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The Russian Mafia: History, Structur­e, Symbols

1.299 Words / ~6 pages sternsternsternsternstern Author Dennis S. in Mar. 2018
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Mafia















































The RUSSIAN MAFIA







by



History:

The origin of the Russian mafia can be found back in 1700 in the USSR. The criminals were stealing from the government divided the goods amongst the folks, who were mostly just peasants. Therefore the thieves earned a Robin-Hood-like status and were celebrated as heroes. Their code of conduct required strict loyalty towards each other; besides, it was forbidden to work with or for the government. Whoever does not stick to the code is considered a traitor.

During Stalins reign many of the criminals were imprisoned in the gulags (Soviet labor camps). Powerful mobsters climbed the ladder to become vory v zakone (literally: thieves in law). After Hitlers invasion in the USSR Stalin needed more soldiers, so he decided to free the prisoners, if they were willing to join his forces. However, only few confirmed his offer and those who did not were freed after the war (around 8 million). A new code established: everyone fights for himself. Cooperation with the government is still not gladly seen, but acceptable after all.

Between 1980 and 1990 the first expansion to the US took place as the “Potato Bag Gang” occurred in America, since then the expansion took its course. In 1992 the USSR collapsed and more or less a war between the gangs breaks out, many leaders are murdered and assassinated. In may in 1995 a mass arrest of powerful gang members. Today the Russian mafia has spread over 50 countries and has around 300 000 members outside of the former USSR (3.3 million total ). It is considered one of the most dangerous and violent gangs in the world.



700 stole from government, give people robin hood status folk heroes code of conduct strict loyalty stalin reign many imprisoned gulags (Soviet labor camps) vory v zakone ("thieves-in-law"). wanted them to fight in war after war 8 million freed new code everyone for himself 1970 1980 first expansion to US first leader Evsei Agron 1992 USSR collapse more orless war between gangs may 1995mass arrest 2009 50 countries 2010 300000 members





Structure:

The organization of the Bratva is unlike other gangs highly decentralized. The Russian mafia is devided up into 10 Brigades, that operate rather autonomous. Its resources though are pooled together and controlled by 12 councillors to ensure, that none of the brigades become too powerful.

The boss of the gang is called Pakhan; he controls everything. His closest advisors and most trusted people are the Sovietnik.

The Kassir can be compared to the underboss in other gangs. He is the bookmaker and bribes the government and uses the money for the good of the mafia.

Two Spies watch over the Brigades to keep peace between them and to have a care that no one becomes too powerful.

A Brigadier controls a group of men and has to pay tribute to the Pakhan. The crew of a Brigadier is a Brigade and contains the following positions:

Boeviks are the main force of the mafia, they find and recruit new members. Of course they have to pay tribute to the Brigadier. The recruits are split up in three types:

Krysha is an extremely violent soldier and is often used to protect a business from other gangs.

A Torpedo is simply an assassin

Bykis are often used as bodyguards. Their name literally means “bulls”.

The Shestyorka (also called the six) is pretty much the lowest position in the mafia. New members are positioned here to earn respect. They hardly ever take part in the main action, but stand on the lookout or operate as bodyguards.

Fun fact: The name Shestyorka comes from the lowest rank in a 36 playing card deck – the six.

The criminals with the highest reputation are the Vors (thieves in law). Their code of conduct is really strict, they support each other and the most important thing for them is their honor. Their word is law for their subordinates.





Reasons people join gangs:

First of all, there are some factors, that might increase the chance, that a person joins a gang. Some of these reasons are family problems, early failure in school or a bad social network. The most new members are teenagers from poor areas, but there are people joining from stable family environments too. The reasons to join a gang may vary, but here are the most common ones listed:

  • A lack of attention at home or the attempt to escape a negative home life to feel a sense of family

  • Gangs often show themselves as the place to go for people who miss the basic essentials. They represent food, clothing and shelter for all the members and use affiliation to sell drugs and for auto theft.

  • In unsafe areas people join gangs to protect themselves from those same gangs. It might sound confusing at first but it is often easier join a gang, than to be vulnerable to it.

  • Some might also do it for the excitement or to appear cool in front of their fellows. Gangs have mastered the art of manipulation they appear to have the perfect lifestyle.

  • Young people are especially responsive to peer pressure, so they join a gang just to fit in.



    Typical activities:

    The Russian mafia is estimated to be not the most powerful, but the most aggressive and dangerous gang in the world. It is extremely notorious for torture, arson, bombing, terrorism, murder and will kill anybody who stands in its way. Moreover the mafia is primarily involved in weapon trafficking, human trafficking, sex trafficking, drug trafficking, forced and non forced prostitution, pornography, extortion, wildlife smuggling and smuggling in general.

    Personal comment:

    First and foremost I would like to point out, that I have learned much new through my research to this topic. There were many interesting things to find out – like the code of conduct for thieves in the law or the whole genesis of the mafia. Most interesting I found was the complex structure of the gang, but I was surprised that the Russian mafia is no “big mafia” but more like a large amount of smaller gangs that bundle up their resources to form a criminal superpower. Furthermore I was shocked about how much power the mafia has on the Russian government and that it even has members in important positions of the authority.

    I was really astonished by the fact, that the mafia makes a vast majority of its money through legitimate business than through selling drugs or prostitution, it is said, that these gangs control over 40 000 companies all over the world, but of course one cannot verify this statement.



    Symbols:

    The Russian mafia mainly uses tattoos to communicate each other their rank or the crimes they committed. The gang members get their tattoos mostly in prison, the inmates use a modified razor and some needles and ink for the process. It is much more painful and dangerous, than getting a normal tattoo. Of course the hygiene in prisons is neglected, so one can get many diseases like syphilis, AIDS or tetanus. Here are some of the most common symbols:



    The Skull and the bones on the shoulders show, that the inmate serves a life sentence. The girl on his left forearm that catches its dress with the fishing rod is used to mark rapists.















    A dagger through the throat means that the tattooed murdered someone in prison and is willing to assassinate again. The number of the drops of blood show how many kills the inmate has committed already.





    A snake around the neck stands for drug addiction. The









    Epaulettes on the shoulders show disrespect for the government and mean: “No one can force me to work” or “Horses die from work” . There can be either stars or skulls on them.













    The two devil-heads on the shoulders represent hatred towards the government, the tattoo is known as “smirk”- you show the system your teeth.









    A rose on the breast of an inmate means, that he turned 18 in prison.



































    Ethnic origin

    Typical activities

    Symbols

    Clothes, colours















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