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FINROSFORUM  //  The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.

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Aug 17 / 7:20am

The Godfather

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpimagesctvca_khffd

"Putin designed a system of managed conflict," Nikolay Petrov, scholar at the Moscow Carnegie Center told RFE/RL's Brian Whitmore. "There is no competition in public. But he created different clans and groups who are fighting against each other."

"This is the way Putin keeps control over the system. He is an arbiter who keeps the balance among them. It is impossible for him to leave. It is impossible to imagine this system without him because all of the agreements are guaranteed by him," Petrov stated.

"Without him, all of these clans would fight each other, like after Stalin's death." Petrov said. "Russia is also personalistic: although [the clans] play an important role, it is Putin who is the major arbiter and who can even replace them," he noted.

http://rdd.me/mp7zit8k

Filed under  //  2012   Clan   Kremlin   Mafia   Medvedev   President   Putin   Russia  
 
Apr 11 / 6:04pm

Monaco: Putin's Money Launderette

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpnovayagazet_gchvj

The Russian newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, launched a two-part investigative series on Russian money-laundering in Monaco and how it connects to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Robert Eringer, head of intelligence to Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2002-2007, is the primary source of the story. Below, selected excerpts from Eringer's blog:

Monaco scrupulously honours banking secrets and anonymity and does not tax individuals, which is why members of political and business elites from various countries can be spotted among the owners of luxury yachts berthed in Monaco harbour. If you spend a few hours watching the Monaco port, the chances are you will see more than a few prominent Russians.

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Filed under  //  Eringer   Gunvor   Mafia   Monaco   Putin   Russia   Tambov   Timchenko  
 
Dec 2 / 12:39pm

Russia Is A Mafia State

by Kerkko Paananen

Media_httpmediastratf_jjwaf

While the US diplomatic cables leaked to WikiLeaks have mostly failed to disclose anything about Russia that was not known before, the sheer volume of the documents depicting the vast system of corruption that the Kremlin's puppet masters have dubbed the "power vertical" may indeed be a revelation to Western audiences.

Going through the trove of diplomatic cables leaked to WikiLeaks, The Guardian's veteran correspondent, Luke Harding, describes Russia as a "corrupt, autocratic kleptocracy centred on the leadership of Vladimir Putin, in which officials, oligarchs, and organised crime are bound together to create a virtual mafia state."

Arms trafficking, money laundering, personal enrichment, protection for gangsters, extortion and kickbacks, suitcases full of money, and secret offshore bank accounts in Cyprus: the cables paint a bleak picture of a political system in which it is often hard to distinguish between the activities of the government and organised crime.

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Filed under  //  Corruption   Crime   Kremlin   Mafia   Medvedev   Moscow   Putin   Russia  
 
Nov 5 / 7:49am

Police shoot mobster in Urals town

by Kerkko Paananen
Media_httpwwwrospresc_hbebb

Police in the Russian city of Beryozovsky in Sverdlovsk Oblast fatally wounded an influential crime boss after a violent row in a local café. The incident has threatened to destabilise the security situation in the small city of under 50,000 inhabitants.

The police were called to the café to pacify a group of people who had beaten up the café's staff and private security guards. The gangsters were celebrating the birthday of their leader, Kazbek Kozayev, a decorated veteran of Russia's war in Chechnya.

Instead of heeding the police call to calm down, Kozayev attacked the police officers, who then shot him. The crime boss was hospitalised but died under operation. Members of Kozayev's gang assaulted doctors and vowed revenge for his death.

Special forces from throughout Sverdlovsk oblast were called in to Beryozovsky to maintain order in the city. Several people who took part in the violent incident in the café were detained. A police officer and two security guards remain in hospital.

http://txt.newsru.com/crime/01nov2010/miltshotcrimeherou.html

Filed under  //  Crime   Mafia   Police   Russia  
 
Mar 16 / 1:36pm

Russian politicians, business protect mafia

by Kerkko Paananen
Media_httpworldmustbe_oghag

Sixty-nine suspected members of a Georgian mafia gang were arrested in a Europe-wide operation. Police believe the gang is linked to a Russian mobster, Gennady Petrov, now on trial in Spain. Meanwhile, the main target of the operation, Lasha Shushanashvili, escaped because of lack of cooperation from Greek police.

The Russian mafia, and by extension the organised crime syndicates in the former Soviet republics, have gained more power and are more dangerous than the Italian mafia families. The reason is that the Russian mafia enjoys the protection of Russia's political and business structures, Spanish daily El País reports.

The Russian mafia has close ties to members of the former Soviet nomenklature. This explains the trouble in irradicating the Russian mafia. Every time that Spanish authorities investigating the activities of Russian organised crime have called for cooperation from their Russian counterparts, they have faced nothing but trouble.

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/espana/cerca/Kremlin/lejos/justicia/elpepuesp/20100315elpepunac_3/Tes

Filed under  //  Corruption   Georgia   Mafia   Russia   Spain