Kushchevskaya massacre

The Kushchevskaya massacre, carried out on 4 November 2010, was the murder of 12 people including four children on a farm in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia. The family of wealthy local farmer Serever Ametov was targeted and stabbed to death, together with visiting friends and a bystander. The mass murder shocked Russia and highlighted links between criminals and corrupt officials, as the perpetrators were members of a gang who had received protection from the authorities and operated with impunity for years.

Sergei Tsapok, the convicted gang leader and mastermind of the murders, died in prison following a stroke on July 6, 2014. Three of his accomplices had recently committed suicide, the most recent two days prior.