Organised Crime & Crime Prevention - what works? - Scandinavian ...

NSfK’s 40. forskerseminar, Espoo, Finland 1998
Maya Rusakova and Yakov Kostjukovski
Institute of Sociology, Russian Academy of Science Deviantology Center
7 th Krasnoarmeiskaya 25/14
198052 St. Petersburg, Russia
e-mail: inso@ego.spb.su
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Organised Crime and the Narcotics Business in St.Petersburg 1
The use of illegal drugs and the role of organised crime in the narcotics market are difficult to
investigate because these remain hidden to a very high degree. Empirical research employing
techniques such as participant observation and interviews of drug users, offenders, and other
informants with first-hand knowledge of the subject, allows you to get into the very center of
events, to see the underworld from the inside with “aboriginal eyes”.
Organised crime constantly expands its sphere of influence. “Money-making” remains the
priority, but it is accompanied with others: crime organisations are interested in access to state
structures, and in influencing economy and policy. Thus, quantitative change of crime
succesfully passes to qualitative change. In today´s talk about the criminal elements being on
the way to “capture” authority, “capture” does not mean “war”. It is rather a matter of fusion,
criminal structures having abundant experience of cooperation with business, political parties
and other central elements of society.
Today´s business world is strongly coordinated with organised crime. This is not a matter of a
criminal takeover. Crime organisations have for a long time been successfully involved in the
privatization process, and in banking operations, credits, and the mortgage business. The
criminal organisations become a kind of hybrids of the criminal-business enterprise. Many of
them are capable not only of taking a bank “under their wing” but they have also been able to
open their own bank. Thus “obshak” (criminal organisation money) is turned into money that
can be invested and turned into productive capital. This structure can be more effective than
the state because crime organisations have access to a coercion apparatus that is more likely
to produce results than state operations.
In comparison with 1993-1994, the situation in the criminal world is rather quiet. There are
serious reasons to believe that it is “a quiet before thunder”. Year by year, St.Petersburg
receives more criminal money from Moscow. St.Petersburg is one of the largest business
centers of the country. With seaport, airport, railway stations, its location close to the border
(“window to Europe”), the city is extremely attractive for contrabandists, swindlers in the art
business, antique swindlers and other professional criminals. According to expert opinion,
Moscow is not only the political but also the criminal capital of Russia. Moscow money
introduces managers, owners and their interests into St.Petersburg. The conflict in this field is
inevitable.
Organised crime as business means supply of goods and services, which are illegal but have a
large demand. Narcotics trade is one of the most profitable of such activities. Police arrest the
weakest and less organised narcotics dealers (often with the help of information obtained
1 Edited by Kauko Aromaa.