Mikhail Pogosyan Attacked
// The head of Russia’s largest aircraft holding was attacked right in front of his TV-set
VIP-attack
Director general of Suhkoi aircraft holding, Russia’s largest military enterprise, was attacked yesterday in Moscow Region yesterday. Bandits penetrated into his country house in Livadia on Istra, an elite neighbourhood. They beat up Mr. Pogosyan, bound his wife and son, robbed the cottage and left unnoticed by security guards. As a result, a next round of the talks with China on the sale of Sukhoi fighters has been put off for indefinite time.
The house of the head of Sukhoi holding situated in Livadia on Istra neighbourhood (off the village of Boriskovo, Istra district of Moscow Region) was attacked at half past twelve in the evening. Four bandits penetrated into the cottage through the window, one of them had a gun. At that time, the owner of the house was dozing in the living room at the ground floor sitting in front of the TV-set. His wife and 19-year-old son were sleeping in their rooms on the first floor. Mikhail Pogosyan woke up and tried to offer resistance to the attackers but was beaten up and bound. Mr. Pogosyan’s wife and son were also bound but not beaten.
The criminals stole 70,000 rubles (the businessman’s salary was on the table in the living-room), his wife’s jewelry, a collection of gold and silver coins of the Russian Central Bank (some 40 items), three wrist-watches, several awards and medals. They escaped 15 minutes after the assault.
Mikhail Pogosyan managed to untie the ropes only half an hour later, 20 minutes later an investigation team arrived at the scene. The owner of the house was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with “the fracture of two ribs, many serious haematomas on the face and the body”.
The Interior minister Rashid Nurgaliev took the investigation under his personal control. The criminal investigation department of the Istra district police are convinced that the crime will be solved. “The bandits were laymen. They did not wear masks, and now we have their e-fit pictures. These are young men of 20-25 years old, with Slavic features.” The criminals left no fingerprints as they had gloves on. The investigation team are sure the criminals were well aware of the security system of the neighbourhood. Livadia on Istra is fenced and patrolled by four officers of Mangust Service private security firm. Most houses of the neighbourhood have burglar alarm and various security systems that make it possible to immediately notify the security guards of any incidents. “The attackers had a tipper-of that lives from the neighbourhood who explained the system to them in detail. That’s why they first of all took from Pogosyan a trinket that calls the guards,” the police told Kommersant.
A source in Sukhoi company informed Kommersant that “it is the fourth assault in the neighbourhood where Mikhail Pogosyan lives in this year. Mangust Service security firm declined to give any comments to Kommersant yesterday but hinted that it was partially Mr. Pogosyan’s fault. “Like many other locals, he did not take the security measures seriously.” A security guard says that many residents of Livadia did not follow the recommendations of the security to equip their plots of land with emergency lamps. What is more, the guards were recently banned from entering private areas while on the beat, including the one of Pogosyan.
Alexey Poveshchenko, advisor of the company’s head, told Kommersant that Mikhail Pogosyan had never had personal security guards. Mr. Poveshchenko believes that “after the murder of Igor Klimov [acting director general of Almaz-Antey, largest military concern] in 2003, attacks on a number of other heads of large armament companies, and now attack on Mikhail Pogosyan, it is absolutely clear that these people are of interest for the crime and need to be secured.”
A source of Kommersant in the holding said the attack had taken its toll on the activity of Sukhoi. Mikhail Pogosyan was going to leave for China, where a next round of the talk on the sale of a new lot of Sukhoi fighters was to take place. Now the visit has been put off until the recovery of the director general.
Alexander Zheglov, Konstantin Lantratov
All the Article in Russian as of June 30, 2005
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