Awards

• Winner of Co-winner, 2002 Ed A. Hewett Book Prize for the Best Book on the Political Economy of Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union.

Overview

What is the Russian Mafia? This unique book thoroughly researches this question and challenges widely-held views. The author charts the emergence of the Russian Mafia in the context of the transition to the market, the privatization of protection and pervasive corruption. The ability of the Russian State to define property rights and protect contracts is compared to the services offered by fragments of the state apparatus, private security firms, ethnic crime groups, the Cossacks and the Mafia. Past criminal traditions, rituals and norms have been resuscitated by the Mafia of today to forge a powerful new identity and compete in a crowded market for protection. The book draws on and reports of undercover police operations, in-depth interviews conducted over several years with the victims of the Mafia, criminals and officials, and documents from the Gulag archives. It also provides a comparative study, making references to other Mafia (the Japanese Yakuza, the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, American-Italian Mafia and the Hong Kong Triads).

Full Product Details

9780198297369

Table of Contents

Reviews

`Enlightening, perceptive and superbly researched. Essential reading for anybody seriously interested in the mind and heart of contemporary Russian criminal society.' John le Carre `An enlightening book, [] the first scientific book on the topic. Varese uses a wide range of methods - sociological inquiry, economic analysis, historical-comparative methods, and literary-linguistic analysis. The book is enriched by a vivid description of the criminal world, its codes of behavior, hierarchies, and language (the author devotes an appendix to the criminals' nomes de guerre). The author also details better known Mafia domains. The amount of information and data is extraordinary.' Piero Sinatti, Sole 24 Ore (Milan) In his scholarly study, Varese systematically surveys the source of the problem, inventories the origins and resources of those groups providing protection, and then describes the way the relationship works. At the core of his book is an elaborate case study of the city of Perm, where he spent months working with police records, conducting interviews, and collecting newspaper stories. Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs Headlines on Russian organized crime appear regularly in the Western Press and carry alarming messages [] Now we finally have a sober, scholarly account. Unlike headline writers, Varese is cautious about the use of the term 'Mafia'. [] The history of the vory-v-zakone is fascinating. Alena Ledeneva, Times Literary Supplement The first comprehensive study of the Russian Mafia is by a young Italian scholar, Federico Varese. His book is an extraordinary account. Daniele Archibugi, Il Manifesto (Rome)

Federico Varese's study of the Russian mafia is aimed primarily at students of crime rather than exclusively at Russia-watchers ... With considerable intrepidity, Varese has conducted numerous interviews (and contextualised them with scrupulous documentary research) with people who have availed themselves of the mafia's services. The resulting picture of economic and social life in Perm is instructive and sobering. The Political Quarterly A work of incontestable quality ... The appearance of this work must definitely be welcome, because it marks the emergence of scientific rigor in the treatment of the Russian Mafia and calls for a multidisciplinary examination of post-Soviet society. Gilles Favarel-Garrigues, Revue d'Etudes Comparatives Est-Ouest (Paris) Enlightening, perceptive and superbly researched. Essential reading for anybody seriously interested in the mind and heart of contemporary Russian criminal society. John le Carre In his scholarly study, Varese systematically surveys the source of the problem, inventories the origins and resources of those groups providing protection, and then describes the way the relationship works. At the core of his book is an elaborate case study of the city of Perm, where he spent months working with police records, conducting interviews, and collecting newspaper stories. Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs Headlines on Russian organized crime appear regularly in the Western Press and carry alarming messages ... Now we finally have a sober, scholarly account. Unlike headline writers, Varese is cautious about the use of the term 'Mafia' ... The history of the vory-v-zakone is fascinating. Alena Ledeneva, Times Literary Supplement The first comprehensive study of the Russian Mafia is by a young Italian scholar, Federico Varese. His book is an extraordinary account. Daniele Archibugi, Il Manifesto (Rome)

Varese deserves the highest praise for a stunning book that is of the very best academic quality in terms of scholarly rigour in its treatment of Soviet and post-Russia culture. This is a thoughtful, multidisciplinary examination of a complex phenomenom. The book is rich with data and each page bursts with insight from the experiences of all those connected to mafia activity. The Russian Mafia is that rare thing in acadmia-an un-put-downable book that prompts you to seek out more knowledge on who's who in Russian Business and Russian organised crime. I enjoyed reading it immensely and have learned much from it. The British Journal of Criminology Federico Varese's study of the Russian mafia is aimed primarily at students of crime rather than exclusively at Russia-watchers ... With considerable intrepidity, Varese has conducted numerous interviews (and contextualised them with scrupulous documentary research) with people who have availed themselves of the mafia's services. The resulting picture of economic and social life in Perm is instructive and sobering. The Political Quarterly A work of incontestable quality ... The appearance of this work must definitely be welcome, because it marks the emergence of scientific rigor in the treatment of the Russian Mafia and calls for a multidisciplinary examination of post-Soviet society. Gilles Favarel-Garrigues, Revue d'Etudes Comparatives Est-Ouest (Paris) Enlightening, perceptive and superbly researched. Essential reading for anybody seriously interested in the mind and heart of contemporary Russian criminal society. John le Carre In his scholarly study, Varese systematically surveys the source of the problem, inventories the origins and resources of those groups providing protection, and then describes the way the relationship works. At the core of his book is an elaborate case study of the city of Perm, where he spent months working with police records, conducting interviews, and collecting newspaper stories. Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs Headlines on Russian organized crime appear regularly in the Western Press and carry alarming messages ... Now we finally have a sober, scholarly account. Unlike headline writers, Varese is cautious about the use of the term 'Mafia' ... The history of the vory-v-zakone is fascinating. Alena Ledeneva, Times Literary Supplement The first comprehensive study of the Russian Mafia is by a young Italian scholar, Federico Varese. His book is an extraordinary account. Daniele Archibugi, Il Manifesto (Rome)

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