Aslan Usoyan (Georgian: ასლან უსოიანი, Russian: Асла́н Раши́дович Усоя́н; 27 February 1937 – 16 January 2013), also known as Baba Gurgur and Grandpa Hassan ("Дед Хасан" Ded Hasan) or just Grandpa ("Дедушка"), was a mafia boss, an ethnic Yazidi-Kurdish[1] mobster and thief in law, who began his career operating in Georgia and Kurdistan, continued in Moscow, Ural, Siberia, Uzbekistan, Krasnodar, Sochi, and other parts of the former Soviet Union.[2] According to The Economist, he was "reputed to be Russia's mafia boss".[3]
Aslan Usoyan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Aslan Rashidovich Usoyan 27 February 1937 |
| Died | 16 January 2013 (aged 75) Moscow, Russia |
| Other names | Ded Hassan |
| Citizenship | Russian |
| Criminal charge | extortion |
| Penalty | 8 imprisonments |
Criminal acts edit
Starting in 2007, Usoyan was embroiled in a gang war with Georgian mobster Tariel Oniani, who was seeking to reestablish himself in Moscow. Several of Usoyan's top lieutenants were killed including the Armenian national Alek Minalyan, a man allegedly in charge of extorting construction firms working on the 2014 Winter Olympics.[4] In July 2008 police raided Oniani's yacht as a meeting took place amongst the criminal leaders in an attempt to settle the conflict. Usoyan was not however amongst those detained. He later gave an interview to a newspaper, denying the stories of escalating violence and stated that "We are a peaceful people and don't bother anybody, we are for peace in order to prevent lawlessness".[5]
Vyacheslav Ivankov was brought in to mediate the conflict, in which he sided with Usoyan's faction. He was however shot by a sniper while leaving a Moscow restaurant in July 2009, and died of his wounds in October that year. Although he did not attend, Usoyan sent an elaborate wreath to Ivankov's funeral saying "To our brother from Grandpa Hassan".[6]
In April 2010, Usoyan was arrested by Ukrainian security forces after entering the country illegally using false documents. His business in Ukraine was allegedly connected to a rift with an Armenian organized crime group.[7] On 16 September 2010, Usoyan was shot by a 9 mm calibre bullet fired by an unidentified assailant in central Moscow, but survived the attack along with his bodyguard who was also wounded. It was at first announced to the press that Usoyan had died to ensure his safety.[8]
In the early 2010s the Obama administration placed sanctions on members of the alleged criminal organisation the Brothers' Circle. It has been speculated that the so-called circle is a stand-in for Usoyan's network.[9]
Alleged ties to PKK edit
It was assumed that Usoyan, an ethnic Kurd, was one of the weapon suppliers to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that is fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and cultural and political rights for the Kurds in Turkey.[10][11]
Death edit
On 16 January 2013 and a month before his 76th birthday, Usoyan was shot in the head by a sniper perched on the sixth floor of an adjacent apartment building after leaving a restaurant which served as his office, and despite efforts of his bodyguards and ambulance workers he died en route to the hospital.[12] The family decided to fly Usoyan's body to be buried in his native Tbilisi, but the Tbilisi International Airport refused to accept the plane.[13] His death was thought to be likely to spur chaos in the criminal world. The day Usoyan was shot dead, an Armenian crime fiction writer, Sergey Galoyan, said in a conversation with a local news website that the mafia king's murder might be linked to a certain unrest in the criminal world, particularly the construction of the Sochi Olympic facilities which are said to have attracted considerable investments.[14]
The main suspects behind Usoyan's murder are Tariel Oniani and Rovshan Janiev.[15]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Aslan Usoyan: Kurd Who Became Russian Mafia Godfather". International Business Times. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ Schreck, Carl. The Who's Who of Moscow mobsters, The National, 5 August 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ "Fathers and sons". The Economist. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Shuster, Simon. "Will New Laws Help Russia Take Down the Mafia?". Time. 13 October 2009. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ Schwirtz, Michael. "In a River Raid, a Glimpse of Russia's Criminal Elite". The New York Times. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
- ^ Franchetti, Mark (25 October 2009). "Russia salutes its mafia as the good guys". The Times.
- ^ "Деда Хасана приняли у трапа". Gazeta.Ru. (in Russian)
- ^ "Russian Mafia Boss Survives Shooting". Yahoo! News. Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Another Go Round the 'Brothers' Circle'". In Moscow's Shadows. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "The death of Moscow's Don: Aslan Usoyan gunned down outside his favourite restaurant". The Independent.
- ^ Tahiri, Hussein. The Structure of Kurdish Society and the Struggle for a Kurdish State. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publications 2007. pp 232 ff
- ^ "МВД сообщило о смерти Деда Хасана в результате покушения". Газета.Ru. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Tbilisi airport does not accept plane with body of Grandpa Hassan mafia boss. Trend.az. 19 January 2013.
- ^ Helix Consulting LLC. "Mafia king's murder will spur chaos, says crime fiction writer". tert.am. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "Mob Wars: A Vor for a Vor". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 30 November 2015.