Analysis of Events and Figures

The option of such an action seems less likely as it devalued a huge part of their labor and risk.

For Gochiyayev, premature explosions were especially dangerous: the explosives had not yet been completely removed from the warehouse on Krasnodarskaya, which was rented in his real name.

However, the claim that 'having learned about the explosions, we fled to Chechnya' does not appear to be true. The explosion of the house in Volgodonsk on September 16 was investigated quite accurately by local detectives. Furthermore, the suspects themselves admitted some involvement in this event in a letter, which contradicts the idea of a panic flight to Chechnya.

The Perovsky Trail?

The accused mentioned participation in organizing the explosions of a 'well-known intelligence agent' named Max Lazovsky.

• Yuri Felshtinsky stated that after receiving written testimony from Krymshamkhalov and Batchayev, he sent them a photograph of Max Lazovsky for identification. This photograph is featured in the documentary book by Felshtinsky and Litvinenko, 'FSB Blows Up Russia'.
• The accused responded that they could not confirm it, stating that other photographs were needed. Unfortunately, no other photographs were found.

Regardless of how the accused learned Lazovsky's surname (even if only from the book), two questions must be addressed:
1. How likely is the participation of Lazovsky's people in the events under consideration?
2. How can Lazovsky be connected to the special services?

Profile of Maxim Yuryevich Lazovsky's Group

Maxim Yuryevich Lazovsky headed a group that, based on court decisions, can safely be called a gang.

• Legal Cover: The group operated under the guise of the oil trading firm 'Lanako'.
• Scale of Activities: The scope of their trading activities was highlighted by a dispute between 'Lanako' and the firm 'Viktor' in early 1994 concerning the sale of an airplane.
• Other Services: The firm also provided 'security' services, which were essentially services for extortion and intimidation of debtors. For instance, while providing this service to the firm 'Rosmyasomoltorg', three guards from a debtor bank were killed. ('Rosmyasomoltorg' later gained notoriety when Mikhail Babich, the recent Prime Minister of Kadyrov's Chechnya, served as deputy head of this firm).
• Criminal Record: The last trial involving Lazovsky's people concluded in the summer of 2002. The number of people killed during 'Lanako's' activities, both their own and others, mentioned at that trial exceeded two dozen.

Group Identification:
* The group was based in house 2 on Perevedenovsky Lane, near the Baumanskaya metro station.
* Since the name 'Izmailovskaya criminal group' refers to a different group, Lazovsky's men are referred to as the Perovskaya group—named after the leader's place of residence.
* In criminological literature, they are known as the Lazanskaya group—after the restaurant 'Lazania' on Pyatnitskaya; this building has belonged to Alfa-Bank since 1997.

In addition to commercial and legal activities, 'Lanako' employees were also known for another occupation: explosions on transport.

Gang Members (from left to right):
* Lazovsky (killed 2000)
* Polonsky (killed 1994)
* Shchelenkov (killed 1994)
* Nataev (killed 1994)
* Vorobyov (alive)

Locations Mentioned:
* Railway bridge near the 'Botanichesky Sad' metro station

Confirmed Explosions

Courts confirmed two explosions involving Lazovsky's men:

According to 'Lanako' driver Akimov, Vorobyov blew up the bus at the request of 'a certain Chechen'.

The only Chechen whose name appears in the press and the court verdict alongside Lazovsky's people is the co-founder of the 'Lanako' firm, Atlan Nataev, who in the summer of 1994 was brutally...