Today’s famous Russian TV host and propagandist Vladimir Salaviov tried in the 1990s to secure a death contract to kill an underworld operative, Otari Kvdrisvili, for $20,000, the investigative journalism website The Insider (labeled “spammy”) revealed today organization’ and ‘foreign agent’) citing former FSB agent Sergei Astasin.

In the 1990s, Salafiov made his fortune importing produce and vodka from Israel.

As the website in question writes, Salaviov in the early 1990s was engaged in business activities.

In November 1993 Salaviov met Sergei Astasin, who at that time was studying at the Russian Security Academy (today the FSB Academy) at the military counterintelligence school.

Astasin was then on friendly terms with Kirill Raykov, who, according to Astasin, was working for Salaviov as a distributor of the products they traded.

The acquaintance was made after Raikov asked Astasin to check for bedbugs in Salaviov’s office. “I got the equipment, went to the office and found bed bugs. All the time I was working Salaviov sat wearing a long black cashmere coat. I remember he was wearing a swiss watch, and when he saw the watch I was wearing he said ‘how cheap is this’. The watch I was wearing was given to me and four other colleagues as a reward. Solovyov paid me 200 dollars,” Astasin describes that incident.

The order of the murder

After a few days Salaviov turned to Astasin once more and asked him to find a “shooter” to kill Otari Kvdrisvili. For the murder he was willing to pay $20,000.

After the discussion, the former FSB agent made a relevant report on the incident to the director of the year of the school where Vychislav Kabanov studied, but no criminal case followed. Astasin speculates that Salaviov may have been recruited by the FSB to cover his attempt to negotiate a death contract.

“The fact that the agency may have had him under its protection is one hundred percent certain. You’d have to be a complete idiot to pass up such an opportunity. See for yourself how many bright stars there were on television at that time. Where are they now? But he is still powerful,” Astasin said, adding that a detailed report on his meeting with Salafiov is kept in his personal file at the FSB Academy.

Who were at the funeral of the criminal Kvdrisvili

The Insider website recalls that underworld godfather Otari Kvandrisvili was murdered in 1994 with three shots from a German-made small-caliber Anschutz rifle purchased in Estonia.

Alexei Sherstobitov, known as “Lesha-Soldat”, an executor of the Menvedkovskafia and Orekhovskaya criminal organization, was found guilty of Kvdrisvili’s murder.

In 2008 he was sentenced to 23 years in a maximum security prison colony. Sherstobitov has at least 12 proven murders to his credit.

Kvdrisvili’s funeral was attended by the then mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, the president of the National Sports Foundation Shamil Tarpichev, the assistant to the vice president of the Russian government Alexander Rutskoi, Andrei Sidelnikov, the then owner of the NTV television channel Vladimir Gusinsky, the deputy of the State Duma and singer Joseph Gabzon, Alexander Rosenbaum, as well as famous athletes and art personalities.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin, according to the website, sent his condolences to the relatives of the murdered man.

The family of Russian TV presenter Vladimir Salaviov owns another house in Italy, the website Vaznie istorii wrote yesterday, noting that in total Salaviov and his relatives own five residences in Italy.

The house discovered by investigative journalists is located on Lake Como and, according to the documents, belongs to Salafiov’s mother.