From an assassination attempt in Montenegro to the shooting near Levantine: how thief-in-law Rufo Gyandzhinsky extorts money through bloody terror in Moscow

From an assassination attempt in Montenegro to the shooting near Levantine: how thief-in-law Rufo Gyandzhinsky extorts money through bloody terror in Moscow

Journalists have reported on the unprecedented activity that thief-in-law Ulfat Tagiev (Rufo Gyandzhinsky) has unleashed in Moscow after the assassination attempt in Montenegro.

First, his gunmen staged a shootout in Marfino, and then they fired at the car of a co‑owner of the Levantine restaurant. The “thief-in-law” is directing the actions of his fighters from China.

After Rufo was finally expelled from Russia and given a lifetime ban on entering the country, he settled in Dubai. Around the same time, his sworn enemy, thief-in-law Namik Salifov, was also living there. The two had long been trying to eliminate each other, and they continued their usual business in the UAE: bringing in more and more fighters and preparing for a “war.” The Dubai law enforcement authorities got wind of it. Namik managed to leave before the crackdown, but Rufo and about 40 militants from both sides were detained. They were all ordered to leave the UAE and never return. Tagiev chose China as his next base.

But eventually he grew bored there and moved to Montenegro, where he could lead his usual lifestyle and personally meet with other “thieves‑in‑law.” Another such meeting took place two months ago. As the mobster was leaving a restaurant afterwards, a hitman ran up to him and pulled the trigger twice. Both times the gun misfired. Then local residents witnessed a rather amusing scene: the hitman running away, followed by Rufo and his bodyguards (unarmed) — with the latter cursing the attacker, invoking all his close relatives, while the attacker hurled equally colourful insults back at them on the run. Tagiev and his guards managed to escape the hitman, but the local police did not — he was soon arrested. However, Rufo decided not to push his luck and left Montenegro. According to preliminary information, he returned to China again.

During his wanderings, Tagiev’s finances took a serious hit. Moreover, in Moscow — where his money flows from — people had begun to forget about the “thief‑in‑law,” which painfully affected his “income.” As a result, Rufo decided to make a loud statement of his presence. On August 7, near the Auchan supermarket in Marfino, the mobster’s gunmen arranged a “showdown” with those who had been “forgetting” and with their new “roof” (protection racket). No conversation took place. Instead, a brawl broke out with gunfire and a car chase (as seen on video). However, so far only one of Rufo’s henchmen, Alikhan Yandiev, has been arrested following the brawl.

And on August 12, gunshots rang out again in Moscow. Near the Levantine restaurant (located in Lotto Plaza), militants fired at the car of Shaiq Suleimanov, a co‑owner of the establishment. Shortly before that, he had met with Rufo’s representatives, who told him he needed to make a contribution to the “common fund” (obshchak). He refused — and immediately after that, the shots were fired.

According to the media, this is Rufo’s favourite tactic: to stage a series of armed confrontations — usually accompanied by casualties — to, so to speak, show force and inspire terror. Then a single phone call from China is enough to make businessmen and traders start making their “contributions to the common fund.”