© all rights reserved 2011
CRIME AND BLACK MARKETS
These subjects require separate treatment because they are not,
like in western economies, merely a footnote. They must be considered
with impartiality and fairness, and not criticized as being different to
western models. They have evolved out of the crisis period of 1929-
1940 and constantly adapted under the unique evolved Russian hunter-
gatherer mindset. They pervade every aspect of Russia society, every
facet of its economy, and are involved in all domestic and international
affairs. These are represented in the highest art form in Russia. They
are the most advanced, the most sophisticated, the most creative and
the most adaptive because of their all-pervasiveness and total lack of
accountability. It is an incredible feat to have these systems represent
80% of all economic activity.
Regular crimes of the masses (murder, etc.) are of little financial
significance inside of Russia, since poor people can’t do much to other
poor people, and the few middle class (mostly bureaucrats) and rich are
protected by the uniformed types. So, it is usually alcohol or drug-
related. It’s main negative is on population growth, as it affects a
disproportionately large number of young men in negative ways that
remove many from most ladies’ desirable gene pool. Internationally,
however, this is big business; it will be treated in the Mafia section. Even
though prostitution domestically is illegal, its practice is open and
widespread. Gambling has had a very negative influence on the poor
and thus their families, so a decision has been made to consolidate
activity at 4-5 main centers, spread many kilometers apart, sanctioned
and closely monitored by the government for the use of the middle and
upper classes. Regular crime and enforcement represents less than 1%
of the economy.
In the most important white-collar non-physical category, blackmail,
extortion (EXCEPT for the form of property insurance in which if a fee
isn’t paid to “protect” it, it will be destroyed: Russians call this KRIHSHA,
or roof), racketeering and such aren’t a big deal, since crime is the norm
and not the exception---these aren’t needed. The main action is bribery,
which constitutes roughly 80% of the economy, and with said activity
being conducted by a mere 7% of the population. So, if Russia’s overall
activity yearly were 1.3 trillion, about almost a trillion of that would be
bribery…big numbers. To do this well and survive takes great skill. The
few practitioners are the approximately (numbers based on U.S. Dollars)
60 billionaires, 200,000 millionaires, and most of the roughly 9 million
These subjects require separate treatment because they are not,
like in western economies, merely a footnote. They must be considered
with impartiality and fairness, and not criticized as being different to
western models. They have evolved out of the crisis period of 1929-
1940 and constantly adapted under the unique evolved Russian hunter-
gatherer mindset. They pervade every aspect of Russia society, every
facet of its economy, and are involved in all domestic and international
affairs. These are represented in the highest art form in Russia. They
are the most advanced, the most sophisticated, the most creative and
the most adaptive because of their all-pervasiveness and total lack of
accountability. It is an incredible feat to have these systems represent
80% of all economic activity.
Regular crimes of the masses (murder, etc.) are of little financial
significance inside of Russia, since poor people can’t do much to other
poor people, and the few middle class (mostly bureaucrats) and rich are
protected by the uniformed types. So, it is usually alcohol or drug-
related. It’s main negative is on population growth, as it affects a
disproportionately large number of young men in negative ways that
remove many from most ladies’ desirable gene pool. Internationally,
however, this is big business; it will be treated in the Mafia section. Even
though prostitution domestically is illegal, its practice is open and
widespread. Gambling has had a very negative influence on the poor
and thus their families, so a decision has been made to consolidate
activity at 4-5 main centers, spread many kilometers apart, sanctioned
and closely monitored by the government for the use of the middle and
upper classes. Regular crime and enforcement represents less than 1%
of the economy.
In the most important white-collar non-physical category, blackmail,
extortion (EXCEPT for the form of property insurance in which if a fee
isn’t paid to “protect” it, it will be destroyed: Russians call this KRIHSHA,
or roof), racketeering and such aren’t a big deal, since crime is the norm
and not the exception---these aren’t needed. The main action is bribery,
which constitutes roughly 80% of the economy, and with said activity
being conducted by a mere 7% of the population. So, if Russia’s overall
activity yearly were 1.3 trillion, about almost a trillion of that would be
bribery…big numbers. To do this well and survive takes great skill. The
few practitioners are the approximately (numbers based on U.S. Dollars)
60 billionaires, 200,000 millionaires, and most of the roughly 9 million
others whose monetary worth is somewhere between 80,000-
1,000,000 (mostly bureaucrats) in a country of 130,000,000. The
greater the wealth means the higher the amount of bribing. The great
proportion of their success has depended on their ability to bribe well.
Those who don’t suffer consequences like being forced to immigrate
(symbolized by Boris Berizovsky) or by being jailed (symbolized by
Michael Khodorkovsky). These folks just didn’t give Mr. Putin what he
felt was his fair share. That doesn’t mean just Mr. Putin---it means his
entire distribution network from the highest federal level down to the
lowest civil level, aptly created over the last 10 years and called the
One Russia Party. This name One Russia Party is often joked about in
Russia as being called The “We are eating Russia Party” because in
Russia, the two phrases sound almost the same. Of course, Mr. Putin
and his team aren’t the only ones receiving bribes, but they get the
lion’s share, about 70%, or 700 billion annually based on the above
budget. This activity, in Russian, is called black market activity not
because there is any market, per se, but because the activity is
unaccounted for, non-recorded, and is done by compunction. As
mentioned in another section, about 30% of the bribery total, or 300
billion, comes from international firms doing business in Russia. The
other 700 billion comes from Russians bribing Russians. In the west,
taxes are paid to governments. In Russia, bribes are paid to people
down a long distribution chain. Even then, there aren’t nearly as many
exchanges of capital/turns as in western countries, with so few
spending so much and the masses spending so little, but still it’s pretty
impressive. There is a real black market (imported manufactured
goods, etc.: relatively trivial money-wise) which melds with the white-
collar one. Almost all imported goods are under strict control of One
Russia. First comes customs payment (bribe) and then a Russian
equivalent of a 3-4 stage wholesale-retail distribution in which bribes
are paid each time instead of taxes. The case against Khodorkovsky
outlined the system very clearly: not to pay taxes is criminal, and of
course, it’s easy to verify that the government receives very little in tax
revenue---so EVERYONE and EVERY ENTITY is criminal. Russians
learned during the Soviet Union never to trust the government, and that
nothing should ever be given to it. So by definition, criminality is legal.
It’s engrained to dislike government, something that began with the
negative perceptions of the Tsar in the 1870’s. This is why the masses
laugh at Putin for claiming that Khodorkovsky didn’t pay enough taxes.
Even Putin himself hasn’t been able to keep a straight face when
discussing it at times.
1,000,000 (mostly bureaucrats) in a country of 130,000,000. The
greater the wealth means the higher the amount of bribing. The great
proportion of their success has depended on their ability to bribe well.
Those who don’t suffer consequences like being forced to immigrate
(symbolized by Boris Berizovsky) or by being jailed (symbolized by
Michael Khodorkovsky). These folks just didn’t give Mr. Putin what he
felt was his fair share. That doesn’t mean just Mr. Putin---it means his
entire distribution network from the highest federal level down to the
lowest civil level, aptly created over the last 10 years and called the
One Russia Party. This name One Russia Party is often joked about in
Russia as being called The “We are eating Russia Party” because in
Russia, the two phrases sound almost the same. Of course, Mr. Putin
and his team aren’t the only ones receiving bribes, but they get the
lion’s share, about 70%, or 700 billion annually based on the above
budget. This activity, in Russian, is called black market activity not
because there is any market, per se, but because the activity is
unaccounted for, non-recorded, and is done by compunction. As
mentioned in another section, about 30% of the bribery total, or 300
billion, comes from international firms doing business in Russia. The
other 700 billion comes from Russians bribing Russians. In the west,
taxes are paid to governments. In Russia, bribes are paid to people
down a long distribution chain. Even then, there aren’t nearly as many
exchanges of capital/turns as in western countries, with so few
spending so much and the masses spending so little, but still it’s pretty
impressive. There is a real black market (imported manufactured
goods, etc.: relatively trivial money-wise) which melds with the white-
collar one. Almost all imported goods are under strict control of One
Russia. First comes customs payment (bribe) and then a Russian
equivalent of a 3-4 stage wholesale-retail distribution in which bribes
are paid each time instead of taxes. The case against Khodorkovsky
outlined the system very clearly: not to pay taxes is criminal, and of
course, it’s easy to verify that the government receives very little in tax
revenue---so EVERYONE and EVERY ENTITY is criminal. Russians
learned during the Soviet Union never to trust the government, and that
nothing should ever be given to it. So by definition, criminality is legal.
It’s engrained to dislike government, something that began with the
negative perceptions of the Tsar in the 1870’s. This is why the masses
laugh at Putin for claiming that Khodorkovsky didn’t pay enough taxes.
Even Putin himself hasn’t been able to keep a straight face when
discussing it at times.
