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30 Sep, 2015 10:32

Sticks & rubber bullets against angry SUV transform Moscow garage complex into battle scene (VIDEO)

Sticks & rubber bullets against angry SUV transform Moscow garage complex into battle scene (VIDEO)

A downtown Moscow alleyway turned into a scene reminiscent of a Brazilian favela in broad daylight, as a group of people went head to head with sticks, stones, rubber bullets against an SUV. It turned out there was much more to the story.

Details are still being unraveled about the incident, which took place at the Troparevo-Nikulino garage complex, and had people from an adjacent residential block leaning out of their windows, filming a scene that resembled a medieval battle.

A white SUV appeared to be trying to get into a box garage alleyway below, although the gate was locked. The driver wouldn’t leave, so an angry mob of alleged owners of the garage complex tried to intimidate him into driving off. The SUV then rammed the gate, but was chased away with sticks and stones. The crowd looked set to literally murder the driver, if they could get at him. Fire extinguishers and baseball bats rained down on the windshield.

The video made the rounds online, before Russian media determined the garage complex was actually an illegal ‘city’ of VIP and elite car services and car washes.

Undercover reports by news program Vesti showed a box complex turned into a labyrinth of perfectly-presentable, neat offices, with friendly personnel attending to the reporters’ every need, including fixing a Rolls Royce with hard-to-get parts.
Rows of the world’s most expensive cars could be seen in the video.

The scene outside the garage complex began to make more sense, although a different version emerged.

Later, more concrete information revealed that presumably the SUV driver was one of the leaseholders of a pavilion containing the services, while the angry mob consisted of the owners of the box garages.

An investigation is still underway, and the question on everyone’s minds is why the alleged garage owners had so aggressively attacked someone who was renting space at the complex. The legality of the SUV driver’s ownership of the car services is also being debated.

Vesti’s investigation into the Troparevo-Nikulino complex only yielded more questions. Russian MPs allegedly turned out to be on the list of the owners of the compound. Vesti caught up with MP Aleksandr Mikhaylovsky to find out why the lease for the compound contains no information on any elite car services contained within. His response was to deny everything, even when the reporter claimed to have seen the pavilions for himself.

Asked if Mikhaylovskiy had any moral qualms about “not telling the truth,” the MP finished by saying: “I can’t be answering such questions.”

Controversy also arises out of the strict secrecy surrounding the compound. A number of reporters tried to get in with official credentials, but were either denied or faced attempts to have their filming equipment confiscated or broken. REN TV found out the hard way, with their flash drive being taken by force.

“They tried to break the camera,” REN TV reporter Viktoria Farfan said. “They weren’t successful, so just opted to take the flash drive.”

The police were called. But one area officer turned out to be insufficient - no arrests were made, and no equipment was confiscated.

An argument over the lease is currently underway, according to the police. “Guilty parties will be charged with disturbing the public order,” it added, referring to the brawl, which could resume in the coming days, if no agreement is reached.

REN TV spoke to one former leaseholder at the compound, who revealed a climate of violent extortion. According to his version of the story, the group at the gate demands money from the businessmen who rent space at the complex, and attack them if cash isn’t produced.

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