Ivan Petrov was born in Moscow in the late 1940s. These were the hardest times for the Soviet Union. World War II had taken the lives of twenty-million Soviet Citizens. Hitler, who wanted to wipe Russia off the face of the earth, killed civilians indiscriminately and mercilessly. Many also died under Stalin’s purges in the PoW camps, or Gulags as they were known.
The USSR had taken over the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in 1940, which were subsequently lost to Germany in 1941, and then recovered in 1944. The collectivization of farms began in 1948. Using terror, mass killings and deportations, most of the peasantry was collectivized by 1952, and, in his early years, Petrov was thrown into the midst of this catastrophic situation. He saw many friends dying or being dragged off, never to be seen again. This gave him the determination to survive, no matter what he had to do.
Before his tenth birthday, both his parents had died and he was left to look after his only surviving sister, Katerina, who was two years older, but very frail. At an early age, Petrov realised that he had to be physically and mentally strong and he used whatever means available to achieve this strength. By the time he was twelve, he was a powerful adversary against even an adult. He had initially resorted to stealing as a means to support his family as, before they died, his parents had been too weak to work.
It was coincidence that led him to become a super magnate and leader in the criminal world.
He had been caught breaking and entering the home of Sergei Kuznetsov, one the richest men in Moscow. He intended to steal from a collection of jewelery which had been on exhibition, and had been returned to Kuznetsov’s home. Kuznetsov, a single man in his sixties, had perverted sexual needs.
It was easy to break into the apartment. He forced open a ground floor window without leaving too much damage. It was 3:10 am, a time when most people are in a deep sleep. He quietly ascended a grand staircase to the first floor. He had no idea where the jewels were kept. There were four doors along a wide corridor. He tried the first. It was unlocked. He tip-toed in and saw that all four walls were lined with bookshelves, filled with leather-bound books. He dismissed this as the room where the jewels would be kept and walked out to try the next door.
The door opened with a creek. He stood still for a few seconds before entering the room. As he did, the room lit up and he saw an elderly grey-haired man sitting in a large chair. In his hand was a pistol.
Petrov was terrified as he looked down the barrel of the gun that Kuznetsov was pointing at his head. He was not scared of being shot, he was afraid that he would be handed over to the police.
“Did you think that you could break into my house, young man, and steal my property? What’s your name?”
“Ivan. Please don’t send for the police. My sister and I are starving, I was looking for food,” lied the boy.
Kuznetsov stared at the boy for several minutes, as if he was working out what to do next. He lowered the gun and told the boy to sit on the floor.
“You are a young man,” said Kuznetsov. “You must know some young women. I may go easy on you if you could bring some young women here to me that I can entertain.” He put emphasis on the last word.
“I like young women, the younger the better. Girls, yes, girls. Bring me some girls. Young girls, Can you do that? If you bring me some young girls, I won’t involve the police.”
“Yes, yes I can,” said young Petrov. “Just let me go. Don’t go to the police. I can get you girls.”
Petrov didn’t know any girls other than his sister, he just said what Kuznetsov wanted to hear. Once he got out of there he never intended to go back.
That plan didn’t work though, as Kuznetsov took his identity papers and said that if he didn’t return the next day with a beautiful young girl, he would take the ID to the police. He held up a gold bracelet and said that he would also report that his house had been broken into and a gold bracelet was missing and he found an ID that the thief must have dropped.
The next day, he had no alternative than to return to the house to introduce his sister to Kuznetsov. The old man became infatuated with young Katerina and paid Petrov handsomely for each visit she made.
Petrov couldn’t believe how easy it was to make a large amount of money without much effort. He convinced himself, falsely, that his sister enjoyed being with Kuznetsov, maybe, he thought, because she missed her father. She didn’t have any say in the matter though.
After a while, he thought if he could replicate the situation, he could double or even treble that amount he was making. All he needed was more wealthy old men and more young girls. The young girls would be no problem, he could go to poor areas of the city and con girls into joining him to go to parties in fancy houses. If he bought them new clothes, they would be sure to join him. As for finding rich men, all he had to do was to ask Sergei Kuznetsov if he had friends who might want the same service as he was getting from Katerina.
Petrov soon found plenty of other young girls who, for a new dress and a couple of roubles, were prepared to visit Kuznetsov’s wealthy friends.
In the years that followed, Petrov accrued a small fortune and expanded his empire into just about every activity that involved smuggling and supplying the wealthy with whatever commodity they required. Before he turned twenty, he was becoming well-known in Moscow, too well-known. He had taken precautions against prosecution, mainly by blackmailing top members of the “militsiya” and judges. He also heard that he had become known to a couple of criminal gangs who were envious of his success. It was time to get out of Moscow. It was time to go legitimate.
He realised that Leningrad could easily facilitate his business. The city was a busy port and its residents included many affluent people, including titled aristocrats. The opportunity arrived after a trip to Leningrad when, through one of his contacts there, he was able to buy what had become a failing import and export business. This was just what he wanted; to establish a new reputation as a respectable businessman!
Leningrad, renamed Saint Petersburg in 1991, is Russia’s second-largest city, situated on the Neva River, with a port on the Baltic Sea. This was just what he needed, a port on the doorstep. It was the imperial capital for two centuries, having been founded in 1703 by Peter the Great. It was Russia’s cultural center, with theatres for opera and ballet and art museums showcasing Russian and other European art. This was exactly what Petrov was looking for, it brought many wealthy tourists to the city, looking for nightly pleasures after enjoying the city´s history and art!
Within a few years his import and export business had flourished beyond bounds, partly because he was using it to launder his illegally made money but also because he was an astute businessman.
His sister, Katarina, was now working for him as his chief financial officer. Sergei Kuznetsov had died a year before her brother had relocated to Leningrad so she was free. She took up Petrov’s offer to join his company, but she secretly detested her brother and had promised herself that one day she would pay him back for stealing her childhood.
Ivan Petrov had made a point of educating himself in the history and art of the city. He joined numerous societies, with the object of meeting the hierarchy of the city. It was in St.Petersburg he had met Romana and although he had initially trafficked her, he was quick to realise that she had more than just exquisite beauty. She was highly intelligent and quick to learn, so he recruited her into his import and export business. However, she never forgot how she was treated when they first met. She despised the darker side of his business which involved providing young girls to paedophiles. For that she loathed him! One day she would get even.