Gang leader Azat Shaidullov is set to face a jury trial in Ulyanovsk over the March 2000 assassination of central market director Mikhail Martynov.
The case is being heard at the Leninsky District Court of Ulyanovsk, according to a report by Russian newspaper Kommersant. Investigators allege that Shaidullov, known by the nickname Behemoth, organized the killing alongside alleged co-conspirator Ilgiz Mukhametzhanov after Martynov refused to grant trading space to vendors under Shaidullov's control.
Shaidullov gained prominence during the 1990s as a dominant organized crime figure in Ulyanovsk, an industrial city located on the Volga River in western Russia. He earned the moniker egg king after establishing control over the regional trade in chicken eggs during the economic instability following the fall of the Soviet Union. He is currently serving a life sentence for previous convictions involving banditry and murder.
Assassination at the Central Market
According to the indictment, Shaidullov sought permanent stalls at the Ulyanovsk Central Market in 2000 for merchants operating under his authority. When Martynov rejected the demand, Shaidullov decided to have the market director killed. To execute the plan, he recruited Mukhametzhanov and a third associate, Ramil Galliulov, both of whom owed him substantial financial debts.
Investigators stated that Shaidullov offered to cancel the men's debts, promised each killer an additional payment of 2,500 dollars, and supplied them with silenced pistols. On March 14, 2000, Galliulov disguised himself in a police uniform and entered Martynov's office. When Martynov confirmed during their conversation that he would not grant space to Behemoth's traders, Galliulov shot him twice, hitting him once in the chest and delivering a final shot to the head.
Martynov was discovered lying in a pool of blood inside his office. Medical personnel attempted to save his life, but he succumbed to his gunshot wounds. The assassination remained unsolved for more than two decades while law enforcement searched for the perpetrators.
Breakthrough in Unsolved Cold Case
The investigation stalled until 2024, when Galliulov committed suicide. Following his death, several witnesses broke their silence and provided statements implicating Shaidullov in the hit. Forensic examination results also linked Shaidullov to the assassination. Both Shaidullov and Mukhametzhanov have denied any guilt in connection with the charges.
