Crime in Russia refers to the multivalent issues of organized crime, extensive political and police corruption, and all aspects of criminality at play in Russia. Violent crime in
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
is much more apparent than in
Western Russia.
Crime by type
Murder
In 2020, the murder rate in Russia was 4.7 per 100,000 people, according to
Rosstat
The Federal State Statistics Service (, abbreviated as Rosstat) is the List of national and international statistical services, governmental statistics agency in Russia.
Since 2017, it is again part of the Ministry of Economic Development (Rus ...
(the Russian Federal State Statistics Service).
[Zdravoohran 2021]
Rosstat According to the
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC; French language, French: ''Office des Nations unies contre la drogue et le crime'') is a United Nations office that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention ...
(UNODC), the homicide rate was 7.3 in 2020 compared to 10.9 in 2016, a significant decrease over the previous 20 years (in 2000, the homicide rate was 28.1), and only slightly higher than the United States (6.3). In 2017, Moscow recorded the lowest crime rate in over a decade.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Russia had a higher
homicide
Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
rate – nearly ten per 100,000 people per year.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, the rate remained stable and it was lower than in the United States.
There was a rise in the homicide rate in the mid-1960s and 1970s which peaked in 1980, and then slowly declined in until 1985, and then it fell rapidly in 1986–1987.
Until the late 1980s, homicide rates in Russia were nearly similar to that in the United States.
The increase in homicide rate in Russia began slightly earlier than 1990,
and rose throughout the 1990s.
Homicides were more common in Russia than in the
Baltic states
The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
in 1991 and nearly doubled in frequency by 1994–1995.
In 2003, the homicide rate in Russia was among the highest in the world.
However, by 2017, homicide rate in Russia had fallen by 75%.
In the early 1980s, an estimated "two-thirds of murders and violent crimes were committed by intoxicated persons".
[ In 1995, about three quarters of those arrested for homicide were under the influence of alcohol.] According to Russia's health minister, alcohol consumption fell by 80% from 2013 to 2018.
Statistics
Below is a comparison of the homicide rate in Russia from 1990 to 2018:
The age pattern of homicide victimization rates in Russia is different compared to that of the United States.[Demographic, Temporal, and Spatial Patterns of Homicide Rates in Russia]
''European Sociological Review'' In 2001, 32% of the homicide victims in Russia were under the age of thirty-five, and 30% of the victims were fifty years or older. There is a wide range of variation in homicide rates throughout Russia. The homicide rate is relatively high in Siberia and Russian Far East
The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...
compared to European Russia.[
]
Drug trafficking
Drug trafficking and illicit drug use is a significant problem in Russia. The disintegration of the 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 ...
, the civil war in Afghanistan, the civil war in Tajikistan, and the conflicts in the 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 ...
have made the favorable conditions for the development of illegal drug trade. In the early 1990s, use of cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
was increasingly noted among the young population of the nation.
''Federal Research Division'', ''Library of Congress''
In the mid-1990s, the growing drug abuse that appeared in Russia was caused by lack of border controls,[ and the country became one of the world's major transit corridors of drug trafficking.] The entrance of producers of cocaine of South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
in the Russian market was proved by intercepting cocaine shipments in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
in 1993.[ As of 1996 internal production of narcotic substances was also rising in Russia.][
A limited quantity of illicit ]cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
is cultivated in the country. Opium poppies and marijuana
Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
are cultivated illegally in the Southern Federal District.[ Russia is one of the two major drug producers along with ]Morocco
Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...
, and one of the five major drug trafficking entry points along with
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in the Mediterranean region. The drug trafficking also involves the supply of opium
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...
, heroin and marijuana from Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
and the Golden Crescent, comprising Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
and Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
.
Russian drug rings work with the Sicilian Mafia
The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...
and the Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
n drug traffickers to import and distribute cocaine. Many local Russian distributors have connections with criminal organizations in Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, the Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...
, and Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
.[ According to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, a regular trafficking route exists from ]Tajikistan
Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
to Rostov-on-Don via Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
, and from there to Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
.[ Below are some drug-trafficking routes through the Russian Federation:
Between 1993 and 1995, the annual amount of seized narcotic substances increased from thirty-five tons to ninety tons.][ At present approximately 5 million people use illicit drugs in Russia. Russia has the biggest ]heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
problem along with
Iran and Estonia
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
.
Several measures have been taken by the government to combat drug trafficking. Russia is a party of the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.[ In 1994, when ]Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...
was the President of Russia
The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...
, a committee was founded for coordination of drug policy.[ In 1995, a three-year counternarcotics program was approved for establishing drug treatment facilities, criminalization of drug abuse, extensions of sentences for drug trafficking, and establishment of pharmaceuticals-monitoring process.][
In two major anti-drug operations in 1997, fifty metric tons of narcotic substances were seized and approximately 1,400 criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking were disrupted or destroyed.] In March 2003, Russian President Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...
established the Russian State Committee for Control over the
Illegal Trafficking of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances for combating drug trafficking with more coordinated manner.
Human trafficking
Russia is a supply, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children being trafficked for various purposes. The trafficking is multidimensional and it involves both commercial sexual exploitation and labor exploitation. Russia is a significant source of women trafficked to over 50 nations. Internal trafficking is a problem in the country; women are trafficked from rural areas to urban settlements for commercial sexual exploitation. Men are trafficked internally and from Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
for forced labor in the construction
Construction are processes involved in delivering buildings, infrastructure, industrial facilities, and associated activities through to the end of their life. It typically starts with planning, financing, and design that continues until the a ...
and agricultural industries. Debt bondage
Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, or whe ...
is common among the trafficking victims.
Arms trafficking
Arms trafficking has become a significant problem in the Russian Federation following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The former Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc (Combloc), the Socialist Bloc, the Workers Bloc, and the Soviet Bloc, was an unofficial coalition of communist states of Central and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America that were a ...
countries (including Russia) are the source of the majority of illegal weapons in circulation around the world.[Illegal Soviet Weapons Fuel Wars Around World]
'' Center for Defense Information'' Illegal arms possession is a problem in many regions in the nation, especially in the areas suffering from insurgency such as Chechnya and Dagestan.[Beyond the Kalashnikov: Small Arms Production, Exports, and Stockpiles in the Russian Federation]
''Small Arms Survey''
Because of the general weakening of the government control and the decentralization of power in the nation in the first half of the 1990s, small arms from several military units and arsenals made their way into the hands of civilians and local unofficial armed formations.[ Gunrunning in Russia stemmed from corruption in the ]armed forces
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...
and the illegal sale of military equipment. It has been suggested that parts of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and arms industry were engaged in arms trafficking with the Chechen separatists.
Russian troops play an important role in arms trafficking especially in the war zones. Poor salary for service persons coupled with lack of control over weapon storage resulted in troop involvement in illegal arms trade. The Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Kvashnin publicly stated in 2003 that increasing corruption left the Russian military in a "post-critical state".
There have been accusations and counter-accusations between Russia and Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
regarding illegal arms selling to Chechen separatists. Russia alleged that Chechen separatists received weapons through illegal networks going to Chechnya through Georgia 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 ...
. On the other hand, Georgia accused Russia of corruption on military bases, poor security infrastructure and low professionalism among Russian troops as the reasons behind the spread of illegal weapons.
The types of firearms in illegal possession varies throughout the nation: in Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
unregistered hunting rifles
Hunting is the Human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...
are the primarily found illegal weapons while in Chechnya the predominant illicit arms are illegally held military weapons.[ Small arms are illegally proliferated from the main centers of small arms manufacturing, Tula and Izhevsk.][ In 2003 an estimated 300,000 to 1.5 million illegal arms were in circulation within Russia.][
According to the statistics from the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, 1.5 times more people were arrested for gunrunning in 2001 than in 2000; in total 26,113 arrests were made and 65,000 crimes were committed using illegal arms.] In 2000, the number of seized unregistered firearms was 300,000, which was a 37% increase compared with 1999. Many Russian criminal organizations, aside from arms trafficking in Russia, provide weapons to the separatists groups in Chechnya.
However several attempts were made to combat arms trafficking. Small arms manufacturers in the country have tightened their security systems.[ Special prosecutors’ offices, which were originally set up in the 1950s for supervising secrecy in nuclear facilities, have been given the responsibility of the security of defense plants and curbing the theft of small arms from the plants.][ The ]Government of Russia
The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...
has undertaken a program to increase security at arms storage facilities at military bases.[
]
Poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...
was extremely uncommon in the 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 ...
, but has recently become a significant problem in the country. The main cause for poaching in Russia is the consequence of the social and political changes since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[IN FOCUS: DECLINING NUMBERS OF WILD SNOW LEOPARDS]
''European Association of Zoos and Aquaria
The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) is an organisation for the European zoo and aquarium community that links over 340 member organisations in 41 countries. EAZA membership is open to all zoos and aquaria across Europe that compl ...
'' State-controlled farms stopped functioning due to the fall of the previous system resulting in high unemployment.[ Unemployment, ]poverty
Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
, inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
, shortage of food and demand for foreign currency have major impact on the wildlife in the country.[
Between 1992 and 1996, law enforcement agencies in Russia mainly focused on drug trafficking, arms trafficking, ]money laundering
Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
and
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 ...
. Environmental crimes like poaching
Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...
and illegal timber smuggling were generally not treated as national security issues. During the post-perestroika
''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...
transition, the government agencies for environment and wildlife protection experienced severe budget cuts which led to layoffs and salary reductions for wildlife rangers in places like Primorski Krai and it reduced the resources of the rangers to fight against the poachers. Animals being poached in the country are bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...
, musk deer
Musk deer can refer to any one, or all eight, of the species that make up ''Moschus'', the only extant genus of the family (biology), family Moschidae. Despite being commonly called deer, they are not true deer belonging to the family Cervidae, b ...
, tiger
The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...
etc. Approximately 50,000 cases of poaching are registered annually. According to the tiger experts and enforcement officers in Russia, the characteristics of tiger poaching in Russia are:
*Tiger poaching is carried out by two sets of poachers: organized poaching gangs and opportunistic poachers.
*Poaching of the tiger's prey base (i.e. wild pig and deer) occur for the consumption of the local population.
*The poachers generally sell the tiger parts to middlemen operating out of the cities like Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Ussuriysk, Nakhodka and Plastun.
*The middlemen who buy or sell tiger parts are generally Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
, ethnic Koreans, or Chinese.
*Most tiger parts are being smuggled to the People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
and Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
.
It is believed that sharp increase in poaching in the first half of the 1990s resulted in rapid decrease of the Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to Northeast China, the Russian Far East, and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korea, Korean Peninsula, but currently ...
population. According to estimation, there were 330 to 371 adult Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East
The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...
in 1996 while the number was 600 at the end of the 1980s. During the communist rule, borders were closed and access to the Asian demand for tiger products was almost non-existent. Due to this, from 1972 to 1992, poaching was not reported.
The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in easing of border controls and gun laws, and it became an urgent need for the villagers to earn income in a destroyed economy with high inflation. Almost immediately tigers became similar to a profitable cash crop at a time when there was huge demand for tiger parts for Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...
. Data obtained from field examinations, skin confiscations and from radio-collared animals indicated that 58%-73% tiger deaths were related to poaching. Poaching of tigers apparently peaked in the early 1990s.
The collapse of the Marxist–Leninist government in the country had a significant influence on the average Russian's economic ability to maintain his or her family. Because of the large population of bears in Russia and an increasing demand for bear parts, especially bile, poaching of bears became increasingly popular. Its main trade partners in bear parts are primarily nearby Asian countries like South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
and the People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
. Poaching of the snow leopard is also a serious problem in Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
along with Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
, Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...
, Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, Tajikistan
Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
and Uzbekistan
, image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg
, image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg
, symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem
, national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
.[ The situation for antelopes has deteriorated significantly since the collapse of the Soviet system.] There has been increase in poaching of the saiga antelope which reduced the saiga population in the country.
However several attempts were made to combat commercial poaching of animals. Operation Amba, started to curtail the poaching of Siberian tiger
The Siberian tiger or Amur tiger is a population of the tiger subspecies ''Panthera tigris tigris'' native to Northeast China, the Russian Far East, and possibly North Korea. It once ranged throughout the Korea, Korean Peninsula, but currently ...
s in the Russian Far East
The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...
,[Highlighted grants]
''Turner Foundation, Inc.'' is credited for bringing the Amur tiger back from the brink of extinction in the mid-1990s.
''Wildlife Alliance''
Major General Vitaly Ivanovich Gamov,[ "Я вернусь домой генералом..." ]
Karavan 31 May 2002
Archive
a Deputy Commander of the Pacific Regional Directorate of the Border Guard Service of Russia, was killed in 2002 in his house after refusing to take bribes and allow poachers to outsource their recourse to Japan.[Гамова сожгли неосторожные хулиганы]
Gazeta.ru 19 June 2008
archive
In January 2009, the Altaigate Scandal developed after the Plenipotentiary of the Russian President in the State Duma was killed along with 6 other officials in the helicopter crash accident (poaching for legally protected argali mountain sheep) and an entire investigation was concealed from the public.
Corruption
In Russia's criminal legislation, "corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
" is not defined as a specific crime, but a collective term which include bribery, abuse of office and others. It is accepted in both inside and outside the country that corruption is widespread in Russia.[Corruption in Russia]
''International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
''
Archive
Corruption is often considered as a major factor behind economic problems in the nation.[ According to a survey conducted by the ]Economist Intelligence Unit
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts ...
in 1997, the Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...
was the most corrupt region in the world, with Russia (along with the other four CIS countries surveyed) received the maximum rating for corruption among public officials.[
In the ]Corruption Perceptions Index
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is an index that scores and ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as assessed by experts and business executives. The CPI generally defines corruption as an "abuse of entr ...
2007, Russia was ranked 143rd out of 179 countries for corruption (least corrupt countries are at the top of the list).[Corruption Perceptions Index 2007]
''Transparency International
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...
'' On a scale of 0 to 10 with 0 the most corrupt and 10 the most transparent, Transparency International
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...
rated Russia 2.3.[ Corruption in Russia is often divided into two broad categories: "petty" corruption, where low-ranking government officials are engaged in bribery, and "high-level" corruption involving political and business elite.][ Below are selected official data on corruption in Russia from 1997 to 2003:
Corruption in the police force is a significant problem in the country.] First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Vasilev claimed that 1,700 police persons were convicted of bribery or abuse of office in 2001 and the problem of corruption was under control. But according to most observers, in reality the level of police corruption is much higher and state officials like to downplay the problem of corruption.
Political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky said in an article written in early 2000 that the then current political system in Russia was "the highest stage of robber capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their use for the purpose of obtaining profit. This socioeconomic system has developed historically through several stages and is defined by ...
”. He believes that "Russia is not corrupt. Corruption
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
is what happens in all countries when businessmen offer officials large bribes for favors. Today's Russia is unique. The businessmen, the politicians, and the bureaucrats are the same people. They have privatized the country's wealth and taken control of its financial flows."
Such views are also shared by former CIA director James Woolsey who said in a 1999 Congressional Statement: "I have been particularly concerned for some years, beginning during my tenure, with the interpenetration of Russian 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 ...
, Russian intelligence and law enforcement, and Russian business. I have often illustrated this point with the following hypothetical: If you should chance to strike up a conversation with an articulate, English-speaking Russian in, say, the restaurant of one of the luxury hotels along Lake Geneva, and he is wearing a $3,000 suit and a pair of Gucci loafers, and he tells you that he is an executive of a Russian trading company and wants to talk to you about a joint venture, then there are four possibilities. He may be what he says he is. He may be a Russian intelligence officer working under commercial cover. He may be part of a Russian organized crime group. But the really interesting possibility is that he may be all three and that none of those three institutions have any problem with the arrangement."[The Chekist Takeover of the Russian State](_blank)
Anderson, Julie (2006), International Journal of Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence, 19:2, 237 - 288.
According to Transparency International, bribery in Russia is worth $300 billion. There have been two high-profile bribery scandals in Russia involving international companies. There was an agreement signed at an official ceremony in Moscow in which Foreign companies made a commitment not to give bribes in Russia.
Historical trends
Comparison of the crime rates of the 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 ...
with those of other nations is considered difficult, because the Soviet Union did not publish comprehensive crime statistics.[Crime in the Soviet Era]
''Federal Research Division'', ''Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
'' According to Western experts, robberies, homicide and other violent crimes were less prevalent in the Soviet Union than in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
because the Soviet Union had a larger police force, strict gun controls, and had a low occurrence of drug abuse
Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...
.[ However, ]white-collar crime
The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...
was prevalent in the Soviet system. Corruption in the form of bribery was common, primarily due to the paucity of goods and services on the open market.[
Theft of state property (embezzlement) by state employees was also common.][ When ]Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
was the General Secretary of the CPSU, an effort was made to stop white-collar crime.[ Revelations of corruption scandals involving high-level employees of the ]Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...
were published regularly in the news media
The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public. These include News agency, news agencies, newspapers, news magazines, News broadcasting, news channels etc.
History
Some of the fir ...
of the Soviet Union, and many arrests and prosecutions resulted from such discoveries.[ An article published in the '' Izvestia'' in 1994 described the difference between the situation of crime in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia:]
The crime rate in Russia sharply increased during the late 1980s. The fall of Marxist-Leninist governments in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
had tremendous influence on the political economy of organized crime.
Post Soviet
The collapse of the Soviet Union destroyed much of the systems and infrastructures
that provided social security
Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
and a minimal standard of living for the population,[Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation: The Case of the Russian Federation]
''University of Rhode Island'' and law and order across the country broke down resulting in outbreak of crime. In the transition to a market economy, free market economy, production fell and there was huge capital flight coupled with low foreign direct investment, foreign investment.[
Due to these factors, economic instability increased and a newly impoverished population emerged, accompanied by unemployment and unpaid wages.][ Extreme poverty as well as unpaid wages resulted in an increase in theft and counterfeiting.] Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, organized criminal groups in Russia and other former Soviet republics have been involved in different illegal activities such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking, car theft, human trafficking and money laundering being the most common.
From 1991 to 1992, the number of both officially reported crimes and the overall crime rate increased by 27%.[ By the early 1990s, theft, burglary, and other property crimes accounted for nearly two-thirds of all crime in the country.][ There was a rapid growth of violent crime, including homicides.][ There was the burgeoning black market of firearms, many of them were pilfered from stockpiles of the former Soviet Army.
In the 1990s in Russia, as well as in other post-Soviet countries, vast deposits of natural resources and businesses that the state had owned for decades Privatization in Russia, were privatised. Former Soviet bureaucrats, factory directors, aggressive businessmen and criminal organizations used insider deals, bribery and simple brute force in order to grab lucrative assets. Russia's new capitalists spent millions of dollars for protection. However, almost every business in Russia, from curbside vendors to huge oil and gas companies, made payments to the organized crime for protection ("krysha"). Businessmen said that they needed the "krysha" because the laws and the court system were not functioning properly in Russia. The only way for them to enforce a contract was to turn to a criminal "krysha". They also used it to intimidate competitors, enforce contracts, collect debts or take over new markets. It was also becoming increasingly common for Russian businesses to turn to the "red krysha" (the corrupt police who doubled as a paid protection racket). Contract killings were common.
The internationalization of the Russian Mafia along with the ]Sicilian Mafia
The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...
, the Camorra, the Triad society, Triads and the Yakuza played a vital role in the development of transnational crime involving Russia.
After the economic situation improved since the beginning of the 2000s, crime in Russia has taken a sharp decline.
Crime dynamics
1990s
Russia's economy experienced a 40% GDP decline in the 1990s, [3
/nowiki>] and this led to an explosion of crime. In 1990, the number of registered crime was 1.84 million. This figure increased to 2.8 million in 1993, then fell slightly. In 1996, there were a total of 2.63 million officially registered crimes, which was more than 40% higher than in 1990. In 1999, total reported crime was 3 million, and it continued to increase in 2000 and 2001, and then fell in 2002.
Among white-collar crimes, swindling increased 67.2 percent, and extortion 37.5 percent, in 1995. Among the conventional crimes reported in 1995, homicide and attempted murder increased 1.5%, rape 6.5%, burglaries 6.6%. Serious crimes by teenagers increased by 2.2 percent in 1995.
In the first four months in 1994, Russia averaged eighty-four murders per day.[ Many of those crimes were contract killings by criminal organizations.][ The 1995 national crime total exceeded 1.3 million, including 30,600 cases of homicide.][
]
Recent years
Recently, from 2001, the number of murders and suicides in Russia have dropped by 80%.
By region
2017 was a very good year for Moscow, which saw the lowest number of crimes (140,000) in a decade. [1
/nowiki>] Theft, burglary and armed robbery dropped down to 38 percent since the previous year, while the murder rate dropped by 10 percent. Crime statistics of Moscow for 1995 included a total of 93,560 cases of crime, of which 18,500 were white-collar crime
The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. The crimes are believed to be committed by middle- or upper-class indivi ...
s, an increase of 8.3% over 1994.
The majority of car thefts were reported from Moscow and Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, which increased through the first half of the 1990s.[ In Moscow an estimated fifty cars were stolen per day, with the estimated yearly total for Russia between 100,000 and 150,000.][
]
Alcohol and crime
In the early 1980s, an estimated "two-thirds of murders and violent crimes were committed by intoxicated persons; and drunk drivers were responsible for 14,000 traffic deaths and 60,000 serious traffic injuries". In 1995, about three quarters of those arrested for homicide were under the influence of alcohol.
A 1997 report published in the ''Journal of Family Violence'', found that among male perpetrators of spousal homicide, 60–75% of offenders had been drinking before the incident. In a 2004 study of domestic violence in the Central Black Earth Region of Russia, 77% of offenders of violent crime towards family members were frequent drinkers - 12% engaged in regular binge drinking three or four times a month, 30% three times a week or more, and 35% every day or almost every day.
International comparison
Homicide/murder rate in Russia has fallen dramatically in the last two decades. The homicide rate in Russia more than tripled between 1988 and 1994 and was among the List of countries by murder rate, highest in the world. However, by 2020, the murder rate in Russia was significantly lower than in the US (4.7 versus 7.8).
Crime and scams against foreigners
The main crime for tourists to watch out for in Russia is pickpockets, which can be found at multiple places in Moscow (e.g. St. Basil's Cathedral, Red Square, Moscow Metro) and St. Petersburg (e.g. The State Hermitage Museum, Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, Peterhof Grand Palace). Another crime that may affect tourists include fake alcohol which has been ongoing for years.
As for scams, the main ones to watch out for include taxi scams, fake amber, fake ballet tickets, and "Would you like a drink" bar scam.
Migrant crime
Minister of Internal Affairs (Russia), Russian Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Kolokoltsev said that 80% of all criminal acts of migrants are related to drugs. According to him, involvement in criminal activity is growing in the migrant environment. The minister stressed that all Russian departments using migrant labor should tighten control over their activities.
See also
*Anti-organized crime institutions in Russia
*Gopniki
*Kazan phenomenon
*Domestic violence in Russia
* History of Russia (1991–present)#"Shock therapy"
*Illegal immigration in Russia
*Novgorod case
*Russian Mafia
* Shock Doctrine
*Terrorism in Russia
*Thieves in law
References
Sources
EU Presses Russia on Human Trafficking
BusinessWeek
Russian Organized Crime
Stratfor, Strategic Forecasting, Inc.
Anti-poaching squads tackle caviar crisis
BBC News
Black Markets in Russia
Havocscope Black Market
Further reading
*.
*.
*.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Crime In Russia
Crime in Russia,