Author Description
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).
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates the emergence and operational mechanics of the Russian Mafia within the context of the country's transition to a market economy. Federico Varese, a scholar of organized crime, utilizes extensive field research to argue that the Mafia functions as a provider of private protection in an environment where the state fails to enforce property rights and contracts. By analyzing the intersection of corruption, privatization, and historical criminal traditions, the author provides a framework for understanding how these groups fill the institutional vacuum left by the collapse of the Soviet system.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of the transition from a command economy to a market economy in Russia
- Comparative studies of international criminal organizations including the Yakuza, Cosa Nostra, and Triads
- Examination of the role of private security firms and state apparatus fragments in contract enforcement
- Historical context regarding criminal traditions and Gulag-era norms
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide a comprehensive history of all Russian criminal activity outside of the protection market
- It does not offer policy solutions for the eradication of organized crime
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts frequently cite this work as a foundational text for understanding the economic logic behind organized crime in post-Soviet states. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which relies heavily on primary source interviews and archival documentation.
Page Count:
304
Publication Date:
2001-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191522848
ISBN-13:
9780191522840
History
Economics
Criminology
Russian History
European History
Organized Crime
Sociology
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