[1] Elistratov was described very positively by his acquaintances, especially by his blind neighbor Alesya, who claimed that he would drive her for free around the city and even buy her family salmon, despite being a man of modest means.
He presented himself as a private taxi driver, despite the fact that his passport, which was issued in the former Soviet Union and was now invalid since the country had dissolved, was never reported to the authorities, and he was allowed to continue his illegal practice undetected.
[1] One day, while browsing through the Cherkizovsky Market, he bought himself a homemade hunting rifle, which was modified to function like a sawn-off shotgun, stashing the weapon under the driver's seat.
[3] The hunt for the so-called "Bloody Taxi Driver" stirred great controversy in the city, since, as it would later turn out, the agencies could've captured the criminal much earlier and prevented any further bloodshed.
[1] During the subsequent investigations, Elistratov partially admitted guilt, claiming that he had killed the last victim, Zhukov, by negligence: according to him, Andrey started arguing with him, and had attempted to pull his sawn-off away from him when the weapon accidentally discharged.