Difference between revisions of "Kanonieri qurdebi (Georgia)"

''Qurdebi'' were also successful in generating popular legitimacy and would often engage in charitable works, especially through the widely popular Georgian Orthodox Church. Due to their lavish lifestyle and displays of power, ''qurdebi'' became role models among the youth – in 1995 more than 25 percent of school children surveyed said that they aspired to become a qurdi (Serio and Razinkin, 1995: 76).

''Qurdebi'' were also successful in generating popular legitimacy and would often engage in charitable works, especially through the widely popular Georgian Orthodox Church. Due to their lavish lifestyle and displays of power, ''qurdebi'' became role models among the youth – in 1995 more than 25 percent of school children surveyed said that they aspired to become a qurdi (Serio and Razinkin, 1995: 76).

Due to the large number of thieves, Georgia differed from other post-Soviet republics in terms of impact of this type of organised crime on politics and the economy. In Central Asia, Russia and Ukraine, for example, thieves initially focused more on racketeering and extortion and only later developed political ties, while in Georgia ''qurdebi'' penetrated politics immediately after the Soviet breakup. Jaba Ioseliani, ''qurdi'' and leader of the paramilitary group Mkhedrioni, became President Eduard Shevardnadze’s deputy in the early 1990s. In the rest of the former Soviet Union thieves can be distinguished from other types of criminal groups that developed outside of the thieves’ world, for example gangs of sportsmen (in particular specialists of martial arts) that moved to organised crime after the abundant Soviet funding for sports had dried up<ref>Volkov V., 2002. Violent Entrepreneurs : The Use of Force in the Making of Russian Capitalism. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press)</ref>. In Georgia most of the groups representing sportsmen were subordinate to the thieves’ influence.

Due to the large number of thieves, Georgia differed from other post-Soviet republics in terms of impact of this type of organised crime on politics and the economy. In Central Asia, Russia and Ukraine, for example, thieves initially focused more on racketeering and extortion and only later developed political ties, while in Georgia ''qurdebi'' penetrated politics immediately after the Soviet breakup. Jaba Ioseliani, ''qurdi'' and leader of the paramilitary group Mkhedrioni, became President Eduard Shevardnadze’s deputy in the early 1990s. In the rest of the former Soviet Union thieves can be distinguished from other types of criminal groups that developed outside of the thieves’ world, for example gangs of sportsmen (in particular specialists of martial arts) that moved to organised crime after the abundant Soviet funding for sports had dried up<ref>Volkov V., 2002. Violent Entrepreneurs : The Use of Force in the Making of Russian Capitalism. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press)</ref>. In Georgia most of the groups representing sportsmen were subordinate to the thieves’ influence.