View source for Russian mafia

{{Short description|Umbrella term for Russian organized crime groups}}
{{Distinguish|Gopnik}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox criminal organization
| name = Russian mafia
| native_name = Братва <br> (''Bratva'')
| image = 
| caption = 
| founded = 
| founding location = [[Moscow]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]]
| founded by = 
| years active = Late 1980s–present<ref>The 'Russian Mafia' as an organized crime group started in the late 1980s, as we can see in the creation of the most powerful gangs from the country such as the [[Solntsevskaya Bratva]], [[Tambovskaya Bratva]], [[Orekhovskaya gang]] and [[Uralmash gang]]</ref>
| ethnicity = Primarily [[Russians]] but also from other [[Post-Soviet states]].
| territory = [[Post-Soviet states]], [[European Union]], Israel, United States, Australia
| criminal activities = Human trafficking, [[racketeering]], drug trafficking, [[extortion]], murder, robbery, smuggling, arms trafficking, gambling, prostitution, pornography, [[money laundering]], fraud, [[financial crime]], terrorism
| notable_members = [[#Notable Russian mafia bosses|List of members]]
}}

The '''Russian mafia''' ({{Langx|ru|ру́сская ма́фия|russkaya mafiya}} {{IPA|[[Help:IPA/Russian|[ˈruskəjə ˈmafʲɪjə]]]|lang=ru}} or {{Langx|ru|росси́йская ма́фия|rossiyskaya mafiya|label=none}} {{IPA|[[Help:IPA/Russian|[rɐˈsʲijskəjə ˈmafʲɪjə]]]}}),<ref>{{cite web |date=16 June 2008 |title=В Испании ликвидирована "российская мафия" |url=https://rg.ru/2008/06/16/spain-mafia-anons.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009045639/https://rg.ru/2008/06/16/spain-mafia-anons.html |archive-date=9 October 2016 |access-date=24 October 2016 |publisher=[[Rossiyskaya Gazeta]] |language=ru}}</ref> also known as '''bratva''' ({{Langx|ru|братва́|bratva|label=none}} {{IPA|[[Help:IPA/Russian|[brɐtˈva]]]}}; {{literally|brothers' clique}}), is a collective of various [[organized crime]] related elements originating and operating in [[Russia]]. Any of the mafia's groups may be referred to as an "Organized Criminal Group" (OPG, from Russian {{lang|ru|[[:ru:Организованная преступная группа|"организованная преступная группа"]]}}). This is sometimes modified to include a specific name, such as the [[Orekhovskaya gang|Orekhovskaya OPG]]. Sometimes, the Russian word is dropped in favour of a full translation, and OCG is used instead of OPG.

In December 2009, Timur Lakhonin, the head of the [[Interpol|National Central Bureau of Interpol]] within [[Russia]], stated that "Certainly, there is crime involving our former compatriots abroad, but there is no data suggesting that an organized structure of criminal groups comprising former Russians exists abroad" on the topic of international Russian criminal gangs.<ref name="Lakhonin" /> In August 2010, [[Alain Bauer]], a criminologist from [[France]], said that the Russian mafia "is one of the best structured criminal organizations in [[Europe]], with a quasi-military operation" in their international activities.<ref name="Bauer" />

The Russian mafia, according to [[Mark Galeotti]], an expert in modern Russia, is a highly organized and global criminal network that emerged and expanded significantly after the collapse of the [[Soviet Union]] in the 1990s. During this time, Russian criminals sought to establish themselves on the international stage, anticipating political instability and economic collapse in Russia. Their activities initially focused on the illicit trade of goods, such as [[Afghanistan|Afghan]] [[heroin]], which they transported across Europe to sell to local gangs rather than directly selling on the streets. Over the years, Russian gangsters evolved into skilled intermediaries, working alongside other major criminal organizations, adapting to local markets and focusing on providing services rather than attempting to control entire territories. While the Russian mafia remains focused on making money, their relationships with the state have evolved over time. The Russian government has used criminal networks as a geopolitical tool, leveraging their capabilities for state interests. However, Galeotti emphasizes that the connection between the Russian government and organized crime is not one of direct control, but rather a pragmatic approach where the state sets boundaries for these groups and occasionally enlists their services. This reflects a broader shift from the 1990s, when the political elite and organized crime were more intertwined, to the present day, where the state is attempting to distance itself from direct associations with criminal groups while still utilizing them when necessary.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-30 |title="Темное зеркало общества". Профессор Марк Галеотти о российских бандитах |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-48112891 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=BBC News Русская служба |language=ru}}</ref>

== Terminology ==
The term "Russian mafia" is a general label used to describe a broad and complex network of [[organized crime]] groups that originated in [[Russia]] and other former Soviet republics. While this term is widely recognized in both public discourse and media portrayals, particularly in the Western world, it does not reflect the nuanced internal classifications and terminology employed within these criminal structures or by law enforcement and criminologists. In summary, "Russian Mafia" is a convenient umbrella term, the actual structure is more like a loose network of autonomous criminal organizations with their own codes, leaders, and spheres of influence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=«РУССКАЯ МАФИЯ»: МИФЫ И РЕАЛЬНОСТЬ » ИНТЕЛРОС |url=http://www.intelros.ru/intelros/reiting/reyting_09/material_sofiy/5957-russkaya-mafiya-mify-i-realnost.html |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=www.intelros.ru |language=ru}}</ref>

A central concept in the nomenclature of Russian organized crime is "Vory v Zakone", which translates to "[[Thieves in Law]]". This designation refers to a high-ranking, elite status within the criminal hierarchy. Individuals who hold this title are bound by a strict moral code and are expected to reject cooperation with state authorities. Their role is both symbolic and practical, often acting as arbiters and authority figures within the criminal community. They are typically identified by extensive and symbolically significant tattoos that represent their status, personal history, and adherence to the code.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Nekrasov |first=Vladimir Filippovich |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LMpzuMdF3GQC&pg=PA91 |title=МВД России : энциклопедия |date=2002 |publisher=ОЛМА Медиа Групп |isbn=978-5-224-03722-3 |pages=91 |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=ՄԱՄՈՒԼ․ամ |date=2016-12-28 |title=Понятие "вор в законе" - история, правила, коронация, блатные санкции |url=https://m.mamul.am/am/post/64855 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=mamul.am |language=hy}}</ref>

In contrast, the term "Bratva", meaning "brotherhood," is more colloquial and is commonly used within the criminal environment to refer to fellow group members or associates. It does not denote a specific hierarchical status but rather conveys solidarity and group affiliation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-26 |title=Могучая сила братвы: откровения криминального авторитета о позитивном будущем оргпреступности |url=https://1001.ru/articles/post/moguchaya-sila-bratvy-otkroveniya-kriminalnogo-avtoriteta-o-pozitivnom-budushchem-orgprestupnosti-37226 |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=1001.ru |language=ru}}</ref>

Law enforcement agencies, particularly in Russia and former Soviet states, use more technical terminology. Notably, ''OPG'' (Organizovannaya Prestupnaya Gruppa) and ''OPS'' (Organizovannoye Prestupnoye Soobshchestvo) are formal terms that translate to "organized crime group" and "organized crime community," respectively. These terms are often employed in legal and investigative contexts to classify and prosecute criminal organizations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-12-27 |title=Что такое ОПГ и существуют ли они сейчас. Объясняем простыми словами |url=https://weekend.rambler.ru/read/52020834-chto-takoe-opg-i-suschestvuyut-li-oni-seychas-obyasnyaem-prostymi-slovami/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Рамблер/развлечения и отдых |language=ru}}</ref>

Moreover, many of these groups are named according to their regional origins, such as the [[Solntsevskaya Bratva]] (from the [[Solntsevo District]] in [[Moscow]]), the [[Tambovskaya Bratva]] (from [[Tambov Oblast]]), the Izmaylovskaya gang (from the [[Izmaylovo District]]), among other. While they may operate independently, these groups often maintain alliances or engage in competition, depending on their economic interests.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Коля |title=МаринкинД.Н. МаринкинаЮ.А. Уголовно-правовая характеристика бандитизма |url=http://www.jurvestnik.psu.ru/index.php/ru/27-2010-12-01-13-31-58/1-23-2014/578-marinkindn-marinkinayua-ugolovno-pravovaya-xarakteristika-banditizma |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=www.jurvestnik.psu.ru |language=ru-ru}}</ref>

==History==

===Origins===

==== Background ====
The main form of organized criminal activity up until the 1930s in Russia was political banditry, represented in the 17th and 18th centuries by peasant gangs led by bandit chieftains, like [[Stenka Razin]] and [[Yemelyan Pugachev]], and in the 19th and early 20th centuries by groups pursuing revolutionary and later counter-revolutionary goals, such as the [[Bolsheviks]], [[Socialist Revolutionary Party|Socialist Revolutionary]] gangs and [[Counter-revolutionary]] gangs. The authorities in power always sought to suppress them completely, sometimes using very brutal methods.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Phil |title=Russian organized crime: the new threat? |publisher=Kron-Press |pages=72–75}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=От татей к главарям: история организованной преступности в России • Arzamas |url=https://arzamas.academy/materials/1749 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Arzamas |language=ru-ru}}</ref>

By the early 1930s, the activity of politically organized criminal groups had been suppressed by harsh repressive measures. The curtailment of the [[New Economic Policy|NEP]] policy led to the virtual disappearance of economic criminals, who were equated with state criminals and were also subjected to repression. A new criminal world was formed, in which the main unifying force was the tendency for non-political opposition and disobedience to authority, the elite of which were the so-called "[[Thieves in law]]", who called themselves the guardians of the criminal traditions of pre-revolutionary Russia.<ref name=":0" />

At the same time, a subculture of a criminal society was formed with its own language ("fenya" or "blatnaya muzyka"), code of conduct, customs and traditions, which included a complete rejection of social norms and rules, including those related to the family (a thief in law should under no circumstances have permanent relationships with women) and an equally complete ban on any cooperation with government agencies: both in the form of participation in public events held by them, and assistance to judicial and investigative bodies in the investigation of crimes.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Phil |title=Russian organized crime: the new threat? |pages=76}}</ref>

In the 1940s, these traditions eventually led to the "beginning of the end" of this criminal society: during the [[Great Patriotic War]], many of the criminals responded to the authorities' offer to join the [[Red Army]] in order to defend their homeland from the Nazi threat. After the victory over the Nazis, they returned to the camps, where the so-called "[[Bitch Wars]]" began between them and the "thieves in law" who did not deviate from the traditions of the criminal environment, as a result of which both sides suffered extremely significant losses. The difficult economic situation in post-war society led to an increase in banditry and crime in general, as a result of which the criminal world was replenished with fresh blood, and the new prisoners no longer considered it necessary to honor the old criminal traditions, creating their own codes of conduct that did not exclude mutually beneficial cooperation with the state.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Phil |title=Russian organized crime: the new threat? |pages=82–83}}</ref>

The factor that determined the entry of crime into a new stage was the economic situation of the 1950s and 1960s, when the first signs of the inability of the [[Five-year plans of the Soviet Union|Soviet planned economy]] to function within the legal framework given to it began to appear. In order to ensure the necessary economic indicators, methods such as ''blat'' (obtaining the necessary goods and services through personal connections) and ''eyewash'' (deliberate deception) began to be used; the need arose for so-called ''pushers''—specialists in concluding favorable contracts and "knocking out" scarce goods, raw materials and equipment; phenomena such as shortages, ''"nesuny"'' (practically universal petty theft) and [[speculation]] became common.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Phil |title=Russian organized crime: the new threat? |pages=84–85}}</ref>

The first signs indicating the emergence of organized crime as a social phenomenon appeared in the mid-1960s, when the weakening of control in the economic sphere led to the emergence of opportunities for individuals ("[[Tsekhovik]]") to concentrate large sums of money in their hands, investing them in illegal production structures; at the same time, traditional professional criminals began to parasitize on these shadow entrepreneurs, and later, to assist them in their activities, receiving their share of the income and thus forming a symbiotic criminal structure.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aERGT2b50cIC |title=Криминология: Учебник / Под ред. проф. Н. Ф. Кузнецовой, проф. В. В. Лунеева. — 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. |date=2004 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer Russia |isbn=978-5-466-00019-1 |pages=405–406 |language=ru}}</ref>

During this period, a kind of symbiosis arose between the political elite and the criminal world: the political elite used the criminal world to obtain goods and services that were not available legally, in exchange for providing patronage and protection from [[Law enforcement agency|law enforcement agencies]]; this symbiosis was partially exposed during the anti-corruption campaign launched by [[Yuri Andropov]] after his election as [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee]], but this was only the tip of the iceberg.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Phil |title=Russian organized crime: the new threat? |date=1997 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0714647632 |pages=89}}</ref>

=== Late 1980s – present ===
The rise to power of [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] coincided with a new crisis in the Soviet economy. In order to accelerate economic growth by increasing labor productivity, a campaign against alcohol consumption was launched, which led to a rapid growth in the illegal production and sale of alcohol, providing a large number of "entrepreneurs" working in this area with money.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Phil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhnYAwAAQBAJ |title=Russian Organized Crime |date=2014-06-17 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-25109-3 |pages=91–92 |language=en}}</ref>

In the late 1980s, during the period of "[[perestroika]]" of social relations, these phenomena were further developed as a result of the political and economic reforms undertaken by the state (in particular, laws on state enterprises and cooperatives) making it possible to legalize and protect criminal capital, and to use the media and other public structures to protect the interests of organized criminal groups. All this was facilitated by the fact that, in the context of the economic crisis and constant reforms, the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies significantly decreased, as a result of which a significant portion of citizens began to turn to "shadow" sources of income. In the early 1990s, these trends only intensified due to the fact that opportunities for cross-border interaction opened up, including through illegal trade and the export of capital abroad, and methods were developed for corrupting state and public structures, and for criminals to promote their own people to government positions.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aERGT2b50cIC |title=Криминология: Учебник / Под ред. проф. Н. Ф. Кузнецовой, проф. В. В. Лунеева. — 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. |date=2004 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer Russia |isbn=978-5-466-00019-1 |pages=535 |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Российская организованная преступность (мафия) как форма социальной организации жизни |url=https://rikmosgu.ru/publications/3559/4452/ |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=rikmosgu.ru}}</ref>

Organized crime of this period mainly ensured its existence through organized [[racketeering]]; in addition, it began to master various forms of legal, semi-legal and illegal economic activity: the hotel business, [[gambling]], [[prostitution]], export of raw materials, and so on. Nevertheless, during this period, crime had not yet subjugated political and social institutions, remaining in a vulnerable position before state bodies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Phil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GhnYAwAAQBAJ |title=Russian Organized Crime |date=2014-06-17 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-25109-3 |pages=96–97 |language=en}}</ref>

However, the trends of its development were negative: one of the theses of the economic reform program also played a role here, according to which one of the main sources of resources for the reform should be the conversion and legalization of shadow capital. The activities of foreign states related to the use of criminal groups to protect their interests in the Russian Federation for the formation of a certain socio-political system also had a negative impact. At the same time, "assistance" in the fight against organized crime was expressed in the intensification of the activities of foreign special services on the territory of Russia, in the desire to take the decision on the fate of the leaders of Russian criminal groups outside the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aERGT2b50cIC |title=Криминология: Учебник / Под ред. проф. Н. Ф. Кузнецовой, проф. В. В. Лунеева. — 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. |date=2004 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer Russia |isbn=978-5-466-00019-1 |pages=536 |language=ru}}</ref>

Organized crime became politicized in the 1990s. Organized criminal groups sought to "promote" their trusted persons to government positions of varying importance: for example, during the [[1999 Russian legislative election|1999 legislative election]], several hundred cases were identified in which criminal groups nominated their own candidates and provided financial and organizational support to political parties and movements. Where it was not possible to directly promote their people to government positions, organized crime achieved its goals by corrupting government and other employees, including by paying them regular salaries without specifying the services that might be required of them.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aERGT2b50cIC |title=Криминология: Учебник / Под ред. проф. Н. Ф. Кузнецовой, проф. В. В. Лунеева. — 2-е изд., перераб. и доп. |date=2004 |publisher=Wolters Kluwer Russia |isbn=978-5-466-00019-1 |pages=400 |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Состояние и тенденции преступности в Российской Федерации: Криминологический и уголовно-правовой справочник |date=2007 |isbn=978-5-377-00024-2 |pages=26–27 |publisher=Экзамен |language=ru}}</ref>

There was a merger of legitimate and criminal capital. In the Resolution of the [[State Duma]] "On Overcoming the Crisis in the Economy of the Russian Federation and on the Strategy for the Economic Security of the State" adopted in March 1998, it was noted that criminal groups controlled up to 40% of enterprises based on private ownership, 60% of state enterprises and up to 85% of banks. In general, by the beginning of the 21st century, organized crime began to be built on the so-called [[Oligarchy|oligarchic]] model, striving for the maximum degree of legalization: armed units of criminal organizations received legal registration as detective and security agencies, funds were stored in banks controlled by criminal organizations, and their source became "roof" controlled enterprises.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dolgova |first=Azalia Ivanovna |title=Криминология: Учебник для юрид. вузов |pages=223–226 |language=ru}}</ref>

== Activities and operations ==
During the early 1990s, Russian crime groups began to expand their involvement in more illegal activities, which included drug and arms trafficking, extortion, contract killings, prostitution, and money laundering, but also deeply invested in legal businesses such as banks, oil, casinos, real estate, and import/export ventures. Some groups controlled entire sectors, like the [[Tambovskaya Bratva|Tambovskaya]]’s grip on [[Saint Petersburg]]’s energy market or [[Solntsevskaya Bratva|Solntsevskaya]]’s dominance over [[Moscow]]’s casinos and transportation hubs. These organizations were known for their extreme violence, internal power struggles, and sophisticated methods of infiltrating politics and law enforcement. Leaders like [[Semion Mogilevich]], Sergei "Sylvester" Timofeev, and Alexander Khabarov forged ties with politicians, police, and even intelligence agencies. The [[Uralmash gang]], for example, openly supported political candidates and formed a public movement to gain legitimacy.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1997-04-18 |title=Солнцевские взяточники |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/176413 |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=www.kommersant.ru |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Барсуков (Кумарин), Владимир |url=https://lenta.ru/lib/14203528/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Lenta.RU |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=УБОП Свердловской области предлагал лишить "уралмашевского" лидера А.Хабарова депутатского мандата |url=https://www.uralinform.ru/analytics/crime/15461-ubop-sverdlovskoi-oblasti-predlagal-lishit-uralmashevskogo-lidera-a-habarova-deputatskogo-mandata/ |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Уралинформбюро |language=ru}}</ref>

Initially operating only within Russia and soon after in other countries of the former Soviet Union, some of the Russian criminal organizations quickly expanded their reach in the 1990s. Taking advantage of open borders and the increasing globalization of markets, they extended their operations beyond the former Soviet republics, establishing strongholds in Western European countries such as United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany and France, as well as in Hungary and Israel and Czech Republic. Their presence abroad was often facilitated by connections with local political and economic elites, the use of front companies, and infiltration into legitimate markets, making their operations particularly difficult to detect and dismantle.<ref>{{Cite web |title=dossier5_10 |url=https://legislature.camera.it/_bicamerali/antimafia/sportello/dossier/dossier5_10.html#:~:text=Nel%20nostro%20Paese%20il%20fenomeno,Roma,%20Milano%20e%20in%20Versilia. |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=legislature.camera.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Verkaik |first=Robert |date=2018-01-05 |title=The real life McMafia: London 'a haven' for Russian crime gangs |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/world/russian-crime-london-mcmafia-115253?srsltid=AfmBOopTMMp1sopC_T6FcMOHrIbkD3q_-H-BKndR76aPyPsS0yOCnJio |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=The i Paper |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="Русская мафия" в Германии уступает только арабским кланам – DW – 24.09.2019 |url=https://www.dw.com/ru/%D1%80%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B8%D1%8F-%D0%B2-%D0%B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8-%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D1%83%D0%BF%D0%B0%D0%B5%D1%82-%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%BE-%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B1%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BC-%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BC/a-50567836 |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=dw.com |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=valencia |first=regina laguna |date=2010-03-21 |title=Mafia rusa, sol y playa |url=https://www.levante-emv.com/comunitat-valenciana/2010/03/21/mafia-rusa-sol-playa-13157638.html |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Levante-EMV |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-04-10 |title=Des membres de la mafia russe arrêtés dans l'Est de la France - ici |url=https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/faits-divers-justice/des-membres-de-la-mafia-russe-arretes-dans-l-est-de-la-france-1428672681 |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=ici, le média de la vie locale |language=fr}}</ref>

In 1992, it was agreed that [[Vyacheslav Ivankov|Vyacheslav "Yaponchik" Ivankov]] would be sent to [[Brighton Beach]], U.S., allegedly because he was killing too many people in Russia and also to take control of Russian organized crime in North America.<ref name="CBS worldwide" /> Within a year, he built an international operation that included but was not limited to [[narcotics]], [[money laundering]], and prostitution and made ties with the [[American Mafia]] and Colombian [[drug cartels]], eventually extending to Miami, Los Angeles, and [[Boston]].<ref name="history channel" /> Prior to Ivankov's arrival, Balagula's downfall left a void for America's next ''vory v zakone''. Monya Elson, leader of Monya's ''Brigada'' (a gang that similarly operated from Russia to Los Angeles to New York), was in a feud with Boris Nayfeld, with bodies dropping on both sides.<ref name="Elson and Nayfield" /> Ivankov's arrival virtually ended the feud, although Elson would later challenge his power as well, and a number of attempts were made to end the former's life.<ref name="Ivankov pdf" /> Nayfield and Elson would eventually be arrested in January 1994 (released in 1998)<ref name="Sierra Leone" /> and in Italy in 1995, respectively.<ref name="ny daily news" />

According to [[FBI]] reports, the crime boss [[Semion Mogilevich]] had alliances with the [[Camorra]], in particular with Salvatore DeFalco, a lower-echelon member of the [[Giuliano clan]]. Mogilevich and DeFalco would have held meetings in [[Prague]] in 1993.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Federal Bureau of Investigation|url=https://archive.org/details/SEMIONMOGILEVICH1996|title=SEMION MOGILEVICH ORGANIZATION EURASIAN ORGANIZED CRIME (1996)|date=1996}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=C. Williams|first=Robert|title=Useful Assets|publisher=Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc.|year=2019|pages=25}}</ref> Semion Mogilevich's net worth is estimated to be 10 billion dollars.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://besttoppers.com/biggest-gangster-in-the-world/ | title=Top 10 Richest Gangster of All Time! | date=7 February 2021 }}</ref>

Ivankov's reign also ended in June 1995 when a $3.5&nbsp;million extortion attempt on two Russian businessmen, Alexander Volkov and Vladimir Voloshin, ended in an FBI arrest that resulted in a ten-year maximum security prison sentence.<ref name="Mallory" /><ref name="history channel" /> Before his arrest and besides his operations in America, Ivankov regularly flew around Europe and Asia to maintain ties with his fellow mobsters (like members of the [[Solntsevskaya Bratva]]), as well as reinforce ties with others. This did not stop other people from denying his growing power. In one instance, Ivankov allegedly attempted to buy out Georgian boss Valeri "Globus" Glugech's drug importation business. Soon after the latter refused the offer, he and his top associates were shot dead. A summit held in May 1994 in [[Vienna]] rewarded him with what was left of Glugech's business. Two months later, Ivankov got into another altercation with drug kingpin and head of the [[Orekhovskaya gang]], Segei "Sylvester" Timofeyev, ending with the latter murdered a month later.<ref name="Friedman" />

In 1995, the [[Camorra]] cooperated with the Russian mafia in a scheme in which the Camorra would bleach out US$1 bills and reprint them as $100s. These bills would then be transported to the Russian mafia for distribution in 29 post-[[Eastern Bloc]] countries and former Soviet republics. In return, the Russian mafia paid the Camorra with property (including a Russian bank) and firearms, smuggled into Eastern Europe and Italy.<ref name=Richards>{{cite book|last=Richards|first=James R.|title=Transnational Criminal Organizations, Cybercrime, and Money Laundering|pages=7|publisher=CRC Press|year=1998|isbn=9781420048728}}</ref>

A report by the United Nations in 1995 placed the number of individuals involved in organized crime in Russia at 3 million, employed in about 5,700 gangs.<ref name=Shvarts>{{cite web|url=http://www.yorku.ca/irjs/Archives/R20/R204.pdf|last=Shvarts|first=Alexander|title=Russian Mafia: The Explanatory Power of Rational Choice Theory|pages=26|publisher=[[University of Toronto]]|year=2002}}</ref>

In May 1995, [[Semion Mogilevich]] held a summit meeting of Russian mafia bosses in his U Holubu restaurant in [[Anděl (neighborhood)|Anděl]], a neighborhood of [[Prague]]. The excuse to bring them together was that it was a birthday party for Victor Averin, the second-in-command of the Solntsevskaya Bratva. However, Major Tomas Machacek of the Czech police got wind of an anonymous tip-off that claimed that the Solntsevskaya were planning to assassinate Mogilevich at the location (it was rumored that Mogilevich and Solntsevskaya leader [[Sergei Mikhailov (businessman)|Sergei Mikhailov]] had a dispute over $5&nbsp;million), and the police successfully [[Police raid on the U Holubů restaurant|raided]] the meeting. 200 guests were arrested, but no charges were put against them; only key Russian mafia members were banned from the country, most of whom moved to Hungary.<ref name="prague daily" /> One person who was not there was Mogilevich himself. He claimed that, "[b]y the time I arrived at U Holubu, everything was already in full swing, so I went into a neighboring hotel and sat in the bar there until about five or six in the morning."<ref name="Glenny" /><ref name="BBC transcript" /> Mikhailov would later be arrested in Switzerland in October 1996 on numerous charges,<ref name="Ivankov pdf" /> including that he was the head of a powerful Russian mafia group, but was exonerated and released two years later after evidence was not enough to prove much.<ref name="ny times" /><ref name="la times" />

The global extent of Russian organized crime was not realized until [[Ludwig Fainberg|Ludwig "Tarzan" Fainberg]] was arrested in January 1997, primarily because of arms dealing. In 1990, Fainberg moved from Brighton Beach to Miami and opened up a strip club called Porky's, which soon became a popular hangout for underworld criminals. Fainberg himself gained a reputation as an ambassador among international crime groups, becoming especially close to Juan Almeida, a Colombian cocaine dealer. Planning to expand his cocaine business, Fainberg acted as an intermediary between Almeida and the corrupt [[Russian military]]. He helped him get six Russian military helicopters in 1993, and in the following year, helped arrange to buy a [[submarine]] for cocaine smuggling. Unfortunately for the two of them, federal agents had been keeping a close eye on Fainberg for months. Alexander Yasevich, an associate of the Russian military contact and an undercover [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] agent, was sent to verify the illegal dealing, and in 1997, Fainberg was finally arrested in Miami. Facing the possibility of life imprisonment, the latter agreed to testify against Almeida in exchange for a shorter sentence, which ended up being 33 months.<ref name="history channel" /><ref name="CBS worldwide" />

The {{ill|FreeLance Bureau (FLB.ru)|ru|Агентство федеральных расследований}} published a website in 2000 containing [[Philipp Bobkov]]'s MOST Group Security Database along with files from RUOP and other departments and special services.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.flb.ru/bd0001.html |title=БРАТВАубийственная война "славян" с "лаврушниками" и "зверями". Наиболее полная база данных в Интернете о становлении организованной преступности в России за период с середины 80-х до 1997 года (по справкам РУОП, ФСНП и прочих "силовых" ведомств и спецслужб) |trans-title=BROTHER The murderous war of the "Slavs" with the "Lavrushniki" and "Beasts". The most complete database on the Internet on the formation of organized crime in Russia for the period from the mid-80s to 1997 (according to the RUOP, FSNP and other "power" departments and special services) |language=ru |work=[[:ru:Агентство федеральных расследований|Журналистское агентство Free Lance Bureau (FLB)]] (flb.ru) |date=18 August 2000 |access-date=9 March 2021 |archive-date=18 August 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010818101924/http://www.flb.ru/bd0001.html}}</ref>

[[Vanuatu]] was a preferred location for Russian mafia laundering money.<ref>{{cite news |last=Behar |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Behar |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/06/12/281972/index.htm |title=Capitalism in a cold climate |language=ru |work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |date=12 June 2000 |access-date=19 August 2021 |archive-date=19 October 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019043548/https://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2000/06/12/281972/index.htm |quote=The story of Trans World's aluminum empire is filled with bribes, shell companies, profiteers, and more than a few corpses. Then again, in today's Russia, that's pretty much par for the course.}} [http://www.compromat.ru/page_9819.htm Archived as Капитализм в холодном климате] in Russian at compromat.ru on 21 June 2000.</ref>

As the 21st century dawned, the Russian mafia remained after the death of Aslan Usoyan. New mafia bosses sprang up, while imprisoned ones were released. Among the released were Marat Balagula and [[Vyacheslav Ivankov]], both in 2004.<ref name="Balagula release"/><ref name="Ivankov dead"/> The latter was extradited to Russia, but was jailed once more for his alleged murders of two Turks in a Moscow restaurant in 1992; he was cleared of all charges and released in 2005. Four years later, he was assassinated by a shot in the stomach from a sniper.<ref name="Ivankov dead"/> Meanwhile, Monya Elson and Leonid Roytman were arrested in March 2006 for an unsuccessful murder plot against two [[Kyiv]]-based businessmen.<ref name="Elson 2nd arrest"/>

In 2009, FBI agents in Moscow targeted{{Clarify|date=August 2013}} two suspected mafia leaders and two other corrupt businessmen. One of the leaders is Yevgeny Dvoskin, a criminal who had been in prison with Ivankov in 1995 and was deported in 2001 for breaking immigration regulations; the other is Konstantin "Gizya" Ginzburg, who was reportedly the current "big boss" of Russian organized crime in America before his reported assassination in 2009,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/europe/russian-mob-boss-laid-to-rest |title=Russian mob boss laid to rest |date=14 October 2009 |access-date=10 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801234831/http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/europe/russian-mob-boss-laid-to-rest |archive-date=1 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> it being suspected that Ivankov handed over control to him.<ref name="4 criminals"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/world/europe/30russia.html |first=Michael |last=Schwirtz |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=In a River Raid, a Glimpse of Russia's Criminal Elite |date=30 July 2008 |access-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604012721/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/30/world/europe/30russia.html |archive-date=4 June 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the same year, [[Semion Mogilevich]] was placed on the [[FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives]] list for his involvement in a complex multimillion-dollar scheme that defrauded investors in the stock of his company YBM Magnex International, swindling them out of $150&nbsp;million.<ref name="FBI"/> He was indicted in 2003 and arrested in 2008 in Russia on tax fraud charges, but because the US does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, he was released on bail.<ref name="CNN"/> Monya Elson said, in 1998, that Mogilevich is the most powerful mobster in the world.<ref name="Semion powerful"/>

Russian organized crime was reported to have a strong grip in the [[French Riviera]] region and Spain in 2010; and Russia was branded as a virtual "mafia state" according to the [[United States diplomatic cables leak|WikiLeaks cables]].<ref name="Bauer"/><ref name="WikiLeaks"/>

According to recordings released in 2015, [[Alexander Litvinenko]], shortly before he was assassinated, claimed that [[Semion Mogilevich]] has had a "good relationship" with [[Vladimir Putin]] since the 1990s.<ref name="auto">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11364900/Listen-Alexander-Litvinenkos-apparent-warning-before-his-death.html Listen: Alexander Litvinenko's apparent warning before his death] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319081814/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/11364900/Listen-Alexander-Litvinenkos-apparent-warning-before-his-death.html |date=19 March 2016}} By Lyndsey Telford, Edward Malnick and Claire Newell. 23 January 2015</ref>

On 7 June 2017, 33 Russian mafia affiliates and members were arrested and charged by the FBI, US Customs and Border Protection and NYPD for extortion, racketeering, illegal gambling, firearm offenses, narcotics trafficking, wire fraud, credit card fraud, [[identity theft]], fraud on casino slot machines using electronic hacking devices; based in Atlantic City and Philadelphia, murder-for-hire conspiracy and cigarette trafficking.<ref>{{cite news|title=More Than 30 Alleged Russian Mobsters Indicted in Odd Case Involving 10,000 Pounds of Chocolate|url=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Russian-Mob-Bust-Chocolate-Pounds-FBI-Racketeering-New-York-City-Indict-427024801.html|access-date=9 January 2018|agency=NBC News|publisher=Joe Valiquette|date=7 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109181006/https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Russian-Mob-Bust-Chocolate-Pounds-FBI-Racketeering-New-York-City-Indict-427024801.html|archive-date=9 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> They were also accused of operating secret and underground gambling dens based in [[Brighton Beach, Brooklyn]], and using violence against those who owed gambling debts, establishing nightclubs to sell drugs, plotting to force women associates to rob male strangers by seducing and drugging them with [[chloroform]], and trafficking over 10,000 pounds of stolen [[Chocolate bar|chocolate confectionery]]; the chocolate was stolen from shipment containers.<ref>{{cite web|title=Busted Russian casino hackers had an appetite for drugs and chocolate|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/08/busted_russian_casino_hackers_had_an_appetite_for_drugs_and_chocolate/|website=The Register|access-date=9 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109181228/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/06/08/busted_russian_casino_hackers_had_an_appetite_for_drugs_and_chocolate/|archive-date=9 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Russian mobsters arrested for peddling stolen chocolate|url=https://nypost.com/2017/06/07/russian-mobsters-arrested-for-peddling-stolen-chocolate/|website=The New York Post|date=8 June 2017|access-date=9 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109121914/https://nypost.com/2017/06/07/russian-mobsters-arrested-for-peddling-stolen-chocolate/|archive-date=9 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> It is believed that 27 of the arrested are connected to the Russian mafia Shulaya clan which are largely based in New York.<ref>{{cite web|title=Members And Associates Of Russian Crime Syndicate Arrested For Racketeering, Extortion, Robbery, Murder-For-Hire Conspiracy, Fraud, Narcotics, And Firearms Offenses|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/members-and-associates-russian-crime-syndicate-arrested-racketeering-extortion-robbery|website=The United States Department of Justice|date=7 June 2017|access-date=9 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171202153011/https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/members-and-associates-russian-crime-syndicate-arrested-racketeering-extortion-robbery|archive-date=2 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 26 September 2017, as part of a 4-year investigation, 100 [[Civil Guard (Spain)|Spanish Civil Guard officers]] carried out 18 searches in different areas of [[Málaga]], Spain, related to Russian mafia large scale money laundering.<ref>{{cite web|title=TWO MAIN RUSSIAN MAFIA GROUPS DISMANTLED IN SPAIN WITH EUROPOL'S SUPPORT|url=https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/two-main-russian-mafia-groups-dismantled-in-spain-europol%E2%80%99s-support|website=Europol|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109063752/https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/two-main-russian-mafia-groups-dismantled-in-spain-europol%E2%80%99s-support|archive-date=9 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The raids resulted in the arrests of 11 members and associates of the Solntsevskaya and Izmailovskaya clans. Money, firearms and 23 high-end vehicles were also seized. The owner of [[Marbella FC]], Alexander Grinberg, and manager of AFK Sistema, a Spanish football club in Málaga, were among those arrested.<ref>{{cite news|title=Police arrest 11 Russians in Marbella for money laundering|url=https://www.thelocal.es/20170927/police-arrest-11-russians-in-marbella-for-money-laundering|website=The Local Spain|date=27 September 2017|access-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180109121845/https://www.thelocal.es/20170927/police-arrest-11-russians-in-marbella-for-money-laundering|archive-date=9 January 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 19 February 2018, 18 defendants were accused of laundering over $62&nbsp;million through real estate, including with the help of [[Vladislav Reznik]], former chairman of [[Rosgosstrakh]], one of Russia's largest insurance companies. The accused stood trial in Spain.<ref>{{cite web|title=Spain Demands Prison Terms for 18 Gangsters linked to Russian Mafia|url=https://themoscowtimes.com/news/spain-demands-prison-terms-18-gangsters-linked-russian-mafia-60560|website=The Moscow Times|date=19 February 2018|access-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128012130/https://themoscowtimes.com/news/spain-demands-prison-terms-18-gangsters-linked-russian-mafia-60560|archive-date=28 January 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Tambovskaya Bratva|Tambov]] and Malyshev Russian mafia organisations were involved.<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC: Major Russian mafia trial opens in Spain|url=https://www.unian.info/world/10013405-bbc-major-russian-mafia-trial-opens-in-spain.html|website=UNIAN|date=20 February 2018 |access-date=21 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220023920/https://www.unian.info/world/10013405-bbc-major-russian-mafia-trial-opens-in-spain.html|archive-date=20 February 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Aleksandr Torshin|Alexander Torshin]] is allegedly a high ranking Russian mafia boss.<ref name="urlWhat's the Truth About the NRA's Man in Moscow?">{{cite news |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/whats-the-truth-about-the-nras-man-in-moscow |title=What's the Truth About the NRA's Man in Moscow? |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=23 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207190518/https://www.thedailybeast.com/whats-the-truth-about-the-nras-man-in-moscow |archive-date=7 December 2018 |url-status=live |last1=Nemtsova |first1=Anna }}</ref><ref name="urlRussian Politician Who Reportedly Sent Millions to NRA… — ProPublica">{{cite web |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/russian-politician-who-reportedly-sent-millions-to-nra-has-long-history-in-spain |title=Russian Politician Who Reportedly Sent Millions to NRA… — ProPublica |date=19 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207214628/https://www.propublica.org/article/russian-politician-who-reportedly-sent-millions-to-nra-has-long-history-in-spain |archive-date=7 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In September 2025, a record cocaine seizure in Russia has highlighted the country’s growing role as a key destination for drug shipments originating from [[Ecuador]], now the world’s largest exporter of cocaine. Russian authorities recently confiscated over 1.5 metric tons of cocaine hidden in banana crates from Ecuador, reflecting a broader trend identified by international organizations such as CIMCON and the [[World Customs Organization]] (WCO). These reports indicate a sharp increase in cocaine trafficking to Russia, largely through banana shipments, as traffickers adapt to stricter controls in Western Europe. Russia, now the largest single-country importer of Ecuadorian bananas, is increasingly seen as both a rising consumer market and a transit point for cocaine heading to Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Record Cocaine Bust in Russia Highlights New Trafficking Route From Ecuador |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/news/record-cocaine-bust-in-russia-highlights-new-trafficking-route-from-ecuador |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250926155207/https://www.occrp.org/en/news/record-cocaine-bust-in-russia-highlights-new-trafficking-route-from-ecuador |archive-date=2025-09-26 |access-date=2025-10-01 |website=OCCRP |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Structure and composition==
The ''Bratva'' is not a strictly hierarchical organization like other criminal groups. While it has ranks and respected roles, its structure is often decentralized and fluid. Power is distributed across various regional groups and leaders, and influence is earned through reputation, loyalty, and connections rather than fixed titles. This flexible setup makes the Bratva more adaptable and harder for law enforcement to dismantle. However, it still employs certain titles and roles that are commonly recognized within its ranks.<ref name="Finckenauer, Waring">James O. Finckenauer and Elin Waring. [http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/jr000247b.pdf "Challenging the Russian Mafia Mystique"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306031203/https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/jr000247b.pdf |date=6 March 2016 }}. ''National Institute of Justice Journal''. April 2001.</ref>

At the top of the organization is the ''Pakhan'' (Пахан), the supreme boss who oversees the entire operation. He rarely involves himself in day-to-day activities, preferring to stay behind the scenes to avoid law enforcement attention. Other important role in the Bratva's structure if that of the ''Obshchak'' (Общак) or treasurer, who is responsible for managing the group’s finances. The ''Obshchak'' controls the communal fund, which is used to support various criminal activities, pay off officials, finance legal defense, and support the families of imprisoned or deceased members.<ref name="Russian Crime Structure">[https://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/rusorg3.htm Russian Organized Crime: Organization and Structure] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813153656/http://fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/rusorg3.htm |date=13 August 2016}} 1993</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Зугумов |first=Заур |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2b4gDgAAQBAJ&dq=%D0%A0%D1%83%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%8F%D0%B7%D1%8B%D1%87%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9+%D0%B6%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%BE%D0%BD.+%D0%98%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE-%D1%8D%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9,+%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8B%D0%B9+%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%8C+%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D1%83%D0%BF%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE+%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B0:+%D0%97%D0%B0%D1%83%D1%80+%D0%97%D1%83%D0%B3%D1%83%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B2&pg=PA142 |title=Русскоязычный жаргон. Историко-этимологический толковый словарь преступного мира |date=2017-09-05 |publisher=Litres |isbn=978-5-04-043397-1 |language=ru}}</ref>

Below the leadership level, the ''Bratva'' is divided into operational units called ''brigades''. Each ''brigade'' is led by an ''Avtoritet'' (Авторитет), who reports directly to the ''Pakhan'' or an intermediary. The ''Avtoritet'' manages a team of ''Boeviks'' (Бойцы) who carry out criminal operations such as drug trafficking, smuggling, and illegal gambling. The ''Boeviks'' swear loyalty to their ''Brigadier'', and through him, to the ''Pakhan''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-08-21 |title=Проникшие в повседневную речь и ставшие общепринятыми некоторые термины и выражения из уголовного жаргона |url=https://pikabu.ru/story/pronikshie_v_povsednevnuyu_rech_i_stavshie_obshcheprinyatyimi_nekotoryie_terminyi_i_vyirazheniya_iz_ugolovnogo_zhargona_5279133 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=Пикабу |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=ТОЛКОВЫЙ СЛОВАРЬ УГОЛОВНЫХ ЖАРГОНОВ |url=https://imwerden.de/pdf/tolkovy_slovar_ugolovnykh_zhargonov_1991__ocr.pdf |language=ru }}</ref>

At the lowest level are the ''Shestyorka'' (Шестерка), or "sixes." These are junior associates or errand boys who perform minor tasks, run errands, deliver messages, or gather intelligence. They are often in a probationary stage, not yet full members of the organization, and are expected to prove their loyalty and usefulness.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Именем братвы. Шестая серия |url=https://lib.fontanka.ru/imenem-bratvy-6 |access-date=2025-04-15 |website=lib.fontanka.ru}}</ref>

A unique and important role within the ''Bratva'' is that of the ''"Vor v zakone".'' This is a prestigious title awarded to highly respected and influential members of the criminal underworld. Not every ''Bratva'' member is a ''Vor'', but those who are hold significant moral and strategic authority. They are the guardians of the criminal code, mediators of serious disputes, and often wield influence that transcends individual ''brigades''. The title is not self-appointed; it must be granted by other ''vors'', making it a symbol of deep respect within the criminal world.<ref name=":1" />

The ''Bratva'' operates under a strict code of conduct, especially among its upper ranks. Loyalty, silence, and never cooperating with law enforcement are essential principles. While the structure is hierarchical, its decentralization allows it to adapt quickly and survive even when individual cells or leaders are taken down.<ref name="Mallory 2007">Stephen L. Mallory. ''Understanding Organized Crime''. 2007. [https://books.google.com/books?id=fbcPBAOJcXYC&dq=Russian+mafia+brigadier+structure&pg=RA1-PA76 pp. 76–78].</ref>

==Notable Russian mafia bosses==
* [[Zakhariy Kalashov|Zakhary Kalashov]] (born 1953): currently widely believed to be one of the most prominent members of the Russian mafia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Waal |first=Thomas de |date=2010-12-22 |title=Mafiosi in the Caucasus |url=https://nationalinterest.org/commentary/mafiosi-the-caucasus-4615 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=The National Interest |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Vyacheslav Ivankov]] (1940–2009): believed to have connections with Russian state intelligence organizations and their organized crime partners.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Anderson |first=Julie |date= 2006|title=The Chekist Takeover of the Russian State |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08850600500483699 |journal=International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence |language=en |volume=19 |issue=2 |pages=237–288 |doi=10.1080/08850600500483699 |issn=0885-0607|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* [[Vladimir Kumarin]] (born 1956): former deputy president of the [[Petersburg Fuel Company]] (PTK) between 1998 and 1999, and the boss of the criminal [[Tambovskaya Bratva]] (Tambov gang) of [[Saint Petersburg]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-10-15 |title=Новости Руспрес - Показать содержимое по тегу: Кумарин:Барсуков Владимир Сергеевич "Кум" |url=https://www.rospres.org/kk/tag/%D0%9A%D1%83%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD-%D0%91%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%20%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%20%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87%20%22%D0%9A%D1%83%D0%BC%22/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171015205840/https://www.rospres.org/kk/tag/%D0%9A%D1%83%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BD-%D0%91%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D1%83%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%20%D0%92%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%20%D0%A1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87%20%22%D0%9A%D1%83%D0%BC%22/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2017-10-15 |access-date=2024-05-02 }}</ref>
* [[Sergei Mikhailov (businessman)|Sergei Mikhailov]] (born 1958): businessman and leader of the [[Solntsevskaya Bratva]] criminal syndicate.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Шрек |first1=Карл |last2=Шароградский |first2=Андрей |date=2014-10-02 |title=Михась похвастался президентскими часами |url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/26617205.html |access-date=2024-05-02 |work=Радио Свобода |language=ru}}</ref>
* [[Semion Mogilevich]] (born 1946): described by agencies in the European Union and United States as the "[[Capo di tutti capi|boss of all bosses]]" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-07-25 |title= |url=https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/semion-mogilevich/mogilevich-russian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725015518/https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/semion-mogilevich/mogilevich-russian |url-status=dead |archive-date=2015-07-25 |access-date=2024-05-02 }}</ref>
* [[Aslan Usoyan]] (1937–2013): according to operational data and media materials, he was the leader of Caucasian criminal groups, in particular, the "[[Tbilisi]]" and "[[Yazidis]]" clans, as well as one of the most powerful criminal leaders and [[Thief in law|thieves in law]] in Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Усоян, Аслан Криминальный авторитет |url=https://lenta.ru/lib/14199420/ |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=lenta.ru}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=May 2025}}
* [[Tariel Oniani]] (born 1952): believed to be the leader of the "Kutaisi gang", considered the most influential organized crime group in Russia.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-10-05 |title=Вор в загоне |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/1243661 |access-date=2024-05-02 |website=www.kommersant.ru |language=ru}}</ref>
* Sergei Timofeev (1955–1994): leader of the [[Orekhovskaya gang]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-02 |title="Убирал всех, кто стоял на пути": как лидер крупнейшей ОПГ Москвы стал королем мафии |url=https://www.gazeta.ru/social/2024/12/07/20199686.shtml |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Газета.Ru |language=ru}}</ref>
* Sergei Butorin (born 1964): important member of the [[Orekhovskaya gang]]. Sentenced to life imprisonment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Пожизненное для Оси Вынесен приговор лидеру "ореховской" группировки |url=https://lenta.ru/articles/2011/09/07/butorin/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Lenta.RU |language=ru}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=May 2025}}
* Lom-Ali Gaitukayev (1958–2017): Chechen crime boss and businessman, a defendant in a number of high-profile criminal cases.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-06-13 |title=В колонии скончался организатор убийства Анны Политковской |url=https://www.rbc.ru/society/13/06/2017/593fb2149a7947be27e084f4 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=РБК |language=ru}}</ref>
* Valery Dlugach (1955–1993): once one of the leaders of the Moscow criminal world, a thief in law, and the leader of the Bauman organized crime group. In the early 1990s, he was one of the five most influential criminal authorities in Moscow.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Длугач Валерий Яковлевич (Глобус) |url=http://www.primecrime.ru/characters/495 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=www.primecrime.ru}}</ref>
* Leonid Zavadskiy (1947–1994): Russian crime boss who controlled most of Moscow's prostitution scene in the early 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Бубновый Батя": что случилось с самым авторитетным московским вором 90-х |url=https://dzen.ru/a/X0TZUR9DGSeZNy3o |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=sso.passport.yandex.ru}}</ref>
* Sergei Ivannikov (1954–1993):  Russian crime boss, the founder and leader of the [[Uralmash gang]], one of the most influential organized crime groups in the city of [[Yekaterinburg]] in the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-03 |title="Уралмаш". Часть 1. Сообщество авторитетных ребят |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4800653 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Коммерсантъ |language=ru}}</ref>
* [[Otari Kvantrishvili]] (1948–1994): one of [[Moscow]]'s leading organised crime figures during the early 1990s.
* Amiran Kvantrishvili (1944–1993): well-known crime boss of the early 1990s, the older brother of Otari Kvantrishvili.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Амиран Квантришвили |url=https://www.mzk2.ru/2011/04/amiran-kvantrishvili/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=www.mzk2.ru}}</ref>
* Anton Malevsky (1967–2001): was a Russian crime boss, multimillionaire, nicknamed the "aluminum king of Russia", and the leader of the [[Izmaylovo District|Izmaylovo]] gang since the late 1980s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Антон Малевский: как еврейский десантник стал паханом измайловской братвы |url=https://dzen.ru/a/Yk3Llx0qOxEWW6va |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=sso.passport.yandex.ru}}</ref>
* Sergei Mamsurov (1959–1995): well-known Moscow crime boss of the first half of the 1990s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Гангстеры. Сергей Мамсуров(Мансур) |url=https://dzen.ru/a/ZA20iR_DOlIcnRRF |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=sso.passport.yandex.ru}}</ref>
* Yuri Pichugin (born 1965):  influential Russian crime boss, thief in law, repeatedly convicted of theft and robbery, was one of the leaders of the criminal world of the [[Komi Republic]], where he acted as a "criminal judge" in the analysis of various conflicts.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-15 |title=Суд приговорил к пожизненному вора в законе и лидера "банды Пичугина" |url=https://www.rbc.ru/society/15/06/2023/648b35159a79478c0e84df10?from=article_body |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=РБК |language=ru}}</ref>
* Dmitry Ruzlyaev (1963–1998): Russian crime boss from the city of [[Tolyatti]], nicknamed "Dima Bolshoi", leader of the famous "Volgovskaya gang", one of the main players in the notorious [[Tolyatti]] crime war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Покушение на лидера тольяттинской ОПГ Дмитрия Рузляева (Дима Большой) |url=https://bezpekavip.com/spec/pokushenie-na-lidera-tolyattinskoy-opg-dmitriya-ruzlyaeva |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=bezpekavip.com |language=ru}}</ref>
* Kamo Safaryan (born 1961): influential crime boss, thief in law, who had criminal interests in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Crimea (especially in the Greater Yalta region ), as well as extensive connections in the criminal world of most of the former Soviet republics.<ref>{{Cite web |title= |url=https://www.primecrime.ru/news/2021-11-24_7842/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240715082145/https://www.primecrime.ru/news/2021-11-24_7842/ |archive-date=2024-07-15 |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=www.primecrime.ru}}</ref>
* Vladimir Tyurin (born 1958): thief in law, and considered one of the most important russian crime bosses active in [[Spain]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Право.ru: законодательство, судебная система, новости и аналитика. Все о юридическом рынке. |url=https://pravo.ru/news/view/62964/ |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=ПРАВО.Ru |language=ru}}</ref>
* Sergei Tsapkov (1976–2014): leader of the Tsapkov gang, based in [[Kushchyovskaya]]. Tsapkov was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in prison.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-07 |title=Главарь кущевской банды Сергей Цапок умер в СИЗО |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/russia/2014/07/140707_tsapok_dead |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=BBC News Русская служба |language=ru}}</ref>
* Lasha Shushanashvili (born 1961): thief in law, who had significant influence in the criminal world of [[Moscow]], [[Moscow Oblast]], [[Chuvashia]], [[Kirov Oblast]], Ukraine and Spain. Shushanashvili is considered one of the most important ethnic Georgian members of the Russian mafia.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Вор в законе" Лаша Руставский обвинил председателя суда Салоник в "предвзятости" |url=https://www.primecrime.ru/news/2018-05-15_6909/}}</ref>

==Notable individual groups==
'''Groups based in and around the [[Moscow|City of Moscow]]''':

* The [[Orekhovskaya gang]]: founded by Sergei "Sylvester" Timofeyev, this group reached its height in Moscow in the 1990s. When Timofeyev died, Sergei Butorin took his place. However, he was sentenced to jail for life in 2011.<ref name="ITAR-TASS" /><ref name="kyivpost" />
* Lyuberetskaya Bratva ({{Langx|ru|Люберецкая ОПГ}}) or Lyubery ({{Langx|ru|Люберы}}): one of the largest criminal groups with around 3,000 members in late 1990s until today. Based in (and originating from) [[Lyubertsy]] district of Moscow. Led by Denis Sergin (Fraser) since the 2000s.
* [[Solntsevskaya Bratva]] ({{Langx|ru|Солнцевская ОПГ}}): led by [[Sergei Mikhailov (businessman)|Sergei "Mikhas" Mikhailov]], it is Russia's largest criminal group with about 5,000 members, and is named after the [[Solntsevo District]].<ref name="focus features"/><ref name="BBC rise"/>
* The {{ill|Izmaylovskaya gang|ru|Измайловская организованная преступная группировка}}: one of Russia's oldest modern gangs, it was started in the mid- to late-1980s by Oleg Ivanov; it has around 200–500 members in Moscow alone, and is named after the [[Izmaylovo District]].<ref name="unreported cases" /> Izmailovskaya has good relations with the Podolskaya gang.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Иванидзе |first1=Владимир (Ivanidze, Vladimir) |last2=Шихаб |first2=Софи (Shihab, Sophie) |url=http://www.lemonde.fr/article/0,5987,3210--299829-,00.htm |title=Владимир Путин в окружении мафии |trans-title=Vladimir Putin surrounded by the mafia |language=ru |work=[[Le Monde]] |date=28 November 2002 |access-date=29 November 2023 }}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} [https://www.compromat.ru/page_12592.htm Alt URL] This is a Russian translation of a French article in Le Monde.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Волчек |first=Дмитрий (Volchek, Dmitry) |url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/29387767.html |title=Гексогеновые годы. Владимир Путин во главе ФСБ |trans-title=Hexogen years. Vladimir Putin heads the FSB |language=ru |work=[[Radio Free Europe|Радио Свобода]] (svoboda.org) |date=25 July 2018 |access-date=29 November 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://cs9.pikabu.ru/post_img/2017/10/30/9/15093744851115900.png |title=Антон Малевский и Измайловская ОПГ 1990-х годов. |trans-title=Anton Malevsky and the Izmailovskaya organized crime group of the 1990s. |language=ru |work=cs9.pikabu.ru |date=30 October 2017 |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129231625/https://cs9.pikabu.ru/post_img/2017/10/30/9/15093744851115900.png}}</ref> [[:ru:Малевский, Антон Викторович|Anton Malevsky]] was the leader until his death in 2001.<ref name="flb.ru">{{cite news |url=https://flb.ru/info/32177.html |title=Подольская ОПГ: Славянские оргпреступные группировки в Московской области |trans-title=Podolsk organized crime group: Slavic organized crime groups in the Moscow region |language=ru |work=[[:ru:Агентство федеральных расследований|"FreeLance Bureau"]] (flb.ru) |date=18 November 2000 |access-date=10 June 2021 |archive-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129233402/https://flb.ru/info/32177.html}}</ref> The Ismailovskaya mafia is closely associated with [[Oleg Deripaska]], Matvey Yozhikov, {{Ill|Andrey Bokarev|lt=Andrey Bokarev|ru|Бокарев, Андрей Рэмович}}, [[Michael Cherney]], and [[Iskander Makhmudov]] through their Switzerland based "Blonde Investment Company" and is closely associated with [[:ru:Харченко, Олег Андреевич|Oleg Andreevich Kharchenko]] ({{langx|ru|Олег Андреевич Харченко}})<ref>{{cite news |url=https://rah.ru/the_academy_today/the_members_of_the_academie/member.php?ID=17343 |title=ХАРЧЕНКО ОЛЕГ АНДРЕЕВИЧ |trans-title=KHARCHENKO OLEG ANDREEVICH |language=ru |work=[[Russian Academy of Arts|«Российская академия художеств»]] (rah.ru) |date=2015 |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-date=25 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150425073859/https://rah.ru/the_academy_today/the_members_of_the_academie/member.php?ID=17343}}</ref><ref name=Kleptocracy>{{cite book |last=Dawisha |first=Karen |author-link=Karen Dawisha |title=Putin's Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia? |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1476795207 |year=2014 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |page=153 see note |isbn=978-1-4767-9519-5}}</ref> and [[Vladimir Putin]]'s SP AG ({{Langx|ru|Санкт-Петербургское общество недвижимости и долевого участия|lit=Saint-Petersburg Agency Group}}). Liechtenstein police proved that Rudolf Ritter (brother to [[Michael Ritter]], a Financial Minister<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mitglieder der Regierung des Fürstentums Liechtenstein 1862-2021|url=https://www.regierung.li/regierungsmitglieder/mitglieder|access-date=2021-10-25|website=www.regierung.li}}</ref>) a Liechtenstein-based lawyer, jurist who practiced in offshore businesses (identification evasion), and financial manager for the accounts of both Putin's SPAG and the Ismailovskaya mafia and that Alexander Afanasyev ("Afonya") was connected to both SPAG and the Ismailovskaya mafia through his Panama registered Earl Holding AG.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20171202092743/http://rubakhin.org/?page_id=867 Показания Хайдарова: Измайловская преступная группировка, Махмудов, Черный, Малевский, Козицын, Бокарев.]}} (Khaidarov's testimony: Izmailovskaya criminal group, Makhmudov, Cherny, Malevsky, Kozitsyn, Bokarev.) Retrieved 10 June 2021.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Кириленко |first=Анастасия (Kirilenko, Anastasia) |url=https://theins.ru/korrupciya/13846 |title=Мафия на госзаказе - 2. Что связывает Кремль с измайловской группировкой |trans-title=Mafia on state order - 2. What connects the Kremlin with the Izmailovo group |work=[[The Insider (website)|The Insider]] |date=1 October 2015 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=4 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004122030/https://theins.ru/korrupciya/13846}}</ref> Also, Rudolf Ritter signed for Earl Holding, Berger International Holding, Repas Trading SA and Fox Consulting.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://crime-ua.com/statti/20151102/obschak-putina |title=Расследование. Колумбийский кокаин в "общаке" Путина |trans-title=Investigation. Colombian cocaine in Putin's common fund |language=ru |work=CRiME (crime-ua.com) |date=2 November 2015 |access-date=18 August 2021}}</ref> The [[Colombia]]-based [[Cali Cartel|Cali KGB]] Cartel supplied cocaine to the Ismailovskaya mafia, too. Rudolf Ritter was arrested in May 2020 on money laundering charges.<ref>{{Cite news|title=NEWSWEEK DETAILS PUTIN'S ALLEGED ORGANIZED CRIME TIES…|url=https://jamestown.org/program/newsweek-details-putins-alleged-organized-crime-ties/|access-date=2021-10-25|website=Jamestown|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Five arrested in Liechtenstein on money laundering charges|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/five-arrested-in-liechtenstein-on-money-laundering-charges/1485980|access-date=2021-10-25|website=SWI swissinfo.ch|date=13 May 2000 |language=en}}</ref>
* The {{ill|Podolskaya gang|ru|Подольская организованная преступная группировка}}: was one of the most notorious gangs in Russia, active primarily in the [[Podolsk]] region and surrounding areas of Moscow in the 1990s. Led by Sergey "Lalak" Lalakin, the gang was involved in a wide range of criminal activities, including extortion, kidnapping, robbery, and contract killings. It controlled several major businesses, both legal and illegal, such as car service centers, real estate development, and the oil industry. The gang had strong connections to both legitimate commercial enterprises and underground operations. For instance, they were known to have exploited the Soviet-era economic structure, and their criminal influence extended to the film industry, where they laundered money through production companies. At the height of their power, the Podolsk gang had control over most of the businesses in the area, making it a significant criminal entity within Moscow and its suburbs. In addition to their involvement in various illegal enterprises, the gang engaged in brutal power struggles with other criminal groups, resulting in a series of violent clashes and murders. These internal conflicts, including the death of key figures like Sergey "Psych" Fedyaev, allowed for shifts in power within the group, and members such as Nikolai "Sobol" Sobolev and others competed for dominance. Despite the ongoing violence, Lalakin's influence expanded, and he managed to secure connections with politicians, businessmen, and even high-ranking members of the Russian military. In the late 1990s, after several legal issues and an arrest in 1995, Lalakin distanced himself from the criminal world, focusing on legal business ventures like sports clubs and charity work. However, his past remained tied to the group's legacy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=История "Подольской" ОПГ |url=https://dzen.ru/a/ZZ-W2IZkCzuB3e3m |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=sso.passport.yandex.ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Подольская ОПГ |url=https://flb.ru/info/32177.html |access-date=2025-03-12 |website=flb.ru}}</ref>

'''Groups based in other parts of Russia and the former Soviet Union''':
* The Dolgoprudnenskaya gang.<ref name="BBC rise" /> Originally from the City of [[Dolgoprudny]].
* The [[Tambov Gang|Tambov gang]] of Saint Petersburg is very closely aligned with {{ill|Nikolai Aulov|ru|Аулов, Николай Николаевич}}, who is the head of the Federal Drug Control Service; [[Alexander Bastrykin]], who is the head of the Investigative Committee; Japanese [[yakuza]] from [[Kobe]] and [[Osaka]]; and with the political rise of [[Vladimir Putin]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Иванидзе |first=Владимир (Ivanidze, Vladimir) |url=https://novayagazeta.ru/society/50920.html |title=Кому Нева дала шанс: Игорный бизнес в Санкт-Петербурге начинали российские ОПГ и японские якудза. Под контролем мэрии. Уникальное свидетельство непосредственного участника событий |trans-title=To whom the Neva gave a chance: the gambling business in St. Petersburg was started by Russian organized crime groups and Japanese yakuza. Under the control of the city hall. Unique evidence of a direct participant in the events |work=[[Novaya Gazeta]] |date=8 February 2012 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=9 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209210941/https://novayagazeta.ru/society/50920.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Кириленко |first=Анастасия (Kirilenko, Anastasia) |url=https://theins.ru/korrupciya/22764 |title=Путин глазами якудзы. Японский мафиози рассказал о своем бизнесе в Петербурге |trans-title=Putin through the eyes of the Yakuza. Japanese mafiosi spoke about his business in St. Petersburg |language=ru |work=[[The Insider (website)|The Insider]] |date=21 April 2016 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=23 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423211538/https://theins.ru/korrupciya/22764}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Кириленко |first=Анастасия (Kirilenko, Anastasia) |url=https://theins.ru/korrupciya/10407 |title=Мафия на госзаказе. Как новые кремлевские олигархи связаны с преступным миром |trans-title=Mafia at the state order. How are the new Kremlin oligarchs connected with the underworld |language=ru |work=[[The Insider (website)|The Insider]] |date=2 July 2015 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=3 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703111342/https://theins.ru/korrupciya/10407}}</ref> Putin's long time personal body guard, [[Viktor Zolotov|Victor Zolotov]] is very close to this group as well. the man most associated with them is Vladimir Kumarin.<ref name="unreported cases"/>
* The Komarovskaya organized criminal group (leader - Komar) controls the St. Petersburg-[[Vyborg]] highway ([[A181 highway (Russia)|A181]]) called ''Scandinavia'' or the Russia part of the [[European route E18#Russia|European highway E18]], which includes everything along the road (hotels, repair garages, cafes and restaurants, etc.) and the transportation process as well as St. Petersburg's trucking businesses. Komarovskaya OPG steal automobiles, commit robberies, provide protection racketeering, and receive strong support from the Usvyatsov-Putyrsky gang and its AOZT "Putus" to organize the supply of [[Cali cartel|cocaine]] from South America into Russia, Finland, Scandinavia and Europe and the trade in counterfeit dollars.<ref>{{cite web |last=Захаров |first=А. (Zakharov, A.) |url=http://www.aferizm.ru/criminal/ops/ops_spb_1.htm |title=Крупнейшие преступные сообщества и группировки Санкт-Петербурга |trans-title=The largest criminal communities and groups in St. Petersburg |language=ru |work=Falculty of Law Saint Petersberg State University |date=3 June 2014 |access-date=25 September 2021 |archive-date=25 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140625085705/http://www.aferizm.ru/criminal/ops/ops_spb_1.htm}}</ref><ref name=DossGangsterRotenberg>{{cite news |last=Канев |first=Сергей (Kanev, Sergey) |url=https://mbk-news.appspot.com/suzhet/banditskij-rotenberg/ |title="Бандитский Ротенберг", или За кого не стыдно Владимиру Путину |trans-title="Gangster Rothenberg", or for whom Vladimir Putin is not ashamed |language=ru |work=[[:ru:МБХ медиа|МБХ медиа]] |date=7 October 2019 |access-date=25 September 2021 |archive-date=8 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208142755/https://mbk-news.appspot.com/suzhet/banditskij-rotenberg/ |quote=The author Sergey Kanev is from Центр «Досье» (dossier.center).}} [http://www.compromat.ru/page_40665.htm Archived] on compromat.ru on 9 October 2019 as Как расцвел "Путус" Вовы-Однорукого и Лени-Спортсмена: История питерского "авторитета" Владимира Путырского и бывшего тренера Путина дзюдоиста-рецидивиста Леонида Усвяцова (How Vova-One-Armed and Leni-Sportsman's "Putus" blossomed: The story of the St. Petersburg "authority" Vladimir Putyrsky and the former coach of Putin, the judoka-recidivist Leonid Usvyatsov).</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://progorod33.ru/news/59061 |title=Привет из 90-х: "Убили, отсидели и стали бизнесменами" |trans-title=Greetings from the 90s: "They killed, served and became businessmen" |language=ru |work=progorod33.ru |date=22 March 2021 |access-date=25 September 2021 |archive-date=25 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325074453/https://progorod33.ru/news/59061}}</ref>
* The Usvyatsov-Putyrsky gang (AOZT "Putus") led by Vladimir Putyrsky (Vova-One-armed) and Leonid Ionovich Usvyatsov (Lenya-Sportsman) organizes both the supply of [[Cali cartel|cocaine]] from South America into Russia, Finland, Scandinavia and Europe and the trade in counterfeit dollars and works closely with the Komarovskaya organized criminal group. Both Putyrsky and Usvyatsov have large estates in the [[Czech Republic]] where they enjoy hunting. During the 1980s, sambo coach "Trud" Usvyatsov, who was imprisoned for rape, robbery and theft, coached [[Vladimir Putin]], [[Arkady Rotenberg]], [[Boris Romanovich Rotenberg|Boris Rotenberg]] and Nikolai Kononov.<ref name=DossGangsterRotenberg/>
* The Uzbek criminals in [[Alexander Litvinenko|Litvinenko]]'s Uzbek file, including Michael Cherney, [[Gafur Rakhimov]], [[Vyacheslav Ivankov]], and [[Salim Abduvaliev]] (also spelled ''Salim Abdulaev''); are Uzbek origin KGB and later FSB officers at Moscow including Colonel Evgeny Khokholkov; were organized by Vladimir Putin while Putin was Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs of St Petersburg in the early 1990s; and control [[Afghanistan]] origin drug trade through St Petersburg, Russia, and then to Europe. [[Boris Berezovsky (businessman)|Boris Berezovsky]] told Litvinenko to brief his Uzbek file about corrupt FSB officers to the future Head of the [[Federal Security Service|FSB]] Putin, which Litvinenko did on 25 July 1998 and, later, Litvinenko was imprisoned.<ref>{{cite news|last=Кириленко |first=Анастасия (Kirilenko, Anastasia) |url=http://theins.ru/politika/19049 |title=Путин и мафия. За что убили Александра Литвиненко |trans-title=Putin and mafia. Why Alexander Litvinenko was killed |language=ru |work=[[The Insider (website)|The Insider]] |date=21 January 2016 |access-date=18 December 2020 |archive-date=23 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123092315/http://theins.ru/politika/19049}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Khaknazarov |first= Usman |url=http://archive.muslimuzbekistan.com/eng/ennews/2003/02/ennews20022003.html |title=Renascence of "Power Broker" of Uzbek Policy: Or how Uzbek president Islam Karimov is reverting to the hands of his first master |work=muslimuzbekistan.com |date=20 February 2003 |access-date=21 December 2020 |archive-date=26 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060526015116/http://archive.muslimuzbekistan.com/eng/ennews/2003/02/ennews20022003.html}}</ref> [[Robert Eringer]], head of Monaco's Security Service, confirmed Litvinenko's file about Vladimir Putin as a kingpin in Europe's narcotics trade.<ref>{{cite news |last=Кириленко |first=Анастасия (Kirilenko, Anastasia) |url=https://www.svoboda.org/a/25183494.html |title=Путин на "личной службе" у князя Альбера |trans-title=Putin on "personal service" with Prince Albert |work=[[Radio Free Europe|Радио Свобода]] (Radio Svoboda) |date=16 December 2013 |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-date=9 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009133222/https://www.svoboda.org/a/25183494.html}}</ref> The [[Colombia]]-based [[Cali Cartel|Cali KGB]] Cartel supplied cocaine to this network, too. 
* The [[Ryazan#Slony|Slonovskaya gang]] was one of the strongest and violent criminal groups in CIS in the 1990s. It was based in [[Ryazan]] city. It had a long-term bloody wars with other active criminal groups in the city (Ayrapetovskaya, Kochetkovskie, etc.) with which it initially coexisted peacefully. The gang virtually disappeared by 2000 as its members were getting hunted down and imprisoned by local Russian Police.
* The [[Uralmash gang]] of [[Yekaterinburg]].
* The [[Chechen mafia]] is one of the largest ethnic organized crime groups operating in the former Soviet Union next to established Russian mafia groups.
* The [[Georgian mafia]] is regarded as one of the biggest, powerful and influential criminal networks in Europe, which has produced the biggest number of [[Thief in law|thieves in law]] in all former USSR countries.
* The [[Mkhedrioni]] was a paramilitary group involved in organised crime<ref>{{cite web | last = Bonner | first = Raymond | date = 1 November 1993| title = Georgian Fighter Wields Guns, Money and Charm | work  = New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/16/world/georgian-fighter-wields-guns-money-and-charm.html | access-date = 6 May 2020 }}</ref> led by a thief in law [[Jaba Ioseliani]] in Georgia in the 1990s.
* The city of [[Kazan]] was known for its gang culture, which later progressed into more organised, mafiaesque groups. This was known as the [[Kazan phenomenon]].
'''Groups based in other areas''':
* The [[Brothers' Circle]]: headed by Temuri Mirzoyev, this multi-ethnic [[Transnational crime|transnational]] group is "composed of leaders and senior members of several Eurasian criminal groups largely based in countries of the former Soviet Union but operating in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America". In 2011, US President [[Barack Obama]] and his administration named it one of four transnational organized crime groups that posed the greatest threat to US national security, and sanctioned certain key members and froze their assets. A year later, he extended the national emergency against them for another year.
* The [[Semion Mogilevich]] organization: based in [[Budapest]], Hungary and headed by the crime boss of the same name, this group numbered approximately 250 members as of 1996. Its business is often connected with that of the Solntsevskaya Bratva and the Vyacheslav Ivankov Organization. Aleksey Anatolyevich Lugovkov is the second-in-command, and Vitaly Borisovich Savalovsky is the "underboss" to Mogilevich.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Semion Mogilevich |url=https://www.state.gov/semion-mogilevich/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=United States Department of State |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Russia}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Anti-organized crime institutions in Russia]]
* [[Corruption in Russia]]
* [[Crime in Russia]]
* [[List of post-Soviet mobsters]]
* [[Mafia state]]
* [[Russian oligarch]]
* [[Thief in law]]
* [[Russian mafia in popular culture]]
* [[Russian mafia in Germany]]
* [[Israeli mafia#Russian mafia|Russian mafia in Israel]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name="Mallory">Mallory, Stephen L. [https://books.google.com/books?id=fbcPBAOJcXYC&dq=Russian+mafia+brigadier+structure&pg=RA1-PA76 ''Understanding Organized Crime'']. Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2007, p. 73-87.</ref>

<ref name="Lakhonin">{{cite web|url=http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/28442/|title=Russian mafia abroad is a myth – head of Russian Interpol bureau|publisher=Interfax.com.ua|date=23 December 2009|access-date=16 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705071817/http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/28442/|archive-date=5 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Bauer">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7973637/Russian-mafia-taking-over-French-Riviera.html|title=Russian mafia taking over French Riviera|work=[[The Telegraph (website)|The Telegraph]]|date=31 August 2010|access-date=16 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815211025/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7973637/Russian-mafia-taking-over-French-Riviera.html|archive-date=15 August 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="history channel">{{cite video|people=Molly Thompson (Writer/Producer)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAJwINlqvyI|title=Russian Mafia: Organized Crime|medium=TV|location=United States|publisher=[[History (U.S. TV channel)|The History Channel]]|date=2001|access-date=28 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604011734/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAJwINlqvyI|archive-date=4 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="CBS worldwide">{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-mafias-worldwide-grip/|title=Russian Mafia's Worldwide Grip|publisher=[[CBS News]]|date=11 February 2009|access-date=18 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718230226/http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-202_162-217683.html|archive-date=18 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Ivankov pdf">{{cite web|url=http://www.deepcapture.com/wp-content/uploads/Ivankov-Case.pdf|title=IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT COURT OF DELAWARE|date=31 May 2005|access-date=18 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108125239/http://www.deepcapture.com/wp-content/uploads/Ivankov-Case.pdf|archive-date=8 November 2011|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Friedman">Friedman, Robert I. [https://books.google.com/books?id=F1IqGCc7P8cC&dq=timofeyev+vienna+1994&pg=PT89 ''Red Mafiya: How the Russian Mob Has Invaded America'']. Warner Books, 2000.</ref>

<ref name="Glenny">Glenny, Misha [https://books.google.com/books?id=HH7dv-6r6IYC&dq=U+Holubu+prague&pg=PA72 ''McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld'']. House of Anansi Press, 2008.</ref>

<ref name="ny daily news">{{cite web| url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/russian-mob-rap-article-1.733288| title=RUSSIAN IN MOB RAP| last=Claffey| first=Mike| work=[[New York Daily News]]| date=24 August 1996| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028144239/http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/russian-mob-rap-article-1.733288| archive-date=28 October 2012| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="ny times">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/10/weekinreview/the-world-to-sicilians-russia-has-no-mafia-it-s-too-wild.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm| title=The World; To Sicilians, Russia Has No Mafia. It's Too Wild.| last=Bohlen| first=Celestine| work=[[The New York Times]]| date=10 January 1999| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606113855/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/01/10/weekinreview/the-world-to-sicilians-russia-has-no-mafia-it-s-too-wild.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm| archive-date=6 June 2013| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="la times">{{cite web| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-dec-13-mn-53747-story.html| title=Russian Calls Swiss Verdict a Win for Fellow Businessmen| last=Paddock| first=Richard C.| work=[[The Los Angeles Times]]| date=13 December 1998| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013120555/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/dec/13/news/mn-53747| archive-date=13 October 2012| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="CNN">{{cite web| url=https://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/21/mogilevich.fbi.most.wanted/index.html| archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119084138/http://articles.cnn.com/2009-10-21/justice/mogilevich.fbi.most.wanted_1_fbi-wire-fraud-semion-mogilevich?_s=PM:CRIME| url-status=live| archive-date=19 January 2013| title=FBI: Mobster more powerful than Gotti| last=Meserve| first=Jeanne| publisher=CNN| date=21 October 2009| access-date=18 July 2012}}</ref>

<ref name="BBC transcript">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/panorama/transcripts/transcript_06_12_99.txt|title=Transcript – Panorama "The Billion Dollar Don"|publisher=BBC|access-date=18 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730065834/http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/panorama/transcripts/transcript_06_12_99.txt|archive-date=30 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="FBI">{{cite web|url=https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/october/mogilevich_102109|title=Top Ten Fugitives: Global Con Artist and Ruthless Criminal|publisher=[[FBI]]|date=21 October 2009|access-date=18 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120701050032/http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2009/october/mogilevich_102109|archive-date=1 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="prague daily">{{cite web| url=http://praguemonitor.com/2011/03/08/czech-police-arrest-internationally-wanted-mafia-boss| title=Czech police arrest internationally wanted mafia boss| work=Prague Daily Monitor| date=8 March 2011| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313092716/http://praguemonitor.com/2011/03/08/czech-police-arrest-internationally-wanted-mafia-boss| archive-date=13 March 2011| url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="focus features">{{cite web| url=http://focusfeatures.com/article/business_as_usual__the_rise_of_the_russian_mafia| title=Business as Usual: The Rise of the Russian Mafia| last=Bleifuss| first=Joel| publisher=[[Focus Features|FocusFeatures.com]]| date=7 September 2007| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511220009/http://www.focusfeatures.com/article/business_as_usual__the_rise_of_the_russian_mafia| archive-date=11 May 2012| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="BBC rise">{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/03/98/russian_mafia/70485.stm| title=So who are the Russian mafia ?| last=Bleifuss| first=Joel| publisher=BBC News| date=1 April 1998| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406035558/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/special_report/1998/03/98/russian_mafia/70485.stm| archive-date=6 April 2012| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="unreported cases">{{cite web| url=http://www.unreportedcases.com/mafia-crimes/russian-mafia-mafia-crimes/the-russian-mafia-part-three| title=The Russian Mafia – Part Three| publisher=UnreportedCases.com| date=11 March 2011| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121027085707/http://www.unreportedcases.com/mafia-crimes/russian-mafia-mafia-crimes/the-russian-mafia-part-three| archive-date=27 October 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="ITAR-TASS">{{cite web| url=http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/219594.html| title=Leader of Orekhovskaya gang sentenced to life in jail| publisher=ITAR-TASS| date=9 June 2011| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603033159/http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/219594.html| archive-date=3 June 2013| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="kyivpost">{{cite web| url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/russia-and-former-soviet-union/russian-crime-gang-leader-gets-life-in-jail.html#.UAc19WGe4pI| title=Russian crime gang leader gets life in jail| work=Kyiv Post| date=7 September 2011| access-date=18 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150527063925/http://www.kyivpost.com/content/russia-and-former-soviet-union/russian-crime-gang-leader-gets-life-in-jail.html#.UAc19WGe4pI| archive-date=27 May 2015| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Sierra Leone">Smillie, Ian, Lansana Gberie, Ralph Hazleton [https://books.google.com/books?id=vJ3ivXIW_dsC&dq=Boris+Nayfeld+released&pg=PA44 ''The Heart of the Matter: Sierra Leone, Diamonds and Human Security'']. Diane Pub, 2000, p. 44-45.</ref>

<ref name="Balagula release">{{cite web| url=http://austin.ynn.com/content/headlines/120353/russian-mobster-to-be-released| title=Russian mobster to be released| date=24 September 2004| access-date=20 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218210118/http://austin.ynn.com/content/headlines/120353/russian-mobster-to-be-released| archive-date=18 February 2012| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Elson and Nayfield">{{cite web| url=http://articles.nydailynews.com/1997-04-22/news/18029763_1_gangsters-wound-soviet-union| title=2 Dance Bullet Ballet| author=Jerry Capeci, Gene Mustain| work=[[New York Daily News]]| date=22 April 1997| access-date=20 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028134129/http://articles.nydailynews.com/1997-04-22/news/18029763_1_gangsters-wound-soviet-union| archive-date=28 October 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="Ivankov dead">{{cite web |url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/top-russian-mobster-ivankov-dies-20091010-gr4y.html |title=Top Russian mobster Ivankov dies |work=The Sidney Morning Herald |date=10 October 2009 |access-date=20 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216130545/http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/top-russian-mobster-ivankov-dies-20091010-gr4y.html |archive-date=16 February 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name="Elson 2nd arrest">{{cite web| url=https://www.justice.gov/usao/nye/pr/2006/2006mar24.html| title=TWO RUSSIAN ORGANIZED CRIME FIGURES CHARGED IN PLOT TO MURDER BUSINESSMEN| publisher=United States Attorney's Office| date=24 March 2006| access-date=20 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626213016/http://www.justice.gov/usao/nye/pr/2006/2006mar24.html| archive-date=26 June 2012| url-status=dead}}</ref>

<ref name="4 criminals">{{cite web| url=http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090423/121263983.html| title=FBI agents in Moscow on trail of Russian mafia bosses| publisher=EN.RIAN.ru| date=23 April 2009| access-date=20 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612184617/http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090423/121263983.html| archive-date=12 June 2013| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="Semion powerful">{{cite web| url=http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090423/121263983.html| title=The Most Dangerous Mobster in the World| last=Friedman| first=Robert I.| work=[[The Village Voice]]| date=26 May 1998| access-date=20 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612184617/http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090423/121263983.html| archive-date=12 June 2013| url-status=live}}</ref>

<ref name="WikiLeaks">{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11893886| title=Wikileaks: Russia branded 'mafia state' in cables| publisher=BBC News| date=2 December 2010| access-date=20 July 2012| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029015213/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11893886| archive-date=29 October 2012| url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

==Sources==
* {{cite web|url=http://web.wm.edu/so/monitor/issues/07-1/4-hatcher.htm|title=The Russian mafia and its impact on the Russian economy|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227130753/http://web.wm.edu/so/monitor/issues/07-1/4-hatcher.htm|archive-date=27 December 2013}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.uexpress.com/georgie-anne-geyer/1997/9/30/russian-mafia-controls-economy-and-politics|title=Russian mafia controls economy and politics uexpress.com Sept 30, 1997}}

==Further reading==
* Galeotti, Mark. 2018. [https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300186826/vory ''The Vory'']. Yale University Press.
* {{cite book |last=Mironova |first=Vera |author-link= |date=2023 |title=Criminals, Nazis, and Islamists: Competition for Power in Former Soviet Union Prisons|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780197645680}}
* {{cite book |last1=Morcillo |first1=Cruz |last2=Muñoz |first2=Pablo |title=Palabra de Vor: Las mafias rusas en España |publisher=Espasa Forum |language=es |date=26 October 2010 |isbn=978-8467034356}}
* Varese, Federico (2005). ''The Russian Mafia''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0198297369}}.

==External links==
* [https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/organized-crime#Eurasian-TOC Eurasian Transnational Organized Crime Groups]

{{Organized crime groups in Europe}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russian Mafia}}
[[Category:Russian Mafia| ]]
[[Category:Soviet mafia| ]]
[[Category:Corruption in Russia]]
[[Category:Crime in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Economy of Russia|Mafia]]
[[Category:Secret societies related to organized crime]]
[[Category:Organized crime by ethnicity]]
[[Category:Transnational organized crime]]
[[Category:Organized crime groups in Russia]]
[[Category:Organized crime groups in Europe]]
[[Category:Organized crime groups in Asia]]
[[Category:Organised crime groups in Australia]]
[[Category:Organised crime groups in Israel]]
[[Category:Organized crime groups in the United States]]
[[Category:Second economy of the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Organized crime groups in the Czech Republic]]