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Top Russian Crime Boss Shot Dead


Aslan Usoyan in an undated photo
Aslan Usoyan in an undated photo
A man considered to be one of Moscow's most notorious crime bosses has been shot dead.

Moscow city police officials say Aslan Usoyan, better known as "Ded Khasan" (Grandfather Khasan), was apparently hit by a sniper firing from a rooftop as he left a Moscow restaurant on January 16.

Russian media reports say Usoyan was involved in illegal gambling, construction, and drug-trafficking.

The 75-year-old organized crime figure was a Kurdish Yezidi born in Georgia.

Usoyan survived several previous assassination attempts, the last in Moscow in 2010.

One of Usoyan's close associates, Vyacheslav Ivankov, also known as "Yaponchik" (The Little Japanese), was shot by a sniper while leaving a Moscow restaurant in July 2009.

He died of his wounds in October of that year.

Based on reporting by RIA Novosti and Interfax

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