Moscow Russia - In the Moscow suburb of Sukharevskaya, a city water supply worker recently discovered what may be the remains of a shed snake skin that measured over 6 meters (approx. 20 feet) in length. A surprising find in light of the fact that the largest snake native to Russia grows to only 6 feet in length and is dormant in the Winter.

The Public works department isn't commenting but Paulovich Vanstunka, a junior deputy director of the city's police force, says that the snake skin find is a direct result of a raid against the Ostankino gang the police department conducted in March..

What shed this skin in the Moscow sewer system and who's brave enough to go find out?

"The Ostankino are one of the primary arms of the Jory Y Zakone. (which translates into thieves in law" and is a phrase used for the Russian Mafia) Since crackdowns on their extortion activities started the gang has been looking into different areas of crime that they can branch into." states Paulovich. "We have recently seen an increase in all kinds of smuggling; cigarettes, designer clothes from America and even the illegal importation of exotic pets."

But just how exotic? On the early hours of March 4th the elite Berkut (Eagle) Force of the Moscow police department was set to raid a warehouse near Lomonosou University known to have been used by the criminals. The gang was somehow tipped off and set the complex on fire in an effort to rid themselves of the evidence. Fire Units that responded to the blaze reported seeing a strange collection of animals including snakes, birds, and lizards trying to flee the fire. Subsequent investigations by the police force revealed a haphazard lab thrown together in the warehouse that included cages, heat lamps and food for exotic pets. Officials believe the gang had imported a wide variety of exotic animals in an effort to sell them to the small but growing upper class of Moscow society. Police believe that a humane member of the gang set them free before starting the blaze. Neighborhood residents reported finding brightly colored bird frozen on their lawns for several days afterwards. They were parrots that could not survive the severe Russian winter.

But if the weather proved inhospitable to birds how could exotic reptiles survive? Stanleski Werver, a member of a Moscow club called "Diggers of the Underground Planet" who regularly explores the sewers and tunnels beneath Moscow, believes they could if they could make it into the sewer system.

"Certainly the complex tunnels beneath the city are much warmer than above ground." states Stanleski. "Beggars and the homeless often set up camp in the sewers to survive. I myself have not seen any snakes in there but I have heard from others that they have. No one, not even us, knows the entire extent of the system or what is down there. Just a few years ago a member of the group found over 250 kilograms of radioactive material beneath Moscow University. God himself only knows how long it had been sitting there. If that can stay buried beneath the streets then certainly animals can live down there without anyone knowing."

Other than the photograph which appeared in the Moscow newspaper "FreePress" last week no other collaborating evidence has been produced to substantiate the claim of exotic animals living in the Moscow sewer system. It is uncertain what became of the snakeskin that was discovered in a drainage ditch near the Moscow River. It is believed to have been destroyed.

sources

- phone interview with Stanleski Werver by Mark Davies April 10th, 2000

- article appearing in the Moscow newspaper "FreePress" April 6th, 2000

- photo courtesy of the Moscow FreePress