Story perspectives

Kremlin arrests veteran mobsters as war fuels crime surge

7/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

Kremlin revives prosecutions of retired mobsters to curb surge in organized-crime violence linked to the Ukraine war.
Authorities ordered the arrest in absentia of 69-year-old Lyubertsy boss Vyacheslav Shestakov in Spain and detained 75-year-old Ilya Traber outside St Petersburg, sending him to a Moscow detention centre.
Officials say the Ukraine war disrupted smuggling routes, causing a one-third rise in organized-crime offences in 2025 and circulating about 10 million illegal guns in Russia.

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Story summary

Kremlin revives prosecutions of retired mobsters to curb surge in organized-crime violence linked to the Ukraine war.
Authorities ordered the arrest in absentia of 69-year-old Lyubertsy boss Vyacheslav Shestakov in Spain and detained 75-year-old Ilya Traber outside St Petersburg, sending him to a Moscow detention centre.
Officials say the Ukraine war disrupted smuggling routes, causing a one-third rise in organized-crime offences in 2025 and circulating about 10 million illegal guns in Russia.