Ilya Vaisman is buried at the Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg — he worked as the deputy general director of the brewing company "Baltika." On January 9, 2000, he was shot dead in his apartment at building #26 on English Avenue.

36-year-old Ilya Vaisman had held this position since 1994. Before this appointment, Vaisman, a graduate of the Leningrad Engineering and Economic Institute named after Tolyatti, worked at the Committee for Economic Reform of the Leningrad City Executive Committee, and then at the Property Fund of Saint Petersburg.

On the fateful night, Vaisman went out to the kitchen. There were no curtains on the windows — the apartment had just been renovated. The killer, who was hiding in the neighboring entrance on the fifth floor (the windows of the black staircase faced directly towards the victim’s apartment), had no trouble aiming precisely. When the businessman turned his back to the window, the killer fired several shots. Two bullets hit Vaisman under the shoulder blade and grazed his heart. Death was instantaneous.

       Incidentally, in a similar manner, in 1997, Ilya Vaisman’s nephew, who was studying at the Jewish University of Saint Petersburg (whose main sponsor was "Baltika"), was also shot dead in his apartment with an automatic weapon.

       Vaisman had recently purchased the apartment in this building, clearly without following the advice of home security specialists. The courtyard-well poses a huge threat, as the windows on the opposite side are no more than 15-20 meters away.

       The investigation suggests that the killer fired from a 5.45 mm caliber AKS automatic rifle. As reported by the head of the Main Directorate of Internal Affairs, Veniamin Petukhov, the fact that the killer took the weapon with him does not mean he was an amateur. On the contrary: the criminal was not afraid to "entrench" himself on the black staircase, which has only one exit. He calmly left the building after the murder and exited through the adjoining courtyards onto one of the neighboring streets, where he possibly used a car. According to law enforcement, the perpetrator acted alone.

The investigation had many theories. "There is no doubt that the murder is connected to some activity, the only question is which activity," Veniamin Petukhov darkly joked. "When it comes to the economy, there are always groups fighting for a place in the sun, for market share, and trying to solve some problems with the help of weapons."

       Investigator Viktor Zabara, who is leading the case, stated only that the theories are divided into three groups: commercial activity within the enterprise, outside the enterprise, and domestic versions.

       Vaisman held the position of financial director of OAO "Baltika" and was the second person in the company after the general director, Taimuraz Bolloev. He oversaw all financial and investment projects of the company. The acquisition by "Baltika" of a $40 million loan from the EBRD in April 1998 was called his personal achievement. Vaisman was well known in Saint Petersburg’s financial circles, but opinions about him were mixed. As the chief financier of a "wealthy" enterprise, he was needed by many. However, regular partners of the brewery say that if the topic of conversation was truly important for "Baltika," Vaisman literally transformed and became extraordinarily active and enterprising.

At that time, Baltika was investing hundreds of millions of dollars in its own expansion and related industries, building a malt house jointly with the Soufflé company, and investing in the expansion of glass factories. It is possible that these investments became the reason for the murder. After all, Vaisman was responsible for major financial projects. It is also possible that Vaisman was asked for some favor as a member of the Issuers’ Council at the Federal Securities Market Commission, and he refused. Of course, the council is purely advisory, but its recommendations to the government on the issuance of certain securities sometimes play an important role.

       According to some data, Vaisman allegedly planned to sell his share of the brewing company’s stock. Due to his death, the sale is legally postponed for six months and then passes to the heirs. However, it is not very clear how "Baltika" shares could be the cause of any conflict, since the company’s capital structure is quite transparent and left little room for power struggles. At the time of the murder, about 73% of the shares belonged to Baltic Beverage Holding, a company created in 1992 by a consortium of Scandinavian brewing companies Pripps and Hartwall Group. The remaining shares were distributed among several legal entities and about two thousand individuals (mainly employees of "Baltika"). In such a scenario, the share of any individual is unlikely to be considered an instrument of influence over the enterprise.

       As for commercial activities outside the enterprise, there is no information that Vaisman was involved in any. According to some accounts, he was a one hundred percent financier who was "unlikely to be interested in anything on the side." The domestic version, according to Kommersant, has also not yet received any confirmation. The only clue is Vaisman’s last major purchase. According to some reports, before the New Year, Ilya Vaisman bought a jeep as a gift for his wife. Since the car was a customs confiscate, its price ($5,000) was significantly below market value. Many people want such cars, and Vaisman could have crossed someone’s path. However, people of such stature are usually not killed over such trifles.

The case remains unsolved to this day.

Sources:

https://www.mk.ru/editions/daily/article/2000/01/11/129162-vsenarodno-lyubimoe-pivo-okrasilos-krovyu.html

https://archive.aif.ru/archive/1638003

https://skurkys.livejournal.com/1083459.html?view=430915#t430915

https://www.citywalls.ru/house4719.html

https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/136954