Organized Crime And The Russian Mafia

The Russian Mafia can be traced back to the Time Russia was named the Soviet Union. (A.K.A. USSR) You could say it dates back to Imperial Russia. When Kings ruled and Peasants worked, but this could not be considered organized. As it was only an act of rebellion towards the state. During World War one and World War two the Red Flag is born. In the future they are taking what they want, but not only do they want money. They want power.

They are born into violence and death, keep that in mind when we speak of their crimes. Russia had the largest death count of World War two, for proof. The Russian people have no money, they start to become hungry. If they do not wish to gain money the legal way what are they going to do if they do not hold power? The first thing any criminal would do is use force. The Russians are not afraid to be violent. It’s all they ever knew. The reason there is a global significance in organized crime is because of immigration. Most / some Russians wanted to live in America because they wanted to live the American dream. Which is how most foreign countries view America. We focus on specific Countries as Russia because with the future rise in power the wealthy ones will be able to get into the United States. Other Russians either stay in Russia or they return to Russia after they have been to America. Immigration is when it becomes our problem, America’s problem. When the Russian Mafia arrive in America some of them bring their crimes as well. Although in Yuri’s journal he states “The authors conclude that Soviet emigres currently do not constitute an organized crime threat to the United States. Although increased immigration and new criminal opportunities may change the nature of emigre crime, it is unlikely that it will evolve into a true mafia.” Who knows how much of this is true because what if the Mafia sees more opportunity in America? Maybe they have, only they decided to go legit in America and start a new life.

The method the Russian Mafia uses to gain money almost always harms other people. If you think about the crimes they commit that include; drug trafficking, human trafficking, scams, fraud, and murder. They all harm other people so that the Mafia can gain either money, or power. Although murder can also be related to rival Mafia families. What most people don’t realize is how harmful drug trafficking can be to people. You might as well consider drug trafficking murder. What most people imagine when they hear drug trafficking is producer man selling to consumer, but what they do not realize is when the consumer uses the product they become addicted. Most people who become addicted die of the drug. After realizing this it is terrible. Now imagine very large amounts of drugs being shipped overseas in shipping containers. That is the kind of drug trafficking I am speaking of when I speak about the Russian Mafia. Now imagine those drugs being shipped to, for example New York. That amount of drugs could easily destroy any city. If that were to be imported into New York it will not only have people selling it around the streets, it will also have thousands of people addicted. Also think about how long the drugs will be around because as long as there is a consumer there will be a producer. “Today’s Russian emigre criminals are entrepreneurs and scam artists. For example, insurance frauds and bootleg gasoline tax frauds are specialties. The actual and potential illegal markets available do not lend themselves to domination by Russians.” Most human trafficking crimes by the Red Mafia is involved in prostitution. “Evidence of control by Russian criminal organizations over drugs, gambling, and prostitution-for example, in Brighton Beach, where such control would be most likely-has yet to be found.” Scams and fraud are committed by the Russian Mafia most commonly through cybercrime. (On the internet.) Any of these crimes can affect us directly but also indirectly because they can affect people we know. I am not speaking about the Russian Mafia busting open your door to kill you, I am speaking about you getting scammed when you roam the internet or buy something from a vendor that might not be completely legit. The Russian Mafias crimes become indirect towards you when let’s say for example drugs are imported into the city you live in and it has people selling them and consuming them. It can affect you family and friends, in that situation specifically you would be surrounded by it. Only if you do not mess with it then you are not being directly affected. Mainly because of the advancement of technology and more people using the internet now instead of stores, cybercrime has been a huge income for the Russian Mafia. “In 2013, the Russian cybercrime industry made at least $1.9 billion dollars. Russian-speaking countries also contribute significantly to overall cybercrime. Much of the crime is attributable to organized groups, such as the Russian Mafia.” The estimated total net worth of the Russian Mafia is $19 billion dollars. (USD) Almost $2 billion of that is made by their cybercrime alone. (These numbers are estimates, they could be more. Who knows.) Russia’s main income comes from drug trafficking although I could not find any estimated numbers for the value of income.

Taking down the Russian Mafia has been a very difficult task both for the United States and Russia. The Russian Mafia is very tricky. You see, other Mafias have families, the Russian Mafia has no known families. “The authors argue that the Mafia-Russian or otherwise-exists neither in the United States nor in Russia. Russian emigre crime must be distinguished from ordinary criminal activities, even highly organized ones, and true organized crime. Unlike the classic Mafia, the Russian Mafia is not hierarchical, nor can one identify ‘families’ that have continuity over time and engage in multiple criminal activities. Further, unlike the classic mafia, the Russian Mafia in the United States is not focused on protection rackets. Although highly organized and complex crimes are committed in the United States by Russians, this is not organized crime in the strict sense of the definition.” The Russians are hard to identify and hard to catch. The way the government take them out is by eliminating crime bosses and leaders. This way whoever works for them will have no one to report to, but even in this case only one arrest will not lead to another. Unless guilty by affiliation, their will be another man waiting to rise in power. With other Mafias once the government have caught one crime they connect it to the entire family. Then at that point the entire family is at risk, and or wanted. Another way the United States eliminates the problem is by eliminating it before it even begins. They do this by immigration control. As I explained earlier, Russians rise in Russia then come to America or they come to America to rise. The United States will stop them from coming in and therefore letting it become someone else’s problem. Although this method is not a great solution considering that Russian can still connect, for example, drug deals to America. They would not have to be a United States Citizen to be able to import drugs to them. At that point it is a problem between America and Russia because the United States would not be able to arrest a Russian citizen.

To conclude this topic Russians lived the lifestyles of criminal to become legitimate successful people. Some of them still have a criminal mentality. The Russian Mafia is worth billions now. Not only do they make money from crimes, but they also make money from businesses. Some Russian people are entrepreneurs