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The Chechen mafia (; ) is one of the largest ethnic
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
groups operating in the former
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
next to established
Russian mafia The Russian mafia ( or ), also known as Bratva ( ; ) less as Obshchak (Общак) or Brigades (Бригады) , is a collective of various organized crime related elements originating or/and operating in Russia. In December 2009, Timur ...
groups.


Structure

While most Slavic and Caucasian gangsters in the Soviet era followed the thieves in law subculture, Chechens largely resisted this, instead preferring to use the tribal structure of the '' teip'' as well as the concept of an '' abrek'', the outlaw-hero.


In Moscow

The Moscow branch of the Chechen mafia, also known as the ''Obshina'' or "community", was founded by gangster Nikolay Suleimanov during the 1980s. Suleimanov operated a second-hand car business and made the bulk of his profits through tax evasion. The group later moved into extortion as capitalism penetrated the Soviet economy, and at this point Khozh-Ahmed Noukhayev, at the time a university student and part of an underground student movement dedicated to Chechen independence, was brought in as an enforcer. The more ideological Noukhayev imposed an additional condition on businesses under his "protection", which was that they must invite a Chechen into their workforce. Facilitating Chechen migration into Moscow would mean his organisation became a formidable force in the underworld. Boris Berezovsky was one of the businessmen associated with the Chechens during this period. The Chechen reputation for violence was formidable, and before long they became the dominant crime group in Moscow. This brought them into conflict with the Slavic gangs, including the
Solntsevskaya bratva The Solntsevskaya Organized Crime Group (), also known as the Solntsevskaya Bratva (), is a Russian crime syndicate group. Other simplified versions of the name are Solntsevskaya Brotherhood and Solntsevskaya gang. Rise to power The Solntsevskay ...
and the Orekhovskaya gang, who were concerned at the growing links between organised crime and the Chechen separatist movement.


Connections to Chechen separatism

Khozh-Ahmed Noukhayev claimed that he started racketeering as a student to help raise funds for the Chechen nationalist cause. Indeed, over the course of his activities, Noukhayev became acquainted with Dzhokhar Dudayev, who recognised his important role in Moscow's Chechen community and took him on as an unofficial aide, before helping him escape from prison in 1991. Noukhayev played a prominent role in the lead-up to the
First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...
, participating in last-minute negotiations with the Russian government. He later fought in and was wounded in the Battle of Grozny. After the war, Noukhayev continued to play a key role in Chechen politics and set up a holding company, the Caucasian Common Market, which aimed to bring prosperity to
Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...
by building an oil pipeline between Europe and
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
. But the Second Chechen War ended this initiative. In the chaos of war-torn Chechnya, many of the insurgent forces turned to criminality in order to raise funds. Kidnapping became a key business for both rebels and local bandits, including Arbi Barayev's Special Purpose Islamic Regiment. In one particularly notorious case, four British engineers were abducted and beheaded. Oil theft and smuggling also became a major source of income. During its brief period of independence, Chechnya quickly fell into anarchy, becoming a major hub for arms trafficking (with a gun market in central Grozny), mobsters using local banks to launder profits from criminal activities, and rival warlords, armed gangs, and Islamist terrorists all fighting each other for control. It was this atmosphere of lawlessness that exacerbated tensions with Russia and helped provide justification for the Second Chechen War.


Connections to the Chechen government

Under the rule of Ramzan Kadyrov, the criminalisation of Chechnya has taken a somewhat different turn to the wartime chaos that preceded it. Government officials have been accused of embezzling billions in state funds from Moscow, turning Chechnya into something of a financial "
black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...
", as well as demanding kickbacks for construction projects. The Kadyrovtsy are also believed to be responsible for a number of murders and attempted murders, some of them political as in the case of the Yamadayev brothers, and some business-related, such as the attempted hit on banker German Gorbuntsov in London in 2012.


In popular culture

* In '' Eastern Promises'' (2007), Chechen gangsters seek revenge for the killing of their associate in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. * In the 2008 film ''
The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, from a screenplay co-written with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005), and the second inst ...
'', one of the
Gotham City Gotham City ( ), or simply Gotham, is a fictional city in the Northeastern United States that serves as the primary city appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. It is best known as the home of the superhero Batman and his List ...
organized crime factions is represented by a figure known as "The Chechen", portrayed by Ritchie Coster. The Chechen has at his command a pair of vicious dogs. The Chechen is later apparently killed on the orders of the Joker (
Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...
), who orders him to be cut up and fed to his own dogs. The dogs are later used by the Joker to attack Batman ( Christian Bale). * A side-plot of the Russian crime film ''
Brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...
'' revolves around a struggle between Chechen and Russian mafia over the control of a market. * Several episodes of '' Brigada'' deal with the titular gang's dealings with Chechen militants and organised crime figures. * The Chechen mafia make an appearance in the
Frederick Forsyth Frederick McCarthy Forsyth ( ; 25 August 1938 – 9 June 2025) was an English novelist and journalist. He was best known for thrillers such as ''The Day of the Jackal'', ''The Odessa File'', ''The Fourth Protocol'', ''The Dogs of War (novel), ...
novel ''
Icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
''. * Chechen criminal figures make an appearance at the end of ''
The Other Guys ''The Other Guys'' is a 2010 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Adam McKay, who co-wrote it with Chris Henchy. It stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg with Eva Mendes, Michael Keaton, Steve Coogan, Ray Stevenson, Samu ...
''. * In the Turkish TV series '' Valley of the Wolves'', Chechen mafia members are seen in the Valley. * In the 2014 film '' The Drop'', the Chechen mafia uses a series of Brooklyn bars to collect illegal money. In this case, the Chechen mafia are represented as the main antagonists of the film and are represented by Chovka Umarov ( Michael Aronov). * In the HBO series '' Barry'', the Chechen mafia in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
is led by Goran Pazar ( Glenn Fleshler) and Goran's right-hand man, NoHo Hank ( Anthony Carrigan) is one of the main protagonists.


See also

*
North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...


References


Further reading

* Johanna Granville
"Dermokratizatsiya and Prikhvatizatsiya: the Russian Kleptocracy and Rise of Organized Crime"
in ''Demokratizatsiya'', vol. 11, no. 3 (summer 2003): 449–457. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chechen Mafia Mafia Organized crime by ethnicity Transnational organized crime Organised crime groups in Austria Organized crime groups in Chechnya Organized crime groups in France Organised crime groups in Germany Organized crime groups in Russia Organized crime groups in Slovakia Organized crime groups in the Czech Republic