The Russian Mafia : Private Protection in a New Market Economy

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 the Russian 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 to forge 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 also provides a comparative study, making references to other Mafia (the Japanese Yakuza, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, American-Italian Mafia and the Hong Kong Triads). Frontmatter List of Figures (page xi) List of Tables (page xii) List of Russian Abbreviations and Acronyms (page xiii) Introduction (page 1) I. THE TRANSITION TO THE MARKET AND PROTECTION IN RUSSIA 1. The Transition to the Market (page 17) 2. The State as Supplier of Protection (page 37) 3. Varieties of Protectors (page 55) II. PRIVATE PROTECTION IN PERM 4. Searching for Protection (page 75) 5. The Contract and the Services (page 102) III. THE RUSSIAN MAFIA 6. The Mafia in Perm (page 123) 7. Mafia Ancestors: The vory-v-zakone, 1920s-1950s (page 145) 8. The Russian Mafia (page 167) Conclusion (page 187)

Challenging widely held views, this book presents a thorough account of the Russian Mafia. It charts the emergence of the group in the context of the transition to the market, the privatization of protection, and pervasive corruption. It includes 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 also provides a comparative study, making references to other Mafia, such as the Japanese Yakuza, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, and the American-Italian Mafia.

This volume brings together many prominent philosophical voices today focusing on issues of US Latinx and Latin American identities and feminist theory. As such, the essays collected here highlight the varied and multidimensional aspects of gender, racial, cultural, and sexual questions impacting US Latinx and Latin American communities today. The collection also highlights a number of important threads of analysis from fields as diverse as disability studies, aesthetics, literary theory, and pop culture studies Drawing on primary sources, this study challenges widely held views to chart the emergence of the Russian mafia in the context of the transition to the market, the privatisation of protection and pervasive corruption Drawing on primary sources, this study challenges widely held views to chart the emergence of the Russian mafia in the context of the transition to the market, the privatization of protection and pervasive corruption Our journey into the world of the Russian Mafia starts with a study of the transition from a state-run to a market economy. Federico Varese. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.