We are talking about a case when a veteran, then deputy chief of the Taldykorgan Criminal Investigation Department, was taken hostage during the arrest of a criminal group by a beautiful young woman who was leading a group of thieves-gastronauts.
According to Sergey Neznayev, now police officers are equipped with computers, radars, video surveillance systems, night vision devices, quadrocopters, mobile communications and much more, which greatly facilitates their operational work. Back in the 1980s, there was none of this.
“This story took place in the summer of 1981. The offices of the Taldykorgan City Department of Internal Affairs were located in a semi-basement. The division was headed by the legendary detective Ivan Arturovich Mayer. I was in the office together with the senior operative Manas Ramazanov, who in his corner was questioning the fraudster-perstochnik detained in the bazaar, who was playing the so-called “balloon-malik”, and I was making a semi-annual report. At that time a stooped man came to us with a certificate of release from prison. The wrists of his hands were adorned with many tattoos.
At that time, however, as well as now, says our interlocutor, all previously convicted persons had to come to a special register in the criminal investigation, where they were fingerprinted, photographed, filled out questionnaires and placed in the card index. Each person was given a preventive interview to find out information about their residence, environment and future work. Especially connections in the criminal world were worked out. The conversations were held one-on-one, i.e. without witnesses, including colleagues.
During the conversation with the alien (nicknamed Volchok), I found out that two Tashkent residents, who were part of a thieves' group touring the Central Asian republics, were serving time in the zone together with him. As Volchok explained, the two prisoners promised to visit him in Taldykorgan after his release. To prove that he had decided to quit his thieving past, Volchok promised to inform me about the arrival of a brigade of thieves on tour. I, for my part, promised not to bother him with frequent checks for the time being,” the veteran police officer continued.
Two weeks later, the ward reported that the Tashkent group had arrived in Taldykorgan. The man indicated a specific address in the second microdistrict, where he placed the “guests”. The tenants were subjected to covert surveillance in order to establish the composition of the criminal group and, if possible, to record their thieving activities. Sergei Neznaev explained that at that time police officers used special telescopic long-focus lenses, which were mounted on Zenit cameras, to take hidden photographs.
“It was difficult to work with such equipment, but we coped. The criminal group consisted of eight people, three of whom were women. They had two cars at their disposal - a Volga and a Moskvich. As it turned out, the group was led by a woman with a sound surname Donskaya, previously convicted for theft and robbery. When the collected evidence was enough, we decided to make the arrest. In the apartment for reconnaissance sent our operative Alexander Shtrak, who, pretending to be a tenant from a neighboring entrance, asked to “rent” a tape recorder. Sasha was met by a sullen man and a young woman. There was another tenant in the apartment - a woman's voice from the far room ordered to give out a tape recorder without any conditions. It was clear from her tone that this bossy person did not like objections, so Alexander was given a tape recorder and four spare reels,” said Sergei Neznaev.
Under the pretext of returning the tape recorder, which allegedly refuses to work, criminal investigation operatives managed to force the tenants to open the door. Having broken into the apartment, the operatives detained two women, and the man, who suspected something wrong, climbed over the balcony into the neighboring apartment and, threatening the owners with a knife, left through the attic hatch (the armed man, who was on the All-Union wanted list, was detained an hour later). The detained women were separated into different rooms, preventing them from communicating. Among the evidence were a stolen expensive chandelier, crystal dishes, carpets, vacuum cleaners, televisions and German sewing machines, which were scarce at the time, as well as mink hats, fur coats, gold jewelry and silverware.
“I had to interrogate, as it later turned out, the ringleader of the criminal group, Anastasia Donskaya. 35-year old searing brunette with a brown haircut, like the singer Mireille Mathieu, had a magnificent figure. True, behind the beautiful appearance hid a desperate adventurer. When she sat down at the table, I as a gentleman moved her chair, sitting down, she somehow awkwardly stumbled, swayed and dropped her pen on the floor. I bent down to pick it up, and when I straightened up, Donskaya was behind me. With her left hand she grabbed my chin from behind, pulled me against her, and held a knife that had suddenly appeared from somewhere to my throat. At the same time, she shouted to Alexander Shtrak, who was standing by the window: “Hey, cop, put the gun on the table, or I'll put your boss's pistol on the table