by David Zenian
Moscow - Russia's transition from communism to a market economy has triggered an unprecedented rise in organized crime, including protection rackets, smuggling, gambling, drugs and prostitution.
The upsurge is not only claiming dozens of lives every day, but could also shake the very foundations of the democratization process of President Boris Yeltsin, according to a recent report prepared by an international organization for its visiting experts and staff members.
Not a day passes without the Moscow press reporting major crimes across the country. In one recent attack, six people were killed and the top three levels of a building in Russia's Pacific port of Vladivostok were destroyed by a bomb explosion at the apartment of a businessman connected to one of the city's rival gangs.
While in no apparent way connected to the world-famous Italian organization with the same name, the Russian Mafiosi are rapidly growing into an institution enjoying tremendous power to manipulate everything from prices to production.
Under Soviet rule, an economy of shortages led to the existence of a parallel black market. The lifting of restrictions on private business has triggered the disintegration of long-established political and economic structures.
Enter the Mafiosi "bosses" - recognized for their flashy lifestyles down to the extravagant funerals for their departing comrades.
When Valery Dlugach, nicknamed "The Globe" by the Moscow press, was gunned down in April, he was given a grand funeral complete with a long line of black limousines, huge wreaths, and a banquet held in the priciest hotel.
Unlike Italy, where the Mafia is a distinct group engaged in organized crime, in Russia the boundaries are less distinct, with the term often applying equally to the bureaucracy and entrepreneurs, as well as to gangs of organized criminals more directly engaged in criminal activity.
"Mafia gangs, operating under the auspices of the local administration, effectively determine prices and supply, and extort protection money from small businessmen. Stall holders in Moscow, for example, are expected to pay the mafia a 'tax' of around 50 US dollars per month. Thirty dollars of this sum goes to local government officials," the report prepared for visiting western experts added.
According to the same report, Moscow is divided among an estimated 20 such mafia groups, employing more than 12,000 people. The majority of these groups are divided along ethnic and national lines, with the most prominent being Central Asians, Armenians, Azeris, Georgians and Chechens.
The government of President Yeltsin, aware of the devastating effects of the mafia, has launched several initiatives aimed at stamping out corruption, including the introduction of laws prohibiting government officials in engaging in commercial work.
These measures, however, have had little or no effect on the core of the mafia activity or on government corruption. The disparity between private sector and government salaries remains unchecked, and the central authorities often turn a blind eye to corruption.
In this atmosphere, the report says, bribes are seen as 'reimbursement' to local bureaucrats - the old nomenklatura - for assistance in the implementation of economic reform. If the central authorities were now to deprive them of this type of compensation, the local authorities would be likely to turn against the center and sabotage the reform process.
In conclusion, the report draws the following picture: "Government initiatives have failed to stem the rise of crime and corruption, with damaging consequences for the success of economic reform."
