Alexey Smirnyagin and Elena Rogaleva have been jailed by the Leningrad Regional Court for aiding the 2012 contract murder of rector Alexander Viktorov.
The court sentenced Smirnyagin to 12 years and four months in prison, while Rogaleva was handed a 14-year sentence. Both defendants were convicted of incitement and aiding in the commission of a crime following a guilty verdict returned by a jury.
According to the joint press service of the courts of the Leningrad region, law enforcement authorities proved that Smirnyagin and Rogaleva recruited the gunman and actively managed his actions during the execution of the crime.
Execution of the suburban ambush
The fatal shooting took place on 5 September 2012, as 61-year-old Viktorov returned to his country residence in Vsevolozhsk alongside his wife. The couple walked into their courtyard after releasing their official university chauffeur, at which point the hitman opened fire.
Viktorov died at the scene after being struck by three bullets in the back. His wife suffered a gunshot wound to the thigh during the assault, while the shooter escaped in a getaway vehicle waiting on the nearby road.
Investigators established that the gunman had climbed over the perimeter fence in advance to ambush the victim. An accomplice stationed on the roadway monitored the approaching car and relayed instructions to the shooter via radio. The logistics and planning for the assassination required two weeks of preparation.
Financial dispute and university mastermind
The court identified Vasily Solovyov, the former vice-rector for academic affairs at the university, as the mastermind who commissioned the hit. Solovyov acted out of revenge after Viktorov initiated legal proceedings against commercial entities controlled by the vice-rector.
Those university lawsuits sought to recover significant financial damages stemming from unreturned student tuition funds and the unauthorized transfer of disputed real estate assets. Solovyov was tried in absentia, sentenced to 18 years in prison, and remains listed on an official wanted list.
The hired killer, the getaway driver, and a criminal intermediary involved in the conspiracy had previously been convicted and handed lengthy prison sentences for their roles in the assassination.
Institutional background and judicial authority
Alexander Viktorov led the St. Petersburg State University of Service and Economics, a public higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg. The university specialized in training professionals in regional economics, public administration, management, and service industries prior to its integration into Saint Petersburg State University of Economics.
The crime took place in Vsevolozhsk, a suburban town located approximately 24 kilometers east of Saint Petersburg in Leningrad Oblast. The town is the administrative center of Vsevolozhsky District and is noted for its forested residential neighborhoods and private country homes.
The Leningrad Regional Court acts as the primary judicial body for major criminal prosecutions and jury trials across Leningrad Oblast. Russian law permits regional courts to conduct trials in absentia for individuals who flee law enforcement authorities after being indicted for serious offenses.
