A person of interest in Gavunas’ case in custody in Cyprus 02.10.2021

"Every fox must pay its skin to the furrier".
(с) Popular wisdom.

Today I read interesting news on “The Pskovskaya Guberniya” website. It says, "A person of interest in Gavunas' case in custody in Cyprus". Here is the full text:

Lev Saliaev, a person of interest in the Gavunas case, has been taken into custody in Cyprus, a Pskov Gubernia correspondent reports from the courtroom. On September 13, the local court chose a preventive measure - he was detained.

A trial for his extradition is scheduled for October 15. According to preliminary information, Saliaev went there on holiday. His lawyer suggested that the court discuss whether to continue the trial until the extradition trial.

We would remind you that Mr Saliaev is charged under part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (large scale swindling) and part 2 of Article 171.2 (illegal organising and conducting games of chance connected with deriving a particularly large income). Mikhail Gavunas, former vice-governor and vice-speaker of the Pskov parliament, is also charged with this case. Moreover, he is accused of forgery.

Of course, the report by the Pskovkaya Guberniya correspondent "reporting from the courtroom in Cyprus" is ridiculous, but the arrest of Lev Salyaev is quite indicative. As the next in line may be Mikhail Gavunas, who also likes to go to Cyprus. 🙂

The story with Mikhail Gavunas is, of course, is water under the bridge. But I believe that such cases should be not time-barred. All the more so now, "warm and fuzzy" Mikhail Gavunas is persistently trying to return to Russia by ruining criminal cases against himself in court, using the former connections in the judiciary and the Administration of the Pskov region. And all this is being done with the active support of the regional media.

My conflict with Mikhail Gavunas began in June 2007, after the attempt on the journalist Vadim Guzinin who then blamed Mikhail Gavunas. I called Gavunas, and we had a rather unpleasant conversation. After that, my article was published on the now-defunct resource "Novye Khroniki" under the title "Zone of Bandit Mayhem". I will include it in this post. Also I would like to write about how the Pskov "journalists" reacted to the attempt on Vadim Guzinin's life. Here, in particular, are the comments of Alexander Mashkarin, editor of the “Pskovskaya Lenta Novostei” at that date:

Text translation:
zebroid
Dima, are you just really this dumb? Guzynin is a prostitute, and there are no problems for anybody.

david_arius
That might apply to you, too, Sasha. And there's every reason to. Think about it before you write anything.

As I understand it, there is no need to comment on it. I would only add that Alexander Mashkarin is not "Putin’s journalist», but he is a Pskov liberal "journalist", a member of “Yabloko” party and a great friend of Lev Schlossberg.

Zone of Bandit Mayhem

The Pskov Oblast rarely makes the national news bulletins. But, unfortunately, this constituent entity of the Federation is now one of the leaders in the North-West in terms of the crime situation. The situation has become particularly depressing after the attempt on one of the region's leading journalists, Vadim Guzinin, editor of the Rim, Pskov News Agency.

The attempt on Vadim Guzinin took place on June 15, 2007. The attackers were not ashamed to commit this crime in broad daylight on Sovetskaya Street, one of the main streets of Pskov. Vadim Guzinin was walking out of the Bureau of the Technical Inventory building with a Bureau employee. At that moment, a tall young man ran up to him from behind and stabbed him in the right kidney area. Vadim Guzinin was not frightened and drew his revolver, firing into the air. After that, the attacker fled. The wound was very serious. Fortunately, an ambulance arrived at the scene just a few minutes later. Vadim Guzinin was taken to the intensive care unit of Pskov Regional Hospital, where he underwent complex surgery to fix his ruptured kidney.

According to Vadim Guzinin and a lot of evidence to that effect, Mikhail Gavunas, deputy of the Pskov Oblast Assembly of Deputies, is behind this attempt. Vadim Guzinin gave an interview on this matter where he directly points out that the motive for the attempt on his life was: "Revenge on the part of Gavunas, who is known never to forgive public insults inflicted on him, for making public the photographic documents confirming the outright buying of votes in the spring elections to the Pskov Oblast Assembly in the Palkino district. Hundreds of voters living in Pskov were brought to Palkino and neighbouring rural councils, which ensured desired result for Gavunas to get into the regional parliament from Palkino and Pechorskiy district". Mikhail Gavunas is, according to many people, the most odious person in Pskov politics. He came to the Pskov region in 1996 as a member of the team of the Governor Evgeny Mikhailov. After three years in public service, Mikhail Gavunas became one of the richest men in the region. One of the largest enterprises in the region, "Pskovpischeprom", and the plant "Euro-Ceramica" came under his control.

Almost everyone in the region has always feared Mikhail Gavunas. Apart from the core vodka business, Mikhail Savelievich's interests extended far and wide. In an interview with the Pskov News Agency Rim, it's written about a private security company controlled by Mikhail Gavunas: "Gavunas's PSC has sheltered many professionals who have passed a good school in hot spots and gangster disputes. The story goes that security guards dismissed or rejected by Gavunas say that when applying to the PSC, Gavunas personally interviews the applicants whether they have ever killed an enemy with their own hands and whether they are prepared, if necessary, to put their knowledge into practice." Taking into account the fact that the name of the current deputy entrepreneur was mentioned during the most significant raider attacks on several enterprises in the region, for example, the Novoizborsk combine of non-metallic materials, as well as in several high-profile contract murders, including one of the members of the Pskov Oblast Assembly of Deputies, there is a reason to believe it.

Many things are possible in Russia, but I think an attempt on a journalist cannot be forgiven! And the man who is currently the main figure in this case, according to several experts, is involved in the murder of his colleague and also a debtor, Alexey Bolshakov, a deputy of the Pskov Oblast Assembly, as well as Alexander Basin, his lawyer "who knew too much". The man is still at large. He is, by a strange coincidence, not called to the prosecutor's office or court. Moreover, according to some witnesses, this man's money was used to buy a flat for one of the judges of the Arbitration Court, and the amount of bribes paid to some law enforcement officers is measured in large and very large amounts.

Also, by a strange coincidence, there have been gratuitous subventions from the regional budget for businesses affiliated with this man for several years. Several years ago, the Audit Chamber of the Russian Federation started investigating these allegations, but things haven't budged an inch!

Maybe Mikhail Gavunas can sleep soundly, but too much and too many people say that this man is a relic of the criminal nineties in our region. And also, too many facts indicate that the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation should have started looking into his activities long ago if someone in the region is solving its housing problem at his expense!

Dmitrii Ershov

Tags: Gavunas | Guzinin | Pskov | crime