The Guardian. Death of Russian mobster sparks fears of turf war in Sochi

Fears of a brewing mafia war have begun to grip Russia three weeks after a top mobster was killed, as rival clans seek control over his vast empire, including prime property in the Olympic host city of Sochi.

Rival clans are said to be eagerly eyeing property and businesses once overseen by Aslan Usoyan, better known by his mob name "Grandpa Hassan". Usoyan oversaw a vast empire that was particularly strong in Moscow and Sochi, the site of next year's Winter Olympics.

"Where there is money, there is organised crime," said Sergei Kanev, a veteran crime reporter for the newspaper Novaya Gazeta. "[Sochi] was his fiefdom. He considered it a second homeland."

Criminal interest in the city, long a favourite weekend destination of the president, Vladimir Putin, has grown exponentially since it won the right to host the Games, according to security sources. A senior Russian official said on Sunday that Russia would spend more than £32.3bn on the Winter Olympics, making it the most expensive in history.

With a year to go, attention has begun to focus on the Black Sea resort. Putin said on Monday that he would use Russia's G8 presidency next year to host the organisation's annual summit in the city.

Although Usoyan, like all "thieves-in-law" – a once hard-won status bestowed upon the highest ranks of Russia's criminal underworld – owned no property himself, he was believed to maintain ties to many businesses in the city.

The security services source said the city's picturesque boardwalk, as well as many hotels and restaurants, were believed to be under Usoyan's purview.

Viktor Teplyakov, a local MP from the ruling United Russia party, denied that was the case. "Many years ago there was an 'overseer' but after he was killed, no other criminals came to Sochi," Teplyakov said. "The city is very safe."

A US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks in December 2010 cited a Spanish prosecutor devoted to dismantling Russian mob activities abroad as saying the country functioned as a "virtual mafia state", referring to the co-dependence of the mob and the state.