Organized crime in Russia in the 1990s: from the "red mafia" to the dominance of "authorities"

Abstract

Purpose of this article is to show the place and role of organized crime in the life of Russia in the post-Soviet period of history. The main characteristics of the new stage of the development of antisocial activity are revealed, when in the 1990s, criminals managed not only to reach the level of decision-making, but also to secure an almost dominant position in the life of Russian society in all its spheres. Preceding the disclosure of the actual negative rebirth of Russian society, the author considered it necessary to show his general condition by the beginning of the 1990s, when it was in a state of social catastrophe. The processes of collapse of industrial and agricultural production, a decrease in the volume of gross national product, which was unprecedented in their scale for peacetime, are revealed. Emphasis is also placed on the mass impoverishment of a significant number of individuals, which greatly contributed to the criminalization of social relations, the increase in anti-social sentiments, and the increase in crime, including in its organized forms. For the first time after the Great Patriotic War, many street children reappeared in the country. The course of the so-called privatization is also analyzed in this regard, when the criminal social world secured the seizure of many key property objects, entire sectors of the country's national economy. There is a huge increase in corruption manifestations, merging some of the employees of the management apparatus with criminal elements. The growth of separatism is recorded, which is largely due to the fact that many regional officials openly interacted with criminality. A relatively new phenomenon in the life of society is shown – organized sportsmanship, which meant the training of crime fighters in various sections, mainly engaged in different types of martial arts.