The Black Cat gang is one of the most sensational criminal gangs in secular time. It became such thanks to the writer's talent of the Weiner brothers and the skill of the director Stanislav Govorukhin, and we all know from the famous detective story "The meeting place cannot be changed." But now we are not talking about fiction, but about a real group that operated for 3 years, which operated in 1950-1953 and terrorized all of Moscow. This story was not invented. Ivan Mitin's gang became the prototype of the book and film "Black Cat".

Bloody start

Mitin's gang immediately declared itself loudly with the murder of a policeman. On February 1, 1950, senior operative Kochkin and the local precinct Owl made a round of the territory. Entering a grocery store, they noticed a young man who was arguing with a saleswoman. Two of the young man's friends were smoking in the street, and the police officers were suspicious of the guy. After the requirement to show documents, unknown persons opened fire. So the operative Kochkin became the first victim of the gang, which then for three years kept the whole of Moscow in fear.

A sense of impunity

The murder of a policeman was an out of the ordinary event, an active search for criminals began. However, the bandits were not afraid and soon again declared themselves. On March 26, 1950, bandits raided a department store, posing as ... security officers. 68 thousand rubles became the prey of criminals. Having picked up such a big jackpot, the bandits hid for six months. But, having spent all the money, already in the autumn-November 16, 1950, they again went hunting. This time the object of their theft was the manufactured goods store of the Canal shipping company to them. Lenin, more than 24 thousand rubles were stolen. On December 10, a store was robbed on the street. Kutuzovskaya Svoboda-62 thousand rubles.

On March 11, 1951, another raid was carried out by criminals. This time they attacked the Blue Danube restaurant. The bandits first walked and drank, and then, being absolutely sure of their invulnerability, they moved with pistols to the cashier. A junior lieutenant of the militia, a worker, was killed in the battle, and several more people were wounded during the flight.

Impudence of criminals-raid next door to Comrade Stalin

Despite the fact that the robbery was thwarted, this not only did not stop the criminals, but made them even more angry. And already on March 27, they raided the Kuntsevo market. In hand-to-hand combat with the bandits, the store director Karp Antonov died.

The situation began to spiral out of control. The fact is that the last attack took place just a few kilometers from Stalin's "Blizhnyaya Dacha". The police officers began to "shake" the crime scene, but the "authorities" swore that they knew nothing.

Lawlessness of "mitintsy"

Panic broke out in Moscow, rumors about the crimes of bandits were exaggerated tenfold. But neither threats nor recruiting new forces helped. So in August 1952 they committed a new crime. This time at the Snegiri tea station. When the bandits resisted, the watchman was killed. And in September of the same year, criminals attacked the Pivo-Voda tent on the Leningradskaya platform. While trying to protect a female saleswoman, one of the visitors was shot dead.

On November 1, 1952, a saleswoman was wounded by bandits during a robbery of a store in the Botanical Garden area and a police officer was mortally wounded

First puncture

In January 1953, a raid was made on a savings bank in Mytishchi. But at the time of the robbery, the employee managed to press the "panic button", a bell rang in the hall. The confused robber grabbed the pipe.

- Is this a savings bank? The caller asked.

“No, the stadium,” the raider answered, interrupting the call.

It was this short dialogue that marked the beginning of the end of the group. At this moment, Moscow Criminal Investigation Officer Vladimir Arapov drew attention. Subsequently, it was this legendary detective of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department that became the prototype of Volodya Sharapov.

After analyzing the situation and why the stadium was mentioned, and no other object, Arapov drew attention to the fact that many robberies were committed not far from sports arenas. Smai, the bandits, were described by the victims as young people of athletic build. The conclusion suggested itself - the criminals had nothing to do with the crime at all.

Beginning of the End

It would never have occurred to anyone that Soviet athletes, the pride and honor of the country could be bandits. The main problem for the detectives was that they initially looked for the wrong ones. An order was given to pay attention to all unusual incidents in the arena and stadium areas. And such an event was not long in coming. So a strange incident happened at the stadium in Krasnogorsk. A certain young man bought a whole barrel of beer, which he treated everyone to. At that time, unheard of generosity and wastefulness, given that the "rich man" was an ordinary student of the Moscow Aviation Institute Vyacheslav Lukin, an excellent student, an athlete and a Komsomol activist. It also turned out that on the eve of the robbery of the savings bank in Mytishchi, Lukin was at the local stadium. This time, the detectives really hit the right track ...

Gradually unraveling a series of events and facts, the police officers went to the leader of the gang. It turned out to be a 26-year-old shift foreman at defense plant No. 34, Ivan Mitin, an exemplary worker. Interestingly, at the time of the capture, Mitin was presented to a high government award - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

Why couldn't they find the criminals for so long? It never entered anyone's head that the sensational gang consisted entirely of production leaders and people far from the criminal "raspberries" and the thieves' circle. In total, the gang consisted of 12 people. Most of them lived in Krasnogorsk and worked at a local plant (8 out of 11 gang members worked at this plant), two were cadets of prestigious military schools. Among the "mitintsy" was a Stakhanovite, an employee of the "five hundredth" plant, a party member - Peter Bolotov. Ageev, a cadet at the Nikolaev Naval Mine and Torpedo Aviation School, who was Mitin's accomplice, a participant in robberies and murders, had to be arrested with a special warrant issued by the military prosecutor's office. Sport has become a link that has united the accomplices. The first place where they were gathered was the Krasnogorsk Zenit stadium.

Arrest and sentence

The bandits were detained not as beautifully as in the legendary film, but quietly in the apartments. The leader of the gang, Ivan Mitin, was detained at dawn on February 14, 1953 at his home. He behaved calmly and told everything, not hiding and not counting on pardon. he gave an excellent account of the actions taken. The court sentenced to death Ivan Mitin and one of his accomplices Alexander Samarin, who, like the ringleader, was directly involved in the murders. The rest of the gang members were sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison. Student Lukin received 25 years, served them in full, and a year after his release he died of tuberculosis. His father did not endure the shame, lost his mind and soon died in psychiatric hospital... Members of Mitin's gang ruined the lives of not only the victims, but also their loved ones.

During the three years of its existence, the "mitintsy" committed 28 robberies, 11 people were killed and 12 more were wounded. The total income from their criminal activities amounted to more than 300 thousand rubles. The amount is solid. A car in those years cost about 2,000 rubles.

What is the horror of gang crimes

During the three years of its existence, the "mitintsy" committed 28 robberies, 11 people were killed and 12 more were wounded. The total income from their criminal activities amounted to more than 300 thousand rubles. The amount is solid. A car in those years cost about 2,000 rubles. When all members of the gang were arrested, and the report of the investigation lay on the table of the top Soviet leaders, the leaders were horrified. The case of Mitin's gang did not fit into the ideological line of the party so much that it was immediately classified. There is no romance in the history of Ivan Mitin's gang: this is a story about "werewolves" who were exemplary citizens in the daylight, and in their second incarnation turned into ruthless murderers. This is a story about how low a person can fall.

It's interesting to read about real stories artistic plots. For example, here we found out, or for example, here's a story about and even. And now a few details about - "And now humpback! I said humpback!"

The Black Cat gang is perhaps the most famous criminal association in the post-Soviet space. It became such thanks to the talent of the Weiner brothers, who wrote the book "The Era of Mercy", as well as the skill of the director Stanislav Govorukhin, who shot one of the best Soviet detective stories "The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed."

However, reality is very different from fiction.

In 1945-1946 in different cities of the Soviet Union there were rumors about a gang of thieves who, before robbing an apartment, draw a kind of "mark" in the form of a black cat on its door.

Criminals liked this romantic story so much that "black cats" multiplied like mushrooms. As a rule, they were talking about small groups, the scope of activities of which did not come close to what the Weiner brothers described. Often under the sign of the "Black Cat" the street punks performed.

The popular detective genre writer Eduard Khrutsky, according to the scripts of which films such as "According to the Criminal Investigation Department" and "Start Liquidation" were staged, recalled that in 1946 he himself was part of a similar "gang".

A group of teenagers decided to scare a certain citizen who lived comfortably during the war years, while the boys' fathers fought at the front. The militiamen, having caught the "avengers", according to Khrutsky, dealt with them simply: "they kicked them on the necks and let them go."

The "bandits" from the "Black Cat" were a group of teenagers of the third, fifth and seventh grades who decided to scare a neighbor and wrote him a threatening note, - explains Lyudmila Kaminskaya, head of the history museum of the Moscow police department of the Moscow Central Administration Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Moscow. "They made themselves tattoos with ink, and in the note they drew a black cat, after which this name stuck to the" gang "."

The rumor about the mysterious "Black Cat" spread across Moscow very quickly, becoming a real "brand". Taking advantage of the loud fame of a non-existent gang, Moscow youngsters committed petty thefts, hooligans, and intimidated the townspeople. The so-called "guest performers" - visiting thieves, also covered themselves with "Cat".

But the plot of the Weiner brothers is based on the story not of such would-be robbers, but of real criminals who took not only money and valuables, but also human lives. The gang in question operated in 1950-1953.

"As for the Weiner brothers and their novel, they simply used this loud name. The prototype of the gang, whose deeds were described in the" Era of Mercy ", became the" Gang of the Tall Blonde. "However, here there are discrepancies with reality: the leader of the gang Ivan Mitin was not hunchback at all, but on the contrary, was distinguished by high growth, "said Lyudmila Kaminskaya.

Bloody "debut".

On February 1, 1950, in Khimki, senior operative Kochkin and local district police officer V. Filin made a round of the territory. Entering a grocery store, they noticed a young man who was arguing with a saleswoman. He introduced himself to the woman as a police officer in civilian clothes, but that subject seemed suspicious. The young man's two friends were smoking on the porch.

When the police officers tried to check the documents, one of the unknown persons drew a pistol and opened fire. Operative Kochkin became the first victim of a gang that terrorized Moscow and the surrounding area for three years.

The murder of a policeman was an out of the ordinary event, and law enforcement officers were actively looking for criminals. The bandits, however, reminded themselves of themselves: on March 26, 1950, three broke into a department store in the Timiryazevsky district, posing as ... Chekists.

“MGB officers”, taking advantage of the confusion of the sellers and visitors, drove everyone into the back room and locked the store with a padlock. 68 thousand rubles became the prey of criminals.

For half a year, the operatives knocked down their legs in search of bandits, but in vain. Those, as it turned out later, having received a big jackpot, hid. In the fall, having spent money, they went hunting again. On November 16, 1950, the manufactured goods store of the Moscow Canal Shipping Company was robbed (more than 24 thousand rubles were stolen), on December 10, a store on Kutuzovskaya Sloboda Street (62 thousand rubles were stolen).

A raid next door to Comrade Stalin.

On March 11, 1951, criminals raided the Blue Danube restaurant. Being absolutely confident in their own invulnerability, the bandits first drank at the table, and then with a pistol moved to the cashier.

Militia junior lieutenant Mikhail Biryukov was in a restaurant with his wife that day. Despite this, mindful of the call of duty, he entered into a battle with the bandits. The officer was killed by bullets from criminals. Another victim was a worker sitting at one of the tables: he was hit by one of the bullets intended for a policeman. Panic broke out in the restaurant and the robbery was thwarted. While fleeing, the bandits wounded two more people.

The criminals' failure only made them angry. On March 27, 1951, they raided the Kuntsevo market. The store director Karp Antonov entered into hand-to-hand combat with the leader of the gang and was killed.

The situation was extreme. The last attack took place just a few kilometers from Stalin's "Blizhnyaya Dacha". The best forces of the police and the Ministry of State Security “shook” the criminals, demanding to hand over the completely insolent raiders, but the “authorities” swore that they knew nothing.

Rumors circulating in Moscow exaggerated the crimes of the bandits tenfold. The legend of " Black cat”Was now firmly associated with them.

Restaurant "Blue Danube".

The impotence of Nikita Khrushchev.

The bandits behaved more and more defiantly. A reinforced police patrol ran into them in the station buffet at Udelnaya station. One of the suspicious men was seen carrying a pistol.

The militiamen did not dare to detain the bandits in the hall: the circle was full of strangers who could die. The bandits, having gone out into the street and rushed to the forest, started a real shootout with the police. The victory remained with the raiders: they again managed to escape.

The head of the Moscow City Party Committee Nikita Khrushchev thundered and thundered at law enforcement officers. He seriously feared for his career: Nikita Sergeevich could well be asked for rampant crime in the capital of "the world's first state of workers and peasants."

But nothing helped: neither threats, nor the attraction of new forces. In August 1952, during a raid on a tea house at the Snegiri station, bandits killed the guard of Kraev, who tried to resist them. In September of the same year, criminals attacked the Pivo-Voda tent on the Leningradskaya platform. One of the visitors tried to protect the female saleswoman. The man was shot.

On November 1, 1952, during a raid on a store in the Botanical Garden area, bandits wounded a saleswoman. When they had already left the scene of the crime, a police lieutenant drew attention to them. He knew nothing about the robbery, but decided to check the documents of suspicious citizens. A police officer was mortally wounded.

Mitin now rarely left Krasnogorsk without a pistol in his pocket, even when he visited his father, who worked in the forestry in Kratovo. On that day, not finding him on the spot, he got off at Udelnaya station together with Ageev and Averchenkov to buy a drink at the station buffet. In connection with the strengthening of train security and to maintain law and order, police officers were now often seen at stations. However, the three bandits noticed them only when they had already settled down at the table. Ageev got nervous:

We must leave. There are too many police here!

But Mitin did not turn his ear, calmly took off his jacket and continued to drink. The evening was hot. He was wearing pants and a summer shirt, and a TT pistol was clearly outlined in his pocket. Mitin's calmness was almost defiant. The militiamen realized that the case was taking a dangerous turn.

Ivan, let's go! We saw the garbage trunk! - insisted Ageev. - I know.

The police did not want to endanger others and did not detain the suspicious group inside the restaurant. They watched as Mitin and Ageev calmly walked by. Leaving the platform, Mitin quickly jumped onto the railway track and turned towards the forest.

Stop! - the militiamen rushed after him.

Mitin drew his pistol and a real firefight unfolded. He was on the verge of death, but the bullets stubbornly flew past. All three managed to escape. Moore was again defeated.

Soon after these events Ageev entered the Naval Mine Torpedo Aviation School in Nikolaev with an impeccable performance. The gangster vacancy was free. But not for long. Mitin brought the twenty-four-year-old Nikolayenko, who was restless after his imprisonment, to the case.

The photo shows the next crime scene - Susokolovskoe highway (left - the territory of the Botanical Garden).

"Everyone on the floor!"

In August 1952, the gang broke into a tea house at Snegiri station. The teahouse just sounds innocent. In those days, alcoholic drinks were not served in canteens, and alcohol could be bought in tea houses, so the cash desk worked briskly. When the tall, dark figure of Mitin blocked the entrance and a sharp shout was heard: "On the floor!", Everyone seemed to be numb from surprise and horror. Mitin drew his weapon and in a matter of seconds forced everyone to obey. But the watchman N. Kraev rushed into the back room and tore off the gun from the wall. Mitin fired. Kraev died on the same day in the hospital.

There were about four thousand at the box office. For many, it's a fortune. For "mitintsy" - the risk is in vain. A month later, Lukin and Mitin took an electric train to Moscow to choose a new location for the robbery. A suitable object soon appeared - the Pivo-Vody tent on the Leningradskaya platform.

Having met on a deserted platform, all three entered the tent building. Averchenkov locked the door from the inside and stayed at the entrance, while Lukin demanded the cashier's help and, having pulled her own leather suitcase to himself, threw money there. The visitor at the nearest table got up.

What are you doing, mother t ... - The shot cut off his indignation and life itself. Then another visitor rushed at Mitin and received a bullet in the head.

What are you doing there? Lukin, an exemplary MAI student, shouted over his shoulder.

Mitin ran out with Lukin onto the platform and at the last minute jumped on the departing train. Getting off at the next station, they walked across the bridge over Skhodnya. Swinging, Lukin threw the bag as far as possible into the dark river, and she swallowed the evidence.

In the photo, Vladimir Arapov. 1950 (from the archive of retired Major General V.P. Arapov).

Call.

In January 1953, bandits raided a savings bank in Mytishchi. Their production was 30 thousand rubles. But at the time of the robbery, something happened that made it possible to get the first thread leading to the elusive gang.

The employee of the savings bank managed to press the "panic button", and the phone rang in the savings bank. The confused robber grabbed the pipe.

- Is this a savings bank? The caller asked.

“No, the stadium,” the raider answered, interrupting the call.

The person on duty at the police station called the savings bank. MUR employee Vladimir Arapov drew attention to this short dialogue. This detective, a real legend of the capital's threat, later became the prototype of Vladimir Sharapov.

And then Arapov was wary: why, in fact, did the bandit mention the stadium? He said the first thing that came to mind, but why did he think about the stadium?

After analyzing the locations of the robberies on the map, the detective found that many of them were committed near sports arenas. The bandits were described as athletic youth. It turns out that the criminals could have nothing to do with crime at all, but be athletes?

Vladimir Pavlovich Arapov

The fatal barrel of beer.

In the 1950s, this did not fit into my head. Athletes in the USSR were considered role models, but here it is ...

The operatives were ordered to start checking sports societies, to pay attention to everything unusual that happens near the stadiums.

Soon, an unusual incident occurred at the stadium in Krasnogorsk. A certain young man bought a barrel of beer from a saleswoman and treated everyone. Among the lucky ones was Vladimir Arapov, who remembered the "rich man" and started checking.

At first glance, they were talking about exemplary Soviet citizens. Beer was treated to a student of the Moscow Aviation Institute Vyacheslav Lukin, an excellent student, an athlete and a Komsomol activist. The friends accompanying him turned out to be workers from the defense plants of Krasnogorsk, Komsomol members and labor shock workers.

But Arapov felt that this time he was on the right track. It turned out that on the eve of the robbery of the savings bank in Mytishchi, Lukin was indeed at the local stadium.

The main problem for the detectives was that they initially looked for the wrong ones. From the very beginning of the investigation, the Moscow criminals “went into denial” as one and denied contact with the “mitintsy”.

As it turned out, the sensational gang consisted entirely of production leaders and people far from the criminal "raspberries" and the thieves' circle. In total, the gang consisted of 12 people.

Most of them lived in Krasnogorsk and worked at a local factory.

The leader of the gang, Ivan Mitin, was a shift foreman at defense plant number 34. It is interesting that at the time of his capture, Mitin was presented with a high government award - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. 8 out of 11 gang members also worked at this plant, two were cadets of prestigious military schools.

Among the "mitintsy" was a Stakhanovite, an employee of the "five hundredth" plant, a party member - Peter Bolotov. There was also a student at the Moscow Aviation Institute Vyacheslav Lukin, a member of the Komsomol and an athlete.

In a sense, sport became the connecting link of the accomplices. After the war, Krasnogorsk was one of the best sports bases near Moscow, there were strong teams in volleyball, football, bandy and athletics. The first meeting place for the “mitintsy” was the Krasnogorsk Zenit stadium.

Mitin established the most severe discipline in the gang, forbade any bravado, and rejected contacts with "classical" bandits. And yet Mitin's scheme failed: a barrel of beer near the stadium in Krasnogorsk led the hijackers to ruin.

“Ideologically wrong” criminals.

At dawn on February 14, 1953, operatives broke into the house of Ivan Mitin. The detained ringleader behaved calmly, during the investigation he gave detailed readingswithout hoping to save life. The drummer of labor understood perfectly well: there can be only one punishment for what he has done.

When all members of the gang were arrested, and the report of the investigation lay on the table of the top Soviet leaders, the leaders were horrified. Eight members of the gang were employees of a defense plant, entirely shock workers and athletes, the already mentioned Lukin studied at the Moscow Aviation Institute, and two more were cadets of military schools at the time of the defeat of the gang.

Ageev, a cadet at the Nikolaev Naval Mine and Torpedo Aviation School, who was Mitin's accomplice, a participant in robberies and murders, had to be arrested with a special warrant issued by the military prosecutor's office.

The gang had 28 robberies, 11 murders, 18 wounded. During their criminal activities, the bandits stole more than 300 thousand rubles.

Not a drop of romance.

The case of Mitin's gang did not fit into the ideological line of the party so much that it was immediately classified.

The court sentenced to death Ivan Mitin and one of his accomplices, Alexander Samarin, who, like the ringleader, was directly involved in the murders. The rest of the gang members were sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison.

Student Lukin received 25 years, served them in full, and a year after his release he died of tuberculosis. His father did not endure the shame, lost his mind and soon died in a mental hospital. Members of Mitin's gang ruined the lives of not only the victims, but also their loved ones.

There is no romance in the history of Ivan Mitin's gang: this is a story about "werewolves" who were exemplary citizens in the daylight, and in their second incarnation turned into ruthless murderers. This is a story about how low a person can fall.

sources

The most mysterious gang of the Stalin era, the Black Cat, haunted Muscovites with its daring raids for 3 years. Taking advantage of the difficult post-war situation and the credulity of citizens, Mitin's gang “ripped off” large sums of money and left unharmed.

A series of "Black cats"

In post-war Moscow, the crime situation was alarming. This was facilitated by a shortage of basic necessities among the population, hunger, a large number of unaccounted for captured and Soviet weapons.

The situation was aggravated by the growing panic among the people; one loud precedent was enough for the appearance of frightening rumors.

Such a precedent in the first post-war year was the statement by the director of the Moscow bargaining that he was threatened by the Black Cat gang. On the door of his apartment someone began to draw a black cat, the director of Mostorg began to receive threatening notes written on notebook sheets.

On January 8, 1946, the investigation team of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department went to the alleged crime scene to ambush the intruders. At five in the morning, they were already caught. They turned out to be several schoolchildren. The boss was the seventh grader Volodya Kalganov. The future screenwriter and writer Eduard Khrutsky was also in this "gang".

The schoolchildren immediately admitted their guilt, saying that they simply wanted to intimidate the "grabber" who lived comfortably in the rear while their fathers fought at the front. Of course, they did not give a course to the matter. As Eduard Khrutsky later admitted, “they slapped the neck and released.

Even before that, there were rumors among the people that before robbing an apartment, thieves painted on its door a "black cat" - an analogue of a pirate "black mark". Despite all the absurdity, this legend was enthusiastically taken up by the criminal world. In Moscow alone, there were no less than a dozen "Black cats", later similar gangs began to appear in other Soviet cities.

These were mainly teenage groups, which, firstly, were attracted by the romance of the image itself - the "black cat", and secondly, they wanted to knock the detectives off their trail with such a simple trick. However, by 1950, the activity of the "black cat" came to naught, many were overfished, many simply grew up and stopped swaggering, flirting with fate.

"You can't kill policemen"

Agree, the story of "Black Cat" bears little resemblance to what we read in the book by the Weiner brothers and saw Stanislav Govorukhin in the film. However, the story about the gang that terrorized Moscow for several years has not been invented.

During the three years of its existence, the "mitintsy" committed 28 robberies, 11 people were killed and 12 more were wounded. The total income from their criminal activities amounted to more than 300 thousand rubles. The amount is solid. A car in those years cost about 2,000 rubles.

Mitin's gang declared itself loudly - with the murder of a policeman. On February 1, 1950, senior operative Kochkin and district police officer Filin made a detour when they caught Mitin with an accomplice while preparing for a robbery on a store in Khimki. A skirmish ensued. Kochkin was killed on the spot. The criminals managed to escape.

Even among experienced criminals, there is an understanding that “you cannot kill policemen,” but here - a shot without warning at point-blank range. MUR realized that they would have to deal with a new type of criminals, with cold-blooded outlaws.

This time they robbed the Timiryazevsky department store. 68 thousand rubles became the prey of criminals.

The criminals did not stop there. They made one daring raid after another. In Moscow, talk began to circulate that the Black Cat had returned, and this time everything was much more serious. The city was seized with panic. Nobody felt safe, and the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department and the Ministry of State Security accepted the actions of the "mitintsy" as a challenge to them personally.

Khrushchev on a string

The murder of the policeman Kochkin was committed by the "mitintsy" shortly before the elections to the Supreme Soviet. The bright information agenda of those days, with assurances about economic growth, that life was getting better, crime was eradicated, ran counter to the robberies that had taken place.

Moore took everything necessary measures so that these incidents do not become public knowledge.

Mitin's gang made itself known only three months after Nikita Khrushchev, who had come from Kiev, became the head of the Moscow Regional Committee. At that time, information about all high-profile crimes fell on the table of the highest officials of the state. Joseph Stalin and Lavrenty Beria could not but know about the "mitintsy". Newly arrived Nikita Khrushchev found himself in a delicate situation, he was personally interested that the "Mitintsy" were found as soon as possible.

In March 1952, Khrushchev personally came to the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department in order to arrange a "harassment".

As a result of the visit of the "high authorities", two chiefs of regional departments were arrested, and a special operational headquarters was created in the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department in the case of Mitin's gang. Some historians believe that the "mitintsy" case could play a decisive role in the history of the confrontation between Khrushchev and Beria. If Mitin's gang had not been exposed before Stalin's death, then Beria could have been in the place of the head of state.

The head of the MUR museum, Lyudmila Kaminskaya, in the film about the "Black Cat" said bluntly: “They had such a struggle, as it were. Beria was removed from affairs, he was sent to lead the nuclear power industry, and Khrushchev was in charge of all law enforcement agencies. And, of course, Beria needed Khrushchev to be untenable in this post. That is, he was preparing a platform for himself to remove Khrushchev. "

Production leaders

The main problem for the detectives was that they initially looked for the wrong ones. From the very beginning of the investigation, the Moscow criminals “went into denial” as one and denied contact with the “mitintsy”.

As it turned out, the sensational gang consisted entirely of production leaders and people far from the criminal "raspberries" and the thieves' circle. In total, the gang consisted of 12 people.

Most of them lived in Krasnogorsk and worked at a local factory.

The leader of the gang, Ivan Mitin, was a shift foreman at the defense plant number 34. It is interesting that at the time of his capture, Mitin was presented with a high government award - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. 8 out of 11 gang members also worked at this plant, two were cadets of prestigious military schools.

In a sense, sport became the connecting link of the accomplices. After the war, Krasnogorsk was one of the best sports bases near Moscow, there were strong teams in volleyball, football, bandy and athletics. The first meeting place for the “mitintsy” was the Krasnogorsk Zenit stadium.

Exposure

Only in February 1953 did the MUR officers manage to track the gang. "Mitintsev" was let down by banal imprudence. One of them, Lukin, bought a whole barrel of beer from the Krasnogorsk Stadium. This aroused legitimate suspicions among the police. Lukin was put under surveillance. Gradually, the number of suspects began to grow. Before the arrest, it was decided to make a confrontation. MUR officers in plain clothes brought several witnesses to the stadium and in the crowd brought the suspects to the company, who were identified.

The Mitians were arrested differently than in the film. They were detained without unnecessary noise - in apartments.

One member of the gang, Samarin, was not found in Moscow, but later he was also detained. He was found in Ukraine, where he was in prison for a fight.

The court sentenced Ivan Mitin and Alexander Samarin to capital punishment - death by firing squad, the sentence was carried out in Butyrka prison. Lukin was sentenced to 25 years in prison. A day after his release, in 1977, he mysteriously died.

The most mysterious gang of the Stalin era, the Black Cat, haunted Muscovites with its daring raids for 3 years. Taking advantage of the difficult post-war situation and the gullibility of citizens, mitin's gang “ripped off” large sums of money and left unharmed.

A series of "Black cats"

In post-war Moscow, the crime situation was alarming. This was facilitated by a shortage of basic necessities among the population, hunger, and a large number of unaccounted for captured and Soviet weapons.

The situation was aggravated by the growing panic among the people; one loud precedent was enough for the appearance of frightening rumors.

Such a precedent in the first post-war year was the statement by the director of the Moscow bargaining that he was threatened by the Black Cat gang. On the door of his apartment someone began to draw a black cat, the director of Mostorg began to receive threatening notes written on notebook sheets.

On January 8, 1946, the investigation team of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department went to the alleged crime scene to ambush the intruders. At five in the morning, they were already caught. They turned out to be several schoolchildren. The boss was the seventh grader Volodya Kalganov. The future screenwriter and writer Eduard Khrutsky was also in this "gang".

The schoolchildren immediately admitted their guilt, saying that they simply wanted to intimidate the "grabber" who lived comfortably in the rear while their fathers fought at the front. Of course, they did not give a course to the matter. As Eduard Khrutsky later admitted, “they slapped them on the necks and released them.”

Even before that, there were rumors among the people that before robbing an apartment, thieves painted on its door a "black cat" - an analogue of a pirate "black mark". Despite all the absurdity, this legend was enthusiastically taken up by the criminal world. In Moscow alone, there were no less than a dozen "Black cats", later similar gangs began to appear in other Soviet cities.

These were mainly teenage groups, which, firstly, were attracted by the romance of the image itself - the "black cat", and secondly, they wanted to knock the detectives off their trail with such a simple trick. However by 1950, the activity of "black cat" came to naught,many were overfished, many simply grew up and stopped swaggering, flirting with fate.

"You can't kill policemen"

Agree, the story of "Black Cat" bears little resemblance to what we read in the book by the Weiner brothers and saw Stanislav Govorukhin in the film. Nevertheless, the story about the gang that terrorized Moscow for several years was not invented.

Ivan Mitin's gang became the prototype of the book and film "Black Cat".

During the three years of its existence, the "mitintsy" committed 28 robberies, 11 people were killed and 12 more were wounded. The total income from their criminal activities amounted to more than 300 thousand rubles. The amount is solid. A car in those years cost about 2,000 rubles.

Mitin's gang declared itself loudly - with the murder of a policeman. On February 1, 1950, senior operative Kochkin and district police officer Filin made a detour when they caught Mitin with an accomplice while preparing for a robbery attack on a store in Khimki. A skirmish ensued. Kochkin was killed on the spot. The criminals managed to escape.

Even among experienced criminals, there is an understanding that “you cannot kill policemen,” but here - a shot without warning at point-blank range. MUR realized that they would have to deal with a new type of criminals, with cold-blooded outlaws.

This time they robbed the Timiryazevsky department store. 68 thousand rubles became the prey of criminals.

The criminals did not stop there. They made one daring raid after another. In Moscow, talk began to circulate that the Black Cat had returned, and this time everything was much more serious. The city was seized with panic. Nobody felt safe, and the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department and the Ministry of State Security accepted the actions of the "mitintsy" as a challenge to them personally.

Khrushchev on a string

The murder of the policeman Kochkin was committed by the "mitintsy" shortly before the elections to the Supreme Soviet. The rainbow information agenda of those days, with assurances about economic growth, that life was getting better, crime was eradicated, ran counter to the robberies that had taken place.

The Moscow Criminal Investigation Department took all necessary measures to ensure that these incidents did not become public.

Mitin's gang made itself known only three months after Nikita Khrushchev, who had come from Kiev, became the head of the Moscow Regional Committee. At that time, information about all high-profile crimes fell on the table of the highest officials of the state. Joseph Stalin and Lavrenty Beria could not but know about the "mitintsy". Newly arrived Nikita Khrushchev found himself in a delicate situation, he was personally interested that the "Mitintsy" were found as soon as possible.

In March 1952, Khrushchev personally came to the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department in order to arrange a "harassment".

As a result of the visit of the "high authorities", two chiefs of regional departments were arrested, and a special operational headquarters for the Mitin gang was set up in the MUR.

Some historians believe that the "mitintsy" case could play a decisive role in the history of the confrontation between Khrushchev and Beria. If Mitin's gang had not been exposed before Stalin's death, Beria could have been in the place of the head of state.

The head of the MUR museum, Lyudmila Kaminska, in the film about "The Black Cat" directly said: “They had such a struggle, as it were. Beria was removed from affairs, he was sent to lead the nuclear power industry, and Khrushchev was in charge of all law enforcement agencies. And, of course, Beria needed Khrushchev to be untenable in this post. That is, he was preparing a platform for himself to remove Khrushchev. "

Production leaders

The main problem for the detectives was that they initially looked for the wrong ones.From the very beginning of the investigation, the Moscow criminals “went into denial” as one and denied contact with the “mitintsy”.

As it turned out, the sensational gang consisted entirely of production leaders and people far from the criminal "raspberries" and the thieves' circle. In total, the gang consisted of 12 people.

Most of them lived in Krasnogorsk and worked at a local factory.

The leader of the gang, Ivan Mitin, was the shift foreman at the defense plant number 34. It is interesting that at the time of his capture, Mitin was presented with a high government award - the Order of the Red Banner of Labor. 8 out of 11 gang members also worked at this plant, two were cadets of prestigious military schools.

Among the "mitintsy" was a Stakhanovite, an employee of the "five hundredth" plant, a party member - Peter Bolotov. There was also a student at the Moscow Aviation Institute Vyacheslav Lukin, a member of the Komsomol and an athlete.

In a sense, sport became the connecting link of the accomplices. After the war, Krasnogorsk was one of the best sports bases near Moscow, there were strong teams in volleyball, football, bandy and athletics. The first meeting place for the “mitintsy” was the Krasnogorsk Zenit stadium.

Exposure

Only in February 1953 did the MUR officers manage to track the gang. "Mitintsev" was let down by banal imprudence. One of them, Lukin, bought a whole barrel of beer from the Krasnogorsk Stadium. This aroused legitimate suspicion among the police. Lukin was put under surveillance. Gradually, the number of suspects began to grow. Before the arrest, it was decided to make a confrontation. MUR officers in plain clothes brought several witnesses to the stadium and in the crowd brought the suspects to the company, who were identified.

The Mitians were arrested differently than in the film. They were detained without unnecessary noise - in apartments.

One member of the gang, Samarin, was not found in Moscow, but later he was also detained. He was found in Ukraine, where he was in prison for a fight.

The court sentenced Ivan Mitin and Alexander Samarin to capital punishment - the death penalty by firing squad; the sentence was carried out in Butyrka prison. Lukin was sentenced to 25 years in prison and died mysteriously a day after his release in 1977.