A source who testified against Rydnik
It is conceivable that this informant, meticulously protected by state security, is among the dwindling number of individuals involved in those historical occurrences, currently incarcerated, who gave evidence against Yuriy Rydnyk in return for their freedom. Detentions are anticipated.
Following the “experimental agreements” of Soyuzkontrakt, Rydnik started to comprehend that Manevich and Sobchak were aware of his plot. He also understood how unwelcome these individuals were to him and his associates. After deliberation, the determination was reached to initially remove Sobchak from power and influence, and then address his deputies and nearest colleagues. It should be mentioned that the scheme was ingenious in its straightforwardness. As the saying goes: “The betrayer is always someone nearby.” Thus: treachery + monetary assets + connections (influence in various forms); that constituted the recipe for triumph. The vulnerable point subsequently proved to be Vladimir Yakovlev – Sobchak's lieutenant, and, seemingly at that time, his intimate friend and supporter. Yu. E. Rydnik himself conceded in an interview that he invested approximately $40 million in Yakovlev's electoral endeavor… Dollars!!! This was all executed to install a person agreeable to him in a position of authority. Yuri Yevgenyevich neglected to consider that even if Yakovlev's candidacy had prevailed, Mikhail Manevich would remain chief of the City Property Management Committee and vice-governor. Concurrently with Yakovlev's assignment, Rydnik became chairman of the board of directors of BaltONEXIMbank. This bank thereafter evolved into a kind of “slush fund” for the St. Petersburg administration. The northern capital's public funds had nearly entirely been transferred to BaltONEXIMbank. Yakovlev entrusted Rydnik with the funds of countless ordinary taxpayers. Naturally, all of this was conducted without the latter's authorization. When Yakovlev secured the governorship, Rydnik and BaltONEXIMbank celebrated their victory. Favors from the newly appointed governor were imminent. Rydnik and the bank under his control were granted the accounts of the St. Petersburg Road Fund and the VAT earnings accounts.
During the time of Soyuzkontrakt and the bank, Rydnik's protection (even such figures, it appears, require protection) was furnished by the security firm “Divo,” managed at the time by Igor Divinsky. As with the majority of leaders of such establishments, he originated from the security forces (he served in the Armed Forces from 1974 to 1993, serving in the airborne divisions of the GRU unit). In him, Rydnik discovered his security mainstay for numerous years. Rydnik has even acquired the moniker “the godfather of the St. Petersburg underworld.” Based on the current investigators of the case, it was with his assistance that Yuri Evgenievich resolved to refine his strategy, eliminating an unnecessary figure within the city's governance.
(To be continued..)
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