Crime in Russia
[24] The drug trafficking also involves the supply of opium, heroin and marijuana from Central Asia and the Golden Crescent, comprising Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran.
[21] According to the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, a regular trafficking route exists from Tajikistan to Rostov-on-Don via Turkmenistan, and from there to Western Europe.
Russia is a party of the 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
[21] In two major anti-drug operations in 1997, fifty metric tons of narcotic substances were seized and approximately 1,400 criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking were disrupted or destroyed.
[32] Illegal arms possession is a problem in many regions in the nation, especially in the areas suffering from insurgency such as Chechnya and Dagestan.
[35] Poor salary for service persons coupled with lack of control over weapon storage resulted in troop involvement in illegal arms trade.
Russia alleged that Chechen separatists received weapons through illegal networks going to Chechnya through Georgia and Azerbaijan.
[36] On the other hand, Georgia accused Russia of corruption on military bases, poor security infrastructure and low professionalism among Russian troops as the reasons behind the spread of illegal weapons.
[33] The Government of Russia has undertaken a program to increase security at arms storage facilities at military bases.
[39] Unemployment, poverty, inflation, shortage of food and demand for foreign currency have major impact on the wildlife in the country.
[45] The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in easing of border controls and gun laws, and it became an urgent need for the villagers to earn income in a destroyed economy with high inflation.
[45] Data obtained from field examinations, skin confiscations and from radio-collared animals indicated that 58%-73% tiger deaths were related to poaching.
[46] The collapse of the Marxist–Leninist government in the country had a significant influence on the average Russian's economic ability to maintain his or her family.
Its main trade partners in bear parts are primarily nearby Asian countries like South Korea and the People's Republic of China.
[47] Poaching of the snow leopard is also a serious problem in Russia along with Afghanistan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
[51][52][53] Major General Vitaly Ivanovich Gamov,[54] a Deputy Commander of the Pacific Regional Directorate of the Border Guard Service of Russia,[55] was killed in 2002 in his house after refusing to take bribes and allow poachers to outsource their recourse to Japan.
[56] In January 2009, the Altaigate Scandal developed after the Plenipotentiary of the Russian President in the State Duma was killed along with 6 other officials in the helicopter crash accident (poaching for legally protected argali mountain sheep) and an entire investigation was concealed from the public.
In Russia's criminal legislation, "corruption" is not defined as a specific crime, but a collective term which include bribery, abuse of office and others.
[61] First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Vladimir Vasilev claimed that 1,700 police persons were convicted of bribery or abuse of office in 2001 and the problem of corruption was under control.
I have often illustrated this point with the following hypothetical: If you should chance to strike up a conversation with an articulate, English-speaking Russian in, say, the restaurant of one of the luxury hotels along Lake Geneva, and he is wearing a $3,000 suit and a pair of Gucci loafers, and he tells you that he is an executive of a Russian trading company and wants to talk to you about a joint venture, then there are four possibilities.
There was an agreement signed at an official ceremony in Moscow in which Foreign companies made a commitment not to give bribes in Russia.
[37] The collapse of the Soviet Union destroyed much of the systems and infrastructures that provided social security and a minimal standard of living for the population,[69] and law and order across the country broke down resulting in outbreak of crime.
[70] In the transition to a free market economy, production fell and there was huge capital flight coupled with low foreign investment.
[69] Due to these factors, economic instability increased and a newly impoverished population emerged, accompanied by unemployment and unpaid wages.
[73] In the 1990s in Russia, as well as in other post-Soviet countries, vast deposits of natural resources and businesses that the state had owned for decades were privatised.
Former Soviet bureaucrats, factory directors, aggressive businessmen and criminal organizations used insider deals, bribery and simple brute force in order to grab lucrative assets.
However, almost every business in Russia, from curbside vendors to huge oil and gas companies, made payments to the organized crime for protection ("krysha").
It was also becoming increasingly common for Russian businesses to turn to the "red krysha" (the corrupt police who doubled as a paid protection racket).
[11] A 1997 report published in the Journal of Family Violence, found that among male perpetrators of spousal homicide, 60–75% of offenders had been drinking before the incident.
[79] The main crime for tourists to watch out for in Russia is pickpockets, which can be found at multiple places in Moscow (e.g. St.
