Russia’s so-called “sexiest hitman” has married for the fourth time while serving a 23-year sentence for a series of gangland killings.
Alexei Sherstobitov, 59, better known as “Lyosha the Soldier”, married former Putin-era civil servant Yulia Gvozdetskaya, 48, at the high-security prison where he is held in Russia’s Lipetsk region.
The “handsome assassin” became a cult figure among Russian women and was once regarded as the most feared executioner working for Moscow’s violent criminal gangs.
The contract killer, who used an array of disguises, has found love again behind bars with only three years remaining before his scheduled release.
His new wife, a mother of two, previously worked as a senior specialist in Russia’s state pension system and is now employed by a major construction company in Moscow.
Russian media report that she owns an apartment in the capital worth around £200,000 and drives a Chinese-made Chery Tiggo SUV.
A woman with the same name was previously fined for possessing an illegally modified air rifle capable of firing projectiles with increased force.
Sherstobitov served as the trusted “in-house assassin” for the notorious Orekhovo-Medvedkovo mafia empire during the bloody gang wars that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s.
Russia’s notorious contract killer Alexei Sherstobitov, 59, has married for a second time behind bars. He is serving a 23-year sentence for 12 murders and attempted murders
His new bride is former civil servant and mother of two Yulia Gvozdetskaya, 48 (pictured)
One of his victims was underworld boss Otari Kvantrishvili, 46, who had been photographed alongside then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin before being shot dead in Moscow in April 1994.
Another was Grigory Gusyatinsky, a former KGB officer who became a gangland leader before he was murdered in 1995.
Reports say Sherstobitov was also hired to assassinate billionaire and Kremlin power broker Boris Berezovsky using a Tigr sniper rifle, but was instructed to abandon the operation at the last moment.
Berezovsky, who later became a bitter opponent of Putin, died in exile in England in circumstances that remain unexplained.
Sherstobitov’s success reportedly depended on an extensive collection of wigs, false moustaches and beards, as well as umbrellas fitted with needle-like blades that could be used to stab and potentially poison targets.
For years, investigators believed that “Lyosha the Soldier” was not a real individual and concluded that the killings attributed to him had been carried out by several assassins.
Criminologists say he was eventually identified because of his weakness for women.
A jealous gangster reportedly exposed him to police after Sherstobitov “stole” his fiancée.
Sherstobitov pictured with his former wife Marina Sosnenko, now 41, on their wedding day in 2016. He was still serving his prison sentence at the time
The ruthless killer served as the trusted “in-house assassin” for the notorious Orekhovo-Medvedkovo mafia empire during Russia’s bloody gang wars of the 1990s
Sherstobitov’s success reportedly relied on an “arsenal” of wigs, false moustaches and beards, along with umbrellas fitted with needle-like blades for stabbing and potentially poisoning victims
Sherstobitov shot dead underworld boss Otari Kvantrishvili, 46, in Moscow in April 1994. His victim is pictured alongside then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin
Another victim was Grigory Gusyatinsky, a former KGB officer who became a gangland leader before being killed in 1995
Sherstobitov was ultimately convicted of 12 murders and attempted murders.
While in prison, he became a published author and poet, appeared in television interviews and built a following among female admirers.
Around a decade ago, he married Marina Sosnenko, then 31, the former wife of Russian television personality Sergey Druzhko.
Photographs taken after their religious wedding ceremony showed the couple dressed as a Prohibition-era American gangster and a cabaret singer.
Their relationship later deteriorated. Marina stopped making conjugal visits in 2020, and the couple subsequently divorced.
His new wife, who was born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a divorcee with two daughters.
Russian reports say she deleted her social-media accounts before the wedding.
Sherstobitov grew up in a military family and previously served in Russia’s railway troops.
He is due to be 62 when he is released from prison.
Unlike many convicted killers in Russia, he has not chosen to fight for Putin in Ukraine.