The Russian Mafia Private Protection in a New Market Economy

by Varese, Federico

• ISBN13: 9780198297369
• ISBN10: 019829736X
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780191522840
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-10-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

What is the Russian Mafia? This unique book thoroughly researches this question and challenges widely-held views. The author charts the emergence of the Russian Mafia in the context of the transition to the market, the privatization of protection and pervasive corruption. The ability of theRussian State to define property rights and protect contracts is compared to the services offered by fragments of the state apparatus, private security firms, ethnic crime groups, the Cossacks and the Mafia. Past criminal traditions, rituals and norms have been resuscitated by the Mafia of today toforge a powerful new identity and compete in a crowded market for protection. The book draws on and reports of undercover police operations, in-depth interviews conducted over several years with the victims of the Mafia, criminals and officials, and documents from the Gulag archives. It alsoprovides a comparative study, making references to other Mafia (the Japanese Yakuza, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, American-Italian Mafia and the Hong Kong Triads).

Author Biography

Federico Varese, Visiting Professor, Department of Political Science, Yale University.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	xi
List of Tables	xii
List of Russian Abbreviations and Acronyms	xiii
Introduction	1	(16)
I. THE TRANSITION TO THE MARKET AND PROTECTION IN RUSSIA
The Transition to the Market	17	(20)
The State as Supplier of Protection	37	(18)
Varieties of Protectors	55	(20)
II. PRIVATE PROTECTION IN PERM
Searching for Protection	75	(27)
The Contract and the Services	102	(21)
III. THE RUSSIAN MAFIA
The Mafia in Perm	123	(22)
Mafia Ancestors: The vory-v-zakone, 1920s--1950s	145	(22)
The Russian Mafia	167	(20)
Conclusion	187	(5)
Appendix A: Aliases in the Soviet and Russian Underworld	192	(10)
Appendix B: The Destination of the Soviet Elite in Perm	202	(4)
List of Respondents and Interview Content	206	(5)
Notes	211	(47)
Bibliography	258	(17)
Index	275