Top 10 Facts about the Russian Mafia

Top 10 Facts about the Russian Mafia

The Russian Mafia is one of the largest, deadliest, and most feared crime syndicates in the world. Its history, structure, and manner of operation have evolved, and as of 2012, there were over 6,000 crime groups, with over 200 operating across the globe. From the notable tattooed skins to the often well-built physiques, members of the Russian Mafia have often instilled fear in anyone in their path. The criminal activities involved range from drug trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, money laundering, and gambling, name it. The organizational structure of mafia groups will often vary, but there’s a degree of similarity between the Russian and Italian mafia. This article explores 10 facts about the Russian Mafia, and we also mention some of the notable individual figures in the criminal underworld. Take a look!

1. Origins of Russian criminality are traceable to the Imperial Period

The Russian Empire ran from the 1720s until its collapse and establishment of the Soviet Union. The majority of the citizenry were peasants, often poor and economically disfavored. Mostly in forms of thievery and banditry, organized crime sprouted in the society, with bands stealing from the rich, and ruling class and some sharing profits with the poor. The bands of thieves and other criminals as such were viewed as Robin Hoods of the day. A ‘thieves’ world’, or what the Russians call the Vorovskoy Mir emerged, and criminal groups with particular codes of conduct began to form. These would later gain prominence and intense seriousness at the advent of the Soviet era.

2. The Gulags became a breeding ground for criminal elites

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Around 1917, the Russian Empire fell by the sword of the Bolshevik Revolution, and the Soviet era was soon in place.  Vladimir Lenin had been at the forefront of the revolution, and he became the leader of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1922 and the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. After his death, Joseph Stalin succeeded him. All through the regimes, the Thieves’ World continued to thrive, especially given the chaotic state the changes had stirred. Throughout Stalin’s reign, millions were sent to Gulags or forced labor camps. These had been previously set up by Lenin. The Gulags were a common destination for all sorts of convicts, from petty thieves to political prisoners. It was within this setting that criminals rose through the ranks in the prisons, cementing their positions of power. The organization of crime became more defined, and an aggressive sense of defiance against the law and legitimate power thrived.

Check out the 15 Must-Watch Russian Mafia Movies.

3. The honor code for Thieves-in-Law was followed in prisons

The term thief-in-law, or vory v zakone, emerged in the Soviet era, within the Gulags’ setting. Thieves-in-law had powerful positions as leaders of prison groups in the labor camps. To earn this title, one had to prove themselves worthy of it and maintain a set of conduct. The honor code that had previously existed became more defined and strictly adhered to. There was a particular lifestyle or ‘ponyatiya’ for prison inmates or criminal groups in the camps. Some of the rules included having no wife or children, retaining secret information about fellow criminals from law enforcement, refraining from serving in the military, keeping promises made to fellow criminals, and having effective command of the group among others. Over time, this honor code has evolved and become eroded to some extent, as the dynamics of the underworld have changed.

4. The Vory tattoos and their significance

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Tattoos were a big deal back in the day when the criminal elite reorganized themselves in the Gulags and other settings during the Soviet and early post-Soviet eras. The Vory, or thieves in law, used tattoos as a form of identification and even a sense of pride or achievement for some. Tattoos were thus a mark of the Vor, and each mark bore a specific meaning. Some would indicate how many prisons a person had been moved to, the number of sentences they had served, whether they worked alone or had partners, kills made, a previously held position or profession, and pretty much anything else relevant in marking a Vor’s journey in the underworld. Often, these tattoos were drawn by fellow Vors, and a criminal could get into trouble for having a tattoo not deserved. The tattoo culture has, over the years, faded away, although not entirely.

5. Stalin deployed Russian criminals in prison to fight in World War II

U.S. Signal Corps photo., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

At the height of World War II, Stalin was faced with the inevitable; a German invasion of the Soviet Union.  In recruiting more men in the Soviet army, he brokered a deal with convicts in the Gulags, offering them freedom after the war if they agreed to join the war on the Eastern Front. These convicts included the hard-core criminals whose honor code of the Vor prohibited them from joining forces with the government. Accepting Stalin’s offer would thus be a violation of the code. However, thousands agreed to fight in the Soviet army for their freedom after the war. Stalin, however, did not keep his end of the bargain after the war, and those who had survived death on the battlegrounds were soon hauled back to prison.

Have a look at Top 10 Things to Know about the Soviet Union during World War II.

6. Criminals who fought in the war were labeled traitors of the honor code

The Vor’s honor code prescribed zero tolerance for the law or anything to do with the government. Joining the army was therefore a clear violation of this, and those who had accepted Stalin’s offer were viewed as outright traitors. While they had hoped that after the war they’d be free as Stalin had promised, their expectation was curtailed almost immediately when Stalin reneged on his promise. Their return to prison after the war meant that they were going back to a place where they would not be accepted by those they had previously left behind.

Stalin’s failure to keep his promise would mark one of the bloodiest eras of Russian organized crime, as the now-returned prisoners were labeled traitors for having worked for the government. The Suki Wars were on. The Suki or traitors were systematically killed for their betrayal and treason, and although specific numbers of deaths remain unknown, it is widely speculated that the toll could be in the thousands. Prison guards let it all pan out without doing much to stop the violence, seeing it as a quick method to reduce the overflowing prison populations.

7. Russian organized crime infiltrated the U.S in the 1970s & 80s

The United States has almost, always been at the intersection of organized crime’s pathways at the international level. The history of Russian organized crime in the U.S. features several names, and perhaps one of the most infamous is Vyacheslav Ivankov. The Russian gangster set camp in the country, around Brighton Beach in 1992 before creating an international network of criminal operations with other mafias. However, before his arrival, Russian crime groups such as Monya Elson’s Brigada had been operating in Los Angeles and New York. There was Boris Nayfield too, another Russian mobster, and Balagula. Criminal activities carried out ranged from money laundering to narcotics, prostitution, and loan sharking.

Read also; 10 Things to Know about Black Organized Crime in the U.S. From the 1920s until now.

8.  Vyacheslav ‘Yaponchik’ Ivankov built a criminal empire in North America

Ivankov was a Russian mafia boss and thief-in-law who operated in Russia, before infiltrating the United States in the 1990s. Yaponchik, a nickname he earned, translates to Little Japanese. This is due to his near-Asian-looking facial appearance. Growing up in Moscow, he was an amateur wrestler, before turning to crime by selling goods in the black market. He soon got involved in gangs, forging police documents to enter houses and steal. During his stay in Butyrka prison in 1974, he earned the title of the thief in law.  He was again arrested in 1982 for drug trafficking but was released in 1991.

Ivankov moved to the U.S in 1992. By then, he had become known as one of the most brutal Russian gangsters. In a year, he had established an international network of criminal activity, forming relations with the American Mafia and the Colombian drug cartels. His operations included narcotics, prostitution, extortion, and money laundering. 

He was arrested by the FBI on June 8, 1995, and charged with extortion of $ 2.7 million. He was then deported to Russia on July 13, 2004, to face murder charges of two Turkish nationals. Ivankov was found not guilty of all charges and acquitted. He’d later be shot on July 28, 2009, in Moscow, succumbing to the gunshot wounds 73 days later. His funeral got worldwide attention, and hundreds of gangsters were in attendance.

Read more on; 10 Things to Know about the American Mafia.

9. The collapse of the USSR saw an increase in Russian organized crime

A free market economy emerged with the collapse of the Soviet Union, and numerous State-owned enterprises were privatized in the majority of the post-Soviet countries. Amidst the chaos in the reorganization of governance post the USSR regime, everything was up for grabs, and the criminal groups found a niche in all these. Forceful acquisition of lucrative assets, use of bribes, intimidation, and violence to take over new markets were common, and at criminal world seemed to be running the game.  Businessmen paid criminal gangs for protection, while others hired contract killers to check the competition. Corrupt police doubled as protection rackets for powerful capitalists, and crime became a way of maintaining order and running the system, ironically. It’s estimated that there were over 5,000 crime groups in Russia as of 1993.

10. Semion Mogilevich; The untouchable Russian mobster to date

Federal Bureau of Investigation, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

The allegation that some of the most powerful gangsters have ties with government leaders who in turn offer them protection is plausible. For Semion Mogilevich, this argument has come up severally as an explanation as to why he is still roaming free in Russia despite being considered by the FBI as the ‘most powerful and dangerous gangster in the world’. ‘Boss of all bosses’, is the other title he’s earned for running most Russian Mafia syndicates. He is believed to have connections to prominent government, military, and law enforcement officials around the world, and has been accused of weapon trafficking, extortion, narcotics, and contract murders. His multi-billion dollar criminal empire is one of the largest, most powerful Russian crime syndicates.

While several commentators have argued that Russian organized crime is not as intense as it was a decade ago, it’s undeniable that the underworld holds some of the most powerful Russian mobsters after all these years. Operation of crime has diversified, and a leaning towards white-collar crimes such as hacking and fraud is prevalent. One thing is hardly debatable though; that the Russian mafia remains one of the most powerful players in the underworld.

See the 10 Most Famous Mafia Gangsters of All Time.