Sergey Alexandrovich Maduev was born on June 17, 1956, in Karaganda, a city in the Kazakh SSR, now part of Kazakhstan. His birth name was Ali Arbievich Maduev. He was the fourth child of a Chechen father and a Korean mother. His father had been convicted for resisting deportation, and his mother had been convicted for speculation. Following his release from prison, Maduev's father abandoned the family, leaving his mother to care for the children alone.

From a young age, Maduev showed a tendency towards criminal behavior. He began stealing when he was just six years old. By the time he reached his teenage years, he was already in trouble with the law. In 1974, he received his first prison sentence from the Karasay District Court. He was given six years for complicity in theft. After serving some of his time, he was released in 1980. However, he quickly returned to crime, leading to another arrest in February 1981. This time, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for various thefts and robberies.

While serving his second sentence, he was attacked by a group of twelve criminals who tried to kill him. He had taken some resources from other inmates, which made him a target. Despite this attack, Maduev proved to be resourceful and resilient. He gained authority among inmates, became a team leader, and earned the nickname "Chervonets." However, many viewed him as a "lawless" individual who was quick to use violence. In 1988, Maduev was moved to an open prison. He took advantage of this new freedom by escaping and going on the run.

In 1988, Sergey Maduev escaped from an open prison and became a wanted criminal. Initially, his activities included thefts and robberies across several regions in the Soviet Union, including Siberia, Moscow Oblast, and Grozny. In one instance, he prevented an accomplice from harming a robbery victim's daughter and called an ambulance for a victim who fell ill after being robbed.

However, Maduev soon escalated to murder. His first known killings occurred in Rostov Oblast, where he and his accomplice, Roman Chernyshev, murdered the Shalumov couple during a robbery. They set fire to the house to hide their tracks, killing the couple's one-year-old son in the blaze. A rare bullet found at the crime scene linked the murders to Maduev. Later, he was put on the Interunion Wanted List.

On June 6, 1989, Maduev and Chernyshev committed another double murder in Astrakhan Oblast. This was quickly followed by a series of robberies in various cities, including Leningrad, where his actions resulted in a severe injury to a victim who later died. At one point, he shot a doorman in a cafe in front of many witnesses, asking if anyone else wanted to challenge him.

In January 1990, while in Tashkent, Maduev and Chernyshev planned another robbery. When they faced resistance, Maduev killed both his accomplice and the homeowner. He was arrested the following day at a train station. During his detention, he attempted to use a fake grenade to escape, demanding to be released, but he was disarmed.

Maduev was moved to Kresty Prison in Leningrad, where he cooperated with investigators and confessed to many crimes. He was charged with over 60 offenses, including at least 10 murders. On May 3, 1991, he attempted to escape from custody, firing a revolver at police officers and wounding one before being recaptured. The weapon used in this incident was traced back to a theft from a prosecutor's office.

A special investigative team formed to examine his escape attempts. Maduev's charm attracted women, including an investigator who later faced sentencing for helping him. Maduev also made further escape attempts involving hidden weapons.

On July 10, 1995, the St. Petersburg City Court sentenced him to death for two murders and other crimes. However, a moratorium on the death penalty changed his sentence to life imprisonment. He spent time in various prisons, eventually ending up in Black Dolphin Prison. Maduev died there on December 10, 2000, due to heart failure and complications related to diabetes.