow. But there he was still overtaken by the inevitable, however, already in the face of the law. In 2020, Grabovsky was sentenced to 13 years in prison for contract killing.
Nekolov was not so lucky. Zhivica tracked him down and shot him with a pistol near the garage in early 2005. Despite the fact that the second order was executed, Zhivitsy and Bykov had disagreements. The killer was presented with claims due to too long preparation and surviving Grabovsky. As a result, his fee was reduced several times. Perhaps that is why in our days Zhivitsa recalled his former patron’s stinginess and spoke at the trial as a witness for the prosecution.
Elena Penzina, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, hosted the Versiya program on local television for many years and knows the latest criminal history of Krasnoyarsk as well as an employee of the homicide department.
– Andrei Grabovsky is now serving a sentence for the murder of the former deputy head of the inter-district department for the investigation of murders of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Andrei Nekolov, even though they don’t speak badly about the dead, was also that fruit. But normal people don’t kill for it. But these are normal, and in the criminal life of an authoritative Krasnoyarsk businessman, everything has always been tough and uncompromising,” she recalls.
Things are not finished
However, even now Anatoly Bykov is not sent to the colony. There is one more case left – about the murder in 1998 of another Krasnoyarsk businessman Vladimir Filippov. The latter also had a solid weight in the criminal world. Apparently, it was a redistribution of spheres of influence. The case went to court at the end of April.
Bykov did not admit his guilt in any episode.
Both he and his lawyers point out that all accusations against him are unfair and inspired by political opponents. Hence the numerous complaints of the defense for procedural violations. Which, however, while they do not help.
“From the very beginning, all conditions were created for a guilty verdict. We were denied the call of witnesses, the presentation of additional evidence of the innocence of our client. Anatoly Petrovich had no illusions about the state of our justice. He understands that the true reasons for his criminal prosecution, of course, lie in politics. The authorities see him as a strong opponent,” lawyer Alexei Prokhorov is sure.
Verified scenario
On May 12, in his last speech, Anatoly Bykov bluntly stated that Alexander Uss, the former governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, was behind his criminal prosecution. Bykov is sure that Uss was afraid of him as the bearer of many unsightly secrets and as a serious competitor in regional elections. Over the years, various political structures supported by Anatoly Bykov have indeed shown considerable success. Including in the City Council of Krasnoyarsk and the Regional Legislative Assembly. True, by the end of the first term they all fell apart, as a rule, with scandals. But this is a completely different point.
Bykov already had a suspended sentence from 2005. And in 2016, a “criminal filter” began to work in Russia: people with a criminal record were allowed to participate in elections only 15 years after the verdict was passed. The moratorium against him was terminated in 2020, and already in May Bykov was arrested, presenting a whole list of charges under the articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to the businessman, Uss persuaded Moscow to take such a step for a long time, to the point that he exaggerated the claims that in 2024 Bykov could even run for the presidency of Russia.
In this regard, many remembered 1999 – the apotheosis of the confrontation between Anatoly Bykov and the then head of the region Alexander Lebed. The story is widely known: the first helped the second to become governor with the help of his resources, in return he expected to put his people in the regional administration. But his team arrived with Lebed and there was no place for the Bykovskys.
Further, Lebed made a number of high-profile statements under the general slogan “Crime is rushing into power”, and the famous “Kolesnikov Commission” arrived in the Krasnoyarsk Territory at his suggestion. Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Kolesnikov, with a whole staff of investigators, promptly initiated several dozen criminal cases, the main of which was the accusation of Anatoly Bykov of money laundering through the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant (KrAZ), which he then controlled. Bottom line: Bykov had to urgently flee abroad, and the process of ousting him from the aluminum industry began.
History repeats itself
Whether Uss really used his lobbying capabilities to influence the investigating authorities is unknown. But it is obvious that his relationship with Bykov has been rapidly deteriorating over the past few years. Although earlier they were in the same camp, which can be conditionally called the Krasnoyarsk political elite.
Anatoly Bykov, from the dock, turned to the leadership of three federal structures – the Investigative Committee, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor’s office – with a proposal to create a new commission to work in Krasnoyarsk.
“I urge them to come to the Krasnoyarsk Territory and look into my cases, which were fabricated under the leadership of the now former governor Uss. I know more than the FSB. I’ll tell you everything.”
Anatoly Bykov | former owner of the Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant
– Let’s be honest: against the background of other informational agendas, interest in Bykov has cooled down. He was only interested in himself. There are no thieves in law around, no athletes, no stars who were present in abundance at his 60th birthday. The course of history is merciless to atavisms, and Bykov has long been mothballed and has become just a strange exhibit of a bygone era. But he will still have to answer according to the law for the mountain of corpses left behind, – Elena Penzina is convinced.
