criminal gangs
Chapters: 1
My Gaze Slid Across the Interiors
Three cars stood in the yard of the office, one of them belonging to some extremely unpleasant athletic types.
Notes: 10
"Baklanka": Article 206 of the RSFSR Criminal Code (Hooliganism)
In Soviet-era criminal slang, the term "baklanka" referred to Article 206 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR — "Hooliganism."
Racketeering and the "Krysha" System in Early-1990s Russia
What actually changed for black-market operators between 1988 and 1993 — the vanishing of the old-style spekulyant and the rise of "roof"-protected…
"The Listing's Up, but No Dice"
The dialogue between Fyodor and Zhorik reflects real criminal schemes widespread in early-1990s Russia, at a time when the vehicle registration…
"Air" in Criminal Slang
In the criminal underworld, the term "air" carried several fixed meanings, significantly different from its everyday sense. First and foremost, "air"…
Article 146 of the RSFSR Criminal Code: Robbery ("a Ruble Forty-Six")
In 1990s criminal slang, Article 146 of the RSFSR Criminal Code ("Robbery") was nicknamed "a ruble forty-six" (1 ruble 46 kopecks). In the text…
Five Kopecks for a Phone Call
The racketeers' method relied on deception: a merchant would voluntarily hand over some small change for a phone call, but this would later be…
'Minimum minimorum': 1990s tax-dodging slang
The 1990s business-slang term for paying taxes at the bare minimum, and the prison-slang word for 'a tenth' behind it.
Who the "Blues" Were
In 1990s Russian criminal slang, the term "the blues" denoted a distinct category of criminal groups made up mainly of previously convicted…
Thermobaric Charges
Thermobaric charges (also known as fuel-air explosives or volumetric-detonation munitions) are among the most destructive types of non-nuclear…
The Criminal Group Running the District
The Lazania organized crime group — Chechen in composition — emerged in the late 1980s amid the collapse of the USSR and the weakening of law…