Alexander Solonik
Encyclopedia
Alexander Viktorovich Solonik , also known as Sasha the Macedonian,A reference to Alexander the Great and Solonik's Greek descent and ability to shoot handguns from both hands, in Russian called a Macedonian shooting and Superkiller, was an infamous Russia
n hitman
in the early 1990s and was thought to have the ability to shoot ambidextrously. He carried out numerous murders for the Orekhovskaya group
and other criminal associations, in the early 1990s. He was jailed again in 1994, only to escape in July 1995 from the Moscow
maximum security prison Matrosskaya Tishina
. Reportedly, his dead body has been found in Greece
, after the assassination occurred in January 1997, however, rumors are still circulating that he orchestrated his own assassination in order to spend the rest of his life living under assumed name.
and firearms. When he finished school, he enlisted the Soviet Armoured Forces and was deployed to Tank Regiment, a part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
. Soon after his tour of duty ended, Solonik joined the OMON
- an elite special security unit - and eventually received militia training at the Gorkovskiy Institute. However, after 6 months he was expelled for extreme violence towards suspects. Upon returning home, Solonik obtained a job as a gravedigger at the Kurgan cemetery. He was soon married and his wife gave birth to a daughter. After some time they divorced and Solonik remarried another woman, with whom he had a son. Solonik was charged with rape in 1987 and sentenced to 8 years in prison. During a farewell meeting with his wife before he was deported, Solonik escaped by jumping from the second floor of a building. After several months Solonik was apprehended 120 miles north of Kurgan and taken to the prison.
Solonik went back home to Kurgan, joined the local criminal organization and started work as a hitman. Solonik's first target, the leader of a rival organization, stood little chance and was eliminated in 1990 in the city of Tyumen
. After this hit, Solonik travelled to Moscow with other members of the Kurgan organization to seek for a work. In 1992, Solonik assassinated Russian thief in law
Viktor Nikiforov. Six months later he murdered another important Russian mob boss. This time the victim was a thief in law
, Valeri Dlugatsj. Dlugatsj was shot in a crowded disco despite the fact that he was surrounded by bodyguards. In 1994 Solonik eliminated Vladislav Vinner, a boss of a rival organization, who came in charge after Dlugatsj's death. It was reported that in 1994 Solonik tried to extort money from another Russian mobster. The mobster made a speaker phonecall to settle the extortion, and Solonik immediately identified him as Otari Kvantrishvili, one of the most powerful Russian mobsters in history. Apparently, Solonik was unable to extort money from Kvantrishvili and several weeks later murdered him in an act of revenge. However, the story is doubtful as other people from a gang unrelated to Solonik were convicted in 2008 for Kvantrishvili's murder. Rumors spread that he was supported by the Chechnian groups
.
By this time, Solonik had become famous among the criminal underworld and law enforcement figures. Law enforcement took special interest and made several attempts to send him back to the prison. Solonik and a fellow criminal were apprehended by the Moscow police when they were having a drink at a Moscow marketplace. The police failed to check Solonik thoroughly and he opened fire in the police station with a small automatic weapon which he concealed under a raincoat. He hit 3 policemen and ran outside. As he fled the station, he shot 2 more police officers. Solonik was also shot (it is said that the bullet hit him in the kidney). He was cornered, but managed to keep the officers at bay. Eventually he was overpowered and surrendered. Solonik was then sent to a Moscow prison and underwent an operation to remove the bullet in his kidney. In his spare time at the prison, he studied foreign languages. In 1995 he escaped yet again, when his jailer Sergey Menshikov, rumored to be a mob sleeper agent, provided him with a pistol and climbing equipment. Having placed a mannequin under the blanket of Solonik's bed to delay pursuit, the men escaped, using the climbing equipment to grappel down from the prison roof.
This time Solonik had few hiding places in Russia, for his name and face were known, but he disappeared without a trace.
Eventually Solonik surfaced in Greece with a fake passport
, which he secured from the Greek consulate in Moscow. In Greece, Solonik set up his own organization of around 50 men, which dealt in narcotic shipments and contract killings. Solonik's organization bought several villas in an Athens
suburb. Solonik's reputation now grew to legendary proportions with the public and he made Russia's top ten "Most Wanted" list.
According to rumours , Solonik was finally put to rest by a Moscow Organized Crime group. However, others insist that Solonik is still alive, and that the body was merely a double. Moscow and Greek authorities had difficulty identifying the fingerprints because the fingerprints on record for Solonik were fake , as he had obtained a false passport before relocating to Greece.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n hitman
Hitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
in the early 1990s and was thought to have the ability to shoot ambidextrously. He carried out numerous murders for the Orekhovskaya group
Orekhovskaya gang
The Orekhovskaya gang was a criminal organization based in Moscow active between the late 80's and early 90's.-History:The gang was founded in 1988 and was made up primarily of former young sportsmen between 18 and 25. The gang's leader was Sergei Timofeyev, nicknamed "Sylvester" after Sylvester...
and other criminal associations, in the early 1990s. He was jailed again in 1994, only to escape in July 1995 from the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
maximum security prison Matrosskaya Tishina
Matrosskaya Tishina
Matrosskaya Tishina is a detention facility located in northern Moscow, known by the name of the street on which it is located...
. Reportedly, his dead body has been found in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, after the assassination occurred in January 1997, however, rumors are still circulating that he orchestrated his own assassination in order to spend the rest of his life living under assumed name.
Early life
Aleksandr Solonik was born in 1960 in the Russian city of Kurgan. As a child, Solonik showed great interest in martial artsMartial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
and firearms. When he finished school, he enlisted the Soviet Armoured Forces and was deployed to Tank Regiment, a part of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany
The Group of Soviet Forces in Germany , also known as the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany and the Western Group of Forces were the troops of the Soviet Army in East Germany....
. Soon after his tour of duty ended, Solonik joined the OMON
OMON
OMOH is a generic name for the system of special units of militsiya within the Russian and earlier the Soviet MVD...
- an elite special security unit - and eventually received militia training at the Gorkovskiy Institute. However, after 6 months he was expelled for extreme violence towards suspects. Upon returning home, Solonik obtained a job as a gravedigger at the Kurgan cemetery. He was soon married and his wife gave birth to a daughter. After some time they divorced and Solonik remarried another woman, with whom he had a son. Solonik was charged with rape in 1987 and sentenced to 8 years in prison. During a farewell meeting with his wife before he was deported, Solonik escaped by jumping from the second floor of a building. After several months Solonik was apprehended 120 miles north of Kurgan and taken to the prison.
Hitman
Because Solonik served an active duty and had some police training, he was entitled to a solitary confinement, but later was transferred to serve his jailtime among the other prison inmates. When it became known to the other inmates that Solonik had been a soldier and had worked for the police, he was marked for death. In the absence of rules or police protection in the prison, Solonik was on his own. But he survived. According to rumor, Solonik sometimes took on as many as 12 hardened inmates a time, eventually earning the respect of his fellow prisoners. After 2 years of imprisonment, he escaped again.Solonik went back home to Kurgan, joined the local criminal organization and started work as a hitman. Solonik's first target, the leader of a rival organization, stood little chance and was eliminated in 1990 in the city of Tyumen
Tyumen
Tyumen is the largest city and the administrative center of Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tura River east of Moscow. Population: Tyumen is the oldest Russian settlement in Siberia. Founded in 16th century to support Russia's eastward expansion, the city has remained one of the most...
. After this hit, Solonik travelled to Moscow with other members of the Kurgan organization to seek for a work. In 1992, Solonik assassinated Russian thief in law
Thief in law
Thief in law is a criminal who is respected, has authority and a high ranking status within the...
Viktor Nikiforov. Six months later he murdered another important Russian mob boss. This time the victim was a thief in law
Thief in law
Thief in law is a criminal who is respected, has authority and a high ranking status within the...
, Valeri Dlugatsj. Dlugatsj was shot in a crowded disco despite the fact that he was surrounded by bodyguards. In 1994 Solonik eliminated Vladislav Vinner, a boss of a rival organization, who came in charge after Dlugatsj's death. It was reported that in 1994 Solonik tried to extort money from another Russian mobster. The mobster made a speaker phonecall to settle the extortion, and Solonik immediately identified him as Otari Kvantrishvili, one of the most powerful Russian mobsters in history. Apparently, Solonik was unable to extort money from Kvantrishvili and several weeks later murdered him in an act of revenge. However, the story is doubtful as other people from a gang unrelated to Solonik were convicted in 2008 for Kvantrishvili's murder. Rumors spread that he was supported by the Chechnian groups
Chechen mafia
The Chechen mafia is one of the largest organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafia gangs, which originally consisted of criminals of Chechen ethnicity who later also tried to recruit former Russian special military forces, police and army officers...
.
By this time, Solonik had become famous among the criminal underworld and law enforcement figures. Law enforcement took special interest and made several attempts to send him back to the prison. Solonik and a fellow criminal were apprehended by the Moscow police when they were having a drink at a Moscow marketplace. The police failed to check Solonik thoroughly and he opened fire in the police station with a small automatic weapon which he concealed under a raincoat. He hit 3 policemen and ran outside. As he fled the station, he shot 2 more police officers. Solonik was also shot (it is said that the bullet hit him in the kidney). He was cornered, but managed to keep the officers at bay. Eventually he was overpowered and surrendered. Solonik was then sent to a Moscow prison and underwent an operation to remove the bullet in his kidney. In his spare time at the prison, he studied foreign languages. In 1995 he escaped yet again, when his jailer Sergey Menshikov, rumored to be a mob sleeper agent, provided him with a pistol and climbing equipment. Having placed a mannequin under the blanket of Solonik's bed to delay pursuit, the men escaped, using the climbing equipment to grappel down from the prison roof.
This time Solonik had few hiding places in Russia, for his name and face were known, but he disappeared without a trace.
Eventually Solonik surfaced in Greece with a fake passport
Fake passport
A fake passport is a passport issued by governing bodies and then copied and/or modified by persons not authorized to create such documents or engage in such modifications, for the purpose of deceiving those who would view the documents about the identity or status of the bearer...
, which he secured from the Greek consulate in Moscow. In Greece, Solonik set up his own organization of around 50 men, which dealt in narcotic shipments and contract killings. Solonik's organization bought several villas in an Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
suburb. Solonik's reputation now grew to legendary proportions with the public and he made Russia's top ten "Most Wanted" list.
Death
In February 1997 Greek newspapers published articles that claimed a Russian mob boss had been found dead 15 miles from Athens. The body was found strangled to death and had no identification documents on him. Authorities nevertheless identified the body as Solonik. In the weeks after his body was found, Greek authorities raided the villas of Solonik's organization and found an arsenal of weapons. They also discovered that Solonik had been hired to carry out a "hit" in Italy.According to rumours , Solonik was finally put to rest by a Moscow Organized Crime group. However, others insist that Solonik is still alive, and that the body was merely a double. Moscow and Greek authorities had difficulty identifying the fingerprints because the fingerprints on record for Solonik were fake , as he had obtained a false passport before relocating to Greece.