Ukrainian mafia - criminal groups of Ukrainian origin and engaged in criminal activities in other states.
| Ukrainian mafia | |
|---|---|
| Location |  Ukraine |
| Years of activity | from 1991 to the present |
| Territory | Asia , Africa , Europe , Israel , North America |
| Ethnic composition | Ukrainians , Ukrainian Jews |
| Criminal activity | drug trafficking , diamond trafficking, racketeering , usury , robbery , extortion , illegal gambling , money laundering , pimping , car theft, arms trafficking , human trafficking , contract killings |
Ukrainian criminal organizations are considered one of the most influential forms of organized crime emanating from the former Soviet Union , along with the Russian mafia , the Georgian mafia , the Chechen mafia , the Armenian mafia and the Azerbaijani mafia . Ukrainian criminal organizations are involved in a wide variety of illegal activities. Although the Ukrainian mafia in most cases acts autonomously, it is most closely associated with Russian criminal organizations, as is the case with Semyon Mogilevich [1] .
Content
History
After the collapse of the Soviet Union , large stockpiles of weapons remained in Ukraine. The first manifestation of the activity of the Ukrainian mafia was participation in the illegal international trade in these weapons. In the period from 1992 to 1998, about 32 billion US dollars of weapons were lost from military depots in Ukraine, which then entered service in the countries of West Africa and Central Asia . Allegedly, Ukrainian criminal organizations also smuggled weapons into war-affected countries such as Afghanistan [2] .
In addition to arms trafficking, Ukrainian crime syndicates began to engage in international drug trafficking, becoming the main supplier of drugs from Central Asia to Central Europe . In addition to the countries of Central Europe, such as the Czech Republic and Hungary (where the Ukrainian mafia “protects” prostitution), its influence spread to the countries of North America and Israel , where a significant number of emigrated Ukrainian Jews live, among which there are also criminal elements [3 ] .
Odessa Mafia ("Raspberry")
The most famous and recognizable Ukrainian organized crime group in the world is the mafia from the port city of Odessa . In addition, Odessa is known as a haven for smugglers and a key post-Soviet center for human trafficking, as well as a transit point for the delivery of Afghan heroin from the Caucasus to Europe . In western Ukraine, Odessa criminals are actively involved in smuggling heroin, trafficking in human beings and the supply of counterfeit cigarettes to Europe, often in collaboration with Russian criminal groups [4] .
In Odessa, a long history of banditry was forming, dating back to the large and impoverished Jewish population of the city. Well-known writers, such as Isaac Babel , often wrote about the infamous activities of Jewish gangsters, thieves and crime bosses in this port city [5] . In the 20th century, domestic gangsterism in Odessa gave way to sophisticated organized crime, when local crime bosses began to use the city’s fast-growing port to their advantage. Initially, the local Odessa mafia (sometimes also called "Raspberry") began to expand its criminal activities: first to New York , and then to Israel, when both countries provided the opportunity for Ukrainian Jews to immigrate. Many Jews of Odessa emigrated abroad, including a significant portion of the city’s most famous criminals. The Odessa mafia began to conduct criminal activities in cities such as New York , Miami , Tel Aviv , Antwerp and Budapest , where Ukrainian organized crime groups consist of former residents of Odessa or criminals associated with Odessa [6] .
In the United States, the Odessa mafia is based in the Brighton Beach area of Brooklyn , New York. She is considered the most powerful post-Soviet criminal organization in the United States and expanded her activities to Miami and Los Angeles , where she established contacts with local Armenian and Israeli criminal figures, and also began to be present in the San Francisco Bay area . The Odessa mafia is known as a very secretive organization engaged in racketeering, illegal usury, contract killings, fraud, and drug trafficking [7] . Some criminals associated with the Odessa mafia have become part of the US underworld, as an example: , Yevsey Agron and Boris Nayfeld . In the 1980s and 1990s, internecine strife raged inside the Odessa mafia, often leading to extreme violence, such as the confrontation between Marat Balagula and Yevsey Agron, and then the war between the brothers Nayfeld and Monya Elson [8] .
In popular culture
- The Odessa mafia first appeared in Detective Comics No. 742 in March 2000, and has since been featured in numerous Batman comics .
- In the 2003 film Italian Robbery, the character Mashkov (played by Olek Krupa ), a high-ranking member of the Ukrainian mafia from Los Angeles, is presented.
- The 2005 film “The Arms Baron ” tells the story of Ukrainian-American arms dealer Yuri Orlov (performed by Nicholas Cage based on the life of Victor Bout ).
- A Ukrainian criminal group called the Zakarovsky Syndicate became an antagonist in the 2007 computer game Stranglehold .
- Whisper Gang, a Ukrainian organized crime group represented in Gotham City and led by Luca Wolf, first appeared in Batman comics in January 2012, and was then shown in the third season of the Gotham television series (2016).
- The Ukrainian mafia under the name "Brazerhoud Cat", specializing in trafficking in heroin and people, acts as the main antagonists of the seventh season of the television series " Dexter " (2012).
- In 2013, in the Banshee series, members of the Ukrainian mafia were the main antagonists of the first two seasons.
Notes
- ↑ Panorama: The Billion Dollar Don . BBC Date of treatment January 23, 2015.
- ↑ Organized Crime . Books.google.be. Date of treatment January 17, 2015.
- ↑ Organized Crime in Ukraine: Challenge and Response (PDF). Ncjrs.gov. Date of treatment January 17, 2015.
- ↑ Ukraine's Mob War . Foreign policy Date of treatment January 17, 2015.
- ↑ Gangsters, beggars, prostitutes and other inhabitants of Jewish Odessa. . Myjewishlearning.com. Date of treatment January 17, 2015.
- ↑ In the Golden Land . Date of treatment January 17, 2015.
- ↑ Organized Crime . Date of treatment January 17, 2015.
- ↑ 2 DANCE BULLET BALLET . NY Daily News . Date of treatment January 17, 2015.