Vladimir Kumarin

Who is Vladimir Kumarin?

Vladimir Kumarin, aka Vladimir Barsukov is a Russian businessman, former vice president of the Petersburg Fuel Company in 1998—1999, and allegedly the boss of the powerful Tambov Gang of St. Petersburg.

Allegedly founding the Tambov syndicate in 1989 to run protection rackets, Kumarin later expanded into nightclubs and strip clubs.

During the early 1990s, Kumarin was allegedly connected to current Russian president Vladimir Putin.

In 1994, as deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Putin awarded the Petersburg Fuel Company, or PTK, the highly prized right to be the sole supplier of gasoline to the city.

The deal allegedly triggered a violent gang war during which there was an attempt on Kumarin's life. After being sprayed by machine gun fire he fell into a month-long coma. His right arm had to be amputated at the shoulder and bullets pierced his stomach, chest and lungs. To this day he still has bullet fragments left in his heart.

In June 2003, the magazine Der Spiegel mentioned that, according to the German ministry of criminal affairs, the German firm SPAG had fallen under suspicion of being involved in a money laundering scheme with connections to Kumarin. Putin was an advisor to this firm over the course of seven years. It has been suggested that Kumarin maintains good relations to Russian politicians Mikhail Glushenko and Alexander Filatov.