Anatoliy Ivanovich Alexandrov, also known as "Tolya Kuvalda", was born in Leningrad in 1963.
Law enforcement workers characterize him as one of the most ruthless among the "Tambovskaya" criminal group. Following the attempt on Vladimir Kumarin's life on June 1, 1994, the "Tambovskaya" members barricaded the hospital where he was hospitalized to prevent any further attacks.
Indeed, Anatoliy was one of the organizers of this siege. At some point, the OMON (Special Purpose Police Unit) lifted the hospital blockade. Around sixty "Tambovskaya" members were then apprehended, each armed with a pump-action shotgun and, naturally, licensed for it. After brief negotiations, a joint post, consisting of OMON officers and several "Tambovskaya" members, was established in the hospital corridor near the room where Kumarin was located.
Tolya was one of them; he personally guarded Vladimir Kumarin from a potential
second attempt.

Among the "Tambovskaya" group, Kuvalda gained influence along with the money he earned in the initial stages of his metal business — overseeing contraband shipments. In his crew, there was no traditional hierarchy. Instead, they operated on a system of stakeholders. The chief stakeholder led the entire metal scene, and Tolya Kuvalda held the most significant investment in the metal business among them all

Once, in late 1993, Tolya was driving along the Fontanka River embankment in his luxurious car. At the intersection with Nevsky Avenue, he abruptly hit the brakes. The driver of the "Zhiguli" behind him couldn't react in time and collided with the rear of Tolya's foreign car. The damage to the car was minimal, but for some reason, Tolya became so furious that he jumped out of the car and kicked the front windshield of the guilty "Zhiguli" with all his strength. The glass shattered into pieces, but it turned out that a police officer was behind the wheel of those "Zhiguli," and he happened to be on duty at that moment! Upon learning this, Tolya quickly fled the scene and entrusted his lawyer with settling the matter. The case was hushed up.

In late 1993, on one of the weekends at the "Alenushka" café on Moskovsky Prospekt, business negotiations were underway. The "Tambovskaya" members were persuading one of the founders of "Alenushka" to sign a contract with them to open a casino. However, the founder resisted, and the negotiations gradually reached an impasse. At that point, several sturdy young individuals entered the café and assaulted the uncooperative businessman, inflicting several knife wounds. The victim claimed that Tolya Kuvalda delivered the first blow, knocking him down, and allegedly, he also stabbed him in the thigh.

The last time Anatoliy was in the police was in April 1995 when the Regional departments for combating organized crime (RUOP) organized a famous raid across all the criminal hotspots of our glorious city after the "kazantsy" (presumably another criminal group) shot up a car with operatives. That night, RUOP decided to show the entire criminal world of St. Petersburg that they would not tolerate turning their officers into targets, especially considering it's not "acceptable."
Bandits shouldn't shoot at law enforcement, just as the latter shouldn't, for example, plant drugs on them during arrests. Both actions are lawlessness, and even the criminal code of honor harshly condemns them.

In a brief conversation with one of the operatives, he said something along these lines: "Yes," Tolya said, "I understand that on your side, there's strength, the law, and organization. But on our side, there's justice. You can't solve issues, that's why you're not respected in the business world, although they fear you. I have influence; I genuinely resolve matters, which is why businessmen come to me. And I'm not a bandit at all. I'm a businessman; I help those who present me with a contract. Essentially, I ensure the security of contracts, that's all."

That night, Tolya was brutally beaten in the Rapid Reaction Unit (RUOP), so severely that even seasoned RUOP officers were amazed at how he endured it. However, several months later, in the summer of 1995, Tolya met his end under the most banal circumstances.

From the recollections of Anatoliy's spouse: "We went for a few days to relax in Vaskelovo, where I had a small house. Tolya's friends visited us, and around the house were 5-6 nice cars like BMWs and Mercedes. Then, a tractor driver named Kolya approached us and started bothering us. He apparently didn't like that he drove a tractor while we had a jeep. It was ten in the morning; the tractor driver was heavily intoxicated and behaved outrageously."

One of the guys who came to visit us lost his temper, grabbed a skewer, and told the tractor driver to leave, or else he'd skewer him. It led to a small scandal, and eventually, they escorted Kolya out. We needed to bring water, but the well was far away, and walking there was inconvenient. So, we decided to go for water in Tolya's car. The car got stuck, and we asked another tractor driver, Misha, to tow us. Misha helped, and as payment, we gave him a bottle of vodka - they don't take money; in villages, the currency is only vodka.

After a while, both of them - Kolya and Misha - approached us again. Misha had a hunting rifle in his hands. Tolya was standing by the gate, talking to my brother. Misha walked up and shot Tolya point-blank in the eye. Tolya didn't even flinch, perhaps until the last moment, he was confident that he wouldn't shoot... - Did Tolya carry a weapon? - No, never...

This is a fragment from the book "Corrupted Petersburg."

Russian Criminal World - Russian Criminal World

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