Russian Mafia's Organization - Research Paper Example

 RUSSIAN MAFIA'S ORGANIZATION Introduction This paper presents a comparison, contrast and analysis of the Russian Mafia’s criminal organization with other known international criminal organizations. The focus of the comparison is mainly between the Russian Mafia and the Balkan organized crime. The methods used by these criminal organizations and their history are clearly and quite comprehensively captured in this paper. Brief History of Russian Mafia The history of this criminal organization – Russian Mafia can be traced back to the 1970, that is, during the imperial periods. At this time, the criminal activities existed in the form of bandits and thieves. The vast majority of the Russian population at the time was peasants and consequently they were poor. This is one of the situations that triggered criminality in Russia at the time giving rise to the Mafias[Jos08]. The criminals used to steal from the government entities at this age. The thieves grouped and had their own code of conduct which fundamentally featured loyalty to each other and to the group. When Stalin came to power shortly after the demise of Lenin, one of his priorities was to crush down on the thieves and to end this activity. Consequently, he ordered the execution of criminals and political opponents who were considered a threat to the security of Russia. During the World War Two, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union giving rise to desperation for men to join the war and save the nation. Prisoners were released and immediately ordered to join the army. Many people came together to help in the war. This, however, was a contravention with the thieves’ code of conduct which stipulated that the thieves were not required to get involved with government authorities. When the war was over, Stalin sent the criminals back to the prison. Those who refused to lend their services during the war were referred to as ‘bitches’. They, therefore, found themselves landing at the bottom of the hierarchy in Russia. The “bitches” got bitter and isolated themselves from the rest of the society and formed their own groups and power bases. They also collaborated with the prison officials thereby getting themselves in certain luxurious conditions. Bitterness between the groups erupted giving rise to wars from 1945-1953[Wil01]. The officials in charge of the prisons encouraged the violence since they wanted to get rid of the criminals out of the prisons. After Stalin’s death, about 8million prisoners were released. This was a real recipe for criminal activity. Criminology was rejuvenated in Russia, and it took a whole new turn. Again, between 1970 and 1980, the America expanded its immigration policies. This gave room for the entry of criminals and Soviet Jews to get into the Country[Ada03]. With the disintegration of the USSR, emergence of the free market economy, organized criminal groups began to take over the economy of Russia. Most ex-soldiers of Afghan war offered the many needed skills to committing crimes. At the dawn of the 21st Century, the Russian Mafia has remained alive and intact. New bosses of the mafia have since come up. The former bosses who were poisoned have been released. Marat Balagula and Vyacheslav Ivankov, for instance, were released in 2004. Around the world, the network of the Mafia has spread. They are said to have dominated many areas. By 2009, it was estimated that the mafia had occupied over 50 countries. By 2010, they had over 300000 members[Gen10]. The Russian Mafia’s Criminal Organization In early 1993, the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Russia reported the existence of over 500 criminal groups that were operating in Russia. The groups were comprised of over 100000members, and each group had leadership of about 18000 members[Gen101]. A model of structure of the criminal organizations has been identified. In this model, the principle is to keep the other cells that could lead to the identification of the group at a minimum. Each group had a boss known as “pakhan” who controlled four criminal cells through a brigadier. The boss employed two spies whose main role was to watch over the actions of the brigadier. As such, the brigadier was not expected to know whom his spies were. This was meant to make the brigadier loyal to the boss. Loyalty is seen as very fundamental in any criminal activity and induces discipline in the organization. Moreover, having the spies was also meant to ensure that the brigadier did not become more powerful than the boss. At the bottom of the cells were criminal cells, which had specializations in various criminal activities and functions. These activities and functions included drugs, political contracts and enforcers and even prostitution. A similar structure placed the elite leadership at the top and buffers it by support and the security personnel from the street operators who were involved in the criminal activities. It is interesting to note that these street operators are not privy to the knowledge or identification of the leadership. These structures mainly fell in the old style of Soviet criminal enterprises. With the changes of the criminal activity and groups in Russia, the structures have also changed. There was the thieves’ code of conduct or the thieves’ law. This law has continued to date. The members of a group were bound by 18 codes of conduct. In case any of these codes were contravened, the punishment was death[Ste112]. Most of the Russian mafias are well organized and have at their disposal very sophisticated equipment used to commit a crime. Such equipment includes the transport facilities used to make it easy to access their destination easily, computers, very good financial support and excellent counter intelligence network. As such, they are in the know about the happenings on the ground. They are, therefore, able to conduct their businesses smoothly and easily indeed. The groups are involved in activities such as the precious metals and raw materials smuggling, fraud, extortion, black marketing, drug trafficking and money laundering. The criminal’s code of conduct The Russian Mafias criminals are bound by a code of conduct to which each member must adhere strictly. Failure to follow these codes of conduct possibly leads to death. The codes of conduct include the following: Once a member joins the group, he/she is expected to forsake his family members including the immediate ones such as the mother, father, sisters or brothers. A member joining the criminal group, therefore, had to be ready to forget about the members of his family. Another important code of conduct for these criminals was that a member is not expected to have a family of his own. One is, therefore, forbidden to establish his own family whatsoever once he joins the group. This, however, did not prelude an individual member of the group from having a lover. The criminals are also not expected to do any other work apart from that which they are designed to do. Therefore, a criminal should not be a member of another organization. He has to express all his attention and focus to the group and nothing else. They have to earn a living only by means of criminal activity. Again, they are expected to assist the other members of the group, morally or materially. The members are also expected to keep secret any information regarding their activities. As such, they are not allowed whatsoever to reveal the whereabouts of hiding places, apartments and any information about their activity. The members of the group are also expected top bear to take the blame of each other in unavoidable circumstances such as when one is under investigation. He is strictly expected to take the blame of the other. They also have their own way of solving disputes. A member of the group should not at any time resist carrying out the punishment meted on a member who goes against the code of conduct[Rob09]. The members are also expected to have a good command of the criminal jargon. The members should also not gamble without having to cover for any losses incurred. Each of the members of the group is expected to be at the forefront in giving impeccable orientation to the new comers. They have to teach the beginners the ways of criminality. They are not expected to lose reasoning even under the influence of alcohol as such a member has to monitor how much alcohol he consumes, when and where. The members of the group must also have nothing to do with the authorities. They must also not take weapons from the hands of the authorities such as the military. The Balkan Organized Crime The Balkan organized crime is another internationally known criminal organization just like the Russian Mafia. The Balkan organized crimes became prominent in the chaos that followed the era of communism. The most notable event giving rise to this was the emergence of capitalism. The wars in the former Yugoslavia also contributed significantly to this organized crime. In the 21st Century, the organized crimes in the Balkans have accomplished empires like the Ottoman, the Roman. The empire of organized criminals employs a very contemporary incentive, the motive being profit making. They target enterprises such as women trafficking for sex, narcotic trafficking[Fra082]. To accomplish such tasks, the activities involve compulsion or even murder in case the victims happen to resist. In the past, there has constantly been smuggling and banditry in the Balkans. These have been celebrated in songs and legends such as tales. The banditry characterized by this organized criminals survived even during times of communism. The trafficking of narcotics from the poppy fields of Afghanistan existed even then. This was mainly under the Turkish entrepreneurs. With the fall of communist rule, there was the breakage of the strong border controls and defenses[Mat02]. There was also the virtual collapse of police forces and central authority. As a result, the forces of lawlessness sprung up. The criminal organizations targeted, not just the political but also law enforcing officials. The crumbling Balkan economies and breakdown of industrial enterprises brought with it massive unemployment and created a situation of desperation among men and women. At the time, the law enforcement authorities lacked the modern equipment that could have effectively been used to combat crime. There was massive shortage of modern techniques and technology, which could aid in this worthy course. For instance, sniffer dogs, x-ray devices, hand cuffs and flashlights were lacking. Cross border trafficking was, therefore, the order of the day. By all standards, the criminal activities of the Balkans are constantly spreading out. Some Balkan countries, however, deny the existence of the organized crimes yet it is real and requires to be addressed. Similarities between the Russian Mafia and Balkans The two international criminal organizations have some similarities even though they may be different in structure, composition and membership. First and foremost, the criminal activities of the two groups tend to be similar. Both the groups engage in drug trafficking, human trafficking especially women for sex. The two groups have evolved over time practicing crime, and engaging in similar activities. It is also important to note that the motivations for the formation of the two groups are more or less similar. The emergence of the groups was motivated by increasing rates of poverty brought about by political instability in the respective countries. The Russian Mafia for instance found a strong root from the invasion of Hitler which led to the prisoners being released to fight for the country. Besides, those who never participated in the war were branded ‘bitches’ bringing about the rivalry between the two groups. Releasing the criminals from the prison was a catalyst to crime given the then looming poverty in Russia following the wars. Similarly, the Balkan criminal activities were propelled by the crumbling of Balkan economies and breakdown of the industrial enterprises. This brought about immense poverty pushing people to committing crime. Bothe the groups were governed by a kind of code of conduct which the members had to adhere to. The codes of conduct were meant to instill discipline among the members and safeguard the interests of the entire groups. Through the strict adherence to their codes of conduct, they were able to conduct their criminal activities with a lot of ease and avoided the authorities. Both groups have strong intelligence in place to ensure that they are kept in the know about the happenings around. Besides, they are both equipped with weapons which aid them in committing a crime. They depend so much on the intelligence and equipment at their disposal to accomplish their missions of committing a crime. Moreover, both of the two criminal organizations have leaders at the top of the structure. The leaders are trusted with the duty of making the much needed and crucial decisions required to see to it that the activities are successful. The efforts to control both the Russian Mafia and the Balkan organized crimes have been hit by issues such as the bribery of the law enforcement agencies including the police officials. The governments in the respective countries where these organized criminal activities take place have also been seen to be more preoccupied with the stability of the economy and politics at the expense of curbing these vices. There has also been inadequate communication with the law enforcement agencies in other countries. As such, the activities have spread throughout many countries, and the number of members of the groups has increased significantly. High level of trade in arms may have also fundamentally contributed to the organized crimes witnessed by the two groups. Conclusion The Russian Mafia and other international criminal organizations such as the Balkans have come a long way and now utilize modern technologies and equipment to accomplish their mission. They have been involved in deadly criminal activities which have led to loss of lives and destabilizing the economies of the respective countries. They are structured in such a way as to enhance their activities and protect them from the law enforcement agencies. Bibliography Jos08: , (Serio 2008), Wil01: , (Williams and Vlassis 2001), Ada03: , (Hochschild 2003), Gen10: , (General Books LLC 2010), Gen101: , (General Books LLC 2010), Ste112: , (Mallory 2011), Rob09: , (Friedman 2009), Fra082: , (Shanty and Mishra 2008), Mat02: , (Berdal and Serrano 2002), Read More