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the gang members, Astafurov, sensed that there was some kind of ambush awaiting him in his home, and so he hid in a box storing potatoes. Trembling with fear, he spent two days in there before being discovered and arrested. However, Burdenko remained the only one uncaptured, with policemen only confiscating some of his items for examination. To the authorities' surprise, however, Burdenko himself later appeared in the police department, demanding that they return the things seized during the search. He was arrested on the spot, and other evidence was discovered in his apartment: $ 4,000, an investigator's handbook for investigating banditry, a book about
Russian pistols, a radio, handcuffs and a cache of Makarovs. Quickly realising that they had been watched, the gang confessed to all of their crimes.
349:-based Kovalevich family, who were currency traders, for a ransom worth $ 30,000. Burdenko was tasked with watching the victims. On June 26, 2003, in broad daylight, he informed his accomplices that the spouses were entering the apartment. When they exited the elevator, the husband and wife were shot with the Makarov and an improvised revolver. Although severely injured, Mr. Kovalevich managed to fight off the criminals with a fishing pole, while his wife hanged back with a bullet in her stomach. The elevator doors then miraculously closed, with the spouses managing to crawl out in the street and call for help. They were later transported to a hospital and saved by the doctors. However, the gang had escaped through a pre-planned route: through the roof.
381:, inspector Yevgeny Gulyaev, who was recently on a business trip to Slantsy, noticed a group of drivers along the road. When one of their cars broke down, he asked them if any of their colleagues had gone missing, with one replying that somebody indeed had: Georgy Romanov. The corpse found in the forest was quickly identified as that of Romanov by the traffic police, but soon after, another body was discovered along the same road. The authorities, who had learned that Petrachkov had also gone missing in the area, connected the dots when a bullet was also found in the head of this body as well. Both killings pointed towards a gang operating in the area.
363:
of Ivan
Stepanovich N., with his wife and 3-year-old child present, all camouflaged, carrying batons and handcuffs. Although Ivan was beaten up and his arm broken, his wife managed to close the door in the attackers' faces before calling the police. Because of this, the criminals were scared off and
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The criminals were eventually captured when the cellphone belonging to
Petrachkov, which Burdenko registered in his name, was traced and monitored by the police. After a month of close observation, the operatives moved in to arrest the criminals on November 13, 2003. Just a few days before, one of
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When charged, the other members rallied behind their leader
Burdenko, accusing the police of beating them into confessing. Meanwhile, Balchugina's mother, driven to despair by the fact that the criminals never revealed where her daughter's corpse was hidden, believed that she was still only
302:. They would install spikes on the road, camouflage themselves and their guns, binoculars and radios, and wait for victims. On the night of April 21, 2002, they were unlucky, and drove home in a bad mood. While passing through the village of Kolektivniyi, the duo noticed a lone
384:
Later on, another forester by the name of
Alexander Sergeevich recalled that several months earlier, he had seen a strange man loitering around the burial site at 5 o'clock in the morning. When they approached the man, he quickly entered his car and sped away.
232:
Dmitry "Dimka" Ignatovich (b. 1974) - originally attended the same school in
Polotsk along with Burdenko, Ignatovich was sent to a prison colony for theft, from which he later escaped, hurting an officer in the process. He managed to become a proficient thief
211:
Pugachev and
Burdenko would later be convicted of the murders, with the former being sentenced to death and executed, while the latter received a life sentence. Ignatovich and Astafurov received lesser sentences, and have since been released.
314:. Burdenko shot the sleeping Petrachkov through the glass, and at Pugachev's request, finished him off with a headshot. The victim's money and cellphone were taken, and his blood-soaked Galant was burned in a forest in the Rossony District.
224:
Alexander
Burdenko (b. 1974) - originally attended the same school in Polotsk along with Ignatovich, Burdenko entered the Yaroslavl Higher Military Financial School, where he was later kicked out of for lack of discipline. While living in
331:
Several raids were carried out by the quartet on companies, enterprises, apartments and villas of wealthy people in the
Vitebsk Region and Brest Region, with the loot amounting to around 130 million
236:
Sergey
Astafurov (b. 1970) - described as an "authoritative" thief by his fellow gang members, Astafurov, despite being a big talker and heavy drinker, had the ability to deal with any kind of alarm.
317:
A few months later, a similar event was repeated, when Pugachev shot and killed another car enthusiast from Slantsy named Georgy Romanov. His corpse was also buried in the forest, with his
264:
In the span of three years, the gang would rob a large number of facilities, assault multiple victims, steal money and engage in banditry. The following crimes are their most notable:
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with the aim of stealing their gold jewelry. The first victim, 24-year-old Valentina Balchugina, had her head smashed in with an iron pipe. The other victim, 20-year-old
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The thirst for profit between the former school buddies would eventually make them cross paths again, with Ignatovich borrowing $ 200 from Burdenko, giving him a
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335:. The criminals stole computer equipment, car batteries, washing machines, gas stoves and gold jewelry, all of which would be sold in their native Polotsk.
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Alexander Zholudev. The victim had a bullet from a Makarov lodged into his head. Although some detectives had the feeling this would quickly become a
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Ignatovich and Astafurov stole an office safe from an entrepreneur, containing $ 250–300. However, one of them was scared off by the watchman.
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596:
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284:-based dancer Sveta Golovach, an acquaintance of the criminals, was strangled with a belt. The gold was then shared between the two.
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Among their numerous robberies, another notable attack on a family was done by the gang. Three of them had tried to break into the
276:
During the summer months, Pugachev and Burdenko, under the influence of alcohol, lured two girls on separate occasions into their
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to look for her. As for the gang, after five hours of deliberation, Justice Leonid Petrov handed out the following verdicts:
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as deposit. Later on, Burdenko introduced Ignatovich to Pugachev, and in turn, the former let Astafurov into the gang.
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in order to bring them luck, much to the amusement of his co-conspirators. However, it is unclear who that member is.
229:, he had received a suspended sentence for robbery. According to sources, his favorite type of item to steal is gold.
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200:. With the aid of thieves Dmitry Ignatovich and Sergey Astafurov, the gang robbed numerous places around the
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Sergey Pugachev (b. 1972) - a former entrepreneur, noted for once selling pantyhose on the market.
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Dmitry Ignatovich - sentenced to 18 years imprisonment in a reinforced regime colony.
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Sergey Astafurov - sentenced to 13 years imprisonment in a reinforced regime colony.
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along the road. The car belonged to Russian car enthusiast Nikolay Petrachkov, from
208:, with Pugachev and Burdenko themselves killing two girls and two car enthusiasts.
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On September 11, 2002, the decomposing body of an unidentified man was found by
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Alexander Burdenko - sentenced to life imprisonment in a special regime colony.
439:"Death sentence imposed in Polotsk to one of the organizers of the local gang"
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Sergey Pugachev - sentenced to death and subsequently executed in 2005.
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487:"For several years a gang of cold-blooded killers operated in Polotsk"
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Pugachev and Burdenko would regularly travel from Polotsk to the
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criminals and robbers, active from 2001 to 2002, led by
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The quartet prepared for at least a week to kidnap the
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It is also noted that one member of the gang practised
298:-Polotsk Highway, bordering with the Russian town of
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512:"Polotsk gangsters abandoned the priest"
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16:Belarusian criminals and serial killers
612:People convicted of murder by Belarus
592:Belarusian people convicted of murder
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485:Sergey Golesnik (November 25, 2005).
97:Murder with aggravating circumstances
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627:Prisoners and detainees of Belarus
602:Executed Belarusian serial killers
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1:
549:(in Russian). July 12, 2005.
326:Spring 2002 to November 2003
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617:People executed by Belarus
520:(in Russian). 8 July 2005.
398:kidnapped, and set out to
597:Belarusian serial killers
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84:
582:2000s murders in Belarus
577:2003 murders in Belarus
572:2002 murders in Belarus
567:2001 murders in Belarus
587:21st-century criminals
369:Discovery and capture
116:18 years (Ignatovich)
71:Execution by shooting
517:Komsomolskaya Pravda
118:13 years (Astafurov)
52:Pishchalauski Castle
622:People from Polotsk
393:Trial and sentences
137:Span of crimes
67:Cause of death
321:also being burned.
198:Alexander Burdenko
80:"The Polotsk Gang"
607:Murder in Belarus
543:"Thugs got their"
319:Volkswagen Passat
304:Mitsubishi Galant
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171:November 13, 2003
112:Life imprisonment
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547:SB-Belarus Today
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491:SB-Belarus Today
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445:. June 29, 2005.
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167:Date apprehended
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103:Criminal penalty
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77:Other names
38:Byelorussian SSR
23:The Polotsk Four
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185:was a group of
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48:2005 (Pugachev)
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191:serial killers
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91:Conviction(s)
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206:Brest Region
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183:Polotsk Four
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347:Novopolotsk
233:afterwards.
561:Categories
420:References
187:Belarusian
114:(Burdenko)
109:(Pugachev)
379:cold case
364:ran away.
312:Kingisepp
248:Formation
242:occultism
141:2001–2002
375:forester
155:State(s)
443:BelaPAN
354:Undated
308:Slantsy
300:Opochka
216:Members
149:Belarus
146:Country
128:Victims
123:Details
60:Belarus
34:Polotsk
400:Moscow
333:rubles
296:Lepiel
282:Poland
260:Crimes
227:Russia
361:dacha
278:Volvo
107:Death
56:Minsk
340:2003
289:2002
268:2001
204:and
196:and
181:The
45:Died
29:Born
563::
545:.
526:^
514:.
499:^
489:.
451:^
428:^
58:,
54:,
36:,
131:4
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