Even a Martial-Arts Pro Isn't Safe in Petersburg

We have reached a point where hardly anybody is surprised at the news of another murder. No longer shocking, the violent death of a prominent figure -- businessman, politician, journalist or pop star -- is accepted in a matter-of-fact way, like a tragic but inescapable death-tax that society has to pay on its painful and turbulent way toward political, economic and legal stability. Every new killing automatically goes on the list as related to the mafia and the shadow economy. This may very well be true in an economy which operates under absurd laws.


Last week, St. Petersburg learned of the murder of Vyacheslav Tsoi, 47, a sort of Russian Bruce Lee, a popular and semi-mythical figure and a doyen of the city's martial-arts community. The murder was carried out according to a scenario that is now almost classic. Tsoi (no relation to rock singer Viktor Tsoi, who was killed in a car accident five years ago) was shot dead at the doorway of his apartment block.


A medical doctor, he rose to prominence in the early 1990s when he organized one of the first, then semi-legal, martial arts schools in St. Petersburg. Equally well-trained in tae kwon do, karate and hapkido, he set up a well-functioning training system which soon became very popular. Though obviously not an altruist, Tsoi was driven by seemingly noble ambitions in some of his initiatives. His greatest achievement and favorite creation was the International Martial-Arts Academy, which was to become an introduction into the world of Oriental wrestling and a training center for hundreds of kids. The academy's inauguration last February was widely publicized, which greatly enhanced his image as a respectable public figure.


As they search for the murderers, investigators will no doubt look for clues in Tsoi's many activities.


His schools inevitably attracted muscular young men, some of whom were members of the city's numerous criminal groups, while others were recruited into the mushrooming security services. Often the two entities were so intertwined that there was no way to tell who belonged to which group. Tsoi's own security service was one of the most competent and reliable in the city and was entrusted with guarding participants in high-level gatherings at Tavrichesky Palace.


A few years ago Tsoi purchased the Olen restaurant, once a fashionable suburban hangout, in the resort town of Zelenogorsk on the Gulf of Finland. Tsoi had recently branched out into show business: He was the agent for the Demis Roussos Russian tour and had recently signed a contract for magician David Copperfield's performances in St. Petersburg.


But most likely, as with so many similar murders, investigations will lead nowhere and this violent death, too, will remain unsolved.