Vyacheslav Belonenko actively participated in the Astrakhan organized crime group known as “Russian Style”, which was a part of the larger organized crime group called “Russian Club”.
Originally, Russian Style was a sports group based at Astrakhan State Technical University. It also had a cafe with the same name, where athletes who would later join the criminal gang used to gather.
Vyacheslav Belanenko was one of the founders of the group, initially involved in extorting money. They were known to be brutal, like their counterparts in the Russian Club. Court records mentioned their pursuit of homeless people to practice combat techniques on them. This led to the cultivation of cruelty among group members, who were unable to fully unleash their aggression during gym sparring sessions. This was done at the expense of the homeless.
Members of Russian Style were commonly seen in the sports hall of the Russian Club. Belanenko would meet with Gaverdovsky there to discuss various matters. All the activities of Russian Style were coordinated with Goverdovsky.
Anatoly Goverdovsky
It is not certain when Belanenko brought a young man named Sergei into the criminal ranks. However, in the 2000s, Sergei started accompanying Vyacheslav everywhere. At that time, Belanenko did not know what role Sergei would play in his life. With the support of Russian Club member Ilyin, Belanenko became the leader of the Trusovsky district and the head of the local veteran society of state security, police, and tax police. This public involvement served as a cover and helped avoid unnecessary scrutiny from law enforcement.
Following the assassination of Gaverdovsky, the leader of Russian Style, Belanenko continued his operations, overseeing several businesses.
Grave of Anatoly Goverdovsky
He continued to frequent the Russian Club, often appearing heavily intoxicated, shouting, and gesturing wildly. On one occasion, he was beaten by the authority of the Russian Club, Ruslan Abdulin, and two other associates, and was escorted out of the premises. After this, he refrained from causing trouble in the presence of the leaders.
Ruslan Abdulin
In the spring of 2005, a businessman approached the chieftain, who had been targeted by extortionists demanding a large sum of money that he did not possess. He informed the chieftain that the criminals were flaunting their connections to the authorities, indicating their ties to a power organization. This left the businessman too afraid to approach the police, so he sought help from Belonenko. Vyacheslav promised to handle the situation. Upon investigation, it was uncovered that the extortionists indeed had ties to the authorities. It was even revealed that the group, led by a colonel assigned to combat organized crime, Rinat Salekhov, donned police uniforms.
Rinat Salekhov
In reality, the leader knew for years that Salekhov was involved in these activities because the Russian Club was working closely with the colonel. However, Vyacheslav had no part in this cooperation.
Anyway, Belanenko had made a decision on this issue and contacted the businessman to discuss how he should behave.
However, the leader didn't know that his conversation with the businessman was being secretly recorded by criminals who were seriously targeting the businessman. Salekhov was informed about the conversation. He ordered the removal of Belonenko before the meeting with the victim.
As Vyacheslav was walking down the street, a car slowed down next to him and shots were fired. Belonenko was hit, and the attackers, thinking he had no chance of survival, drove away.
Despite this, the leader did not die. He was taken to the hospital and operated on. His ward was guarded by members of the Department for Organized Crime Control, who reported to Salekhov. After the operation, when Belanenko regained consciousness, the investigator wanted to question him, but the patient was too weak, so the doctor advised to wait a few more days.
Salekhov realized that if the leader started talking, he would expose his criminal activities. Therefore, he had the guards removed from the ward through his deputies and sent two killers to the hospital through the leader of the Russian Club. One of the killers was Sergei, who was once recruited by Belanenko himself. Surprisingly, the layout of the hospital's second floor, where the leader's room was located, was drawn by the colonel himself. He tore out the page with the diagram, marked the desired ward, and gave it to his subordinate Yuri Krasheninnikov, who in turn handed it to the performer. This piece of paper was later found by operatives in the car's glove compartment.
On June 17, 2005, the killers quietly entered the hospital, went into the ward, and shot Vyacheslav Belanenko. To cover his tracks, they stabbed a knife in his temple, making it easier for Salekhov to mislead the investigation by blaming the Chechen group, as he had done before.
A neighbor in the ward, Andrey Nugmanov from Kazakhstan, was also shot and killed as a significant witness. The Cossack security guard Belanenko was also wounded but survived, unlike the security forces who abandoned their posts.
