A Russian court has sentenced a man to nine and a half years in prison for the 1994 murder of a gang leader during a casino shooting. The victim, Sergei Puchkov, also known as Puchok, was recognized in criminal circles in central Russia. The trial took place behind closed doors at the Zarechensky District Court, which began in April 2025. The shooter, referred to only by his initial, S, was born in 1969. The trial was initially public but was later closed to media at the request of 'one of the victims.'
This violent incident occurred against the backdrop of a mostly unregulated gambling scene in Russia during the early post-Soviet years, leaving a notable mark on the country's history. In response to past issues, the Kremlin now restricts land-based gambling to six designated zones and has banned online casinos. Some advocates are pushing for stricter measures, such as penalizing citizens who access online betting platforms.
The shooting took place on May 23, 1994, at a casino on Tula's Oktyabrskaya Street after a dispute among patrons escalated. Armed with an automatic weapon, thought to be either an AK-47 or an AK-74, S entered the casino and fired at least 15 shots at Puchkov, who was sitting at a poker table, wounding both him and a casino employee who later recovered. S fled before law enforcement arrived.
Following the shooting, police struggled for several months to identify the shooter, leading to a suspension of the investigation. However, a breakthrough occurred in 2024 when new evidence linked S to the crime. This prompted authorities to reopen the case, resulting in the identification of the suspect and the reconstruction of the events surrounding the shooting. Detectives revealed that S had numerous prior convictions, including illegal possession of weapons, robbery, and hooliganism.
In a related matter, the Federal Security Service (FSB) recently collaborated with the Russia Investigative Committee in a series of raids on a domestic payments platform. This operation resulted in the arrest of 24 individuals and the seizure of substantial cash amounts. According to an FSB spokesperson, the platform was allegedly involved in illegal processing of transactions for online casinos, including Pin-Up, Pinco, and FreshCasino.
