NCJ Number
154896
Journal
Low Intensity Conflict and Law Enforcement Volume: 3 Issue: 2 Dated: (Autumn 1994) Pages: 368-377
Date Published
1994
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A 134-item bibliography presents research literature on organized crime in the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe.
Abstract
The sources listed cover the time frame 1990 through April 1994 and are divided into three sections. Section I lists citations that deal specifically with the Russian Federation; Section II concerns organized crime activities in Eastern Europe, and Section III lists citations concerning Russian organized crime activities in the United States. Within each section the sources are listed in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent citations are prominently displayed. In a summary of some of the research, the introduction to the bibliography notes that organized crime, although a significant phenomenon in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe before the collapse of communism, has become a monumental force in this region and beyond as borders have opened up and former societal constraints under the old regimes disappeared. Police in Russia estimate that about 3,000 organized crime groups, allied into about 150 confederations, now exist and that half of the country's banks and real estate are mafia-owned. These groups control not only traditional criminal activities such as drug trafficking, prostitution, extortion, loan sharking, black marketing, etc., but also other spheres of influence; for example, estimates show that 40,000 state-run and private companies are controlled by the crime syndicates in Russia. Russian organized crime is also operating in an estimated 30 countries, including the United States.