Russian Organized Crime: Evolution & Impact, at Home and Abroad

Speaker: Galeotti, M. (Mayak Intelligence)

Date: 8 January 2019

Speaker Session Preview

SMA hosted a speaker session presented by Dr. Mark Galeotti (Mayak Intelligence) as a part of its Future of Great Power Competition & Conflict Speaker Series. During his presentation, Dr. Galeotti discussed how Russian crime has evolved over time. He first defined “Russian organized crime” and highlighted the key complexities surrounding the definition. He then detailed the ways in which Russian organized crime has evolved over time and identified three time periods in which significant changes in Russian organized crime occurred: the pre-1980s “Vory vs. Zakone” period, the 1980s-2000s “Avtoritety / Corruption / Biznismeny” period, and the 2000s-present day “Blended and Networked” period. Next, Dr. Galeotti spoke about how organized crime has thrived in Russia in the past and how it continues to thrive. He also discussed Ukrainian organized crime’s close linkages with Russian organized crime. He further explained that criminal organizations in neighboring countries provide the Russian underworld with criminal goods and services, and these groups are merging and losing distinctiveness over time. He also discussed the direct and indirect impacts of organized crime on both Russia and the surrounding region. To conclude, Dr. Galeotti stated that Russian organized crime is changing, not leaving, and described a series of challenges that will likely arise as a result.