Aleksandr Pustovalov was born on September 25, 1973, in Moscow, Russia, into a modest family. Raised by a single mother who worked as a kindergarten teacher, he grew up with a reputation for discipline and strength. During school, he excelled in judo and earned a rank, while also taking music lessons at his mother's urging. After 8th grade, he began working at the Khrunichev Plant, where he impressed others with his mechanical skill. Between 1991 and 1993, he served in the Russian Navy as part of the marine corps. After his discharge, he tried to join the SOBR (a special forces unit under the Ministry of Internal Affairs), but was rejected due to lack of higher education.

In a fateful bar fight, Pustovalov crossed paths with members of the Orekhovskaya organized crime group. His background, physique, and military training quickly earned him a spot among their ranks. Within the gang, he was known as "Sasha Soldat" (Soldier Sasha). He became a bodyguard and deputy to gang leaders Sergei Butorin and Dmitry Belkin.

Pustovalov's killing spree began in August 1995 with the murder of Assyrian crime boss Alexander Bidzhamo. Alongside his accomplice Kirillov, Pustovalov gunned down Bidzhamo and others during a staged meeting near the Yuri Dolgoruky monument in Moscow. In the following years, he systematically eliminated rivals and traitors under orders from his superiors. Victims included criminal leaders like Kaligin, Panin, and Kutepov, as well as internal members of the Orekhovskaya group who had become liabilities, such as Goryushkin and Meshchenko.

In 1997, Pustovalov committed one of the most high-profile murders in Russian organized crime history: the assassination of fellow hitman Aleksandr Solonik, who had escaped Russian custody and was living in Greece. Pustovalov, under orders from Butorin, traveled to Greece with other gang members. Using his friendly rapport with Solonik, he lured him into a trap and strangled him. Solonik’s girlfriend, model Svetlana Kotova, was also killed and dismembered. Their bodies were later found thanks to an anonymous tip, allegedly staged by the Orekhovskaya gang themselves.

Pustovalov's criminal record includes brutal executions carried out with military precision—often using firearms, strangulation, and post-mortem dismemberment to hide the bodies. He was also falsely accused in the high-profile 1998 assassination of prosecutor Yuri Kerez. Although some believed the method fit his signature, another killer, Pronin, was later identified as the true perpetrator.

On November 19, 1999, Pustovalov was arrested without resistance. During interrogation, he confessed to numerous murders, telling investigators, “Whatever you prove is mine,” and described killing as simply part of his job. His trial began in 2004 alongside other Orekhovskaya gang members. On August 17, 2005, the Moscow City Court sentenced him to 23 years in prison for 18 murders. In December 2016, he was convicted of four more killings and given an additional sentence, bringing his total term to 24 years in a strict-regime penal colony.

Despite his long sentence, Pustovalov was released on November 18, 2023, after serving 24 years. His release included restrictions.