Stories of the life and death of Lenka Panteleev. Echoes of revolutionary disease. "Lenka Panteleev". See what "Lenka Panteleev" is in other dictionaries

Leonid Ivanovich Pantelkin, better known as Lyonka Panteleev. It was the coolest St. Petersburg gangster of the mid-20s. In the long history of the criminal world of St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad there is no ...

Leonid Ivanovich Pantelkin, better known as Lyonka Panteleev. It was the coolest St. Petersburg gangster of the mid-20s. In the long history of the criminal world of St. Petersburg - Petrograd - Leningrad, there is no more famous character than Lenka Panteleev. We can safely say that the bandit Lenka has become a kind of St. Petersburg legend. He was so elusive and lucky that he was even credited with a mystic...

On February 13, 1923, Lenka Panteleev, one of the most famous and daring Petrograd raiders, died in a shootout with the Chekists.

By the age of 20, he managed to take part in revolutionary events, fight in the Red Army with the troops of Yudenich, and even serve in the Cheka. Yes, and in his gang, he recruited several former Chekists and commissars.

Although his gang had only been active for about a year, rumors circulated throughout Petrograd that Lenka was elusive, and his name had become as famous in Petrograd as Lenin's.

Exemplary Citizen

Leonid Pantelkin was born in the Novgorod province in 1902. The surname Panteleev, under which he became known due to his criminal trade, he took later, probably because of its greater harmony.

After studying in elementary school and taking special courses, Panteleev received the profession of a typesetter in a printing house. In those days, printing workers received good money. Some sources report that Panteleev participated in the storming of the Winter Palace in October 1917, and he himself is called a revolutionary sailor.

However, at that time he was 15 years old, he was hardly a sailor, but he could participate in revolutionary events. Then the age was not asked.
It is known that in 1919, 17-year-old Panteleev volunteered for the Red Army and took part in the hostilities against Yudenich, who was advancing on Petrograd, being the commander of a machine-gun platoon. According to some reports, Panteleev was even taken prisoner, but later either he was able to escape, or he was released.

In 1921, the huge Red Army by that time was demobilized. After that, Panteleev comes to the Cheka. He had an almost exemplary biography - he was accepted into the service without any problems. So Panteleev, who had barely reached the age of majority, became an investigator of the road transport commission of the Cheka of the North-Western Railways.

Leonid Panteleev is an active member of the Cheka (standing fourth from the right).

True, his service was short-lived. Just three months later, he is demoted and sent as an agent-controller to Pskov. And in January 1922, just six months after the start of the service, Panteleev was fired from the authorities.

The reason for the dismissal remained unknown, thanks to which later various versions arose, up to the most dubious ones: allegedly Panteleev was introduced into the criminal environment. In reality, Panteleev was suspected of complicity in the raid, but there was little evidence.

The time spent in the Cheka was not in vain: there he managed to find an associate. One of the first members of Panteleev's gang was his former colleague in the Cheka, Leonid Bass. In addition, the former commissar of one of the parts of the Red Army Varshulevich joined the gang, and the closest associate, Panteleev's "adjutant", was a member of the Gavrikov party.

However, the gang included not only former Chekists and commissars, but also two professional criminals: Reintop and Lisenkov.

dashing gang

The first years after the end of the Civil War were the heyday of the raiders. Professional criminals of the pre-revolutionary era were strictly divided into categories and observed unwritten rules and traditions.

But the revolution in those years took place not only in the political, but also in the criminal world. Old traditions are gone. For example, the most famous Moscow raider Yasha Koshelkov, who once robbed Lenin himself, was a pickpocket before the revolution.

The task of the raiders was facilitated by the Chekists, who carried out searches every night, in such an atmosphere it cost them nothing, posing as Chekists, to enter the dwellings and rob them.

In 1922-1923, a second wave of raiders took place. Now most of them were no longer professional criminals, but soldiers demobilized from the army who had not previously had problems with the law.

Accustomed to unpunished violence in the war and during the suppression of peasant uprisings, they already hardly fit into a peaceful society. In addition, many were disappointed with the beginning of the NEP, which the most radical of the ideological communists considered as a betrayal of the revolution and the restoration of capitalism.

The raiders acted boldly and without fear, often trailing a long trail of bloody crimes behind them. They terrorized the cities and became a headache for the criminal investigation department and the Cheka.

In March 1922, the Panteleev gang committed its first crime. A raid was carried out on the apartment of the furrier Bogachev. Threatening the owners with weapons, the bandits searched the apartment and took away several fur things.

However, Panteleev himself was dissatisfied with the first thing, considering the prey to be insignificant. Therefore, two weeks later, they raided the apartment of Dr. Griliches according to the same scheme. But in this case, it was not possible to get hold of the money.

After the first failures, Panteleev fell into a depression and did not go to work for three months. The craft of the raider was not as profitable as he expected. Meanwhile, there were many witnesses who remembered him well and described him to the police, and Panteleev was included in the reports wanted by the police.

In June, Panteleev, who was riding in a tram, was accidentally recognized by a Chekist named Vasiliev and tried to detain the criminal. Panteleev, firing back, fled. Chmutov, the head of the security of the State Bank, tried to detain him (Panteleev escaped the chase through the courtyard of this institution), but was killed in a shootout. Thus, the first blood was shed, and the authorities became very interested in Panteleev.

The police began searching for Panteleev, methodically detaining and interrogating his many cohabitants. The pretty and young Panteleev had many mistresses, whom he used as guides, preferring women to everyone else, since he believed that a woman in love would never betray him to the police.

The firefight gave Panteleev, who had become moping, an additional impetus, and he stepped up his activities. The gang raided the apartment of Dr. Levin, where they got under the guise of sailors who came with health complaints. The owners of the apartment were tied up and almost all things were taken out of it.

A few days later, Panteleev's gang, under the guise of Chekists who came with a search, robbed the jeweler Anikeev. At the same time, the bandits played their role so well that they complied with all the necessary formalities with the documents, but made a mistake.

The search warrant was issued in the name of Aleksey Timofeev, and one of the bandits inadvertently signed as Nikolai Timofeev. This fact alerted the owner of the apartment - after the bandits left, he turned to the Cheka for clarification and found out that no search had been carried out or planned.

Panteleev began to change the scheme of work, most of the raids brought mere pennies, he ceased to disdain even banal street violence. The bandits began to go out at night on the Field of Mars and stop cabs transporting citizens who seemed wealthy to Panteleev.

After that, at gunpoint, they took away all the valuables they had with them. A similar robbery on Karavannaya Street ended in blood: it seemed to Panteleev that the victim - Nikolaev - wanted to get a revolver, and he was shot dead. They also shot and killed his wife, so as not to leave witnesses.

There were rumors about Panteleev that he only robs NEPmen and does not touch the proletarians, but in fact he didn’t care, the main thing was that the victim had some valuables with him.

Lenka Panteleev (bandit)

Lyonka Panteleev (real name - Leonid Ivanovich Pantelkin). Born in 1902 in Tikhvin, Novgorod province - killed on February 13, 1923 in Petrograd. The famous Petrograd raider.

Leonid Pantelkin, who became widely known as Lenka Panteleev, was born in 1902 in the city of Tikhvin, Novgorod province.

In his native city, he completed elementary school and received primary education. After graduating from school, he was admitted to professional courses, where he received the profession of a printer-typesetter, which was prestigious at that time, and worked in the printing house of the Kopeika newspaper.

In 1919, Pantelkin voluntarily joined the Red Army, was sent as part of one of the units to the Narva Front, where he took part in battles with the troops of General Yudenich and parts of the Estonian army. Having outstanding organizational skills and the makings of a leader, without special education he rose to the position of commander of a machine-gun platoon. At the end of the Civil War, he was demobilized and, among the thousands of Red Army soldiers, was transferred to the reserve in 1921.

Working in the Petrograd Cheka, he participated in the suppression of peasant uprisings in the Poltava region in 1920-1922.

On July 11, 1921, L.I. Pantelkin was accepted as an investigator in the military control unit of the road transport Extraordinary Commission of the United North-Western Railways. Shortly thereafter, on October 15, 1921, he was appointed to the position of agent-controller in the department of the road transport emergency commission (DTChK) in Pskov.

During his service in the Cheka, Pantelkin stood on the radical positions of leftist party members and had a negative attitude towards the new economic policy, which was not welcome then, given the change in the government's course towards private entrepreneurship.

According to the archival certificate of the OGPU of the USSR, in January 1922, L. I. Pantelkin was dismissed from the bodies of the Cheka "to reduce staff." According to the same certificate, the order number and the specific date of dismissal are not in the personal file.

In 1925, Sergei Kondratiev, the head of the 1st brigade of the Leningrad criminal investigation department, which was engaged in the fight against banditry, wrote in the journal Sud Goes, Sergei Kondratyev, that Panteleev "did a robbery during one of the searches." Therefore, they were expelled from the Cheka. The time was difficult, harsh, and Pskov was actually a border town, so they fired without indicating a real reason.

Lyonka Panteleev. Raider #1

Raider Lyonka Panteleev

In what period Leonid Pantelkin took the pseudonym "Lenka Panteleev" for himself is not known for certain.

At the beginning of 1922, Panteleev settled in Petrograd, where he gathered a gang that included: Leonid Bass, Panteleev’s colleague in the Pskov Cheka, Varshulevich, who was a battalion commissar during the civil war, a member of the RCP (b) Gavrikov and professional criminals Alexander Reintop (nicknamed "Sashka -pan") and Mikhail Lisenkov (nicknamed "Mishka-Clumsy"). Around the same time, the gang committed a series of robberies in the city of Petrograd and its environs.

The first serious action of the Panteleev group was a raid on the apartment of the famous Petrograd furrier Bogachev. March 4, 1922, at four o'clock in the afternoon, when the owners were not at home, three raiders with revolvers in their hands broke into the apartment, tied up the servants. Having broken cabinets and drawers, the bandits took the valuables that were in the house and calmly left through the back door. Exactly two weeks later, Panteleyev's gang robbed the apartment of Dr. Griliches, who was in private practice. The handwriting of the raiders was the same - in broad daylight they entered the apartment under the guise of patients, robbed its owner and disappeared.

The first case of the Panteleev gang The “Court is coming” magazine of 1925 described it as follows: “Lenka Panteleev and his gang began the“ work ”with an armed raid on the apartment of the wealthy Leningrad furrier Bogachev at number 39 on Plekhanov (Kazanskaya) Street.

At about four o'clock in the afternoon on March 4, 1922, there was a knock at Bogachev's apartment. The servant, Bronislava Protas, came to the door and asked:

- Who's there?

She was answered with a question:

- Is Madame and Sima at home and where is Emilia?

Protas replied that Bogacheva was not at home, and Emilia was sick. Then she asked:

- Who is it there, is it Vanya? .. (Emilia's acquaintance.)

Bronislava unlocked the door.

Two strangers entered the apartment and immediately turned to Bogacheva's daughter with an exclamation:

- Ah, Simochka!

At the same time, they pointed their revolvers at three women and, driving them into the last room, tied them up.

One of the strangers, in a military overcoat, who led the raid, put a gun to his temple Protas demanded to show where valuables and expensive things were stored.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll shoot you in the head like a chicken,” the bandit threatened.

But Protas replied that she did not know where the “master's” values ​​were. Then a robber in a military overcoat said:

We will find everything we need without you.

Having broken into cabinets with a well-sharpened stiletto, the raiders took away furs and valuables and, putting them in a basket taken from the kitchen, carried it out of the main entrance.

The raider in a gray overcoat was Lenka Panteleev. This raid was his first.

On June 26, he raided Dr. Levin's apartment at No. 29 on Bolshoy Prospekt of the Petrogradskaya Storona. Having changed into a sailor, he asked the doctor for help, and when he received him, two more sailors, Lenka's accomplices, entered the office.

On July 9, Lenka and his accomplices "took" Anikiyev's apartment at No. 18 Chernyshev Lane (now Lomonosov Street). This time they introduced themselves as Chekists and even produced a search warrant. A few days later, Panteleev repeated the reception with a search at the apartment of the owner of the Ishchens tavern in Tolmazov Lane (now Krylov Lane).

Panteleev's raids were distinguished by careful preparation, as well as some theatricality and bravado. Panteleev and his people used weapons extremely rarely.

In the spring of 1922, all of Petrograd spoke about the Panteleev gang. The fact is that when making raids, Lenka first shot into the air, and then he necessarily called his name. The catchphrase was: "Citizens! Calm down, this is a raid. I'm Lenka Panteeev, I ask you to hand over money and valuables. In case of resistance, I shoot without warning!".

It was a psychological move - the bandits created "authority" for themselves, and at the same time suppressed the will of their victims, their ability to resist.

On September 4, 1922, Panteleev was arrested after a shootout in a Kozhtrest shoe store, during which the head of the 3rd department of the Petrograd police Pavel Barzai, who had been looking for Panteleev for six months, died.

In Kresty Prison, Panteleev was placed in cell no. 196, Lisenkov in cell no. 195, Raintop in cell no. 191, and Gavrikov in cell no. 185. All these cells were located in the 4th gallery.

But on the night of November 10-11, 1922, with the help of the warden, all this friendly company fled. This, by the way, was the first successful escape from the "Crosses". Having jumped over the prison fence, the raiders dispersed: Panteleev and Gavrikov went to the Neva in the direction of the Nikolaevsky bridge, and Lisenkov and Reintop went to the Field of Mars.

Then Panteleev with several accomplices began a new series of armed robberies. This series differed from the first series in that Panteleev sometimes began to kill his victims. Not only the criminal investigation department, but also the organs of the GPU were involved in the liquidation of the gang.

Liquidation of Lenka Panteleev

On the night of February 13, 1923, Panteleev and his partner Lisenkov (Mishka-Koryaviy) came to the apartment of the prostitute Mickiewicz, hoping to have a good rest. Chekist Ivan Busko shot Panteleev in the head point-blank. He fell dead to the floor, and Lisenkov tried to run. He was wounded in the neck. Only Sashka-Pan (Raintop) remained free. He was arrested by a friend.

Ivan Busko - security officer who shot Lyonka Panteleev

One of the operatives sat down at the table and began to write a protocol for examining the place of the march and an act of identifying the corpse: “13 days in February 1923. We, the undersigned employees of the UR, having arrived at house No. 38, kv. in an ambush, according to all available signs, they established ... The height of the deceased is about 176 cm, his hair is dyed, his neck is thick. On the left side, above the eye on the head of the corpse, there is a scar that closes the passage of a bullet. The outlines of the face clearly prove the original photograph of the famous recidivist bandit Leonid Panteleeva ... In the pockets of the corpse were found: a Spanish Browning and a Mauser, a new black wallet containing 2,600 rubles, documents addressed to Ivanov: a work book and an identity card, two yellow metal chains, a medal with the inscription "For Diligence", a bracelet yellow metal, a ring with two white and one red stone, a ring with a lady's portrait, a yellow metal ring with a blue stone. Despite the announcement in the newspapers that the famous Lyonka Panteleev had been killed, the population did not immediately believe this. The fear of the famous raider was so great that the vast majority of Petrograd residents were sure that Panteleev was alive and would still show himself. To dispel rumors about Panteleev's elusiveness, his corpse, by order of the authorities, was put on public display in the city morgue, where thousands of people could see it.

The corpse was never identified by the relatives and friends of the deceased. At the same time, raids and robberies continued in Petrograd on behalf of Lenka Panteleev.

The growth of Lenka Panteleev: 176 centimeters.

Personal life of Lenka Panteleev:

The raider was not officially married, but he considered a certain Lyubov Kruglova to be his common-law wife.

Lenka Panteleev in mass culture:

The image of Lenka Panteleev is widespread in popular culture.

E. Polonskaya's poem "In the noose" (1923) is dedicated to Lyonka Panteleev.

The story of Lev Sheinin and the 3rd series of the serial TV movie are dedicated to Panteleev "Born of a Revolution". In both works, taking into account their artistic nature and ideological censorship, the image of Panteleev is very far from reality. Sheinin's story describes the bandit's romantic attachment to the robbed woman, while Lyonka is not killed during arrest, but is sentenced to death by the court, in the film Born of the Revolution, Panteleev is credited with a pre-revolutionary criminal past, his service in the Cheka is silent (unlike the book on which the movie was made).

Lyonka Panteleev - frame from the film "Born by the Revolution"

In 2006, the life and "exploits" of Lenka Panteleev were reflected in the serial television film "Life and death of Lenka Panteleev", in which the role of the raider was played by an actor.

Two documentaries were made about the Panteleev case (from the cycles “The Red Stripe” and “The Investigation Was Conducted ...”. The latter showed Panteleev’s alcoholized head, which has survived to this day in one of the laboratories at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg State University.

The story of Panteleev is dedicated to the story based on documents by M. Tokarev "Lyonka Panteleev - detectives of a thunderstorm".

Panteleev is one of the main characters of the fourth trilogy of Andrey Valentinov's epic "The Eye of Power". Valentinov himself adheres to the version of Panteleev's activity as a special operation of the GPU.

In the criminal environment, Lenka Panteleev still enjoys the fame of an elusive, dashing raider. More than one song in the genre of "Russian chanson" is dedicated to him. The most famous are performed by Vika Tsyganova (Lyrics: V. Tsyganov, music: Yu. Prialkin) from the album “Walk, Anarchy” (1991) and performed by Anatoly Cloth, from the album “Greetings from Lenka Panteleev” (1990), “Lyonka Panteleev" performed by the author Vladimir Kalusenko from the album "Tramp" (2014).

In Vika Tsyganova's song, the erroneous opinion is expressed that Lenka Panteleev acted in Moscow. Similarly, in the song of Anatoly Cloth, we are talking about Odessa.

Anatoly Cloth - Lenka Panteleev

The group "Bad Balance" recorded the song "Lenka Panteleev" in the album Legends of Gangsters (2007).

In May 2012, the premiere of the play “Lenka Panteleev. Musical "(16+). Directed by Maxim Didenko and Nikolai Dreiden. Playwright - Konstantin Fedorov. The performance is a laureate of the National Award "Musical Heart of the Theater - 2012" in the nomination "Best Performance".

Elena Khaetskaya (writes under the pseudonym Elena Tolstaya) wrote the book "Lenka Panteleev".

It often happens that writers invent their heroes - give them fictitious names and send them in search of incredible adventures that never really happened. But this book is different. Lenka Panteleev is the pseudonym of the author, Alexei Ivanovich Eremeev (1908–1987). And everything that is written in this story is true.

The hero and author of this book, Lenka Panteleev, was born in St. Petersburg. He would like to live like an ordinary person - love his parents, go to school, be friends with good children. But he was not lucky - he grew up in a difficult time for the country. The First World War (1914-1918) began, then two revolutions occurred in the Russian Empire in one year of 1917, after which a bloody civil war broke out (1918-1922).

A new life has begun in Russia. The city of St. Petersburg was renamed, turned into Petrograd, and then into Leningrad. It just became impossible to live there. Hunger raged, unemployment reigned. People died from the cold, because there was nothing to heat the stoves, they died from infectious diseases, because there were not enough doctors and medicines. Many children were left without parental care and ended up on the street. The army of ragged, hungry, impoverished children traded in petty thefts and was a constant headache for the city dwellers.

From this book you will learn how Lenka Panteleev became a homeless child. He met many wonderful people who helped him survive and remain human. He was lucky to be among the pupils of the Dostoevsky School-Commune (SHKID).

The story of Leonid Panteleev and Grigory Belykh "Republic of ShKID", based on which the famous feature film of the same name was shot, tells how the further fate of Lenka and his friends developed.

All this winter day the boys were very unlucky. Wandering around the city and already returning home, they wandered into the courtyard of a large, multi-storey building on Stolyarny Lane. The yard was like all the Petrograd yards of that time - not illuminated, covered with snow, littered with firewood ... Electric light burned dimly in a few windows, here and there pipes bent at the knee were sticking out of the windows, a dull grayish smoke, colored with red, ran out of the pipes into the darkness. sparks. It was quiet and empty.

“Let’s go to the stairs,” Lenka suggested, burring at the letter “r”.

“Ah, come on,” Volkov grimaced angrily. “What, don’t you see? It is as dark as a black man's bosom.

- And yet? ..

- Well, it's still the same. Let's watch.

They climbed to the very top of the black stairs.

Volkov was not mistaken: there was nothing to profit from.

They descended slowly, looking in the dark for cold railings, stumbled upon walls covered with a thick layer of frost, struck matches.

- Devilishness! Volkov grumbled. - Hamie! They live like... I don't know... like some Samoyeds. At least one light bulb hung on the entire staircase.

– Look! Lenka interrupted him. - And for some reason it's on fire! ..

When they went upstairs, it was dark below, as on the whole staircase, but now there, dimly, like a swollen ember, a pot-bellied coal lamp was blinking.

- Stop, wait! Volkov whispered, grabbing Lenka by the arm and peering down over the railing.

Behind a simple single-leaf door, which does not happen in residential apartments, the sound of water pouring from a tap was heard. On the latch of the door hung, swaying slightly, a large shiny lock with a key stuck in the hole. The boys stood a platform above and, leaning over the iron railing, looked down.

- Leshka! By God! Five hundred "lemons", no less! Volkov whispered feverishly. And before Lenka had time to figure out what was the matter, as his comrade, breaking off from his place, jumped a dozen steps, tore off the lock with a crash and ran out into the yard. Lenka wanted to follow his example, but at that moment the single-leaf door swung open with a noise and a fat, red-cheeked woman in a scarf tied with a triangle jumped out. Grasping her hands on the spot where a lock had hung a few seconds before, and seeing that there was no lock, the woman yelled in a wild, piercing voice:

- Fathers! My dears! Guard!

Later, Lenka scolded himself mercilessly for the mistake he had made. The woman ran into the courtyard, and he, instead of going upstairs and hiding on the stairs, rushed after her.

Jumping out into the yard and almost colliding with a woman, he made a calm and indifferent face and asked in an amiable voice:

- I'm sorry, ma'am. What happened?

- Castle? Lenka was surprised. - Stole? Yes, what are you saying? I saw ... Honestly, I saw. It was taken by a boy. I thought it was your boy. I really thought it was yours. Let me catch him,” he offered helpfully, trying to push the woman away and dash towards the gate. The woman was about to let him through, but suddenly she caught herself, grabbed him by the sleeve and shouted:

- No, brother, stop, wait! Who are you? BUT? Where are you from? They probably stole together!.. Huh? Speak! Together?!

And, throwing her head back, in the same strong, thick voice, like a fire chimney, she yelled:

- Kar-raul!

Lenka made an attempt to escape.

- Allow me! he shouted. - How dare you? Let go! But the windows and doors were already clapping around, people were already running from the street and from the yard. And someone's jubilant voice was already shouting:

- The thief has been caught!

Lenka realized that he would not be able to escape. The crowd surrounded him.

- Who? Where? - making noise around.

- This?

- The lock is broken.

- I went to the laundry...

- Did you take a lot? BUT?

- Which? Show.

- Is this the coat? Snub?

– Ha-ha! Here they are - admire, please - the children of the revolution!

- Beat him!

- Beat the thief!

Lenka put his head on his shoulders, bent down. But no one hit him. The fat woman, the mistress of the castle, firmly held the boy by the collar of his fur coat and buzzed right in his ear:

“You know the one who took the castle away, don’t you?” Do you know? BUT? Is this your friend? Right?

- What are you thinking! Nothing like this! shouted Lenka.

- Lying! the crowd roared.

- You can see it in the eyes - it's lying!

- To the police!

- To the precinct!

- To the commandant's office!

- Please please. Very good. Let's go to the police, - Lenka was delighted. – What are you? Please let's go. They'll find out whether I'm good or not.

There was nothing else for him to do. He knew from bitter experience that no matter how bad things were in the militia, it was still better and more reliable there than in the hands of an angry mob.

“You better point out your accomplice,” said some woman. "Then we'll let you go."

- What more! Lenka chuckled. - An accomplice! Come on, okay...

And although the fat woman was still holding him by the collar, he was the first to step towards the gate.

A crowd of about ten people led him to the police station.

Lyonka walked calmly, his face did not betray him - a gloomy mine had frozen on his face from birth, and besides, at the age of fourteen he had experienced so many different differences that he saw no reason to be especially worried and worried.

"Okay. Spit. I’ll get out somehow,” he thought, and, whistling, casually thrust his hands into the pockets of his tattered fur coat.

He felt something hard in his pocket.

Knife, he remembered.

It was a long and thin sausage knife, like a stiletto, which he and Volkov used instead of a screwdriver when they had to unscrew chandeliers and caps on the front stairs of rich houses.

Raider No. 1 Lenka Panteleev

In the early 20s of the 20th century, the name of the bandit Lenka Panteleev was known to everyone. Since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, but who really was the thunderstorm of St. Petersburg - a criminal or a Chekist - still remains a mystery.

Gangster Petersburg
Usually after every war there is a wave of crime. It is understandable: there are too many weapons in the hands of the population, the habit of violence is too strong. However, after the revolution of 1917 and the civil war, the crime situation in Soviet Russia completely got out of control. Robberies, murders, robberies were an ordinary, almost familiar phenomenon. Especially in Petrograd, where at the beginning of 1922 the star of the raider Lenka Panteleev rose.

Lucky is not in favor with the GPU
However, at first the name and surname of the offender did not appear in the robbery case. Only the nickname was known - Fartovy. And who was hiding behind her, the local Pinkertons did not care much. After all, showing high class consciousness, Fartovoy's gang robbed only NEPmen and categorically did not touch socialist property. And the scope of the violent activity of the bandits did not exceed the general trend.
The situation changed after the intervention of the GPU.
Once, the carefully planned "projects" of Fartovoy prompted the Chekists to the unexpected idea that one of the police officers was helping the criminals, and in order to dispel the doubts that had arisen, they decided to help their colleagues from the UGRO (criminal investigation department) in search of the previously elusive Fartovoy.

UGRO is on the trail
Since the Cheka is not sleeping, things have become more cheerful. Soon the first results appeared.
After questioning the victims, Pavel Barzai (a third-generation detective who made a name in the criminal investigation department before the revolution and for this was admitted to operational activities by the new government) compiled a verbal portrait of Fartovoy.
In St. Petersburg, "operation" interception "" immediately began. The militia took by the white hands and dragged into state-owned houses all passers-by passers-by more or less corresponding to the description. Dens and raspberries were gutted with enviable regularity by sailors - the “mask shows” of that time.
By the way, twenty years ago, as now, in order to force "legal" criminals to help the authorities find "illegal" ones, the security forces carried out massive checks, searches and round-ups, preventing criminals from working fruitfully and having a nice rest.
As a result, tired of the excessive attention of the security forces, the urks brought a certain citizen to Barzai, who told the authorities that he had seen Fartovoy before and that the bandit seemed to be working then in ... the transport Cheka.

So, Chekist!
Soon the detective knew everything about Fartovoy.
Leonid Panteleev (real name Pantelkin) was born in 1902 in the city of Tikhvin. Since July 1921 - an employee of the transport Cheka. Since January 1922, he was dismissed from the redundancy bodies.
Found out Barzai and the composition of the gang. Pretty versatile, by the way. Among the professional criminals, it included another ex-Chekist, a colleague of Panteleev, and even a former battalion commissar.

With friendly greetings
The information of the UGRO immediately appeared in the newspapers: “The secret of Fartovoy is revealed” - the headlines screamed. But that was clearly an exaggeration. This was understood by both the detectives and the criminal, who now, as if in mockery, began to introduce himself to his victims. Moreover, Panteleev started a business card elegantly printed on chalkboard with the inscription: “Leonid Panteleev is a freelance robber artist” and on the back invariably left his opponents with a few pleasant words, such as: “To the employees of the criminal investigation department with friendly greetings. Leonid".

A la Robin Hood
Time passed, the number of Panteleev's "exploits" grew, and the police and security officers all trailed behind the events. Meanwhile, things took a political turn.
Newspapers and rumors in the spring of 1922 turned the “knight of the Ligovskaya panel”, “gentleman robber”, “thunderstorm of the NEP” into a folk hero. And not in vain! Panteleev still attacked only the rich, did not touch ordinary people, and even sent small transfers for charitable purposes to universities and other institutions requiring care. Notes: “Enclosing one hundred chervonets, I ask you to distribute them among the most needy students. With respect to the sciences, Leonid Panteleev,” immediately became the subject of the widest discussion. And somewhere even admiration!
Lenka was popular even among colleagues. He was bold, daring and creative. It was from his submission that the “gop-stop” method, an armed invasion of apartments, entered into criminal use.

On guard of order
The more fame surrounded Panteleev, the more furiously the GPU and the UGRO were engaged in the search for the bandit. A special brigade was created under the leadership of the best St. Petersburg investigator Sergei Kondratiev (discovered 33 gangs). However, chance helped the detectives.
Once an employee of the UGRO was driving to work and on the tram drew attention to two young men of a very cheeky behavior. In one, he identified Lenka Panteleev and tried to detain him. Lyonka started to run, began to shoot back and killed the head of the security of the State Bank. He just went out into the street, saw the chase and tried to help ...
After that, Panteleev became the blood enemy of all St. Petersburg cops. He was outlawed and knew for sure: on occasion, he would be shot to kill. Fortunately, shortly before that, a new decree of the Motherland was issued, calling for tougher measures to combat crime.
Another meeting between Panteleev and the security forces took place three months after the story in the tram. And again chance played a role. The raiders and the police clashed in a shoe store. A shootout ensued, during which Pavel Bardzai died, and Lenka Panteleev and his comrades went to jail.

Government House
Panteleev willingly told investigators about himself.
From the age of eighteen he served in the Cheka, he himself conducted inquiries, he liked the work, but did not satisfy financially. Pressed resentment against the Nepmen. They enjoyed life. And he, the combat commander of the Red Army, was forced to count pennies.
Chronic lack of money Panteleev explained his collusion with the criminal element and assistance in organizing various dark deeds. However, Panteleev was not a "werewolf in uniform" for long. Quite quickly he was exposed, imprisoned, and then for some reason, unlike usual, he was not shot, but released in peace, having been fired from the authorities before that.
But not in pig feed. Panteleev was not imbued with gratitude for the mercy shown, but, on the contrary, harbored a new offense. Onaya pushed the former Chekist first onto the path of crime, and then led him alone to Kresty.

The escape
By the way, in the 20th century, only five escapes were made from the famous St. Petersburg prison. The first was organized by Lenka Panteleev.
Even at the trial, he said: “Citizens of the judge, why all this farce? Anyway, I'll be running soon." Indeed, on a November night, the raider left the walls of the Crosses. And not alone, but in the company of accomplices.
The overseer who helped arrange this unprecedented "event" was promised a huge sum. However, the gang "for some reason forgot" to pay off their accomplice.

Fortune's luck
But the rumor remembered everything and kept records of everything.
After the escape, and especially after the incident at the Donon restaurant, Lenka Panteleev was already considered not just Fartov, but a real darling of fate.
That evening, Panteleev was walking in one of the best establishments in the city, the chic Donona. The table was full of booze and food. Money poured in. But what is a holiday without a fight? In search of thrills, the bandits started a showdown with one of the visitors. And when the police squad called by the administration entered the hall, they opened fire ...
Next - a classic of the genre ...
Bullets and ladies squealed, the orchestra and obscenities thundered in chords, drowning out the roar of shots, the sound of broken dishes and the groans of the wounded.
Lenka's hand was hurt - a trifle ... The main thing is that he remained alive and, literally by a miracle, escaped from the chase. As it turned out later, the agents of the criminal investigation department passed a stone's throw from the place where the criminal was hiding, but did not notice Panteleev lying on the ground.

hunted beast
After the escape, Lenka Panteleev stopped playing nobility. He stupidly and ruthlessly robbed and killed everyone who came to hand.
The case was heading towards a fatal end. It was obvious. It was possible to escape by going beyond the cordon to Estonia. But this required money, a lot of money, and Lenka with a new gang (the old one basically died in Donon) stubbornly collected "tribute" from the working and trading people.
For three months Panteleev was atrocious and outrageous. In just one month: ten murders, fifteen raids, twenty street robberies. For three months Petrograd lived in a panic. Wealthy people ordered ingenious locks and door chains. The poor were shaking for their lives. Lenka killed everyone in whom he saw prey, enemies, policemen, informers. And hunted, chronically drunk, under the influence of drugs, he saw a threat everywhere and everywhere.

At the bottom
Meanwhile, the GPU and the UGRO were zealously "digging the ground." The duel with the criminal, which the city watched with constant interest (people believed that all the crimes in St. Petersburg were the work of the Panteleev gang), could and should have ended only with the victory of the young Soviet police.
In the meantime, one had to endure one defeat after another.
The gang broke up into small groups, "lay to the bottom" and gathered only to carry out the next raid. Panteleev hid the booty somewhere, so it was impossible to get to him through the buyers of stolen goods. The girlfriends of the raider were also silent, not betraying their friend.
Things got to the point that Panteleev visited his main “opponent” Kondratiev, but without finding him at home, he drank tea with his wife and ... left. Showing "who's boss"!

Fenita la comedy
February blizzards circled over Petrograd...
And in the places of the possible appearance of Lenka Panteleev, ambushes sat for days. Twenty pieces!
Lenka ran into one of these ambushes on February 13, 1923.
He opened the apartment with his key, saw men in military uniform, was not at a loss, and said in a firm voice: “What's the matter, comrades, who are you waiting for here?”.
However, self-control did not help. The bandit did not even have time to get a weapon, as he collapsed with a shot through his head.
Soon, the rest of the gang members were detained and, according to the verdict of the court, were shot: seventeen raiders and accomplices, five of them women.

Life after death
The official version of the destruction of Fartovoy's gang did not calm the city. There were persistent rumors that this time Lenka managed to sneak away, that he was alive and would still have his say. Of course, there were enough people who wanted to cling to someone else's loud glory. Here and there, making raids, the bandits called themselves either Lenka Panteleev, or the names of his associates.
To put an end to this story, the authorities went to extreme measures and put Panteleev's body on public display. A crowd of thousands lined up in the morgue where the "show" took place. It seemed to look at the famous bandit, the whole city gathered.
But time passed, the excitement subsided, and the multimillion-dollar northern ex-capital forgot its hero-villain.

Q&A time
But researchers still remember those long-standing events and are still surprised at their absurdities.
Firstly, it is not at all clear why the young investigator Panteleev, who was arrested for abuse, was not shot, but was released?
Secondly, it is not clear why, when carrying out raids, Panteleev presented himself with his own name, helping the investigation and exposing his relatives to a blow?
Thirdly, why does a bandit need class tricks? Why did Lenka so stubbornly rob only Nepmen and did not attack state offices?
Fourthly, how did he escape from impregnable Crosses?
One version provides answers to these and other questions.
Lenka Panteleev could be a "mole" introduced into the criminal world of St. Petersburg. However, one can only guess about the purpose of his assignment. For example, Panteleev could rob the general trading community in order to replenish the state treasury or to intimidate / demoralize the growing Nepman stratum. Do not miss such moments: the glory of Lenka could lead him to the top of the criminal diocese.

Guessing game
However, with the same success, the glory of Panteleev helped his opponent, the young Soviet police, to establish himself.
Judge for yourself: a gang begins to “work” in the city, and by no means the most numerous and bloodthirsty. However, the close attention of the GPU and the press is riveted to her, although there were probably more than enough other gangs in northern Palmyra.
The next moment: the very first (accidental!) meeting of a police officer with Lenka ended in an accidental (!) murder. Moreover, the head of the security of the State Bank. Then, of course, again, by a coincidence, after the very first “wet” case of Panteleev, an order appeared allowing the security forces to tighten their methods and shoot raiders and bandits right at the crime scene without trial or investigation.
Further - in the same spirit ...
Panteleev's accomplices noted: he never had great values. Meanwhile, these should have taken place.
However, even here there are certain doubts. At the trial, the public prosecutor Kristin said that Panteleev was unlucky, he was deceived, he had to pay bribes for his release ... in general, the famous raider was naive, like a schoolgirl, and practically poor.
It is also surprising that Panteleev's relatives and friends did not identify the corpse. Confused by the absence of the order number and the specific date of dismissal from the Cheka in Panteleev's documents. After all, despite the rebellious times, the office conducted its business very carefully.
And in general, somehow for too long two such serious organizations as the GPU and the UGRO fought with a twenty-year-old kid, amateur bandit Lenka Panteleev. But then, having received the “go-ahead” to shoot the bandits, they very quickly put things in order in St. Petersburg and the country ...

Based on materials from "Wikipedia" (www.ru.wikipedia.org), "People" (www.peoples.ru)

For Petrograd, the years of the civil war were almost as terrible as the years of blockade for Leningrad. The population of the former imperial capital decreased by five times. Monstrous hunger, cold, devastation. In the middle of 1922, the city miraculously begins to recover: the New Economic Policy, private trade, lobsters in the windows of the former Eliseevsky shop, fashionistas in the Roof restaurant of a European hotel, an elegant crowd on Nevsky. Glitter, luxury and a sharp rise in crime. The criminal world of Petrograd was incredibly colorful and varied. The gangs of Vanka cast iron, Vova the sailor, Vanka the squirrel, Vasya the cat were noisy. Ligovka is covered with thieves' raspberries.

Petrograd bohemia during the NEP. Restaurant "Donon".

In the spring of 1922, from 40 to 50 armed raids were carried out in Petrograd every month. In the 1920s, what could be the attitude of a worker from St. Petersburg who returned from the front, where he fought against the world bourgeoisie, or a Chekist who had recently put "counter" against the wall? What did you fight for, comrades? Why was blood shed? Leonid Pantelkin, known to us as Lenka Panteleev, was such a front-line soldier and Chekist.

In the early 1920s, the Soviet government was still trying to apply a class approach to criminals, and they could often count on leniency. Some theorists of Marxism have stated that if theft is for the benefit of the working people, then it is not a crime. And for the inhabitant, tired of poverty, political bandits seemed to be new Robin Hoods, who are taken from the rich and given to the poor. The most popular then, of all those published in the city, "Krasnaya Gazeta" from issue to issue depicted the adventures of only one gang of Panteleev. The party newspaper could do this only on orders from above - in other words, the St. Petersburg city leadership intensively "PR" Lenka, for some reason making him a criminal "star".

Tikhvin in the Leningrad region, the former Novgorod region, the birthplace of Lenka Pantelkin.

Leonid Pantelkin was born in 1902 in the city of Tikhvin. At the age of three, together with his parents, he moved to St. Petersburg. His father worked as a carpenter, his mother worked as a laundress. Lenka graduated from professional courses, where he received the profession of a printer-typesetter, which was prestigious at that time. He worked as a typesetter in the largest Petrograd newspaper Kopeyka.

He knew how to write and read well, which was a rarity in the pre-revolutionary working environment. In February 1918, Panteleev, who had not yet reached draft age, voluntarily joined the Red Army. During the battles with the Germans, he was captured and spent three months in a filtration camp. He was released along with a group of prisoners of war in May 1918. Then he fought with Yudenich and the White Estonians, rose to the position of commander of a machine-gun platoon.

In the summer of 1921, when a large-scale reduction in the army began, Panteleev was transferred to the reserve. But he was immediately invited to serve in the Cheka.

Leonid Panteleev - active member of the Cheka (standing fourth from the right).

More recently, a personal file of Panteleev was discovered in the archives of the FSB, from which it follows that: “Pantelkin L.I., born in 1902, on July 11, 1921, was accepted as an investigator in the Military Control Unit of the Road Transport Extraordinary Commission (VChK DTChK) United Northwestern Railways. On October 15, 1921, he was transferred to the position of agent-controller in the DTChK department in the city of Pskov, and in January 1922 he was fired due to staff reductions. The number of the order and the specific date of dismissal are not indicated.

The second stage of Panteleev's service in the Cheka. According to some reports, Lenka was admitted to the Cheka for the first time in December 1917, and this happened after an interview with F.E. Dzerzhinsky. They say that "Iron Felix" really liked the young compositor, and he even said something like the following phrase: "That's what kind of Chekists we need - young, literate, from the workers." In February 1918, when the German troops rushed to Narva and Pskov, all the young Chekists were sent to the front. And here Lenka was not lucky. During the battle, he was captured. After his release from the German camp, Panteleev was no longer taken to operational work, for obvious reasons. And he continued to serve as a private in the Red Army, where he proved himself from the very best side.

In July 1921, he was again invited to serve in the Cheka, to a fairly serious position as an investigator. The reasons for the second dismissal of Panteleev from the authorities are not completely clear. There are many versions. The most common of them - he turned out to be dishonest, was caught red-handed, etc. But another option is more realistic - Panteleev stood on the radical positions of party members - leftists and had a negative attitude towards the new economic policy, which was the reason for his dismissal. They say that Lenka lost his nerve, and he arranged a scuffle with shooting right at the party meeting.

According to another version, being an acting Chekist, Lenka put together a small gang and began racketeering the Nepmen. But he was exposed and arrested. However, it is only known for sure that at the end of 1921, Leonid Panteleev was under some kind of investigation, and was in the inner prison of the Petrograd Gubchek. It was located on Shpalernaya Street and was intended for persons arrested on very serious charges - counter-revolution, espionage, crimes in office.

It is also known that in February 1922 he was released, but dismissed from the Cheka. However, just from February 6, 1922, this organization was called differently: the State Political Directorate (GPU)

One way or another, but in February 1922 Panteleev was again in Petrograd. His hometown met him unkindly. Despite the wealth of the counters of private Nepman stores, most Petrograders had a hard time. The workers were especially poor - almost all plants and factories were standing.

Mass unemployment has become commonplace. In a long queue at the labor exchange, Panteleev met his peers - Nikolai Gavrikov and Mikhail Lisenkov. Gavrikov during the Civil War served in the Red Army, was a member of the CPSU (b). He began his service as a private, then was a platoon commander, a company commander, and at the end of the war - a battalion political instructor. Fought in Siberia against Kolchak. After demobilization, he arrived in Petrograd, where he joined the criminal investigation department of the Murmansk Railway. But he worked in the police for only three months, after which he was fired.

Lisenkov (nickname Mishka-Clumsy) came from "cadre" Lig hooligans. Then they were joined by petty criminal Alexander Reintop, nicknamed Sashka-pan, who came to Petrograd from Odessa. All of them were quite young people 20-22 years old. This four formed the core of the bandit group. Not having a permanent income, the friends decided to raise money with the help of robbery.
Getting weapons in post-revolutionary Petrograd turned out to be a simple matter - at any flea market you could buy quite a decent "trellis" and a dozen other cartridges for cheap.

Kazanskaya street, formerly Plekhanov street, in the house number 39 Panteleev raided the apartment of the furrier Bogachev.

The first serious action of the Panteleev group was a raid on the apartment of the famous Petrograd furrier Bogachev. March 4, 1922, at four o'clock in the afternoon, when the owners were not at home, three raiders with revolvers in their hands broke into the apartment, tied up the servants. Having broken cabinets and drawers, the bandits took the valuables that were in the house and calmly left through the back door. Exactly two weeks later, Panteleyev's gang robbed the apartment of Dr. Griliches, who was in private practice. The handwriting of the raiders was the same - in broad daylight they entered the apartment under the guise of patients, robbed its owner and disappeared.

In the crime statistics of the spring-summer of 1922, such facts became commonplace. Sometimes 40-50 raids were carried out in the city daily. Two-thirds of the raiders had never dealt with criminality before - need forced them to embark on such a slippery path. It is clear that the police could easily solve these crimes committed by non-professionals. In fact, after the second or third robbery, such gangs were liquidated by the criminal investigation department.

But in the face of Panteleev, the police met a worthy opponent. While serving in the Cheka, Lenka learned the basics of operational-search work, the rules of conspiracy well. He was skilled in hand-to-hand combat and was an excellent shot. In terms of his intellectual abilities, Panteleev was head and shoulders above ordinary bandits. And, perhaps most importantly, he enjoyed a certain sympathy and support from the poorest sections of the population of Petrograd. In their eyes, the identity of the raider was not so odious - he robbed only rich Nepmen, not touching ordinary inhabitants.

In the spring of 1922, all of Petrograd spoke about the Panteleev gang. The fact is that when making raids, Lenka first shot into the air, and then he necessarily called his name. The catchphrase was the following: "Citizens! Calm down, this is a raid. I am Lenka Panteeev, I ask you to hand over money and valuables. In case of resistance, I shoot without warning!"

VChK patrol on the streets of Petrograd (operation to capture Lenka Pantileev).

It was a psychological move - the bandits created "authority" for themselves, and at the same time suppressed the will of their victims, their ability to resist. The militia seriously was engaged in impudent gang. On June 12, on Zagorodny Prospekt, a criminal investigation officer identified Lenka by signs and tried to detain him. A gunfight broke out, police officers joined the chase. But Panteleev left through the courtyards, shooting one of the guards. The fact that the police got on the tail of the gang did not at all embarrass its leader. On June 26, Dr. Levin's apartment was robbed. This time the raiders were dressed in the uniform of Baltic sailors.

Building 29 on Bolshoy Prospekt of the Petrograd side, where Dr. Levin's apartment was robbed.

Then Panteleev bought a leather jacket and a cap at a flea market and began impersonating a GPU officer. According to fake warrants, the gang searched and requisitioned valuables from NEPmen Anikeev and Ishchens. In August, the bandits stopped a cab on the Field of Mars during the day and robbed three of its passengers - they took away money, watches, gold rings. A few days later, the same robbery was committed at the Splendid Palace nightclub.

Nevsky prospect, house 20. It was here in September 1922 that the Kozhtrest store was located.

On September 4, the raiders decided to rob the Kozhtrest shoe store, located on the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Zhelyabova Street. But here an ambush awaited them. The bandits offered fierce resistance during the arrest, opening fire from revolvers. The gunfight soon escalated into hand-to-hand combat. Lenka managed to twist only after he was stunned. During a shootout in the shop hall, an assistant to the 3rd police department, Bardzai, was killed.

Panteleyev and Gavrikov were taken under heavy guard to the Kresty pre-trial detention center. Soon other members of the gang were also arrested.


Prison "Crosses".

The investigation was carried out rather quickly, and in October the trial began. At court sessions, Panteleev behaved at ease, artistically pretending to be a thug and obviously playing for the public. He appeared in the hall surrounded by a powerful convoy of eleven people.

The guards were armed to the teeth - rifles, checkers, revolvers. The court was attended by numerous and diverse spectators - journalists, lawyers, businessmen, exalted NEP ladies, Komsomol members, hooligans from Ligovka. The public still retained the pre-revolutionary habit of going to trials as if they were going to a theatrical performance.

Panteleev felt it and showed himself in all its glory. Sitting on the dock, he sang thieves' songs, including his favorite: "I love the Samara beer house, where Tamara often visits," and so on. He answered boldly to the questions of the court and the prosecutor, and in the end he declared: "Citizens of the judge, why all this farce? Anyway, I will soon run away."

Panteleev was kept in cell No. 196, located on the top floor of the investigation building. His accomplices were located nearby. Lisenkov was in cell 195 next door, Raintop in cell 191, and Gavrikov a little further away in cell 185.

Panteleev managed to contact his colleagues in the criminal "business". Raintop, who was a prison servant, also decided to run away. He managed to establish "business relations" with the overseer of the fourth gallery, Ivan Kondratiev. He had long had contacts with the Petrograd underworld.

The escape was originally scheduled for November 7th. But on this day, something went wrong. Although already that night the doors of many cells were open. According to some reports, Panteleev planned to raise an armed uprising in the "Crosses" on November 7th. He intended to open the fireproof cabinet of the office of the Ispravdom, seize several rifles, a light machine gun, kill the guards and arrange a mass escape. But professional criminals refused to get involved "in politics." Then the disappointed Panteleev played back and decided to run away only with his gang.

The next attempt was made on the night of November 10-11. As you know, on this day a big holiday is celebrated - the Day of the Police. Therefore, the guards of the "Crosses" got drunk and lost their vigilance. Kondratiev freely released Lisenkov, Raintop, Panteleev, Gavrikov from the cells, and cut off the light in the gallery. Moreover, he managed to de-energize the entire body.

A reasonable question arises - why, after the lights went out, did the guards not announce a general alarm? The answer is simple - in those days, city substations worked at the limit of technical wear and tear, and blackouts in the prison were commonplace. The guards of the "Crosses" did not react in any way to the next "accident".
In the darkness, four bandits and Kondratiev began to move towards the main post. Warden I.Kondratiev did not escape, and voluntarily surrendered to the authorities. He helped Panteleev not only for money, but also for ideological reasons. After the escape, the head of the prison and his deputy were removed from office, and in 1937 they were shot for their negligence.

After the escape, Panteleev put together a new, even more powerful gang. The raiders decided to celebrate their successful escape from prison in the fashionable Nepman restaurant "Donon". On December 9, Panteleev fell into the Donon along with his right hand, Gavrikov, and another raider, Varshulevich, with whom they served in the Pskov Cheka.

Restaurant "Donon" Moika embankment, 24.

In the restaurant, Panteleev went over cognac and clashed with some NEP company. A fight ensued. The head waiter called the police. Seeing the guards, the raiders drew their weapons and opened fire. A shootout ensued. Turning the tables, the bandits rushed to the back door. During the flight, Varshulevich was mortally wounded in the back. Panteleev was wounded in the arm. But he and Gavrikov managed to escape. Having chosen the embankment Washers, friends rushed in all directions. Gavrikov on Nevsky Prospekt was detained by a detachment of mounted police. After several interrogations, he was shot.

Lenka ran towards the Pavlovsky barracks (now the Lenenergo building), crossed the Field of Mars, and took refuge in an abandoned church on Panteleymonovskaya Street. Agents of "Ugro" with a service dog rushed in his wake, but they could not find the raider. The skirmish at Donon created a lot of noise, and rumors spread around Petrograd about Panteleev's perfect elusiveness. From that moment on, he was called Lenka Lucky in criminal circles.

Church of St. Panteleimon on the street. Pestel, where Lyonka Panteleev took refuge.

In the next three months, the Panteleev gang committed approximately 10 murders, 15 armed raids, and 20 street robberies (the exact figure could not be established). The raiders repeatedly engaged in a skirmish with guards, agents of the "threat", and even patrols of mounted police. And always safely escaped from persecution. In the spring, after the snow melted, the bandits planned to cross the border and take refuge in Estonia.

Realizing that the police were unable to cope with the impudent gang, the GPU joined the case. Several special shock groups were created, which included experienced Chekists and Red Army soldiers of the GPU special regiment. The Chekists once again analyzed Panteleev's connections. Twenty ambushes were set up at the places of its possible appearance. One of Panteleevsky's "raspberries" was located at No. 38 on Mozhayskaya Street.

One of the "raspberries" Panteleev on Mozhayskaya, 38

Late in the evening of February 12, two unidentified men in Red Army uniform entered this apartment, opening the door with their key. The Chekist ambush had been here for the second day. Everyone was taken aback by surprise. The more experienced Panteleev was the first to come to his senses. He took a sharp step forward and said in a firm voice: "What's the matter, comrades, who are you waiting for here?" At the same time, he tried to pull a revolver out of his overcoat pocket. However, the trigger caught on clothes, an involuntary shot rang out. After that opened fire and ambush. Panteleev, shot through the head, collapsed dead on the floor. Lisenkov, wounded in the neck, tried to escape, but was detained.

The next day, a small article appeared in the newspapers with the following content: “On the night of February 12-13, a well-known bandit, who has recently become famous for his brutal murders and raids , Leonid Pantelkin, nicknamed "Lenka Panteleev." During the arrest, Lenka showed desperate armed resistance, during which he was KILLED.

On March 6, according to the verdict of the GPU board, the remaining 17 members of the gang were shot, including A. Reintop and M. Lisenkov. The Panteleev gang was liquidated, but rumors stubbornly circulated around Petrograd that Lenka was alive and would still show himself. Several times during the raids, unknown bandits called themselves either Panteleev, or Lisenkov, or Gavrikov. And then the authorities took an extraordinary measure. Panteleev's body was skillfully "restored" and put on public display in the morgue of the Obukhov hospital.

Obukhov hospital.

Thousands of Petrograd residents came to see the legendary raider. It was only after that that the rumor curve went down sharply.Lenka's head was severed from the body and placed in the window of one of the shops on Nevsky Prospekt. She stayed there for several months. And the headless body was buried in a common grave at the Mitrofanevsky cemetery.Later, the head, having been alcoholized, was sent to the study room of criminalistics of the threat. Three years ago, this "exhibit" was accidentally discovered at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg State University.

Alcoholized head of Lenka Panteleev.

The vast majority of Petrograd residents did not believe that Panteleev was shot dead on a thieves' "raspberry". That is why the city authorities put the corpse of the raider on public display in the morgue of the Obukhov hospital. But the corpse of a 30-year-old man presented to the public somehow did not look very much like Lenka, who was much younger. An open trial of the accomplices of the raider, which the people of Petrograd were looking forward to, never took place. 17 people from Panteleev's gang were hastily shot on March 6, 1923, virtually without trial or investigation. It became clear that the authorities were trying to hush up the “case” and were carefully hiding something.

Chekist Ivan Busko, who shot Panteleev.

In a strange way, the fate of the young Chekist Ivan Busko, who shot Lenka in an ambush on Mozhayskaya Street, also developed. Instead of receiving a well-deserved reward and promotion, Busko was demoted to Sakhalin Island (!) and appointed assistant head of the border outpost. He stayed there until June 1941. During the Great Patriotic War, Busko served in SMERSH, retired from the authorities with the modest rank of lieutenant colonel, and returned to Leningrad only in 1956. He lived very modestly, categorically refusing to communicate with journalists and any public speaking. I. Busko died in 1994, in complete obscurity.

Sergei Kondratiev, head of the GPU task force.

Approximately the same was done with S. Kondratiev, the head of the special task force of the Petrograd GPU, which was hunting for the Panteleev gang. By the way, it was his biography that served as the basis for the script for the film "Born by the Revolution". With only one significant amendment - after the Panteleev "case" he was also prosecuted in the service. S. Kondratyev was transferred from Leningrad to Petrozavodsk (and not at all to Moscow), where he headed the local criminal investigation department for a long time, and lived after his retirement. Subsequently, his wife claimed that L. Panteleev in the spring - summer of 1922 came to their house several times and had some conversations with her husband. Chekist, who led his search!

Another mystery is the fate of the other four Chekists who were part of the special group: Sushenkov, Shershevsky, Davydov and Dmitriev. They, in fact, caught the legendary raider, their signatures appear under the protocol for examining the body of the murdered L. Panteleev. All of them in the near future, under various pretexts, were dismissed from the "authorities", and their names are not mentioned even in serious historical and scientific literature. Including, in such a solid publication as "Chekists of Petrograd" (ed. 1987).
This fact is also interesting: in the early 1920s, many gangs were operating in Petrograd. But the most popular then, of all those published in the city, Krasnaya Gazeta, from issue to issue, depicted the adventures of only one gang of Panteleev. The party newspaper could do this only on orders from above - in other words, the St. Petersburg city leadership intensively "promoted" Lenka.

The apartment at 38 Mozhayskaya Street, where L. Panteleev was allegedly shot, also raises a number of questions. In all documents, it is called the thieves' "raspberry", but it clearly does not look like the latter. The real "raspberries" at that time were semi-basement and basement premises, in fact, rooming houses, in which sometimes up to fifty thieves and mazuriks lived. And here is a completely comfortable two-room apartment, in which only three people lived: the Polish thief Mickiewicz with his wife and adult daughter. And this at a time when there was an acute shortage of housing in the city and only a select few from among the party bosses had separate apartments. It looks like it was the so-called "lighthouse" - the operational apartment of the Chekists or the police.

All this, taken together, seriously reinforces the new version that Panteleev was not an ordinary raider, but a person closely associated with the GPU. The theme of Panteleev's high patrons in the party environment, who had unlimited levers of power in the early 1920s, is also promising. In Petrograd at that time, Grigory Evseevich Zinoviev, the party boss, chairman of the Council of the Northern Commune and head of the Comintern, almost single-handedly disposed of. Zinoviev was a supporter of the permanent revolution, Trotsky and an ardent opponent of the NEP. Economic and political stabilization in Russia directly contradicted his official and personal interests.

G. Zinoviev.

Zinoviev and his entourage staked on the world revolution, and actively defended their position in party discussions. Zinoviev directly told Lenin: “Look, Vladimir Ilyich, the Petrograd workers, the beauty and pride of the revolution, are very dissatisfied with the NEP. Some even took up arms, organized gangs, killed and robbed bourgeois. We must end the NEP, this is an erroneous line!” It is very likely that Panteleev was a trump card in this subtle political game.

In other words, Lenka was a typical undercover agent. But the task before him was specific - not to destroy a specific gang, but to induce a small "hype" in the city, robbing and killing Nepmen. However, here Lenka and his patron G. Zinoviev obviously overdid it. A real panic broke out in Petrograd. After dark, people were afraid to go out into the streets. Hardware workshops were inundated with orders for ingenious locks and chains. All the robberies, robberies and murders committed in the city were attributed by rumor to Panteleev. Lenka got dozens of "unauthorized" followers and doppelgangers. The situation began to get out of control. And then the operation "Robin Hood" had to be urgently curtailed.

In this regard, the version that Lenka, having completed a special assignment, returned to serve in the authorities, does not seem absurd. They say that he was seen several times in the 30s in the corridors of the Big House, in the form of an employee of the GPU. And he died in 1937, when the whirlpool of repression swallowed up his former boss G. Zinoviev. According to other sources, Panteleev, naturally under a different surname, successfully survived the repressions, the war, the blockade and died in the 70s in Leningrad. However, it has not yet been possible to document this outrageous version.

Posthumous photograph of L. Panteleev.

Apparently, at the end it is worth saying a few words about Panteleev's relatives. His mother and two sisters, Vera and Claudia, were repressed in connection with this criminal case. The raider was not officially married, but he considered a certain Lyubov Kruglova to be his common-law wife. They did not have joint children, so the rumors about Panteleev's daughter are most likely a hoax. After the defeat of the gang, L. Kruglova was sent from Petrograd to Karelia for a settlement. In 1937, she was shot by the NKVD "troika" in the city of Kem.

In 1995, a gang was arrested in Moscow, which traded in "black real estate", taking away apartments from elderly Muscovites. It included a certain Andrei Manzhov, who called himself the great-grandson of the legendary raider. But even if he really has a relationship with him, then most likely he is the great-nephew of Leonid Panteleev.

Based on materials