Document Transcription

...were killed by the Lazovites themselves. When Nataev's brother, Said, came to Moscow to find out Atlan's fate, Lazovsky's people shot him as well.

Immediately after his arrest, Vorobyov named another Chechen: he stated that Khozh-Ahmed Nukhaev had instructed him to blow up the bus. But when Vorobyov was interrogated in accordance with procedural norms, in the presence of a lawyer, he recanted this testimony.

Khozh-Ahmed Nukhaev

Khozh-Ahmed (Khoja-Ahmed) Nukhaev was the head of Chechen foreign intelligence under President Dudayev and Deputy Prime Minister under President Yandarbiev.

• In 1997, he registered the Caucasian-American Chamber of Commerce in Washington (according to flb.ru).
• In the summer of 2001, he spent two days in Moscow, participating in a conference organized by the "Eurasia" movement.

Many journalists were surprised then that Nukhaev, as it turned out, was not on the wanted list. Felshtinsky and Dzhemal consider him an FSB agent. Currently, Nukhaev is creating his own movement based on rigid nationalism and the division of Chechnya into two parts, with one of them seceding to Russia.

Connections to Lazovsky and FSB

Information about the connection between Lazovsky's gang and Nukhaev, as well as with FSB General Khokholkov and SVR Colonel Suslov, is mentioned in the only document known to us: "Report on the Situation in Novorossiysk." The origin of this report remains unclear. It was published by the website kompromat.ru (closely linked to the magazine "Kompromat" and the website flb.ru). We assume that this may be one of the documents used by the State Duma commission investigating events related to the Novorossiysk port. Unfortunately, all we know for certain about this commission so far is that it existed.

Litvinenko and Felshtinsky also write about the connection of the Lazovites with Khokholkov and Suslov in their book. However, they do not mention Nukhaev. This is likely due to the fact that Nukhaev worked for some time with Berezovsky, who sponsored the book. Apparently, Berezovsky and the book's authors do not believe in Nukhaev's involvement in any bombings. We also found no evidence of such involvement. Nor did we find any regarding Khokholkov and Suslov.

Aside from Nataev, not a single Chechen name appeared in the verdict against four former "Lanako" employees—among the 150 witnesses and victims who went through the hearings in the Moscow City Court over six months.

"Lanako" and the Apartment Bombings

Until now, very little pointed to a possible connection between "Lanako" and the apartment bombings: the presence of a professional explosives expert in the group. Besides Vorobyov, a hereditary defense industry worker, there were several other people from Tula in the group. In the 2002 Moscow City Court verdict, Vorobyov is not mentioned at all: he did not participate in any of the known bloody commercial actions. He was listed as a prosecution witness, but, according to the judge, he could not be found.

A chronological point is of interest: Vorobyov was arrested in August 1996, immediately after the trolleybus bombings (in which he was a suspect, but was convicted only for the bus bombing), and was released in August 1999—just a few days before the events we are considering.

Unlike other "Lanako" paramilitary operations, including those involving explosives, the bombings on transport appear completely random and aimless. The only possible motive one can assume is the attractiveness of the target: an unguarded bridge, clearly visible from a busy highway and surrounded on all sides by woods. The driver Akimov constantly drove past this place to work; presumably, Vorobyov and Kharisov—Lazovsky's closest associate—also frequently drove past here toward the city center. Right here, opposite the bridge, is also the stop for bus No. 33.

Indications of FSB Connection

There are somewhat more indications of a possible connection between "Lanako" and the FSB.

On November 11, 1996, "Novaya Gazeta" published the text of a deputy inquiry that Yuri Shchekochikhin, a member of the Duma Security Committee, sent to the heads of the FSB, MVD, Prosecutor General's Office, and the Presidential Administration (this inquiry can be read in full online in Litvinenko and Felshtinsky's book "FSB Blows Up Russia"). Shchekochikhin asks to confirm information he received from "one of the high-ranking officers of the MVD of the RF" regarding the participation of active FSB officers Karpichev, Mekhkov, Yumashkin, Abovyan, Dmitriev, and Dokukin in the activities of Lazovsky's gang and other groups. Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolesnikov responded to the inquiry: "Indeed... during the operations carried out in Moscow to capture armed criminals, in addition to Lazovsky, among those brought to the internal affairs agencies were individuals who presented identification documents on behalf of law enforcement and other state services." FSB Director Nikolai Kovalev also responded: "As the investigation showed, in their (UFSB officers' – Authors of the book) actions there were certain deviations from the requirements of departmental regulatory acts, which, combined with a lack of practical experience and professionalism, could have been the cause of the incident that attracted your attention..."

According to various testimonies, other members of the gang also had special services identification cards.

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