Today, everything that concerns the personal life of the first vice-president of NK LUKOIL Sergei Kukura is a secret behind seven seals. His family, wife Tatyana and children, are carefully hidden by the LUKOIL security service. At the metropolitan acquaintance of the vice president, at the mere mention of Kukura, they hang up the phone or rudely end the conversation. They took a non-disclosure agreement from the neighbors about everything that was happening in the entrance of the house in which Sergei Petrovich lived.
We managed to contact the head of the department of “Enterprise Economics” in Ivano-Frankivsk National University oil and gas Nikolai Daneluk, who still maintained warm relations with the former student.
-Serezha has changed a lot in recent years. This is not surprising - he holds such a position. I remember him when I was just a boy. I taught him basic economics in the late seventies. Then he was an open, cheerful person. And even after graduating from university, he remained carefree and sociable for a long time. But after moving to Moscow, he became somehow gloomy and closed. Started smoking. And two packs a day. He used to have so many friends! And now I have deliberately broken off relations with many. Communicates exclusively with those classmates who occupy a high position. One of his best friends, Vasya Grigoriev, has now become the director of one of the largest oil companies in Kyiv.
- Did Sergei Petrovich often come to Ukraine?
- The last time he visited our university was in 1999, he came for the 20th anniversary of his graduation. And only then did he allow himself to relax, even drinking a little. In general, he is indifferent to alcohol. Protects health. He plays sports. He enjoys tennis and scuba diving. Seryozha recently boasted to me that he was planning to go to Egypt with his wife, and allegedly even purchased scuba gear.
- As far as I know, you recently visited Kukura?
- Well, visiting is a big word! It was a business trip; Sergei and I had negotiations on the possibility of cooperation between graduates of our university and the LUKOIL company. The negotiations were successful. He promised to come to us in October.
- Where did Sergei Petrovich meet his wife?
- They met Tanya even before entering our institute. At first, Seryozha studied at a military school and only two years later he entered the Oil and Gas University. As far as I know, Tatyana followed him to our institute. So we studied together. We got married in our second year. The wedding was celebrated in the student canteen; there was no money for a magnificent celebration at that time. Where could students get funds in the 70s? Tanya came from a distant outback; her parents still live in some remote village near Ivano-Frankivsk. Seryozha is from Belarus and lived in a hostel here.
- By the way, what kind of person is Tatyana?
- They say about such people as “gray mice”. At the course where Seryozhka studied, there were such prominent girls, purebred Ukrainians. But Tanya was not even audible in class, and she did not study well, while Sergei was an excellent student.
- Did she come to the alumni meeting?
- Not once. In my opinion, Tanya has never even worked anywhere. When I came to Moscow, I never met her.
- Nikolai Alekseevich, do you know where Sergei Kukura’s family is now?
- I don’t know, we always communicated with him through the secretary. To be honest, he didn’t give me his home phone number.
- Nikolai Alekseevich, knowing the character of your student, can you guess how he will behave in this situation?
- He is a decisive person, his character is tough. Even at the institute, he always set himself impossible tasks, and until he achieved what he wanted, he did not give up. Of course, life has toughened him up. In this situation, he cannot break, the main thing is not to overdo it... Well, you understand what I mean. He's a principled guy. Maybe argue something stupid.
Surname: Kukura
Name: Sergey
Surname: Petrovich
Job title: First Vice President of Lukoil
Biography
Born in 1953 in the city of Brest, Belarusian SSR. In 1979 he graduated from the Ivanovo-Frankivsk Institute of Oil and Gas with a degree in economics and organization of the oil and gas industry. Doctor of Economic Sciences.
1979–1980 – engineer of the major repair section industrial buildings and structures of NGDU "Megionneft" PA "Nizhnevartovskneftegaz".
1980–1987 – economist of the labor department, head of the department, deputy head for economics of the oil and gas production department "Povkhneft" PA "Bashneft".
1992–1993 - Vice President of the Langepasuraikogalymneft oil concern.
Since 1993 - First Vice President of LUKOIL.
On September 12, 2002, he was kidnapped on his way to work from a house near Moscow. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of $6 million. September 25, 2002 released.
Source: Biografija.ru
Dossier
At the end of September 2002, LUKOIL Vice President Sergei Kukura, who had been kidnapped the previous week, was released. According to the official version, no one paid the ransom for it. By evening, information appeared that the prosecutor’s office investigators had nothing to tell the people, because the released man did not tell them anything. According to some reports, he was intoxicated or under the influence of psychotropic drugs. According to operatives, the “kidnapping” of the LUKOIL top manager is not a criminal offense, but a decision of the company itself. There are many ambiguities in this case from the very beginning. For example, the behavior of the security guard, who at the time of the kidnapping actually did nothing to help his patron, looked more than strange. The behavior of the kidnappers themselves also raises many questions, who, contrary to all the laws of the genre, released all their captives alive and well. And before they were released, they injected them not with the powerful but dangerous clonidine, but with the more expensive but relatively safe heroin.
Source: Kommersant, September 26, 2002
The first time the criminals made themselves known was the day after the abduction, that is, September 13. They called Sergei Kukura’s attending physician and named the place in the cemetery where LUKOIL security officers, together with police officers, found a videotape recording Sergei Kukura’s appeal. The hostage personally addressed the head of the company, Vagit Alekperov, and asked to pay the kidnappers 3 million dollars and 3 million euros.
Source: Izvestia, 03.10.2002
The scandalous case of the kidnapping of LUKOIL Vice-President Sergei Kukura was recently officially recognized as practically solved. Last week, the Smolensk regional prosecutor's office brought charges in absentia against the direct perpetrators of the attack on the oil worker and put them on the international wanted list. Two alleged organizers of the crime - authorities Yuri Statsenko and Igor Ryabokon - were arrested earlier. It is worth noting that so far the investigators’ materials say almost nothing about the motives for the crime. It was officially stated that it was “completely for the purpose of ransom.” However, our sources in the intelligence services believe that this story is not so simple. According to their version, LUKOIL, in order to pay off its debt to the Federal Road Fund (FRF), was supposed to allocate money for the construction of the Old Smolensk Road. As a result of a complex set-off scheme, the debt to the FDF was settled on paper, but almost none of the amounts promised by LUKOIL reached Smolensk. Some representatives of the local regional administration turned a blind eye to this for the time being, allegedly expecting to personally receive several million dollars for such a service. When the officials did not wait for them, according to the intelligence services, they considered LUKOIL Vice President Kukuru guilty of this and turned to crime bosses for help, who organized the kidnapping. It is not yet clear why the criminals agreed to release Kukura. According to one version, LUKOIL nevertheless paid the ransom, according to another, he managed to convince the kidnappers that as soon as he was free, everyone who needed it would receive the money. According to the third version, Statsenko and Ryabokon were simply frightened by the hype that arose around this case. Be that as it may, on September 25 they took Kukura to the Bryansk region and dropped him off on the road.
Source: Vremya Novostey, 01/20/2004
At first, as Stetsenko stated during interrogations, they allegedly wanted to capture the singer Alsou, the daughter of one of the former leaders of the oil company, Ralif Safin. But then they decided to kidnap Kukura. He was taken to the Khislavicheskiy district of the Smolensk region. They demanded $3 million and 3 million euros for the oilman’s release. This was the amount allegedly owed to Smolensk officials by LUKOIL, plus commissions from Vinokurov, who, according to investigators, organized the kidnapping. It remains unclear whether a ransom was paid for the oilman, but Kukura was soon released. Vinokurov believed that Ryabokon and Statsenko had appropriated the money for Kukura, and decided to kill them. However, according to the prosecutor’s office, they themselves eliminated Vinokurov. For which they were arrested. But, as the prosecutor's office says, they will soon be charged with Kukura's kidnapping.
Source: Vremya Novostey, 04/15/2004
On June 15, 2005, in the Smolensk Regional Court, where the case of Ryabokon and Statsenko was heard, First Vice President of NK LUKOIL Sergei Kukura gave testimony. He told about how he was kidnapped and how he spent two weeks in the Smolensk village. He started with an episode on the highway, when he was stopped by strong guys in camouflage. When the kidnappers handcuffed the LUKOIL vice-president, one of them asked: “What do you value your life at now?” Kukura replied: “Now - not a single penny!” According to him, immediately after the capture he was injected several times with some kind of drug, after which he began to vomit violently and could not sleep for three nights in a row. The criminals fed him canned potatoes and drank tea with him, but did not take off their masks. They discussed among themselves what to do with the captured person: cut off fingers or ears.
Before letting him go, they poured him 50 grams of cognac and said: “Petrovich, don’t give him a bad name.” But they immediately added: “If anything, you have a wife and children!” Then Stanislav Izotov, head of the corporate security department of NK LUKOIL, testified. He said that during the negotiations it was possible to “lower” the ransom amount from $10 million to $3 million and €3 million, and then even to $1 million. The recordings of these negotiations, as well as the video message of Sergei Kukura, who asked to be bought out, were in court did not appear. In general, it is still unclear under what conditions the kidnappers released the captive.
Education
In 1979 he graduated from the Ivano-Frankivsk Institute of Oil and Gas. Doctor of Economic Sciences
Activity
1979-1980 — engineer of the major repairs section of industrial buildings and structures of NGDU Megionneft of PA Nizhnevartovskneftegaz.
"Themes"
"News"
The son of a top manager of Lukoil turned out to be one of the largest landowners
VTB sold about 54,000 hectares in several lots for more than 2.3 billion rubles, a bank representative told Vedomosti. The largest - 35,000 hectares for 1.75 billion rubles. – acquired by the Lipetsk Agro-Industrial Company (LAPK) in September last year, he adds. The fact of the transaction was also confirmed by two people close to LAPC. According to them, in total the company bought about 50,000 hectares from the state bank.
LAPC was created in July 2015, according to its website. The company does not disclose any indicators. 100% of its shares, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, belong to Alexey Sergeevich Kukura. This is the name of the son of the first vice-president of the oil producing company Lukoil, Sergei Kukura, who is responsible for economics and finance. This is exactly Kukura Jr., says his friend.
Vice President of Lukoil Sergei Kukura purchased shares of the company for 19.25 million rubles
MOSCOW, October 24. /TASS/. First Vice President of Lukoil for Economics and Finance Sergei Kukura purchased company shares for 19.25 million rubles, as follows from the company’s materials.
As a result of the transaction, which took place on October 19, Kukura’s share in the company’s capital increased to 0.3925% from 0.3917%.
The largest shareholders of Lukoil are Vagit Alekperov (22.7%), Leonid Fedun (9.8%), IFD Capital (about 8%) and a subsidiary of Lukoil Investment Cyprus (more than 16%).
First Vice-President of Lukoil Sergei Kukura presented awards to the best students and teachers of gymnasium No. 1 of Brest
On May 28, a ceremonial assembly dedicated to the “Last Bell” was held at Gymnasium No. 1 of Brest. In addition to the graduates of 2016, graduates of 1971 were also present at this celebration, including the first vice president of the Lukoil oil company Sergei Kukura.
Five top managers of LUKOIL bought shares of the company for 347 million rubles.
First Vice President Sergei Kukura acquired 5 thousand and 4.968 thousand shares for 10.04 and 9.96 million rubles. At the same time, its share in the authorized capital increased to 0.388% from 0.386%.
APEC has prepared a February rating of influence in the fuel and energy sector
Top managers of LUKOIL traditionally demonstrate significant influence in the industry: these are Leonid Fedun (13), Sergei Kukura (16), Ravil Maganov (21), Azat Shamsuarov (32) and Vladimir Nekrasov (38).
According to the head of the Security Service, Lukoil Izotov, during the negotiations the ransom amount was “lowered” to $1 million.
Yesterday in the Smolensk regional court, where the case of local “authorities” Igor Ryabokon and Yuri Statsenko, accused of murder and kidnapping, is being heard, First Vice-President of NK LUKOIL Sergei Kukura gave testimony. He identified one of his kidnappers by his voice.
The kidnapping was a performance in which the captive himself became the main character
Yesterday afternoon, LUKOIL Vice President Sergei Kukura, who was kidnapped last week, was released. According to the official version, no one paid the ransom for it. At the same time, operatives believe that the kidnapping was generally a performance, the main character of which was the captive himself.
The Adventures of Kukura
On Tuesday, the head of the Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Alexander Ovchinnikov, will tell reporters about how the investigation into the kidnapping of the first vice-president of LUKOIL, Sergei Kukura, is going on. Izvestia found out the details of his stay with the kidnappers a day earlier and, on the eve of the police briefing, published the first part of its own investigation.
Alekperov's henchmen began shooting Kukura's kidnappers
Recently, law enforcement agencies of the Smolensk region have come to the conclusion that one of the most scandalous and mysterious criminal epics of recent years - the story of the kidnapping of the vice-president of the oil company LUKOIL Sergei Kukura last fall - has practically been solved. According to their version, the kidnapping had nothing to do with the political and economic “squabbles” of those in power, but was purely criminal in nature.
"I'm not suicidal"
In the scandalous case of the kidnapping of the first vice-president of LUKOIL Sergei Kukura, a new suspect has appeared.
Kukura kidnapping
Yesterday in the Moscow region, on the way to work, the first vice-president of the oil company LUKOIL, 49-year-old Sergei Kukura, was taken hostage. The police and prosecutors are inclined to believe that the kidnapping of the chief financier and economist of LUKOIL is most likely not related to his work in the company: the main goal of the criminals is to obtain a ransom. So big businessmen They haven't been kidnapped in Russia yet.
Someone stole LUKOIL Vice President Sergei Kukur
The trial in the case of the kidnapping of the first vice-president of the oil company LUKOIL Sergei Kukura in the Smolensk regional court ended sensationally. The accused, residents of the Smolensk region Igor Ryabokon (Harris) and Yuri Statsenko (Stets), were found innocent of committing this crime. However, they failed to get away unscathed. For the murder of crime boss Vladimir Vinokurov (Vinokur), who, according to investigators, organized the kidnapping of Kukura, Ryabokon received 20 years, and Statsenko - 19.
Kukura “threw” the Ministry of Defense a $6 million kickback
On Wednesday, the Moscow Regional Prosecutor's Office suspended the investigation into the kidnapping of Sergei Kukura, first vice-president of the oil company LUKOIL. It seems that law enforcement agencies have shelved this criminal case forever.
Corn was saved by the “roof”
On Wednesday, the official investigation into the kidnapping of LUKOIL Vice President Sergei Kukura essentially came to a dead end. One of the suspects, Gagik Bgdoyan, whose portrait was proudly shown to journalists the day before by the head of the GUBOP of Russia, Alexander Ovchinnikov, himself appeared at the prosecutor's office and, after a five-hour interrogation, was released with an apology. He was not involved in the capture of the oil worker.
Kukura was found alive
First Vice President of LUKOIL Sergei Kukura, who was kidnapped under mysterious circumstances two weeks ago, has returned home. LUKOIL says that law enforcement agencies helped release the top manager, but the police themselves are in no hurry to take credit for solving the high-profile crime.
Vinokur was killed for Kukura's ransom
On Monday it became known that in the Smolensk pre-trial detention center an attempt was made on the life of Yuri Statsenko (Stets), one of the defendants in the case of the murder of local crime boss Vladimir Vinokurov and the kidnapping of LUKOIL vice-president Sergei Kukura. A cellmate tried to stab Statsenko to death a few days before the start of the trial. The prosecutor's office confirmed that "the incident took place" and announced the beginning of an investigation.
Road surface
Izvestia found out new details of the kidnapping of LUKOIL vice-president Sergei Kukura. According to law enforcement, the customer of this crime were former officials from the administration of the Smolensk region, and the direct perpetrators were local bandits led by crime boss Vladimir Vinokurov (aka Vinokur or Venya). The stumbling block was the money allocated by LUKOIL for the construction of the Old Smolensk Road. Businessmen did not share this with officials. They were offended and decided to take theirs by force.
Kukura stole $10 million, but betrayed his accomplices
The epic investigation into the kidnapping of LUKOIL Vice President Sergei Kukura has received a new development. The Moscow region prosecutor's office insists that the case is still not solved, but the Smolensk special services are finding out more and more scandalous details about it. As our newspaper has already reported (see Vremya Novostei, July 15, 2003), one of the organizers of the attack was recently arrested and all participants were identified. And recently, according to our information, investigators have established a possible motive for the kidnapping. According to this version, the vice president of LUKOIL could have suffered as a result of his company’s participation in the construction of the Old Smolensk Road. It was supposed to be built with funds allocated, among other things, by LUKOIL, but most of the money mysteriously disappeared.
The most notorious crime of recent times - the kidnapping of the first vice-president of LUKOIL Sergei Kukura - did not have fatal consequences. The prisoner was released, and Vedomosti was the first to interview him. There are many mysteries in his case, but Kukura was able to clarify little on the merits - he is bound by a non-disclosure agreement. But the victim shared his human impressions of the experience.
Has anything changed in your perception of the world after the kidnapping experience?
Such extreme situations, of course, God forbid that they happen, somehow cleanse. They cleanse you of some pettiness and vanity. You begin to understand what is important in life and what is secondary. I seem to have a greater sense of love for people. Then, it is probably important for every person what they will think about him after death, when he can no longer change anything. Such thoughts had visited me before, but only now, it seems to me, have I fully felt this truth - whatever a person does, he should do it as if it were the last time in his life.
That is, in captivity you did not exclude the worst?
What do you mean didn't exclude? I knew. I knew until the last moment that they would kill me. I didn't think I'd survive.
Was this somehow made clear to you?
No, on the contrary. For the first three days I asked that the body be given to the relatives, and if no one is going to bother with the body, then at least they would give me the news in which ditch they buried it. They told me: “When the time comes, we’ll discuss it.” And to the question “When will you kill me?” they answered: “Come on, you will still live. As long as you behave normally, you fulfill the conditions, nothing will happen to you.” I believe this was only said because the victim, the hopeful life, is easier to manage. Therefore, there was no thought that I would be alive.
How were you treated?
Probably the only thing I was afraid of there was physical torture. It wasn’t that there was animal fear, but I wanted to live the last minutes without suffering. It is difficult to talk about the nobility of the kidnappers in such a situation, but they did not use any physical violence, except for such everyday trifles as handcuffing.
Were any drugs used on you?
Yes, they stabbed me during the capture, and then one more time. I don't know what it was. When they drove me, at first I tried to calculate the turns, but then a state of some kind of half-asleep, oblivion set in.
It was reported that you also arrived home under the influence of something. ..
It is not true. I was in absolutely normal condition. But while still in captivity, when on the seventh day I forbade myself to think about death, I decided: if I get out of here, I’ll immediately drink a glass of cognac at home. That's what we did with my wife and her friend - completely non-drinking people.
What demands did the kidnappers make of you?
Sorry, I signed a non-disclosure agreement with the investigative authorities about everything related to my detention, so I cannot answer.
You have been living under guard for many years and do not use public transport. In this regard, how did you manage to travel “on your own” from the Bryansk region to the Moscow region?
No problem. It is a misconception that people like me live in a vacuum. It is impossible to isolate yourself from the world. For example, on weekends I go to tennis in my personal car. I myself sit behind the wheel and often look away from the guards, which she is very unhappy with. My wife and I walk the dog in the forest and sometimes even talk to strangers. And on the way there was, perhaps, only one problem: in the clothes that I was wearing, I looked like a scourge. It seemed to me that everyone was looking at me, and this made me feel awkward.
But the kidnappers returned your suit. ..
Yes, but it was terribly wrinkled and dirty. It may seem strange, but I decided that my old clothes suited my unwashed and unshaven look better.
How was your return received by your colleagues, including those from other companies?
I did not meet colleagues from other companies, and in general my circle of contacts was very limited. Limited primarily by the correctness and delicacy of people. Nevertheless, I received a lot of calls - from classmates, governors, people from Western Siberia with whom I had previously worked. The first person I met from the company was our president Vagit Yusufovich Alekperov. We are friends for life, although we are ranked by position. I have a feeling that now we will be even closer.
- LUKOIL reported that the required ransom was not paid for you. And if one of your colleagues was kidnapped, what position would you take - pay or not pay?
A very complex issue, and it requires some professional training. Personally, I think that the fact that the ransom was not paid gave me a chance to live. But they didn’t pay because our side put forward a strict demand: ransom is possible only through the open exchange of a living person for money. The criminals did not dare to do this.
And why were you released?
You know, normal people’s thought processes are almost the same and understandable, but analyzing the behavior of criminals, at least for me, is quite difficult. To talk about any kind of nobility of them is simply blasphemy. I think they were greatly influenced by the wide publicity of the case. And from their conversations I realized that my further retention was becoming problematic. They were clearly nervous, and there was even a moment when they almost tried to enlist my support, protection from the authorities. That's all I have the opportunity to say.
Because of your absence from the company, did it experience losses, lost profits, or perhaps some processes stalled?
One of the company’s goals, including mine, was to build a system where the role of any manager was reduced in personal terms. I don’t want to say that such a system has already been built and I’m sitting here and doing nothing. But those colleagues who exist are quite independent and qualified in their areas, and I don’t think that what you are talking about could happen.
In LUKOIL you occupy a prominent position, the president of the company puts you in 3rd place in its hierarchy, meanwhile you are a non-public figure, and few people know what exactly you do, except that you are a financier. Tell us about your work.
At LUKOIL from the moment of its founding, I was first vice president, and since 1993 I took the then-established position of first vice president, in charge of finance and planning. I have a number of vice presidents subordinate to me in specific areas - planning economic activity, corporate finance and investment, financial control. The chief accountant of the company, although he works directly with the president, functionally and on operational issues also reports to me.
Why not public? This probably depends on the person’s character. I never wanted to be identified in any way, and no such need arose. At the same time, I consider myself an open person. If someone contacts me, I am happy to answer all questions. I have a large circle of acquaintances and friends with whom I am quite frank. That's enough for me.
Let's talk in more detail about what you directly do at LUKOIL. The company is undergoing business restructuring aimed at reducing costs. Will it affect its financial structures - insurance and brokerage companies, pension fund?
All the structures you listed are not subsidiaries of LUKOIL, so it is hardly appropriate to talk about any reforms there. As for the subsidiary bank Petrocommerce, where LUKOIL owns about 80% of the authorized capital, the company will reduce this share and retain the number of shares required to join the board of directors and participate in management.
You still support Bank Imperial. Why?
At one time, when the bank collapsed, there was a lot of talk that it was the fault of LUKOIL. I personally dealt with this issue and gave my word to Gerashchenko that if the bank is given the opportunity to work under the management of the existing management team and bankruptcy proceedings are not introduced, then many of the funds of which the bank was the operator will be returned. And I think that this task has been largely accomplished: the funds have been largely saved.
Not long ago, LUKOIL, in order to obtain a listing on the London Stock Exchange, disclosed information about the shares owned by the company's top management. You do not appear there, although you are listed among the shareholders in the quarterly report. Why?
The fact is that members of the board of directors must indicate in this memorandum any number of shares, whatever it may be. I am only a member of the board, and this category must disclose its shares only if they represent 3% or more of the authorized capital. I have less (0.34% shares - Vedomosti).
Not long ago, a paradox occurred: the amount of the transaction for the sale by LUKOIL of shares in the Moscow Refinery to Sibneft in the reports of both companies differed by more than twice. How can you explain this?
I have not seen Sibneft's statements, but I can say with confidence: the amount indicated in our report is correct.
Is it possible for LUKOIL managers to buy up its shares, which the state plans to sell on the foreign market?
Everyone is free to spend their money as they please, including on LUKOIL shares. However, there has never been and is no agreed purchase program in the company. In any case, I have never heard of it and have never bought anything.
Does the company have any intention of making new borrowings?
The company has the ability to borrow, and on a large scale. But according to the strategy, such borrowings can be made only when the company finds it necessary to acquire some very effective project. Such borrowings are not provided for the maintenance of core economic activities. The company has enough own funds for this.
BIOGRAPHY: Kukura Sergei Petrovich was born on October 31, 1953 in Brest (Belarus). In 1979 he graduated from the Ivano-Frankivsk Institute of Oil and Gas with a degree in economics and organization of the oil and gas industry. From that time until 1992, he worked in various positions at oil producing enterprises in Western Siberia. Since 1992 - vice president and since 1993 - first vice president of LUKOIL. He is on the boards of directors of a number of companies and banks associated with LUKOIL. Married, has a son and daughter.
Yesterday in the Smolensk regional court, where the case of local “authorities” Igor Ryabokon and Yuri Statsenko, accused of murder and kidnapping, is being heard, First Vice-President of NK LUKOIL Sergei Kukura gave testimony. He identified one of his kidnappers by his voice.
The vice-president of LUKOIL was expected on Tuesday, but he was unable to fly from Moscow due to bad weather and traveled to Smolensk by car.
For more than three hours, Sergei Kukura talked about how he was kidnapped and how he spent two weeks in a Smolensk village. He started with an episode on the highway, when he was stopped by strong guys in camouflage. When the kidnappers handcuffed the LUKOIL vice-president, one of them asked: “How much do you value your life now?” Sergei Kukura replied: “Now - not a single penny!” According to Sergei Kukura, immediately after the capture he was injected several times with some kind of drug, presumably morphine, after which he began to vomit violently and could not sleep for three nights in a row.
The victim told how the criminals treated him: they fed him potatoes and canned food, drank tea with him, but did not take off their masks. At night they took me to the toilet, which was located next to the house, but they forbade me to turn around. One of the kidnappers kept starting conversations with the prisoner, which always came down to money. Sergei Kukura privately nicknamed him a “moral sadist.” The kidnappers discussed among themselves what to do with the captured person: cut off fingers or ears. “Every morning I woke up and didn’t know if I would live until the evening,” Mr. Kukura said.
During the investigation, Sergei Kukura identified Igor Ryabokon as the “moral sadist” by his voice. “This man is sitting in this room now,” Sergei Kukura answered the prosecutor’s question. When Alexander Vasiliev, Igor Ryabokon’s lawyer, began to ask by what signs the LUKOIL vice-president “identifies the defendant’s voice,” Sergei Kukura replied: “I don’t analyze my wife’s voice by frequency. I can recognize the voice of my son in the same way. And I’ll talk to you three times and I’ll recognize your voice.”
Finally, Sergei Kukura said that before releasing him, the kidnappers poured him 50 grams of cognac and said: “Petrovich, don’t think badly.” But they immediately added: “If anything, you have a wife and children!”
Then Stanislav Izotov, head of the corporate security department of NK LUKOIL, testified. He said that during the negotiations it was possible to “lower” the ransom amount from $10 million to $3 million and €3 million, and then even to $1 million. Records of these negotiations, as well as video messages from Sergei Kukura, who asked to be bought out, are available in materials of the case, but have not yet appeared in court. In general, it is still unclear under what conditions the kidnappers released the captive.
ANDREY BALOV, Smolensk
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