Guide Note

The Russian mafia is a wide-reaching, transnational crime syndicate that emerged after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Fast Facts

Estimated 8,000 groups (each with up to 1,000 members) in Russia during the mid-1990s¹
Controls an estimated 40% of Russian private companies¹
Also known as: Red Mafia, the Organizatsiya, the Organization
Many ex-KGB members joined the mafia after fall of Soviet Union¹
Billions of dollars laundered in foreign banks¹
Brighton Beach in Brooklyn is the center of Russian mafia in America²
Mafia operates in 50 countries²
Semyon Mogilevich, one of the top Russian mafia bosses of the world, was arrested in January 25, 2008³

Paying the Mafia for a Mammoth?

In 2006, a Korean scientist was indicted for fraud when it was revealed that he secretly used research funding to buy woolly mammoth tissues from the Russian mafia. Hwang Woo-suk said he was trying to clone the ancient, extinct animal.⁴

Categories

News | Groups and Organizations | Russia | Crime | Organized Crime

View Note History

Russian Mafia

The Mahalo Top 7

Wikipedia: Russian Mafia
American Russian Law Institute: Russian Organized Crime
Federation of American Scientists: Russian Organized Crime
Southern Methodist University: The Russian Mob: Organized Crime in a Fledgling Democracy (2006)
MSNBC: Korea Scientist Paid Russia Mafia for Mammoth (October 24, 2006)
CBS News: Russian Mafia's Worldwide Grip (July 21, 2000)
BBC News: So Who Are the Russian Mafia? (April 1, 1998)

Russian Mafia News

BBC News: Russian Mafia
Jerusalem Post: "Nudelman Urged to Help Immigrant Victims of Sex Trade" (December 11, 2007)
Agence France-Presse: "McEnroe Fears Mafia Infiltrating Tennis" (December 7, 2007)
Telegraph: "McEnroe: 'Russian Mafia Could be Involved'" (December 6, 2007)
Expatica: "Politician Fails to Appear in Court on Mafia Link Charges" (November 21, 2007)

Russian Mafia Background and Articles

Cybercrime

NetworkWorld: "Kasperskys on Cybercrime: Don't Blame the Russian Mafia..." (February 1, 2007)
University of North Carolina: "How Cyberspace May Affect the Structure of Criminal Relationships" (2002)
Florida State University: "Russian Mafia Threatens Net" (2001)

Activities in the United States

FBI: Eurasian Organized Crime
Federation of American Scientists: "Implications for U.S. International Law" (1996)
SGR MacMillian: "Russian Organized Crime" (1996)

Transnational Crime

George Mason University: Transnational Organized Crime
Mama Coca: "The Russian Mafia in Latin America and the Caribbean" (2001)
BBC News: "How Russia's Mafia is Taking Over Israel's Underworld" (1998)
Asia Pacific Media Services: "The Russian Mafia in Asia" (1996)

Involvement with Hockey

PBS: "Mafia Power Play" (1999)
Sports Illustrated: "Russia Mafia Extortion in NHL More Extensive" (1997)
New York Times: "Russian Crime Groups Harassing Expatriates" (1993)
playthegame: The Russian Mafia and Hockey

In Pop-Culture

Mahalo's Guide to Eastern Promises
Wikipedia: The Russian Mafia in Popular Culture
IMDb: Russian Mafia Movies

Russian Mafia Notable Figures

Marat Balagula

Wikipedia: Marat Balagula
American Mafia: "Russian Jewish Organized Crime" (2007)
Telegraph: "Two-Buck Ride to Russia" (2005)
News 8 Austin: "Russian Mobster to be Released" (2004)
Fraud Digest: Tax Evasion Marat Balagula (1994)

Vitali Dyomochka

Wikipedia: Vitali Dyomochka
American Mafia: "Russian Mafia Boss 'Stars' In Real-Life TV Crime Show" (2005)
Telegraph: "Mobster Turns From Gunning Down Rivals to Shooting TV Series" (2004)

Solntsevskaya Bratva

Wikipedia: Solntsevskaya Bratva and Semion Mogilevich
International Herald Tribune: "Doubts About Gas Deal Quickly Flare" (2006)
BBC News: "The Billion Dollar Don" (1999)
Village Voice: "The Most Dangerous Mobster in the World" (1998)

Izmaylovskaya Gang

Wikipedia: Izmaylovskaya Gang
Spiegel Online: "Germany Puts Suspected Russian Mafia Boss on Trial" (2007)
Radio Free Europe: "New Accusations Emerge in Ukrainian Journalist's Murder" (2006)

Russian Mafia Videos and Media

YouTube: Russian Mafia Arrested in Brooklyn New York (Time 00:18)
Google Video: Police Operation After Underworld Convention (Time 01:08)
Google Image Search: Russian Mafia
Yahoo! Image Search: Russian Mafia
Live Search Images: Russian Mafia

Russian Mafia Commentary and Criticism

Harvard University: "The Russian Mafia: Do Rational Choice Models Apply?"(2002) (116KB)
NCJRS: "Challenging the Russian Mafia Mystique" (2001) (329KB)
MarxMail: "Organized Crime and the Former Soviet Union" (1999)
Stanford University: "The Red Mafia: A Legacy of Communism" (1995)
Personal Site: "The Sexy Russian Mafia" (1986)

Russian Mafia Blogs and Message Boards

Redcat's Boards: Russian Mafia 'in Fake Bank Sites'
Tennis.com Message Boards: McEnroe worried over "Russian mafia types"!!!
Switched: Malicious Websites Trick Google, Infect Computers" (November 30, 2007)
The Daily Mail: Madonna Living in Fear Over Russian Mafia Death Threats (2006)

Russian Mafia Timeline

1917: Thief in Law, or skilled thieves, begin to occupy an important place in society
1945-1953: Many professional Russian criminals are killed in the Suka Wars
1970: The Soviet Union Soviet Union begins encouraging emmigration
1990: During the economic turmoil caused by the fall of the Soviet Union, organized crime rings form
1992-1994: The Russian Mafia take control of the Russian banking system
1993-1995: 95 Russian bankers are murdered during the Mafia's takeover
1995: The Russian Mafia begins expansion into foreign Russian communities

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