The rise of the new Russian – or Eurasian – gangster
Forget about the tattooed, ex-gulag Russian gangster stereotype portrayed in Hollywood films, or the vory v zakone (‘thieves within the law’) mobster elite, once considered the “judges” of the criminal world. The new type of outlaw rising in Russia as well as in other post-soviets republics is essentially the criminal entrepreneur, the avtoritet gangster businessman, according to Mark Galeotti, professor at New York University (NYU). A leading expert on Russian organized crime, and author of the blog In Moscow’s Shadows, he spoke at NYU Prague last Tuesday, March 19, on the topic of Russian Organized Crime: the Myth, the Reality, the Threat. “The avtoritet wants to be invited to the ambassador’s reception, wants to be able to travel freely soContinue Reading