Secrets of Viktor Khmarin at the bottom: How a boat crash exposed Putin’s classmate’s ties to Averin’s criminal group and his romance with an 18-year-old model

According to media reports, the criminal case concerning the boat accident involving Vladimir Putin’s classmate Viktor Khmarin (who was injured) and one of the key figures of the Solntsevskaya criminal group, Viktor Averin (who died), has “stalled.”

This is because the authorities reportedly forbade investigators from questioning anyone who was on the boat at the time of the incident.

The incident occurred on the evening of December 20, and the next day a criminal case was opened under Article 263 of the Russian Criminal Code (violation of safety rules for the operation of inland water transport, resulting in accidental death). The body of Averin was quickly examined, and technical and other forensic analyses were ordered.

However, to establish all the details of the accident, it is necessary to interview the direct witnesses and participants. Investigators were reportedly prohibited from doing so. The reasoning given was essentially, “everything is already clear, why bother respected people?” By “everything is clear,” it was meant that Averin, who died, was at the helm. According to the main version, the boat hit an ice floe in the dark, overturned, and all passengers ended up in the icy water. Averin died from hypothermia.

The most “respected” among the passengers was, of course, Khmarin, a classmate and close acquaintance of Putin. There is also another reason why investigators are not being allowed to speak with the victims. The 76-year-old Khmarin was not alone; he was with his 18-year-old girlfriend, Ekaterina Leonova. Judging by the girl’s social media, they began dating when she was even younger. Khmarin also has a wife, who is a cousin of Putin.

Immediately after the accident, everyone on the boat disappeared from social media and did not appear even in messengers. Only yesterday did Ekaterina’s account “come alive” when she posted a video of a New Year tree.

The participants of the boat “ride” were:

• Viktor Sergeevich Averin — deceased

• Viktor Nikolaevich Khmarin, born 1949 — Putin’s classmate, whose name was reportedly carefully removed from the passenger list after the incident

• Dmitry Leonidovich Perkatov, born February 18, 1970 — lawyer at Khmarin & Partners

• Ivan Ivanovich Abramushin, born October 16, 1990 — originally from Kazakhstan, registered at the Olympic Reserve School, reportedly a bodyguard

• Shamisdan Ismail ogly Aliev, born July 26, 1964 — Azerbaijani businessman close to Khmarin

• Ekaterina Andreevna Leonova, born April 26, 2007 — model from Tula region