Difference between revisions of "Obshchak (Russia)"

The practice of collecting the ''obshchak'' was originally confined to the Soviet Union. In the post-Soviet period, the term is used in criminal communities and prisons in most countries of the former Soviet Union. In the Baltic States, the South Caucasus countries and in Central Asia, the Russian word is given a local twist. Georgians, for example, call it the ''obshchaki'', where the addition of ''i'', a Georgian nominative ending, makes it sound colloquial. In Central Asian states such as Kyrgyzstan, the word is used as an adjective to denote any prisoner who concedes to the informal code of the ''vory v zakone'', the prisoner elite (see [[kanonieri qurdebi]] in this volume). Thus, a prisoner can be described as ''obshchakovyi''. In some Russian regions, the word has acquired an additional meaning, synonymous with criminality. For example, in Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East there is a powerful organised criminal grouping which simply calls itself ''Obshchak''. The norms associated with such practices have also spread outside the successor countries of the Soviet Union through migration from the old Soviet bloc<ref>Varese, F. 2011. 'How Mafias take advantage of globalization: The Russian Mafia in Italy', ''British Journal of Criminology'': 235-253</ref>.

The practice of collecting the ''obshchak'' was originally confined to the Soviet Union. In the post-Soviet period, the term is used in criminal communities and prisons in most countries of the former Soviet Union. In the Baltic States, the South Caucasus countries and in Central Asia, the Russian word is given a local twist. Georgians, for example, call it the ''obshchaki'', where the addition of ''i'', a Georgian nominative ending, makes it sound colloquial. In Central Asian states such as Kyrgyzstan, the word is used as an adjective to denote any prisoner who concedes to the informal code of the ''vory v zakone'', the prisoner elite (see [[kanonieri qurdebi]] in this volume). Thus, a prisoner can be described as ''obshchakovyi''. In some Russian regions, the word has acquired an additional meaning, synonymous with criminality. For example, in Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East there is a powerful organised criminal grouping which simply calls itself ''Obshchak''. The norms associated with such practices have also spread outside the successor countries of the Soviet Union through migration from the old Soviet bloc<ref>Varese, F. 2011. 'How Mafias take advantage of globalization: The Russian Mafia in Italy', ''British Journal of Criminology'': 235-253</ref>.

Prison reforms aimed at inmates’ well-being reduce their dependence on ''obshchak'', while anti-mafia policies directly targeting ''obshchak'' can make a real difference. Thus, during an anti-mafia campaign in Georgia in 2006 as part of President Saakashvili’s anti-corruption reforms, 19 people were arrested and an ''obshchak'', containing 100,000 lari ($50,000 USD) was seized. Along with the money, an encoded list was recovered with names, dates and amounts given. According to the Georgian police, ‘the money was collected by criminal authorities or contributed by people who voluntarily donated money to support the criminal world and transferred funds to this criminal account’ <ref>Prime Crime. 2006. 'Sredi zaderzhannikh v Gruzii avtoritetov net ni odnogo koronovannogo vora v zakone: stali izvestny familii kriminal’nikh avtoritetov, podozrevaemikh v prinadlezhnosti k vorovskomu miru, http://www.primecrime.ru/news/2006-12-21_3287</ref>. These examples show the importance and variation of ''obshchak'' as a distinct form of collective resource pooling and wider solidarity among like-minded criminals across the post-Soviet region and beyond.

Prison reforms aimed at inmates’ well-being reduce their dependence on ''obshchak'', while anti-mafia policies directly targeting ''obshchak'' can make a real difference. Thus, during an anti-mafia campaign in Georgia in 2006 as part of President Saakashvili’s anti-corruption reforms, 19 people were arrested and an ''obshchak'', containing 100,000 lari ($50,000 USD) was seized. Along with the money, an encoded list was recovered with names, dates and amounts given. According to the Georgian police, ‘the money was collected by criminal authorities or contributed by people who voluntarily donated money to support the criminal world and transferred funds to this criminal account’ <ref>Prime Crime. 2006. 'Sredi zaderzhannikh v Gruzii avtoritetov net ni odnogo koronovannogo vora v zakone: stali izvestny familii kriminal’nikh avtoritetov, podozrevaemikh v prinadlezhnosti k vorovskomu miru, http://www.primecrime.ru/news/2006-12-21_3287</ref>. These examples show the importance and variation of ''obshchak'' as a distinct form of collective resource pooling and wider solidarity among like-minded criminals across the post-Soviet region and beyond.

*[[kanonieri qurdebi]]

*[[kanonieri qurdebi]]

*[[hawala]]

*[[hawala]]