Russia's 'sexiest hitman' who boasts at least 12 murders and a string of female admirers marries behind bars for the second time

Russia's 'sexiest hitman' has married for the fourth time as he serves a 23-year jail sentence for a string of gangland murders.Alexei Sherstobitov, 59, known as 'Lyosha the Soldier', wed former Putin civil servant Yulia Gvozdetskaya, 48, in his high-security prison in Russia's Lipetsk region.The 'handsome assassin', a cult figure among Russian female admirers, was once the most notorious executioner of Moscow's ruthless underworld crime gangs.The cold-blooded contract killer, a master of disguises, has found romance again behind bars — just three years before his scheduled release.His new bride, a mother of two, worked as a senior specialist for Russia's state pension system and is now employed by a major Moscow construction company.She owns a £200,000 apartment in the Russian capital and drives a Chinese-made Chery Tiggo SUV, say the Russian media.A woman with an exactly matching name was once fined for possessing an illegally modified air rifle capable of firing projectiles with greater force.The ruthless killer was the trusted 'in-house assassin' for the notorious Orekhovo-Medvedkovo mafia empire during Russia's bloody gang wars of the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union. Russia's notorious contract killer Alexei Sherstobitov, 59 has married for a second time behind bars. He is serving 23-year sentence for 12 murders and attempted murders His new bride is former civil servant and mother of two Yulia Gvozdetskaya, 48 (pictured)Among his victims was powerful underworld king Otari Kvantrishvili, 46, who was pictured close to then Russian president Boris Yeltsin, gunned down in Moscow in April 1994.Another was former KGB officer turned gangland leader Grigory Gusyatinsky, slain in 1995.Sherstobitov was once commissioned to kill billionaire and Kremlin king-maker Boris Berezovsky with a Tigr sniper rifle but was ordered to abort at the last minute, say reports.Berezovsky - who became a sworn enemy of Putin - later died in still-unexplained circumstances in exile in England.The key to Sherstobitov's success was his 'arsenal' of wigs, fake moustaches and beards, and even umbrellas with needle-like bladed tips to stab and potentially poison victims.For years, police believed 'Lyosha the Soldier' did not exist and calculated his killings were the work of several hitmen.He was eventually snared by his weakness for women, say criminologists.A gangster, riven with jealousy after Sherstobitov 'stole' his fiancée, unmasked him to police. 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 was the trusted 'in-house assassin' for the notorious Orekhovo-Medvedkovo mafia empire during Russia's bloody gang wars of the 1990s The key to Sherstobitov's success was his 'arsenal' of wigs, fake moustaches and beards, and even umbrellas with a needle-like bladed tips to stab and potentially poison victims Sherstobitov gunned down powerful underworld king Otari Kvantrishvili, 46, in Moscow in April 1994. His victim is pictured here close to the then-Russian president Boris Yeltsin Another victim was former KGB officer turned gangland leader Grigory Gusyatinsky, who was slain in 1995The assassin was eventually convicted of 12 murders and attempted murders.Behind bars, he became a published author and poet, gave television interviews, and cultivated a following of female admirers.A decade ago, he wed glamorous Marina Sosnenko, then 31, the ex-wife of Russian television personality Sergey Druzhko.In wedding photographs after a religious ceremony, they posed as a Prohibition-era American gangster and cabaret singer.But their love soured, with Marina halting conjugal prison visits in 2020, leading to their divorce.His new Russian bride, originally from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, is a divorcee with two daughters.She wiped her social media accounts before the wedding, say Russian reports.Sherstobitov comes from a military family and once served as a soldier in the country's railway troops.He will be 62 when he is freed from jail.Unlike many killers behind bars, he has not opted to fight for Putin in Ukraine.