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Russian Mob Boss Grandpa Hassan Gunned Down On Moscow Street

A sniper took out mob boss Aslan Usoyan a/k/a Grandpa Hassan as the 75-year-old gangster was leaving a Moscow restaurant after a noontime lunch as reported by AAP:  "in a sign of Usoyan's colossal influence despite his increasing age, a parliament deputy expressed fear that his murder might trigger unprecedented turf wars and more violence."

Usoyan survived a 2010 attempt on his life, and at that time allegedly was involved in a gangland dispute over territory with reputed rival boss Tariel Oniani.

A police source suspects that "the 2010 and 2013 sniper shootings 'are connected and have apparently been prepared by the same people'" as reported by Russia Today.

Vyacheslav Ivankov, the so-called "godfather of organized crime," was killed in 2009, and apparently he had been attempting to resolve the supposed differences between Usoyan and Oniani.

Reputed Russian Mob Boss Survives Hit Attempt

Reputed Russian mob boss Aslan "Papa Hassan" Usoyan has survived an ambush shooting near the Kremlin in central Moscow as reported by AFP.  Usoyan allegedly had been involved in a gangland dispute over territory with reputed crime head Tariel Oniani.  Vyacheslav Ivankov -- the so-called "godfather of organized crime" -- allegedly was attempting to resolve the differences between Usoyan and Oniani at the time he was shot in July 2009 leaving a restaurant in a north Moscow neighborhood, and he died from his injuries a few months later.

Reputed Georgian Mafia Boss Gets 10 Years

Tariel Oniani a/k/a Tariel Mulukhov, "a reputed Georgian mafia boss linked to last year's slaying of Russian mafia boss Vyacheslav Ivankov," has been sentenced to ten years on kidnapping and extortion charges as reported by Natalya Krainova for The Moscow Times:  "Media reports have implicated Oniani in orchestrating a contract hit on Ivankov, or Yaponchik, who was shot by a sniper outside a Moscow cafe in July 2009 and died of complications of his injuries in a hospital three months later."   Sergei Abutidze and Alexei Zubarev, two alleged associates of Oniani, were sentenced to nine and six years, respectively.

New Anti-Mafia Laws In Russia

Russia has enacted tough new laws to target its country's top reputed mobsters but some are asking whether it's like closing the barn door after the horse has escaped as reported by Simon Shuster for Time magazine:

Given how entrenched Russia's organized crime syndicates have become in recent years, some experts question whether the new laws will do any good. According to a report that accompanied [President Dmitry] Medvedev's proposal, the number of criminal incidents linked to the Mafia increased by 32% between 2006 and 2008. Last year alone, the number of "grievous or especially grievous" offenses committed by the mob — contract killings and kidnappings — climbed by almost 10%.

Moreover, with the death last Friday of reputed Russian godfather Vyacheslav Ivankov following a July sniper attack on him, law enforcement is bracing for gangland war between rival groups allegedly headed by Tariel Oniani and Aslan Usoyan.

Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners today attended Ivankov's funeral as reported by Tony Halpin for the Times:

Vyacheslav Ivankov, better known by his mafia nickname of "Yaponchik" or Little Japanese, was buried next to his mother in Moscow's Vagankovskoye cemetery. Police and Interior Ministry troops maintained tight security and used sniffer dogs in the grounds to check for bombs amid fears of a gangland attack during the ceremony. * * * Men in black leather jackets and dark glasses carried his coffin aloft as hundreds of people followed behind, many carrying wreaths sent by gangs of criminal "brothers" from cities all over Russia. A police official told Ria Novosti news agency that "representatives of all Russia's criminal structures" were attending.  

Russian Godfather Dies From July Shooting

Vyacheslav Ivankov, whom U.S. law enforcement have called a godfather of Russian organized crime, has died after being shot three times in the stomach last July by an unknown sniper as reported by Reuters:

Vyacheslav Ivankov, nicknamed Yaponchik, or the little Japanese due to his Asiatic eyes, died in hospital aged 69 after he was severely wounded in the stomach on July 28. "We have received official confirmation from one of Moscow's medical establishments of the death of Vyacheslav Ivankov," Russian investigators said on their official website sledcomproc.ru. Russian news agencies had said Ivankov was mediating between two rival criminal groups before he was shot from 70 metres as he left a Thai restaurant. His killer, who is still at large, fired from a car parked on the opposite side of a highway, investigators said.