History of the Russian Mafia - Annotated Bibliography Example

The mafia has been a necessary link from a communist to a market economy. The following article analyzes its origins as being part of the Soviet system. In the 1970s the use of the term mafia was used to describe the black market and those KGB members who extorted them at the cost of all. Mrs. Anderson describes the term mafia in different countries. One element which is universal and first used in the Soviet Union to describe the mafia was "a group that is characterized by profit-oriented criminal activity, that uses violence or the threat of violence, that expends resources to discourage, cooperation of its members with the police and that corrupts legitimate governmental authority".

There are 3 conditions that need to be met for the mafia to develop: loss of legitimate power ; a top-heavy bureaucratic state; and the potential of illegal markets. These three conditions have been part of the Russian territory for centuries but the articles only concentrate on the Soviet Union. Other comparisons that she makes are left out as they do not meet the criteria of this document. As early as 1938, it has been documented that it was impossible to meet the goals of the planned economy without illegal practices.

In the 70s, it was already noted that a second economy had developed of having to steal from work in order to sell to buy other necessary commodities. This underground activity was named the "black market". The bribery of government officials was also commonplace. No one thought any of this was wrong. One of the first use of the term Mafia was in the late 70s by a Soviet defense attorney who considered bribery and corruption part of the Soviet system. The article continues in discussing the different stages from the 70s to the early 90s.

Removing each of the three conditions would be the only way the Russian government would gain a free economy. It is an early article but it is interesting in seeing her explanation and transition from the early Soviet regime to the 1990s. .