Grandfather Khasan — the last of the thieves-in-law, - Le Monde

Aslan Usoyan fell to the ground under the stern gaze of Leo Tolstoy. The old bandit was bleeding beside the bronze monument to the author of "War and Peace" near house No. 50 on Povarskaya Street in the center of Moscow.

An assassin armed with a “Val” automatic rifle (a weapon of Russian special services) waited for Usoyan to exit his favorite Armenian restaurant "Old Phaeton" on January 16, 2013. The first bullet hit him in the neck, and then the killer fired five more times to ensure his escape route and keep the bodyguards at bay. Usoyan lost 4.5 liters of blood—his neck was literally torn apart by an armor-piercing bullet.

The organizers didn’t want to take any chances. "Grandfather Hasan" or "Grandpa," as he was nicknamed among the "Thieves in Law" (this sprawling criminal organization was formed during Soviet times), had already been the target of an assassination attempt at his residence in Sochi in 1998. In 2010, a shooter in Moscow hit him in the stomach. Who could have thought that 73-year-old Hasan would survive?

Three years later, the contract was fulfilled, and Grandfather Hasan died in the hospital. An untimely death, as befits a thief. The criminal world was in shock. After the murder of Yaponchik in 2009, Grandfather Hasan was the most influential and respected bandit in Russia. In the media, which craved heroes, he was almost portrayed as a movie hero, highlighting his modesty, adherence to code...

"I won’t forget my mother"

Excessive but understandable interest. Linked to the camps in the 1930s, the thieves in law captured people’s imaginations. The aristocracy of the criminal world, the elite ruling over the bandit plebs and casting their nets across the globe...

Grandfather Hasan, known for his longevity and impeccable dressing style, was a symbol of their grandeur. Moreover, he enjoyed undisputed authority (understandably, not among his orderers). Contemporaries hadn’t yet realized this, but his murder was not just another episode in the history of Russian organized crime: it marked the end of an era.

Aslan Usoyan was born in the dreadful year of 1937 in Tbilisi, Soviet Georgia, which later produced so many of the thieves. He was of Yezidi origin, and the nickname "Grandfather Hasan" was a reference to the folklore of this people. How did he start his criminal path? There is no information about this, but the post-war years were a period of poverty for millions of self-dependent children.

He got his first term in 1956, at the age of 19. One and a half years for resisting the police. In 1959 he was convicted for theft, in 1966 for speculation. He sold fake gold. But the main events took place in prison, in the "zone": it was there that the "coronation" of a thief in law took place. For Hasan, this moment occurred in either 1963 or 1968 — sources differ. It is also said that he differed from his tattoo-covered fellow thieves by having only a single inscription on his knee: "I Won’t Forget My Mother." Meaning "I won’t betray the thieves".

Discipline is the key trump card

Initially, he built his reputation in the south of the country: Krasnodar, Rostov, Sochi... The thieves had two lines of activity. On one hand, they acted as arbitrators in the criminal world, invited to resolve conflicts and were paid for this. On the other, they ran their own operations: racketeering, smuggling, extortion, prostitution... The full range. But truly serious matters began for them after the collapse of the USSR. Thieves were one of the few organizations that had the resources and experience to establish themselves amidst the chaos of the 1990s. A key trump card was discipline.

Because of the collegial nature of the organization (it had no supreme leader), clan wars often flared up within it. Nevertheless, it adhered to the rules, the "law," which ensured loyalty and a serious demeanor among its members: thieves had to live a sober life, avoiding excesses. They didn’t keep the money for themselves but placed it in a common fund, constantly used for new projects. They were forbidden to marry, work, or deny membership in the organization.

Hasan was a fine example of this caste of criminals. He didn’t resemble a monk and loved casinos and restaurants, but "differed from other bandits, didn’t wear a gold chain, was friendly and smiling," recalls Andrey Konstantinov, who met him several times and is one of the long-standing chroniclers of St. Petersburg’s criminal world.

Usoyan settled in the northern capital in 1994. The organization sent him there as an "overseer" (as it was in cities without a local thief presence). There he played the role of an ambassador, and one of his first tasks was to verify the legitimacy of "coronations". Hasan quickly became an arbitrator in the endless conflicts of the time: by the end of the decade, people in St. Petersburg were frequently killed right on the streets. As a sign of his significance, Hasan was even handed control over the oil trade in the northwest of Russia.

A man of compromise

In the north, Grandfather Hasan upheld the image of an aging Soviet official reminiscent of Leonid Brezhnev. His modest behavior only emphasized his authority. "Both physically and in style, he resembled Marlon Brando in ’The Godfather,’" says organized crime expert Mark Galeotti. "He was steadfast but understood that violence was just one of many tools."

Usoyan was a man of compromise. The main rule of the thieves in law was the total refusal to cooperate with authorities, both in prison and outside. However, as a representative of the old school, Grandfather Hasan changed the approach. In the 1990s, thieves began to look differently at the old rule: they themselves began to subjugate police, judges, and politicians, paying them and using them. "The strict rules and code of honor were largely part of the folklore," acknowledges Andrey Konstantinov. "Hasan used the image of a tradition keeper, but he evidently had good connections in all circles, he contacted deputies... Thieves in law died destitute only until the 1990s."

Whatever the case, the organization could not avoid financial issues. It was severely affected by the 1998 crisis, and the authority of the "elders" came under challenge. Then he was targeted for the first time.

The leader of the insurrectionists, Rudik, a representative of a competing clan, was killed in 1999. Hasan returned to the south, where he felt safer, with a dozen of his men and many criminals who swore allegiance to him. His star shone brightly until the very murder.

Poorly adapted to modernity

Who killed him? Various hypotheses were suggested, including financial ties with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. The most popular one mentions a Georgian thief Tariel Oniani, nicknamed "Taro," as responsible. The reason might have been control over financial flows related to the preparation of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the transportation of Afghan heroin.

In any case, contrary to experts’ assumptions, the murder on Povarskaya did not lead to a new clan war. "There was a sort of alliance against the thieves, which united the authorities, as well as Russian and Chechen criminal groups," explains Mark Galeotti. "Everyone agreed to form a new balance of power without bloodshed."

The murder of Grandfather Hasan marked the end of an era. The former strict rules of the thieves now became the reason for their decline. Either because they forgot them themselves or because they were poorly adapted to the world of the 21st century.

Modern criminal authorities call themselves businessmen. They are no longer referred to as "Kostya ’Grave’" or "Grisha ’Sturgeon’," like Hasan’s henchmen. They find it more comfortable in banks than in the backyards of society, and they have learned to be flexible with the demands of political power.

But the thieves in law haven’t disappeared. In Georgia, they suffered under President Mikheil Saakashvili (2003-2013), who took exceptional measures against them and spread them across Europe. It’s said that the criminal groups specializing in thefts in France were subordinate to Usoyan.

In Russia, there are still several hundred thieves in law, not counting those who self-titled themselves. "They have modernized as well," says Andrey Konstantinov. "If you see them in a restaurant, they resemble ordinary businessmen. Tattooing has become fashionable. But not among thieves. The only thing that remains is their influence in prisons, where they control all illegal activities and counterfeiting operations. But even there, their authority is being challenged by Islamists."

Grandfather Hasan has a son and daughter who are reportedly far from the criminal world. But four of his nephews and a grandson have followed the criminal path. He himself was buried far from his homeland. Georgia refused to repatriate the body. His grave, with a bronze monument, is in a cemetery in Moscow’s suburbs. It is adorned with a poem in a purely bandit style:

"The reasons for the unchildlike struggle

The fleetingness of existence

Men’s harsh laws—

That was your fate.

The family was akin and proud of you,

Don’t choose here—

Not many had the chance in life

To cover the path to paradise with their back,

Leaving, make the feuding clan calm—

The hospitable capital...

And the sky, weeping with thunderstorms,

Will close the heavy ranks