Rovshan Janiyev ( az, Rövşən Rafiq oğlu Canıyev, russian: Ровшан Рафик оглы Джаниев; 27 January 1975 – 18 August 2016), also known as Rovshan Lankaransky ( az, Rövşən Lənkəranski, links=no, russian: Ровшан Ленкоранский, links=no), was a Talysh influential Azerbaijani gangster.

Early life

When Janiyev was 17 years old, his father, a policeman, was murdered by local gangsters whom he was investigating. In 1996 during the court hearing, upon hearing the accused threatening his family, Janiyev pulled out a gun and killed him in court. He was sentenced to two years in prison.

Criminal acts

Later in 2000, he shot a prominent Baku crime boss in broad daylight and was subsequently beaten so severely that he developed a mental illness. Taking this into account, the court released him after just a few months imprisonment. Fearing for his life, Janiyev fled from

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

where he grew more and more powerful within the underworld and eventually controlled all the ethnic Azerbaijani gangs in Moscow, running protection rackets and drug trafficking. Eventually competition over territory grew with the Caucasian gangs led by

Aslan Usoyan Aslan Usoyan ( ka, ასლან უსოიანი, russian: Асла́н Раши́дович Усоя́н; 27 February 1937 – 16 January 2013), also known as Baba Gurgur and Grandpa Hassan ( ''Ded Hasan'') or just Grandpa (), was a mafi ...

. In 2010 an attempt was made on Usoyan's life and it has been theorized that Janiyev, who had been arrested trying to enter Ukraine shortly afterwards (where he already controlled some criminal business and had been previously granted refugee status), had a major part in its planning and execution. In January 2013, after Usoyan's assassination, Janiyev, along with

Tariel Oniani Tariel Oniani ( ka, ტარიელ ონიანი; born 1952) is a Georgian mafia boss and ' Thief in law'. He is reportedly a member of the "Kutaisi" criminal gang. Background and activity in Spain Born in the mining town of Tkibuli i ...

, was regarded as a primary suspect. Shortly afterwards Astamur Guliya, an Abkhaz gangster and ally of Janiyev, was gunned down in

Sukhumi Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...

. Janiyev himself was reported killed in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

on 6 February, but this claim was denied by his brother Emil, who claimed he was alive and well in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (Middle East, The Middle East). It is ...

. In 2013, Italian law enforcement authorities reported Janiyev's presence in the country to

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cr ...

. In a law enforcement report, Janiyev was accused of being engaged in organized crime, bribery, money laundering and forgery of documents. On 17 August 2016 Janiyev was assassinated in

, Turkey, after returning from a trip to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

. Janiyev was shot in his luxury

Range Rover Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to ...

car, which bore an Azerbaijani license plate, in the

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, ...

district. Janiyev's local driver was killed on the spot. Janiyev himself was transported to

Şişli Şişli () is one of the 39 districts of Istanbul, Turkey. Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş to the east, Sarıyer to the north, Eyüp and Kağıthane to the west, and Beyoğlu to the south. In 2009, Şiş ...

Etfal hospital and died of his wounds there. Janiyev's corpse was flown to Azerbaijan via a private plane belonging to Azerbaijani billionaire Mübariz Mansimov. Reports emerged that more than 25,000 people came to mourn him at the airport. ''Yeni Musavat'' columnist Ilgar Kamil explained the phenomenon of glorifying Janiyev by the pratfall effect which would allow people to excuse Janiyev's criminal past because he had avenged his father "in due manner" as a teenager. Another reason, according to Kamil, is the tendency to subconsciously admire someone who does what others would like to do but do not dare to.Ilgar Kamil
Xalq ''oğru''nu, ''vor''u, ''bandit''i deyil, məhz Canıyevi sevir...- Oxucu yazır
20 August 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janiyev, Rovshan 1975 births 2016 deaths Azerbaijani gangsters Murdered gangsters Thieves in law People from Lankaran