Alexei Pichugin
Encyclopedia
Alexei Vladimirovich Pichugin was born in the town of Orekhovo-Zuevo, part of Moscow
Region, in 1962. He was the chief security official at the former Russia
n oil giant Yukos
. In August 2006, Pichugin was sentenced, by a Moscow court, to serve 24 years imprisonment for conspiracy in several murders. Following an appeal by Russian prosecutors and then retrial, the sentence was raised to a life term, in August 2007.
. Pichugin graduated in 1983 and was sent to the Interior Ministry’s unit for the Tula
region.
’s school in Novosibirsk. On graduating, he started his work for the Committee for State Security. From 1987 to 1994 Pichugin worked in the administration of the KGB’s military secret service.
Pichugin left the FSB with the rank of major, in 1994, after the restructuring of state security services. In total, he had spent 15 years protecting Soviet and Russian state interests through his membership of the military and the secret services.
On leaving the FSB, Aleksey Pichugin joined the security service of Bank Menatep
. In 1998, when Bank Menatep became the holding company for Yukos
oil, Pichugin was appointed as head of a section within Yukos's security department.
As head of Yukos’s internal economic security department, Pichugin's responsibilities were safeguarding the company’s properties and prevention of theft from its enterprises.
Pichugin was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years, on 30 March 2005, for the murder of the Gorins plus the attempted murder of Olga Kostina. Kostina was a one-time adviser to Mikhail Khodorkovsky
(founder of Bank Menatep and the major Yukos stakeholder) who had since become head of the Moscow mayor’s office's public relations department. The verdict followed a closed-door trial in which the original jury was replaced and the star prosection witness was a multiple murderer serving a life sentence - a fact the jury was not allowed to know. The fact that the murder victims had no other known enemies other than Yukos, and they were all persons posing a serious threat to the organization, weighted heavily in the deliberations.
In August 2007 Pichugin was again found guilty, in a retrial at the Moscow City Court, of the murder of three people and of assaulting four more. He received a life sentence for organising the murders of:
Rybin, a manager at East Petroleum Handels GmbH. (based in Vienna), had filed a number of lawsuits against Yukos, claiming that they return US$100 million that his company had invested for the development of the Zapodno-Poludennoye and Krapivinskoye oil fields. Rybin's car was rigged with a bomb. He had stepped out to deliver flowers to his sister when the bomb went off..
to the government of the Russian Federation. The questions refer to Pichugin's first criminal case concerning the disappearance of Tambov
business persons, Sergey and Olga Gorina. The questions were drafted on 5 June 2007, based on complaints from Pichugin and his lawyers, filed in Strasbourg
.
As was reported earlier by lawyer Kseniya Kostromoina, the defence had called to the attention of the Strasbourg court the violations of Articles 3 (Prohibition of torture), 5 (Right to life, liberty and security of person) and 6 (Right to fair trial) of the European Convention of Human Rights.
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...
Region, in 1962. He was the chief security official at the former Russia
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 oil giant Yukos
YUKOS
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" was a petroleum company in Russia which, until 2003, was controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a number of other prominent Russian businessmen. After Yukos was bankrupted, Khodorkovsky was convicted and sent to prison.Yukos headquarters was located in...
. In August 2006, Pichugin was sentenced, by a Moscow court, to serve 24 years imprisonment for conspiracy in several murders. Following an appeal by Russian prosecutors and then retrial, the sentence was raised to a life term, in August 2007.
Early years
From his childhood Aleksey Pichugin looked forward to a military career, so after leaving school in 1979 he entered the Interior Ministry’s Higher Command School in NovosibirskNovosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
. Pichugin graduated in 1983 and was sent to the Interior Ministry’s unit for the Tula
Tula Oblast
Tula Oblast is a federal subject of Russia with its present borders formed on September 26, 1937. Its administrative center is the city of Tula. The oblast has an area of and a population of 1,553,874...
region.
Professional career
In 1986 Pichugin entered the KGBKGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
’s school in Novosibirsk. On graduating, he started his work for the Committee for State Security. From 1987 to 1994 Pichugin worked in the administration of the KGB’s military secret service.
Pichugin left the FSB with the rank of major, in 1994, after the restructuring of state security services. In total, he had spent 15 years protecting Soviet and Russian state interests through his membership of the military and the secret services.
On leaving the FSB, Aleksey Pichugin joined the security service of Bank Menatep
Bank Menatep
Bank Menatep was a US$29 billion holding company created by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, that had indirect controlling interest in Yukos Oil Company. It was involved in the US$4.8 billion diversion of International Monetary Fund funds.-Scandal:...
. In 1998, when Bank Menatep became the holding company for Yukos
YUKOS
OJSC "Yukos Oil Company" was a petroleum company in Russia which, until 2003, was controlled by Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a number of other prominent Russian businessmen. After Yukos was bankrupted, Khodorkovsky was convicted and sent to prison.Yukos headquarters was located in...
oil, Pichugin was appointed as head of a section within Yukos's security department.
As head of Yukos’s internal economic security department, Pichugin's responsibilities were safeguarding the company’s properties and prevention of theft from its enterprises.
Arrest and convictions in Russia
Pichugin was arrested in April 2003, for the alleged murder of Sergei and Olga Gorin in 2002. Sergei Gorin was a senior manager at Bank Menatep.Pichugin was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years, on 30 March 2005, for the murder of the Gorins plus the attempted murder of Olga Kostina. Kostina was a one-time adviser to Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky is a Russian prisoner, considered by some - such as Amnesty International - to have been imprisoned for political reasons, jailed until 2016 and a former Russian oligarch and businessman...
(founder of Bank Menatep and the major Yukos stakeholder) who had since become head of the Moscow mayor’s office's public relations department. The verdict followed a closed-door trial in which the original jury was replaced and the star prosection witness was a multiple murderer serving a life sentence - a fact the jury was not allowed to know. The fact that the murder victims had no other known enemies other than Yukos, and they were all persons posing a serious threat to the organization, weighted heavily in the deliberations.
In August 2007 Pichugin was again found guilty, in a retrial at the Moscow City Court, of the murder of three people and of assaulting four more. He received a life sentence for organising the murders of:
- Valentina Korneyeva (a Moscow business owner who had refused to sell her property to Bank Menatep)
- Vladimir Petukhov, mayor of NefteyuganskNefteyuganskNefteyugansk is a city in Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located south of the Ob River, close to the larger city of Surgut. Population: It is currently served by Surgut International Airport....
(who had insisted that Yukos pay local taxes in full) and - Nikolai Fedotov, a chauffeur (killed during an assassination attempt on Evgeny Rybin). A previous attempt had been made upon Mr. Rybin's life as he left a birthday party for a Menatep top manager while he was suing the company in Stockholm Arbitration court.
Rybin, a manager at East Petroleum Handels GmbH. (based in Vienna), had filed a number of lawsuits against Yukos, claiming that they return US$100 million that his company had invested for the development of the Zapodno-Poludennoye and Krapivinskoye oil fields. Rybin's car was rigged with a bomb. He had stepped out to deliver flowers to his sister when the bomb went off..
European Court proceedings
In September 2007, Pichugin's lawyers made public questions from the European Court of Human RightsEuropean Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
to the government of the Russian Federation. The questions refer to Pichugin's first criminal case concerning the disappearance of Tambov
Tambov
Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...
business persons, Sergey and Olga Gorina. The questions were drafted on 5 June 2007, based on complaints from Pichugin and his lawyers, filed in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
.
As was reported earlier by lawyer Kseniya Kostromoina, the defence had called to the attention of the Strasbourg court the violations of Articles 3 (Prohibition of torture), 5 (Right to life, liberty and security of person) and 6 (Right to fair trial) of the European Convention of Human Rights.