THIEVES-IN-LAW
FROM THE GULAGS OF SIBERIA TO THE STREETS OF NEW YORK CITY, THE VORY V ZAKONE HAVE MADE THE RUSSIAN MAFIA A FORCE IN THE CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD
The Russian mafia has a mystique and mystery that rivals that of the Italian mafia in popular culture. When the Iron Curtain fell, a new type of gangster was unleashed on the world as the Vory v Zakone (Thieves-in-Law) seized power in Russia and beyond, sending their representatives far and wide to secure and control their criminal rackets. Far beyond the typical mainstays of drugs, extortion, murder, gambling and heists, the Russians moved into fraud, the cyber world, gasoline and medical scams, and even chocolate.
From their new base in New York City, the Russians have gained a foothold in the criminal underworld, combining techniques and ideals forged in the gulags with modern business principles to create the type of gangster that thrives both in the real and online worlds that our society has created. The Russian gangs of New York are entrenched in America, running scams, extorting people, working with the Italian mafia, and going about their activities like they are regular businessmen. To the Russian gangsters, crime, politics and business all intertwine, and where they intersect, the Russian mob reigns supreme.
BRIGHTON BEACH STRONGHOLD
At the end of the subway line in New York City is a wellknown stronghold of the Russian mafia. Right next to Coney Island and with a high number of Russian immigrants, Brighton Beach is the perfect breeding ground for Russian organised crime and the Vory. The insular community has been a centre of Russian mafia activity since the 1970s, spawning infamous crime bosses like Evsei Agron, Vyacheslav Ivankov and Marat Balagula. They were men who held the same regard in their communities as John Gotti did on Mulberry Street in Little Italy.
With scores of members and a reputation for challenging La Cosa Nostra for dominance on the Eastern Seaboard, the Russian mafia has engaged in many of the more typical organised crimes: prostitution, drugs, extortion and murder. They’ve created a criminal culture based on the edicts of the Vory, who formed in the harsh environs of the Soviet Union gulags during the Stalin era. But they’ve also ventured into healthcare and tax fraud, getting money any way they can. The ways and means don’t matter to the Russian gangsters, only the end result.
