A single father confined to a wheelchair was given 12 years in prison for arms trafficking.

“12 years of imprisonment in a maximum security colony?! Yes, I won’t live behind bars for 12 days!” – 41-year-old Alexey Kulikov shouted in the hall of the Krasnogorsk City Court of the Moscow Region.

The man cannot move independently (he is either carried in his arms or carried in a wheelchair). The arms, legs, chest and back seem to be tied into a terrible knot – this is the result of deformation of the bones and joints.

On Thursday, December 28, 2023, Themis found him guilty of arms trafficking. The man had a website that sold equipment for hunters, knives and other products, but in addition to this, he assisted customers several times in illegally purchasing real guns and cartridges.

“It’s despicable to cover up your criminal deeds with a disability,” readers may say. This is true. But in the case of Kulikov, it is important that he committed a crime for the first time, repented, and is a single father. And most importantly, he has a disease, which is included in the list of ailments that prevent him from serving his sentence. So why did Themis turn out to be cruel? About all this – in the material of the MK columnist.

– What are we going to do with you? – FSIN employees sighed (they were present at the trial) when they heard the court verdict against Alexei Kulikov. Thank God, the judge did not demand that he be arrested in court, but gave him the opportunity to remain on house arrest until the appeal.

Alexey is a disabled person of group I since birth. He has severe polyneuropathic syndrome. His chest is severely deformed. He did not go to school; he was taught at home. But the mother tried to ensure that her son, despite his illness, lived a full life. That’s why Alexei was taken for walks every day; he had many friends.

“It’s wild for people who see me to assume that I can live a normal life, but I lived,” says Alexey. – Learned to drive. The car was inherited from my dad, who died in 2007. That’s when I started my first business (with the money my father had) – mobile tire fitting. It was impossible to live on a disability pension alone, and even now it is not too much – 23 thousand. In 2012, I met a woman. She accidentally got the wrong number and texted me. We started talking, but she didn’t see me. And then it suddenly turned out that she had autoimmune hepatitis, and this led to joint disease. When the illness worsened, I began to help her. He took her around in his car (when he couldn’t, he sent a driver). In general, a relationship began. And then she got pregnant. Doctors told her that she could die during childbirth. But she took a risk. The child (girl) was born completely healthy. But my wife’s both joints collapsed and she endured unbearable pain. But the operation under the treatment quota and joint replacement were constantly postponed. I wrote to the president’s reception, and after a couple of days the issue was resolved! Moreover, they even punished those medical officials who caused their wife to be refused. They performed surgery on her, and life began to improve. The wife even went to work – as a cashier at the Pyaterochka store.

In 2019, Alexey opened an official website on weapons topics – knives, equipment, weapon care products. He invited craftsmen to cooperate in the production of all these goods. He says that it was a kind of online fair. In the process, Kulikov acquired acquaintances who were directly involved in weapons, the possession of which required licensing. As a result, he conducted several criminal transactions – the items were pistols and ammunition. Law enforcement officers found out about this and opened a criminal case under Articles 222 and 223 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

There was a reason,” Alexey sighs. – No complaints, it’s my fault. 5 episodes. Essentially, I acted as an intermediary – I took from one, sold to another. There was a third one, who, as I understood, was the main target of law enforcement (they consider him a “weapon baron”). But I just talked to him and consulted. And the law enforcement officers almost united all of us and my wife (who got into this story only because she lived with me) into a whole organized crime group. Thank God, Article 210 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was not charged. But they spoiled a lot of nerves. My wife was so worried! It was a shock for her because she had never broken the law. And on the first day of detention, she was told that the child would be taken away. Can you imagine what it was like for her? She would be ready to admit anything. And they put pressure on me – if I don’t confess, my wife will be put in jail. And I said: “I’ll sign anything and anyone.” The wife was left at home under subscription. But against the backdrop of all this, her illness worsened. On September 21 of this year she died without waiting for a verdict. Maybe, thank God, she didn’t hear the verdict.

Alexey himself was under house arrest for the entire two years that the investigation and trial were going on. At the same time, he devoted all his time to his daughter (she is now 9 years old) and, as they say, brought himself to interrogations and court hearings. During periods when Kulikov had an exacerbation, he was carried in his arms or carried in a wheelchair.

Alexey has medical documents in his hands that confirm that he has a disease that prevents him from serving his sentence (the list of such ailments was approved by Government Resolution No. 54). But according to the procedure, a special medical commission of the Federal Penitentiary Service must confirm the diagnosis. It turns out that he first needs to be behind bars, so that they can appoint a commission, conduct an examination and only then release him. All this may take not even a few weeks, but several months or even a whole year. Why torture a disabled person all this time is unclear.

The court entrusted custody of Alexei’s daughter to her grandmother. Kulikov is worried – this may indicate his intention to send him to jail after all, and then the girl, who lost her mother, will also lose her father. Perhaps Themis wanted to show: disability is not a reason to commit crimes. Who can argue? But why not show mercy the first time (including by giving a delay until the child turns 14)? Moreover, the law allows it.