- Date
- 03/10/2000
- First
- Sergei
- Surname
- Ivanov
- Sex/Age
- M, 30
- Incident
- homicide
- Motive
- ?J
- Place
- stairwell entrance
- Job
- director
- Medium
- TV
- Federal District Plus
- VOLGA
- Street, Town, Region
- Togliatti, Samara Region
- Freelance
- no
- Local/National
- local, Lada TV
- Other Ties
- Cause of Death
- shot, contract killing
- Legal Qualification
- 105 (murder)
- Impunity
- trial, conviction, 01 November 2003
Sergei Ivanov, director of the Lada TV channel, was shot dead near his home in Togliatti on 3 October 2000. At approximately 10 pm the killer shot Ivanov several times as he approached the door to the stairwell entrance.
The official investigators recognised this as a contract killing but could not be sure of the cause. Ivanov's colleagues said it was linked to his work as head of the TV channel. The police soon asserted that his death was part of the struggle between different criminal groups for control over the the city's car industry that had already claimed several dozen lives. Apart from his work with TV Ivanov had also been engaged in the spare parts business, the police announced.
In July 2002 members of the Volga gang, “one of the most cruel and bloody in Russia today“, went on trial at the Samara Region Court. Investigators said they had committed 17 contract killings, among them Sergei Ivanov. Those who killed Ivanov had since died themselves, they said. In late 2003 the gang members were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment.
Writing later Togliatti obozrenie daily said that the interpretation of Ivanov's murder was not substantiated in court.
Ivanov headed Lada TV channel since 1993. The privately-owned channel was set up in 1990 and without other subsidies depended on advertising for its basic income.