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mozgovayaRussian Mafia or Israeli Paranoia?
In the last ten years, certain financial tycoons have become known in Israel as the "leaders of the Russian mafia". They are suspected of murder-for-hire, extortion, threats, smuggling, and money laundering. The ex-Police Minister Moshe Shahal declared that "the Russian Mafia represents a strategic threat for Israel". The police have declared they have a list of thirty-five mafia leaders, and they have done everything in their powers to limit their activities. However, the police could not find any evidence against some of them, while some others have been indicted, and yet others were found not guilty abroad. Most of them are no longer in business in this country. Natasha Mozgovaya returns to the characters of this story in order to understand whether Israel has lost a business elite or international mafia.
The term "Russian mafia" was coined by the Western media during the perestroika in the former Soviet Union in order to describe the growth of crime and its spread through Russia as a result of the fall of the USSR and the decay of its economy and legal system. The term was eagerly picked up by various secret services of the countries that compete to attract the investments from "Russian godfathers" and thus launder their money. The term has especially often been applied to drug dealers, white slave traders, as well as to financial tycoons who tried to enter Western markets.
In 1995 Israeli police made up a list of "12 Russian mafia leaders designated to be deported from Israel". A year later, the Police Minister Moshe Shahal declared that "the Russian Mafia represents a strategic threat for Israel", and the list grew to 35 names. The then Russian Ambassador Alexsandr Bunin tried to obtain the list, but was turned down. "At both the Internal Security Ministry and the Security Ministry, they hinted that they had received the list from Russia," Bunin writes in the book he has published. "I spoke to the Russian authorities, and they denied it."
Mikhail Bogdanov, the current Russian Ambassador in Israel, was then the head of the Middle East Section at the Russian Foreign Ministry and dealt with the issue. "This list has never gone through us," he says, "and none of us has ever seen it."
Except for Anton Malevsky, none of the businessmen on the list was ever deported. At a certain stage the police began denying the statements that the mafia leaders had been deported in order not to enrage the Russian emigres before the elections, and stated that 27 "mafiosi" had left the country of their own accord. The mysterious list has never been made public.
According to Yakov Kedmi, the former head of the Netiv News Agency, "the list was instrumental as a tool of propaganda. The businessmen who passed it around took the hint from the police: if you don't want to be in trouble, you shouldn't be dealing with certain people. I saw the list. It was a highly unprofessional job. The list was expanded on the basis of the rumors that were not subjected to the minimal vetting."
In the last decade, the police have been adding to the various "mafia ringleader" lists, claiming success at having "Russian Mafia congresses" cancelled, and even uncovering a "Russian Mafia branch" in Ofakim. Various businessmen were suspected of various breaches of law; some were interrogated, some cleared abroad, and some left the country.
The Russian olim feel that the term "Russian mafia", like the term "Russian prostitutes", was coined to damage their image. The Russian businessmen maintain that the security services all over the world persecute them in order to justify their own existence in the post-Cold War era.
Is "the Russian Mafia" an actual threat from the sharks of the criminal world, whom the police are right to pursue, or is it a bubble blown out of numerous suspicions, interests, and misinterpretations of the past and present situation at the Russian market? The following explanations will help clear the picture....................................................
In the last ten years, certain financial tycoons have become known in Israel as the "leaders of the Russian mafia". They are suspected of murder-for-hire, extortion, threats, smuggling, and money laundering. The ex-Police Minister Moshe Shahal declared that "the Russian Mafia represents a strategic threat for Israel". The police have declared they have a list of thirty-five mafia leaders, and they have done everything in their powers to limit their activities. However, the police could not find any evidence against some of them, while some others have been indicted, and yet others were found not guilty abroad. Most of them are no longer in business in this country. Natasha Mozgovaya returns to the characters of this story in order to understand whether Israel has lost a business elite or international mafia.
The term "Russian mafia" was coined by the Western media during the perestroika in the former Soviet Union in order to describe the growth of crime and its spread through Russia as a result of the fall of the USSR and the decay of its economy and legal system. The term was eagerly picked up by various secret services of the countries that compete to attract the investments from "Russian godfathers" and thus launder their money. The term has especially often been applied to drug dealers, white slave traders, as well as to financial tycoons who tried to enter Western markets.
In 1995 Israeli police made up a list of "12 Russian mafia leaders designated to be deported from Israel". A year later, the Police Minister Moshe Shahal declared that "the Russian Mafia represents a strategic threat for Israel", and the list grew to 35 names. The then Russian Ambassador Alexsandr Bunin tried to obtain the list, but was turned down. "At both the Internal Security Ministry and the Security Ministry, they hinted that they had received the list from Russia," Bunin writes in the book he has published. "I spoke to the Russian authorities, and they denied it."
Mikhail Bogdanov, the current Russian Ambassador in Israel, was then the head of the Middle East Section at the Russian Foreign Ministry and dealt with the issue. "This list has never gone through us," he says, "and none of us has ever seen it."
Except for Anton Malevsky, none of the businessmen on the list was ever deported. At a certain stage the police began denying the statements that the mafia leaders had been deported in order not to enrage the Russian emigres before the elections, and stated that 27 "mafiosi" had left the country of their own accord. The mysterious list has never been made public.
According to Yakov Kedmi, the former head of the Netiv News Agency, "the list was instrumental as a tool of propaganda. The businessmen who passed it around took the hint from the police: if you don't want to be in trouble, you shouldn't be dealing with certain people. I saw the list. It was a highly unprofessional job. The list was expanded on the basis of the rumors that were not subjected to the minimal vetting."
In the last decade, the police have been adding to the various "mafia ringleader" lists, claiming success at having "Russian Mafia congresses" cancelled, and even uncovering a "Russian Mafia branch" in Ofakim. Various businessmen were suspected of various breaches of law; some were interrogated, some cleared abroad, and some left the country.
The Russian olim feel that the term "Russian mafia", like the term "Russian prostitutes", was coined to damage their image. The Russian businessmen maintain that the security services all over the world persecute them in order to justify their own existence in the post-Cold War era.
Is "the Russian Mafia" an actual threat from the sharks of the criminal world, whom the police are right to pursue, or is it a bubble blown out of numerous suspicions, interests, and misinterpretations of the past and present situation at the Russian market? The following explanations will help clear the picture....................................................
