Isn’t it a miracle?" asks pastor Paul Armand. His former colleagues: USA mafia-boss Tom Papania, Jevpatoria’s real ruler Sergei Arykov and Bellarussia’s "underworld’s” father Oleg Rollig have all become the servants of God. 

" Beautiful cars, gorgeous models, loads of dollars…but also the prison and flying bullets – these were all these things, which were part of these men’s lives mentioned above. But now they have discovered, that only God is the one, who can save. Armand and all the others could establish the Ex-gangsters’ Worldwide Unity, where all the "repented sinners" could belong.

Pastor Paul Armand’s life is very similar to the famous USA maffia guy – Tom Papania, whose grandfather, boss Mazaria, helped to establish Cosa Nostra in America. Armand belonged into a little smaller group, who brought in the cars from Toglatti and later on the metal from Russia. Out of the company, he was spending time with, grew out the Chechenian and Ingushian gangs. Paul still doesn’t know, what happened to his companion Tolik, who one day just disappeared. They looked for him in the Männiku sand quarries, where many, who desired to become somebody, were buried. 

Greater than Al Capone

After living in States sometime as a believer, Armand was offered the videotape with the memories of Papania. He threw it into his bag indifferently, but after watching it at home, got very excited and wrote a letter to Tom. Now he has written a book about Papania’s life. They have shared a common destiny – from the street boy to the "underworld" member and from there on to the committed believer. 

Papania has said, that: "My dad never touched me or picked me up. He never told me that he loved me." 15-yrs. old boy’s desire was to become somebody, compared to who Al Capone would look like a dilettante.

Armand’s father abandoned his family, when boy was 3 years old. "When I wanted to have a bike, I had to steal it" says the pastor. "My friends were also…from the certain category." He has been punished twice because of the little robberies. 

Pastor admits, that in his youth he never really had to work hard. He was "whirling" around the Finish people, buying the things by the cheap price and then selling them on to somebody else. During one day I earned 3-5 times as much as Soviet people earned in a month. "I started to think that you can also "buy" people for the money. That gave you a feeling, that anything is allowed, which actually destroys the inner person of the human being." 

In 80-s started the deals with the Togliatti car factory. He and his friends just marched into the director’s office and offered a business. "Different possibilities for export and the level of horse powers…How stupid and empty it looks today."

Armand and his friends had a "roof" above their heads, provided by the local KGB colonels. Otherwise their activity in there would had been impossible. "In this time’s society they were the most educated, intelligent and boldest people and I don’t deny my connections with them. It was our business, our life."

Same time, when Armand was busy with the car business, used Tom Papania in USA the same cruel ways that he had seen and experienced from his father, who used to beat him up all the time. He had achieved a very high level in organizing the criminal activities and he was ruling over the gangs in New York.

In the terms of criminals, Paul’s life went up the hill…in the terms of normal people – down the hill. He changed from the car business into metal business, admitting that: "It was a terrible time, which still isn’t over yet. Many connections from that time are still valid today and some people have not been able to get rid of them. There are still some highly honored people, who get the knocks at their door by the people, who remind them about the "old times" and ask them back the favors for it". 
Paul’s first failure was in Ukraine in 1992, when police stopped him with his big nickel load. It was confiscated. Today Paul Armand is happy that it went this way. Otherwise he might be somebody else today or might be buried in the Männiku sand quarries. 

In order to find a cover for this nickel load, he borrowed a BMW and exchanged it again for the nickel. The mediator from Ukraine was a swindler and paid only a half price. Paul’s business partner sold the growing debt to Ingushian gang. They saw, that it doesn’t bring any money in and killed him.

The law of the sowing and reaping

Pastor Paul Armand is thinking about the old times in the pub close by to the Tallinn-Rapla highway. It used to be a place once, where all the arguments and judgment took place. Based on the magazine "Luup", Oskolt used to be so called "the land of peace", where nobody was allowed to show a gun. Out of that territory anything was allowed. People living in the neighborhood are still having nightmares about the constant gunshots at the night time. It was said proudly, that no police has ever dared to go in there. After Paul Armand had already escaped, Mihhail Gorbatðov – the elegant leader of the Krasnoborsk gang, was sentenced to death because of his debts.

After Paul had heard about his "death sentence", he took off from Estonia. He was announced to be a wanted in the "underworld" and his pictures were shared out in many places in order to find him. 

Few years later he sent a tape to his creditor, where he said: "After leaving the dirty business, it is very hard to do any pure business in Russia or in previous Soviet Union countries in order to make clean money. But I have contracts getting ready to be signed by some of the Canadian businessmen and I believe that through that I can pay you back the money I owe you /…/ There is one law in the Bible, which doesn’t change a bit, either you believe in God or not. It is the law of sowing and reaping, which means that: whatever you sow, you also will reap."

Tom Papania had understood it and therefore he gave away everything he had got through the criminal activity and went to work. Because of his past, he was put into Atlanta’s prison. One of the most expensive lawyers said: Don’t worry – instead of 460 yrs. I’ll try them to give you 150 yrs." This court process was the longest one in the history of that state until the decision was made: "Not guilty!" It appeared, that the prosecutors had "bought" all the witnesses.

After Papania told to boss Paul Castellano, that he will end all the connections with Cosa Nostra, the boss signed the order to kill him. The only thing, which saved his life, was the change of leaders, as Castellano himself got murdered. 

Becoming God’s servant out of being a godfather

Sergei Petrovitð was one of the leading "godfathers" in Russia.
The son of Siberia’s miner and the officer of the marines – Sergei Petrovitð Arõkov – retired from the Black Sea’s navy after serving there for 11 years. After leaving the army, he lost his living place, but without that it was impossible to be signed in in the Soviet Union. Therefore, he was both homeless and unemployed while being in Jevpatoria.

After Gorbatðov had given a permission to establish private companies, he started with the factory, producing household equipment in Jevpatoria. It was the first private company in the Soviet Union but didn’t really bring in that kind of profit they were expecting to get.

He went to Moscow, having 63 rubles in his pocket. Wondering around in the capital’s railway stations he noticed all these handicapped people, selling all kinds of things in there. Only handicapped had a trade permit for that. Petrovitð founded a trade company and hired all these handicapped people into his service. Pretty soon he had his own selling places in Moscow’s eight different railway stations. 

"There was only one railway station, which didn’t interest me, because there were only 2 trains going to Riga from there" says Petrovitð. "Railway stations’ booths were a real gold-mine. Moscow’s first McDonalds with it’s 15 000 clients every day earned only 1/5 from the profit that I got from my business through the booths." 

The security guys, strong gorillas, all the time and 14 security men kept their eye on his Moscow’s resident for 24 hrs guarded him.. 

He founded two banks in Moscow after becoming a multimillionaire, which officially didn’t belong to him though. He needed to have someone for the board of Impulse-bank, who would also be signed in Moscow. He named his own driver to be the director, who after a little while was "cleared off"…he burned into car.

After that Petrovitð didn’t trust anybody else anymore except his own brother, who took his leadership in the business over. Petrovitð himself went to Krim, to the healthier surroundings.

About the change in his life, when he turned to God, he can’t remember anything supernatural. He has just started to see and take life differently. "I think more about my closest ones and I help them more. I’ve been also the mediator between the "underworld" and politicians. I should rather be called honorable man than mafia guy, because I’ve helped so many people in their lives."

While expanding his house, Sergei Petrovitð called the masters of mosaic from Ukraine, who covered his houses outside walls with the religious paintings.

Gun in the garbage can

Also Paul Armand’s life was on the scales as the person, who owed him a lot of money, could had easily arrange Paul's death in Russia. Armand’s business partner (who had both Canadian and Ukrainian background) went also bankrupt and the debts kept growing. Armand’s efforts to do a business in a "clean" way started to bear fruit only few years ago. There is a bunch of papers in pastor’s briefcase, which are signed to prove that he has paid back all his debts to the "underworld" – all together 40 000$. 

Pastor Paul Armand says, that he is thankful to his wife, a Russian lady born in Ukraine, whom he found in the midst of believers and who helped him to get out of all this mess. 

Paul claims, that after finding God, he took all his guns, tore them apart and throw out into garbage cans all over the city, so that it wouldn’t be possible to put them together again. "Just yesterday there was one man at my service, who had got a video player and some other equipment through a "dark ways" and was really bothered because of that. He asked me, what to do? And I told him to throw it out." 

Once in a while Armand calls to Krimm, where he met with Sergei Petrovitð Arykov about 4 years ago. Sergei had belonged into the scariest gang-leaders’ group in Russia and was ruling over all Jevpatoria. The population in that city grew into over million people during the summer time and that also caused many car jams on the streets, leaving little space for walking. Yet, the local police recommended very strongly not to walk by Sergei Petrovitð’ house on the main street in order not to disturb his peace. That was a place, where money was taken in and out with the big bags. Years ago newspaper "Izvestija" wrote a story about a man, who’s work was to go for a walks with Sergei’s dogs and who later on became a casino’s director. He came to the newspaper’s office one day and said that he was hired by the Simferopol’s grouping to kill his "master". This artist-type of bandit would had considered anybody an idiot, who would had told him that his employer, called also a Beard or Cross, will become a committed servant of God.

Beard talks very highly about insignificant little Jewish man, who every time when he massaged Beard, said: You need Jesus you need God. And that lasted for 2 years like that. Beard respects him much more than the Moscow’s academicians he was neighbor with.

Pastor Armand says, that his friend’s repentance and turning to God brought a great revolution and chaos into the city. Nobody knew anymore, to whom pay for the "roof"?! After Moscow had set a new local "emissary", Beard had to face many attempted murders. Yet, nothing happened to him, as he had kept his strong security team. 

At the moment he is growing, prefabricating and exporting the fish. He has also restored an old ruins in the Jevpatoria, building a new church in there which is as big as Nevski’s Cathedral in Tallinn. Beard’s and his other believer friend’s names are written on the rock stones in front of the church.

The sound of Solntsevo’s bell

 one more person, whom Armand knows very well and who has also turned to God, is a previous Bella Russia’s “underworld’s” leader and legal robber Oleg Rolling,. One police, having a 40 years experience says: It is impossible to explain that kind of change, but it still seems to be possible. There is nothing you could compare criminals’ nerves pressure with. The belief is often the only thing they can find satisfaction in. They feel, that everything, which is bad around them, can also be good. Even prison’s library is the gathering place for all the groups. In order to find out, either this person’s "turn to God" is real or not, you need to get to know him longer.

One sign you can find about that kind of exterior "turn", is nearby Moscow. There, in the Church of Blessed God’s Mother, is a 75 pounds heavy bell, inviting people to the services with it’s sound. There is also a text on the bell, written in old Russian letters, saying: "From Solntsevo’s fraternity". This is the donation from the Moscow’s most scariest "underworld" powers, the Solntsevo’s brigades. Just one arrogant gesture and additional sign about almightiness. "No matter how tough they would look like, none of them from the groups of Kemerovo or Solikamski or the leader of Solntsevos’ brigades Mihhass will die a natural death" says Armand, believing into the simple law of sowing and reaping. "They will drive for few years with their 600 class Mercedes’, use the best women’s services and then what? Tom Papania has said, that the only way to do the career in the mafia is to take over your boss’s place. But nobody will wait till you die the natural way. Same time everyone is smiling to everybody and singing in the same choir." 

Jesus Christ is the truth, the way and life!

SINNER’S PRAYER

Heavenly Father, I’m a sinner. I confess my sins to you. I repent from not believing in Jesus Christ and for not living by your Word. Please forgive me my sins! Jesus, I believe, that you are the Son of a living God. I will give my life to you. Dear Jesus, please come  into my heart. I will receive you as my Savior and King. Heavenly Father, I thank you from all of my heart for forgiving my sins!