russian criminal

The Russian criminal brotherhood.

You may have heard of them "The Russian mafia". Which is a very rough simplification - the New Russians, roughly synonymous with modern Russian organized crime don't really uphold the old-timey codes and traditions, while the old-school gangsters can't really form proper organized crime gangs precisely because of these rules...

Ok, let's back this one up a bit. The old fashioned Russian criminals are unlike the Mafia in so far as they aren't organized in families or clans (ethnic criminal groups possibly excepted). They are alike in so far as they are all supposed to follow the criminal code. In fact, hierarchy is rather diffuse - but all too pervasive. You may not be member of a particular organization, you may not have a "rank", but whenever you arrive in a new town, you are expected to arrange a meeting with the locals, give them an idea as to what kind of "specialist" you are, and prove that you know and respect the unwritten rules - "the understandings" that were reached over the decades. There is a fairly large and inflexible code of thief conduct - but please abandon any ideas about noble or honorable thieves (even though that's one possible translation of what they call themselves). Like all criminal codes, it's mostly concerned with butchering shearing the sheep and keeping the peace amongst the wolves. A criminal who is never caught breaking the code, and puts in his time, may become a "Thief in Law" - often translated as a "Godfather" equivalent. But a "Vor v Zakone" may not lead a large gang or even have any "proper" subordinates (again, a different and more diffuse hierarchy) - he is merely a particularly respected member of the underworld community. You can even buy this rank, though such a title will only carry certain formal privileges, rather than proper authority.

If there is a certain positive side to the code, it is the prejudice against casual murder. A man who resorts to wet-work for no good reason may be feared, but not respected. It only takes so much mindless killing to be labelled as one "frozen solid" - an outlaw among outlaws, a man who respects neither the law of the state nor that of criminals. Immoral and depraved even by underworld standards, such a man is guided only be immediate greed, and may well be hunted down by his former comrades for their own safety. Kinda like The Beast in VTM, when you think about it.

Beyond the obvious and expected aspects of that code, the most striking aspect is probably the fact that an "honest" thief can't ever cooperate with The State. No, I said beyond the obvious. When interrogated by a representative of The State (whether a policeman, a psychiatrist or a social worker equivalent), he is obliged to declare himself a thief (a synecdochic signifier in criminal culture which encompasses any number of criminal paths), proclaim his indomitable hatred for The State, and refuse to answer further questions. He never registers with the state in any capacity, nor signs any documents - he cannot obtain a legal dwelling in his own name, get married or have a proper job, even as a cover. When in jail, he cannot be a part of the penal labor force, regardless of the repercussions (though in a "well run" jail, the "professional" criminals, as opposed to the civilians who went to jail for a single offense, will not be asked to work by the prison administration to begin with). An illustrative anecdote - if a previously "honest" thief is asked to ring a bell in order to announce that dinner is served, the moment his hand grasps the bell, he is a "bitch", a collaborator with the authorities, and his end will be swift and merciless.

During WWII The Great Patriotic War, when it looked as though Russia may be overwhelmed and wiped out, a great thieves meeting was called, where many members argued for suspending their struggle against the state for the duration of the war. Though the assembly at large decided against it, many a professional criminal went out and signed up for the army - used to form the penal battalions which would "wipe away their shame with blood". Their own blood, for the most part, as the penal battalions would naturally be used to attack the most dangerous spots, and would be shot if they tried to run. Still, quite a few survived and even prospered - apparently some criminal skills and luck actually made them into exemplary fighting men. After the end of the war, these (often highly decorated) veterans weren't really trained in a proper profession (and of course, many of them had no desire to work for a living regardless), and soon wound up right back in jail. This marked the beginning of the "bitch" wars, where the "honest" thief population eventually exterminated the "traitors".

Guess what broke down in the 90's? If you've been following my posts, you'll know that the answer is "everything". The criminal code included. You can't have an organized crime... err... organization... if you're not cooperating with the state. You can't call yourself "a legitimate businessman" if you can't even pretend to be an honest worker. You can't maintain a disdain for murder when contract killings are the usual way of settling business disagreements. A great many of the New Russians who rose to short prominence were bright university kids who cooperated with or employed former military or security personnel (all anathema to the old-schoolers) and made cash hand over fist (for the short time they had at the top before a rival disposed of them). Being a "frozen" criminal who utterly disregarded the old ways and killed indiscriminately was the shortest path to success.

Though the wild days of the 90's are behind us, and most of the criminal class from that days are resting in their graves / parliament seats, I doubt that the code will ever be reestablished in a meaningful way. It's far too restrictive, even for the new authoritarian Russia.