Thieves in law

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Thieves in the law ( Russian воры в законе , wory w zakone ; Georgian კანონიერი ქურდები , Kanonieri K'urdebi , Armenian օրենքով գող , orenk'ov goğ ) is the name for a specific group of criminals, most of whom come from the successor states of the Soviet Union and the organized crime Act.

The “thieves in the law” are not members of a cohesive organization, but are each leader of a regional association. In the often violently formed internal prison hierarchy of Soviet camps and prisons, convicted thieves were often the most respected group of inmates, and some of them developed into “criminal authorities” with an organized following behind them. However, they belong to a common subculture that had developed its own organizational structures, forms of communication and codes of conduct during the Soviet Union. The term “thieves in the law” thus has a double meaning and relates to convicted thieves and their followers, as well as to the criminal codes of conduct that have been formed, the “thieves' law”, as differentiated from other criminals, including some related groups of organized crime to whom these rules did not apply.

background

Emergence

Organized crime was already established in Russia during the time of the tsars . These criminals have probably called themselves “thieves in the law” since the Stalin era and the time of the so-called GULag prison camps . The rigidly enforced repression policy during Stalin's term of office has meant joint detention for political opponents of the regime and criminals since the 1920s . Some of them formed the thieves' organization in the law , which soon had great influence within the prison camps.

present

This form of organization still exists today. It has also been internationally active since the collapse of the Soviet Union and has a great influence in organized crime worldwide. It is noteworthy that the “thieves in the law” enjoyed a considerable reputation earlier in socialist as well as today in capitalist society , which is also due to their history as outcasts during the Stalin era. The “thieves in the law” come not only from Russia, but also from Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and other successor states of the Soviet Union . Both the thieves in the law and the Zdarowi Obras criminals (Russian for "healthy lifestyle") are generally referred to as the Russian mafia .

"Thief Law" and "Obschtschjak"

In the past, criminals lived more than they do today according to their own social rules, the “thieves' law”, which forbade them, among other things, from cooperating in any way with the authorities, starting a family or doing regular work. The Obschtschjak community fund, which is financed from informal membership fees and extortion funds, has a central function . Originally intended as a kind of social fund for the community, it is used to finance drug trafficking , and to pay bribes and legal fees. The money was also used to financially support detained members. The "thieves" held regular meetings ( s'chodka ), the decisions of which had to be followed. Then, as now, there is an “ absolute ban on making statements to state bodies. "

Some of the funds are legalized through money laundering and used to buy real estate or businesses.

Tattoos

An important distinguishing feature of the thieves in the law are their distinctive tattoos . They provide information about the status of the "thief" but also z. B. about his convictions and prison terms. In the Soviet times, the mockery of the state was common in the drawings. B. by denigrating the text of the Soviet national anthem . The tattoos were extensively researched by Danzig Baldayev .

Anyone who puts on tattoos that he is not entitled to or adorns himself with crimes that he has not committed falls on the lowest level in terms of reputation, which is also intended for sex criminals . He is avoided, despised and sometimes even murdered by the other prisoners; such tattoos are usually forcibly removed.

Today it can be observed that members of the organization avoid new tattoos or even have old ones removed - presumably in order not to attract further negative attention in the upper class society, into which some find their way because of their wealth, even if, strictly speaking, they are against it own "thieves law" violate.

The thieves in law and the shadow justice

These are unofficial jurisdictions in the Russian Federation , which are mainly called upon to settle property disputes. It is irrelevant whether the dispute is based on legal or illegal facts; the judge can be appealed to in both cases. The “judges” are always criminal authorities and in many cases Wory w sakone . Your judgment must be followed. If one of the parties refuses to recognize the judgment, this may also be enforced by force.

Prosecution

As with other forms of organized crime, effective prosecution of thieves would require an exchange with foreign law enforcement authorities as well as Europe-wide investigation and prosecution instruments, which are still largely missing. The operation Java in 2010 led however to 69 arrests.

Known "thieves in the law"

Documentation and feature film

  • Alexander Gentelev (Director): The honor of the godparents. Israel 2010, 89 min. Documentation in which some “authorities” are interviewed in detail. a. in Israel or France are millionaires and successful businessmen.
  • The film Deadly Promises - Eastern Promises, with Viggo Mortensen, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Naomi Watts, and others, which was released in 2007 . a. sheds light on the background of a Wory family in contemporary London .
  • In the face of crime , Germany 2010, ten-part TV series by Dominik Graf on the subject of the Russian Mafia in Berlin , which, among other things, also addresses the codes of honor of the gangs involved.
  • Siberian Education (Educazione siberiana) , Italy 2013, director: Gabriele Salvatores, film.
  • Criminal series SOKO Donau Episode 87: The Exchange , Austria November 22, 2011
  • Criminal series Law & Order episode 9x23: The Only Witness (org. Refuge) , first broadcast in the USA: July 11, 2006
  • French crime series Braquo , third season, first aired in France: February 10 to March 3, 2014

literature

  • J. Aleksandrov: Otscherki kriminalnoi subkulturi . Moscow, 2001.
  • Danzig Baldaev: Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia. 3 volumes. Steidl, Göttingen 2003-2008, Volume 1, ISBN 978-0-9558620-7-6 , Volume 2, ISBN 978-0-9550061-2-8 , Volume 3, ISBN 978-0-9550061-9-7 .
  • The President of the Landtag Rhineland-Palatinate (Hrsg.): Russian Germans in prison. (= Series of publications of the Rhineland-Palatinate state parliament. Issue 19). 2002. ISSN  1610-3432
  • Alix Lambert: Russian Prison Tattoos, Codes of Authority, Domination and Struggle. Schiffer Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0-7643-1764-4 .
  • Paul Erich Roth: Organized crime in Russia. In: Criminology. Volume 54, 2000, ISSN  0023-4699 , pp. 725-730.
  • Peter Skoblikow: Property disputes and shadow justice in post-Soviet Russia (1991-2001). In: Criminology. Volume 59, 1, 2005, ISSN  0023-4699 , pp. 19-25.
  • Jürgen Roth : Mafialand Germany. Eichborn-Verlag 2009, ISBN 978-3-8218-5632-2 , Chapter: Russian Mafia. P. 119ff.
  • Moris Shalikashvili: Thieves in the Law: A Criminal Organization in German Juvenile Prisons? wvb Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Berlin, 2009, ISBN 978-3-86573-451-8 .
  • Elena Scherschneva-Koller: Post-Soviet Organized Crime - Combating the “Vory v zakone” in Austria. Grin Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-656-19709-6 .
  • Ulrich Schmid: Merciless brotherhoods. Rise of the Russian Mafia. Schöningh Verlag, 1996, ISBN 3-506-77902-8 .
  • Linus Geschke: Tannenstein dtv Verlag, 2019, ISBN 978-3-423-21824-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Klaus Laubenthal : Captive subcultures. In: Federal Center for Political Education . February 8, 2010.
  2. ^ PE Roth: Organized Crime in Russia. In: Criminology. 11/2000, p. 725.
  3. ^ J. Aleksandrov: Otscherki kriminalnoi subkulturi . Moscow 2001, pp. 16-27.
  4. Ekaterina Sinelschtschikowa: "Thieves in the Law": The godparents of the Russian underworld. In: Russia Beyond the Headlines . July 22, 2016.
  5. ^ R. Stettner: Archipel Gulag: Stalin's forced camp, terrorist instrument and economic giant . Paderborn 1996.
  6. Alexander Rahr , Philipp Pachomow: The history of Russian crime. In: kanka.de , November 1998.
  7. ^ Andreas Förster: Black money from the community treasury. In: Berliner Zeitung . May 12, 2011.
  8. P. Skoblikow: About criminal traditions and norms. In: Criminology. 1/2006, p. 49.
  9. Stefan Mayr: Tigran and the trace of crime. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 17, 2010.
  10. Info: This is how the compulsory cash register "Abschtschjak" works. In: Augsburger Allgemeine . August 5, 2008.
  11. Gdansk Baldaev: Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia. 3 volumes. Steidl, Göttingen 2003-2008.
  12. D. Wachter: Tattoos as symbols. Symbols and indications in tattoos of criminals from the successor states of the USSR. In: Criminology. 11/1999, p. 733.
  13. ^ PE Roth: Organized Crime in Russia. In: Criminology. 11/2000, p. 727.
  14. ^ P. Skoblikow: Property disputes and shadow justice (1991-2001). In: Criminology. 1/2005, p. 19.
  15. ^ Egbert Bülles: Germany criminal country? Organized crime (OK) in the Rhineland. December 2014.
  16. Gavin Slade: Understanding the Emergence, Mobility, and Specificity of Georgian Organized Crime Groups in Europe since 2006. In: Ursula Töttel, Gergana Bulanova-Hristova, Gerhard Flach (ed.): Research Conferences on Organized Crime at the Bundeskriminalamt in Germany. Vol. VIII: Transnational Organized Crime. 2013-2015. Luchterhand, Cologne 2016, p. 63 ff. (English)
  17. Gregor Dolak: The mob that came out of the cold. In: Focus . May 12, 2010.
  18. primecrime.ru: Брагинский Эдуард Эммануилович (Чирик) , accessed on June 14, 2020.
  19. Eric Leimann: The Honor of the Godfathers - Russia's Mafia (The Documentary :) ( Memento from December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) In: Stimme.de , June 14, 2011.
  20. primecrime.ru: Эпштейн Лев Иосифович (Лева Бельмо) , accessed on June 14, 2020.
  21. Julia Smirnova: "Grandpa Hassan" was once considered dead. In: Die Welt . January 18, 2013.
  22. primecrime.ru: Калашов Захарий Князевич (Шакро Курд) , accessed on June 14, 2020.
  23. primecrime.ru: Куприянов Павел Николаевич (Пашкан) , accessed June 14, 2020.
  24. ^ Nathan Vardi: The World's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives. In: Forbes . June 14, 2011 (English).
  25. primecrime.ru: Волков Николай Яковлевич (Коба) , accessed on June 14, 2020.
  26. Deadly Promises - Eastern Promises (2007) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  27. Educazione siberiana (2013) in the Internet Movie Database (English)
  28. The exchange. In: fernsehserien.de. July 3, 2015, accessed July 3, 2015 .
  29. Law & Order - Refuge in the Internet Movie Database (English)