An attempt to escape from the Kresty pre-trial detention center on February 23, 1992

In June 1991, a thief-recidivist Yuri Nikolaevich Perepelkin , born in 1959 , a native of Leningrad , previously convicted of theft and escaping from a colony settlement, was brought to Kresty. This time he was charged with premeditated murder, which, according to the laws of those years, taking into account his previous convictions, threatened him with the death penalty - execution , or a long term of imprisonment. Shortly before his arrest, Perepelkin in the apartment where he climbed in order to commit theft , committed the murder of the mistress and was soon arrested ^[1] .

Perepelkin decided to plan and organize an escape. Perepelkin was placed in cell no. 945, where he began planning the action and selecting accomplices ^[1] .

In the entire history of the prison, there were only 5 successful shoots from it ^[1] .

During the walks, Perepelkin remembered the location of the corridors of the corps, found out the schedule of guards on duty and the personal qualities of security officers.

Once, when Perepelkin was taken to an investigative experiment, he noticed that the building where his cell was located (the building for keeping people with an open form of tuberculosis) was located in a corner of the prison territory and was adjacent to a residential building located outside the territory of the pre-trial detention center . This was the only building in which the walking yards were on the roof, surrounded by shields with barbed wire ^[1] .

In cell No. 945, in addition to Perepelkin, there were 24 more people. He began searching for accomplices among those who were threatened with capital punishment or life imprisonment.

For the role of accomplice, he chose the 20-year-old Vladislav Zelenov, who also faced the death penalty . At the age of 20, Zelenov already had several difficult articles, but he was made a candidate for fugitives by the fact that, even before he was in prison, he killed the authority. According to concepts , once again in prison, Zelenov could die himself at the hands of other prisoners.

At the end of October 1991, a new prisoner appeared in the cell - 25-year-old Yuri Shapranov, who was once again arrested for robbery . He became a leader in the cell due to his physical and volitional qualities.

In November, Shapranov decided to escape from prison and persuaded Zelenov to escape (Perepelkin overheard their negotiations), then he suggested that Perepelkin also take part in the escape ^[1] . Perepelkin offered Shapranov his own, already verified escape plan, to which Shapranov agreed.

In addition to Perepelkin, Shapranov and Zelenov, four more of their cellmates - Nikita Fedorov, Vladimir Korolev, as well as Zinoviev and Utkin became accomplices.

The key to the door leading to the observation tower, Perepelkin planned to take away from the escort , who would take them for a walk that day. In the event of the failure of the entire operation, he had a backup plan ready - they would take hostages from among the prison controllers and, dictating their conditions of administration, would break free. At first, Shapranov refused the hostage idea (he would have been facing an impressive term of 15 years), but Perepelkin convinced him that it might not reach the hostages.

Korolev made a rope ladder from sheets and an air gun, with the help of which he measured the distance from the walking courtyard to the prison wall with a “ thorn ” and made sure that it was de-energized. Perepelkin and Shapranov chose the 20-year-old apartment thief Nikita Fedorov to play the role of the one who will have to hold the hostages. By mid-January 1992, Shapranov and Zelenov made sharpeners from shoe arch support . Perepelkin made imitations of pomegranates from bread crumb, and, having painted them green ^[2] , entrusted them to Korolev and Utkin.

Once controllers came to cell No. 945 and conducted a routine search. The criminals managed to hide all the devices they had made earlier ^[1] under the clothes - if Shapranov and Zelenov always wore sharpeners under the clothes, and Perepelkin used artificial grenades, then Korolev managed to hide his own assembled devices under his clothes at the last second. Having shown remarkable composure, the conspirators did not arouse suspicion among the controllers.

The operation was scheduled for February 23, 1992 . Perepelkin overheard the conversation of two prison guards, from which he learned that on that day, controller Valentin Avakumova will celebrate his birthday in the control room for controllers ^[1] .

At 10:30, all seven participants in the escape were taken out of cell No. 945 for a walk. The last were Fedorov with a sharpening and Utkin with a grenade, which, if necessary, should intimidate the controller following them with the dog. However, on the stairs, the controller with the dog did not follow them, but remained on the second floor and went into the office building ^[2] .

There was no guard at the observation tower, and Korolev gave a signal to start the escape. Going to the walking patio, the conspirators attacked the controller. Having taken the keys from him and stuffed the knocked-out controller into the walking patio, they closed it there, and then ran to the hatch leading to the tower, from where they planned to run out onto the roof. But in addition to the external lock, an internal one was installed on the hatch, which is always locked from the inside by the controller located on the tower. This overseer noticed the fugitives, blocked their further path and reported an attempt to escape to the operational part of the detention center. An alarm was announced at the detention center. A special unit was called up, and after a few minutes his soldiers ran up to building number 9 ^{[1] [2]} .

Realizing that the path to freedom is closed, the bandits took hostages of the controllers Alexander Yaremsky and Valentina Avakumova who are in the cabinet on the second floor ^[1] .

Shapranov and Zelenov tied the hostages. Utkin and Korolev jumped into the prison yard. Noticing the commandos, Utkin tried to stop them - he threatened to blow up a grenade in his hands. But he could not stop the commandos, and then, having jumped into the office, he locked the massive door from the inside. The fugitives demanded to contact the prison authorities and communicate their conditions - several types of weapons, transport to the airport and a plane for unhindered departure abroad. Everything had to be done by 13:30, otherwise the bandits threatened to kill the hostages ^[2] .

Perepelkin called his mother home and asked her to report the escape to reporters. The film crew of the 600 second television program, headed by Alexander Nevzorov and a number of other journalists, arrived at the detention center ^[1] .

Avakumova and Fedorov were sitting opposite the window so that everyone could see the intentions of the bandits, and Yaremsky and Perepelkin were in the depths of the cabinet. Yuri Shapranov entered into negotiations with the head of the regional department of correctional labor institutions, Colonel Alexander Kulakov, who constantly emphasized that the escape participants had nothing to lose ^[1] .

In the courtyard of the building began to operate a headquarters, which, in addition to Kulakov, also included Stepan Demchuk and a number of employees of the ITU management. Demchuk invited the bandits to return to the cell, promising that no punishment would follow, but they refused. The leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs demanded an assault ^[1] . Kulakov and Demchuk hoped that after a certain time the bandits would begin a period of apathy , during which they would be easily discouraged from escaping. But the bandits found alcohol in the cabinet, got drunk (Korolev was the most drunk), and the onset of apathy never happened.

When the special forces tried to install a staircase to the cabinet window, Fedorov looked out the window with Avakumova's hostage and ordered the staircase removed, which I had to do.

The siloviki tried to influence the fugitives with the help of their relatives and criminal authorities, but failed. ^[1] At 12 o’clock, during negotiations with his wife, the drunken Korolev shouted a phrase to her that was later used in the screensaver of the Criminal Russia program: “ I love you! Goodbye! ".

Negotiations continued to lead Shapranov, who, by decision of Perepelkin abstained from alcohol.

A drunken Korolev often appeared in the window, who threatened to kill the hostages with his own hands and called all the participants in the operation to neutralize them “goats” ^[1] : “ You will kill us, goats! ". At 13:10, drunk Zelenov shouted out a phrase that was later also used in the intro of Criminal Russia : “ Our youth will pass here!” We will die here in prison! ".

It was found that the organizer of the escape was Yuri Perepelkin. Soon the window appeared for a short time and he, however, left almost immediately. As it turned out later, the hostage Yaremsky, unattended, tried to free himself ^[1] , which attracted the attention of Perepelkin and was stopped.

A few minutes before the end of the ultimatum, Utkin appeared in the window with a bread pomegranate and threatened again with an explosion, but realizing that he would not solve anything, he left.

Utkin did not exaggerate that he would explode a grenade - Perepelkin inserted 40 grams of TNT into each grenade. TNT for grenades in an unknown way got Zinoviev when he was in the Lomonosov pre-trial detention center. Already in the "Crosses" and learning that TNT will be needed to create grenades that are useful when escaping, Zinoviev agreed to give TNT to Perepelkin.

Later, Zinoviev himself appeared in the window, saying goodbye to a certain Igor - one of the prisoners: " Igor! .. Tramp, goodbye! .. Igor! Bro, no see you again, hear? .. Hold on, bro! “At the trial in 1995, Zinoviev admitted that he had specially played the farewell scene in order to calm the colony leadership and make it clear to him that neither he nor his comrades would harm the hostages.

Soon, an order came from Moscow to prepare for the assault. According to the plan, a sniper from the roof first had to eliminate Fedorov, who was holding hostage Avakumova, and then those who were in direct line of sight - Shapranov, Zelenov and Korolev. At the same time, one group of special forces had to knock down the lock on the cabinet door with a sledgehammer, and the other had to go through the window on the stairwell. In parallel, snipers from the roofs of neighboring buildings were supposed to eliminate those who would be in their direct line of sight - Zinoviev and Utkin. They planned to take Perepelkin alive and subsequently judge.

But the roofs, on which the special forces were located, were clearly visible from the windows of other buildings, and prisoners from the cells of neighboring buildings, who noticed the special forces, began shouting and giving conditional signs to the bandits that the operation was being prepared. I had to hurryly recall the units that had already practically penetrated into Building 9. The bandits continued to talk with the prisoners, learning about the alignment of forces before the operation ^[1] .

In order to drown out the cries of the prisoners, a fire engine with a powerful engine was fitted. Sent at 14:09 by Perepelkin to the window, Zelenov shouted to be removed: “ They removed the car!” They removed the car, I tell you! Now someone’s ear or head will fly out! "Perepelkin, sticking out Yaremsky's window, injured him with a sharpener and forced him to repeat the demands of the bandits.

The situation became critical, and the headquarters ordered the assault to begin. At 14:12, by a sniper shot through the window, both capture groups broke into Building 9. The lattice on the cabinet window from the side of the stairwell did not yield, and the door could not be knocked out the first time. Only ten minutes later, the capture groups managed to get inside, and the bandits were neutralized ^[1] .

During the assault, three bandits were eliminated - Shapranov, Zelenov and Fedorov.

Judging by the posthumous photo, Shapranov could survive after being injured - a hematoma was seen on his face in the photo (it is possible that he could be finished off by overseers). Fedorov was fatally wounded in the chest and died later. Zelenov died on the spot - a bullet hit him right in the mouth.

Avakumova was saved - she was discovered immediately. But Yaremsky, another hostage, could not be found immediately, and he subsequently died from serious injuries resulting from striking him in the heart region with Yuri Perepelkin.

The trial of the escape participants took place in 1995 . Korolev was sentenced to 15 years in prison, Zinoviev - to 13, Utkin - to 6. Perepelkin was sentenced to capital punishment - the death penalty , which was subsequently replaced by life imprisonment . Currently, Perepelkin is serving his sentence in IK-1 " Mordovia Zone " in the village of Sosnovka, Republic of Mordovia .

• Maternity capital [1]
• Escape from the Crosses. Criminal Russia HD [2]
• The memory of Alexander Yaremsky was honored in St. Petersburg [3]