Russian Police Claim Biggest Spammer’s Murder Solved

MosNews, Russia
Aug 15 2005

MosNews — Vardan Kushnir, murdered in late July in Moscow, may have
fallen victim to a 15-year-old girl and her three friends, a popular
Moscow tabloid, Moskovsky Komsomolets, reported Monday.

Vardan Kushnir, notorious for sending spam to each and every citizen
of Russia who appeared to have an e-mail, was found dead in his
Moscow apartment on July 27. He died after suffering repeated blows
to the head.

Kushnir, 35, headed the English learning centers the Center for
American English, the New York English Center and the Center for
Spoken English, all known to have aggressive Internet advertising
policies in which millions of e-mails were sent every day.

In the past angry Internet users have targeted the American English
center by publishing the Center’s telephone numbers anywhere on the Web
to provoke telephone calls. The Center’s telephone was advertised as
a contact number for cheap sex services, or bargain real estate sales.

Another attack involved hundreds of people making phone calls to
the American English Center and sending it numerous e-mails back,
but Vardan Kushnir remained sure of his right to spam, saying it was
what e-mails were for.

Under Russian law, spamming is not considered illegal, although
lawmakers are working on legal projects that could protect Russian
Internet users like they do in Europe and the U.S.

The police also examined another lead suggesting that Kushnir could
have been attacked by robbers.

On Sunday the Moscow criminal investigation directorate detained a
group of young people on suspicion of murdering Kushnir with a view
to rob him. The investigators believe that a 15-year-old girl and
two boys, 18 and 17 years of age, along with a 27-year-old accomplice
had broke into Kushnir’s apartment.

One of the boys wielded a baseball bat which he used to beat the man
to death. The detainees insist Kushnir had invited them to his place
himself where he made passes at the girl by the name of Vika. Her
friends tried to stop him, then Kushnir grabbed a knife and the
young men hit the man with an empty bottle on the head in order to
defend themselves.

Incidentally, the detained young men claim the girl was not involved
in the brawl and insist on her innocence.

Vardan Kushnir was an Armenian-descended spammer who ran the American
Language Center, and who is believed to have spammed the entire
population of Russian-language Internet users with ads for his
language courses.

According to some estimates, his ads reached 25 million users at his
peak, between 2003 and 2004. Although only Muscovites were eligible
to sign up, the ads went to many other countries, including Ukraine,
the United States and Israel.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress