Charismatic Thief in law Tariel Oniani (aka Taro) who’s expected to be released from prison in a week has a chance to avoid another arrest and resume the fight for the title of #1 Thief in law.

http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/russian-boss-tariel-oniani

So, when will we see bodies starting to drop?
In the post-Soviet underworld major case releases like these are mostly the starting shot of a mob war. I bet it won't take long before a Georgian, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Yazidi Kurd or Chechen known criminal is found shot dead in his car.

Also Thieves in law began to actively leave Russia. Among other things, this may be connected with the adoption of a new law, toughening the punishment for involvement in the underworld. We already have seen shootings in Amsterdam, Barcelona and Turkey so Europe should embrace itself.

Belgium as well. In 2011 David Ozmanov and Roman Manukyan - two Yezidi Kurdish gangsters close to Kalashov - where beaten and stabbed in a Belgian bar by a couple of Georgian gangsters.

For a long time there's been strife going on between the Georgian "Kutaisi clan" (to which Oniani is connected) and the mostly Yezidi Kurdish "Tbilisi clan" (to which Usoyan and Kalashov were/are connected). It seems to be more complicated than that though, since there's also quite a bit of internal strife going on between the Yezidis. Many apparently weren't happy with Usoyan's increasingly "global" minded activity in which he seemed to do more business with criminals outside as opposed to sticking with his clan. It's rumored that some of the Tbilisi-connected criminals have been seeking support from the Kutaisi-connected criminals. Though of course the Vor underworld is a very complicated web of alliances and rivalries so you can never tell what's really up.

Even behind bars he could direct the activities, I believe he even made phone calls to Spain. Oniani's group is very hierarchically, disciplined and strict.

they are active in greece also, the clans led by the bosses lasha shushanashvili and david sebiskveradze

In 2009, Usoyan, Yaponchik and their allies sent a letter to all “thieves-in-law” in prison, demanding they consider Taro “a whore” and “act in accordance with that”, which usually means killing. Nevertheless, Taro survived now and his time in jail is coming to an end and both his enemies are dead.

His brother Kakhaber Shushanashvili assaulted two criminal rivals in the belgian bar that TKJ mentioned. They also belong to the Kutaisi.

Siloviki might need Taro for further cooperation after he “helped release UN staff”

https://en.crimerussia.com/criminal...ration-after-he-helped-release-un-staff/

Taro was arrested again three days ago. It is expected that he will be held in a pre-trial detention center until May 19, after which he will be deported from Russia. Knowing about further deportation, Oniani planned to go to Turkey. He was supposed to be extradited to Georgia, from where he would have left for Turkey. His further route is unknown, the arrest of Oniani is due to the fact that Spanish law enforcement bodies have put him on the international wanted list.

In Turkey a mob gathering took place in honor of the celebration of the liberation of Oniani.
The 48-year-old representative of Central Asia, named Aktan, was vetted as a new thief in law. Only the following facts are known about him – he is half Kyrgyz – half Uzbek, served a prison sentence in the UAE. In the Dubai prison, he spent 10 years. It is curious that Gafur Rakhimov, a member of the Brothers' Circle, better known as Gafur Cherny, contributed to his promotion to the thieves' ranks.

Time of Taro. Thief-in-law to regain former glory?

https://en.crimerussia.com/criminalauthorities/time-of-taro-thief-in-law-to-regain-former-glory/

Well they keep Oniani from the streets a few more years, he will probably stay in Europe when he has served his sentence.

On the evening of October 23, it became known that thief in law Tariel Oniani, known in criminal circles as Taro, was extradited from Russia to Spain. Until recently, he was serving a sentence in a Russian colony. According to the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Irina Volk, Oniani was wanted on Interpol channels on suspicion of involvement in a criminal organization operating in Spain.

Members of this group abducted works of art, and also engaged in extortion. The possible extradition of a thief in law became known last spring, when the Spanish anti-corruption prosecutor sent an official request to Russia containing an accusation of criminal activity by Oniani. Taro faces 8.5 years in prison and a fine of 50 million euros in Spain.