Moderator: 1 revision

2026-05-16T20:10:28Z

1 revision

Bender the Bot: /* top */HTTP→HTTPS for The New York Times. using AWB

2017-02-18T03:38:17Z

‎top: HTTP→HTTPS for The New York Times. using AWB

New page

'''Otari "Otarik" Kvantrishvili''' ({{lang-ka|ოთარ კვანტრიშვილი}}) (January 27, 1948 – April 5, 1994) was a [[Georgian mafia]] boss and one of Moscow's leading organised crime figures during the early 1990s.

Prior to his 1966 conviction for rape, Kvantrishvili was on his way to becoming a world-champion wrestler. In the 1980s he then founded the Dynamo Sports Club and later the 21st Century Association, an organisation ostensibly dedicated to funding sports but was widely regarded as a front for racketeering.<ref>Friedman, Robert; ''Red Mafiya: How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America''; 2000</ref> During the chaotic transition to capitalism in the early 1990s, Otarik became something of a public face for the mafia, befriending politicians and celebrities such as [[Joseph Kobzon]] while also acting as a mediator between various underworld factions, including the [[thieves in law]] and [[Russian mafia|Slavic]] and [[Chechen mafia|Chechen mobsters]].<ref>[[Paul Khlebnikov|Khlebnikov P.]]; Conversation with a Barbarian: Interviews with a Chechen Field Commander on Banditry and Islam - Moscow, Detekiv-Press, 2003</ref>

In late 1993, Kvantrishvili publicly announced his intention to enter politics through a new party, the Party of Sportsmen, at a conference attended by many well-known athletes. But several months later he was shot dead by a sniper while leaving a bathhouse.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/14/world/a-slaying-puts-russian-underworld-on-parade.html NY Times - A Slaying Puts Russian Underworld on Parade]</ref>

On September 29, 2008, four members of the [[Orekhovskaya gang|Orekhovo-Medvedkovo]] gang were convicted, among other things, for organizing Kvantrishvili's murder. Oleg Pylev was sentenced to life in prison, Aleksei Sherstobitov (knowns as Lyosha the Soldier {{lang-ru|Лёша Солдат}}) received 23 years of imprisonment, Pavel Makarov – 13 years and Sergei Yelizarov – 11 years. Sherstobitov was the one who actually killed Kvantrishvili. He received a [[Lada]] car as payment for Kvantrishvili's murder.<ref>[http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?docsid=1033648 Repentance did not count for Lyosha the Soldier] [[Kommersant]], September 30, 2008</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Find a Grave|8048037}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvantrishvili, Otari}}
[[Category:Mobsters from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:Russian people of Georgian descent]]
[[Category:Russian mobsters]]
[[Category:Murdered Russian mobsters]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in Russia]]
[[Category:Thieves in law]]
[[Category:Soviet wrestlers]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Soviet male sport wrestlers]]

← Older revision	Revision as of 20:10, 16 May 2026
(No difference)

Otari Kvantrishvili - Revision history

Moderator: 1 revision

Bender the Bot: /* top */HTTP→HTTPS for The New York Times. using AWB