----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Doss" <chrisd at russiajournal.com> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 1:28 AM Subject: RE: English speakers in Russia
I'm going to stop sending stuff on this thread to the list, as it probably has little interest to anyone but my interlocuter.
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Speaking of Russia.....Comments Chris?
< http://www.eurasianet.org > RUSSIA'S ORGANIZED CRIME: A TYPOLOGY Part I: How the Mafias Were Formed A EurasiaNet Commentary by Roustam Kaliyev: 1/31/02
Part I of a two-part series. Read Part II.
The Russian Mafia poses serious obstacles for Russia's development and has been perceived as a threat to its neighbors and even the West. Yet few seem to have a clear understanding of how Russian criminal syndicates are organized. The structure of criminal syndicates has evolved considerably due to the changing political circumstances of the late Soviet period and the subsequent upheavals in the Russian Federation. Criminal networks have grown to represent an attribute of the country's national character. Many in the West expected President Vladimir Putin, who had made his career in the Security Services, to herald a new approach to law enforcement. However, the problem of criminalization of the state at all levels remains.
The problem is not simply corruption, such as bribe taking, that infects the public sphere, but actual criminal activity by governmental and law-enforcement agencies. The organized crime groups in Russia can be divided into 3 major categories: "classic," "governmental," and "national." The classic Mafias are the familiar structures known throughout the world. The governmental structures are the security services and private security agencies that run substantial criminal enterprises. The national Mafias sprang from ethnically Chechen groups, which were initially set up explicitly to protect Chechen business interests but then diversified their activities and membership.
Among the "classic" groupings we find many ethnic, territorial and other criminal groups that formed and functioned along established systems, and were familiar to the law enforcement community. Famous groups include the Tambovskaya, Solnetzevskaya, Tul'skaya and Armenian Mafias. Their activities include: the drug trade, arms trade, smuggling, robbery, contract murder and more recently kidnapping and trade in people. [snip]
RUSSIA'S ORGANIZED CRIME: A TYPOLOGY PART II: The Effects of the New Chechen War A EurasiaNet Commentary by Roustam Kaliyev
Part II of a two-part series. Read Part I.
Vladimir Putin, who established his credentials in the security services, cemented his hold on power on promises of establishing order and crushing Chechen separatism. Using the pretext of the war in Chechnya, the security services have been able to evade social and legislative oversight.
As was discussed in Part One, Russian organized criminal groups can be grouped into three main categories: classic, governmental, and national. From the start of the present Chechen war, government agencies have exerted increasing influence over business activity. Many entrepreneurs reportedly sought to obtain protection (or "krysha," in Russian) from the MVD (Interior Ministry), FSB and other security services.
The war in Chechnya thus had a very negative impact on those Chechens who made providing krysha their main business activity, pitting them against Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov. At the same time, unlike ordinary Chechens in Russia, leading Chechen businesses have not been severely effected by the ongoing fighting. Indeed, big businessmen are said to have worked closely with structures like the MVD, FSB, and Federal Tax Collection Service (FSNP).
Criminologists say that by the end of 1999, national criminal groups ceded up to 40 percent of the businesses they influenced to the security services. For their part, Chechen businessmen attempted to prevent ethnic Chechen Mafias from expanding their sphere of activities. In return, the security services supposedly promised immunity to the businessmen, and promised not to diminish the influence of Chechen groups in the capital and other major cities.
As a result, the classic criminal groups became virtually extinct and now only two strong categories remain, the "governmental" and the "national." The governmental groups compete against each other and try to squeeze out the national Mafias. Sometimes, representatives of the "government" Mafias bought out entire neighborhoods in cash. In 1995 the Yuzhnoportovyi neighborhood of Moscow was bought out from a "national" type Mafia by influential people connected to the capital's anti-organized crime unit of the MVD (GUBOP). The sum named was in eight digits in dollars.
In an August 2001 article published by Novaya Gazeta, titled "FSB Blows up Russia," former FSB and MVD officer Alexander Litvinenko described in detail how the FSB protected certain Mafias and thwarted efforts by the GUBOP to apprehend suspects. Litvinenko started his career in the FSB, but later switched to the MVD in 1998. The Novaya Gazeta article, along with Litvinenko's forthcoming book, focuses the spotlight on FSB criminal activities. Of course, the GUBOP - which was formed during the late Soviet era - was itself a notorious competitor in racketeering activities. Recently, the GUBOP was officially disbanded due to its "krysha" activities. However, neither the nature of its activities nor the scope of its power has changed much. As it turned out, it was impossible to "disband" this unit. The members of the unit simply continued their racketeering activities under other rubrics. [snip]