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Abstract

The function and structure of Sicilian institutions provide an historical lesson in how and why the Mafia flourished to the extent that attempts to imprison its leadership have threatened the stability of the very government that is tolling its death knell. Extrapolating from that experience, the work of Follain, Jousten, Varese and others provide the authors with a theoretical framework for understanding the dependency between the liberal democratic system being introduced in Russia today and the current mafia activity in that country. Crime, be it “organized” or not, is not new to Russia. Until ther breakup of the Republics, Western researchers knew little of its nature or its scope. Should the violence associated with Russian crime continue it may overwhelm the entire society or we may see an alliance of wealthy elites and multi-layered criminal conspiracies justaposed but miles apart from the non-criminal, “ordinary” citizens. The authors proffer from their experience in and with Russia several predictions for the future of this new mafia, indeed, for the future of Russian society.

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Primitive Capitalist Accumulation: Russia as a Racket

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