Nine Lives of a Korotkov Gang Gangster

Films and books are made about the gang of brothers Alexander and Vladimir Korotkov. In just one year, from May 1995 to January 1996, the thugs from Uralmash committed over 46 robberies and killed more than 20 people in Yekaterinburg. Random witnesses, women, police officers, criminal associates — they spared no one.

Today we will tell how the fate of one of the most active members of the gang, who personally participated in murders, — Aleksei Fedorov — unfolded in a bizarre way.

1997: Trial

The gang had 83 recorded criminal episodes. Robberies — 46. Murders — 21, among the victims three police officers. The criminal case took up 55 volumes. The sentence — 14 and 15 years in a penal colony.

In 1997, Aleksei Fedorov truly caught luck by the tail for the first time, together with other gang members, Alexander Korotkov and Vitaly Golenkov, he avoided execution and a life sentence.

The thing is, the raiders were tried under the old Criminal Code, where there was no life sentence, the maximum term was 15 years, and anything above that — execution. But the death penalty could not be imposed on the bandits due to the moratorium on it already in effect in Russia. Aleksei Fedorov received 14 years and, unlike the gang leader Alexander Korotkov (who died in custody), survived in the colony and was released.

Aleksei got married and found a job. In 2011, his daughter was born. However, by 2020, the family began having money problems. Loans became a heavy burden.

After sleepless nights, the former gangster decided to go for his last job and dug up a hidden sawn-off shotgun.

2020: Robbery of Cash Collectors

On 29 August 2022, shocking news spread across Yekaterinburg: an unknown man in a knitted hat with a sawn-off shotgun robbed two armed Sberbank cash collectors. It all happened in Verkhnyaya Pyshma at a branch on Petrova Street. The raider turned out to be Aleksei Fedorov.

The cash collectors had arrived to change cassettes in an ATM. Fedorov approached and forced them to squat with their hands up, then lie on the floor. And again he was lucky. The men, caught by surprise, did not even try to resist and complied with all demands. The attack was caught on video.

The footage shows Fedorov spraying something on their hands. It later turned out to be glue. After that, he takes the bag with ATM cassettes and leaves. A few seconds later, the cash collectors stand up, go outside, and give chase.

Fedorov did not get far, and to escape the pursuers he had to abandon his loot — the bag with 6 million rubles (approximately $60,000 at current rates).

He was soon detained, but instead of being sent to a detention center, he was placed under house arrest. It turned out that the accused has a serious chronic illness and is scheduled for spinal surgery.

He fully admitted his guilt. In court, he said that he was pushed into crime by his serious illness and the desire to leave a financial cushion for his family after his death.

The court took into account mitigating circumstances such as admission of guilt, health condition, and having children, and sentenced him to the lower limit — eight years in a strict regime colony out of a possible 15 for robbery (clause «b» part 4 article 162 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — from eight to fifteen years).

But he did not serve the sentence.

2022: Wagner

In 2022 (according to other sources — in early 2023) Fedorov signed a contract with the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) and left the colony. His health allowed it.

According to E1.RU sources, Aleksei participated in the capture of Bakhmut, had many awards, and proved himself a brave fighter. After six months, he received a pardon and returned to his family.

«From his unit, almost half died in the assaults, but he — not a scratch. Phenomenal luck. He returned home, doesn»t get into trouble, raises his daughter. Doesn«t want to fight anymore. Says: »I can«t be that lucky anymore.» A few months ago, he was seen in Uralmash,« an informed source told E1.RU.

Read about how the fate of other members of the Korotkov gang unfolded.

We wrote about how thanks to an unlucky debt collector, the most dangerous gang was detained, which shot cash collectors and terrorized two regions for 8 years.

And here is the story of the audacious attempt on a famous lawyer in the toilet of the Yekaterinburg mayor»s office. The killer shot him in the back while he was washing his hands, then managed to leave the building unnoticed. The case remains unsolved.

Also read the story of the brutally murdered family of doctors on Tveritina Street. In 1996, Valery Kulakov stabbed seven people, including a three-year-old child. A former investigator told how the murderer was identified and what his motives were.

Interesting criminal stories from the past we collect in a separate story.