The most famous OPG of the 90s. OPG Moscow in the 90s

The phenomenon of criminal groups that flourished in our country in the 90s of the last century will forever remain one of the most recognizable features of that historical epoch. Organized crime has become a vivid social phenomenon that arose on the wreckage of the Soviet Union and affected all spheres of life of people of that time. The language culture of society's marginalized has been poured into a broad stream in the media. No film about the OPG of the 1990s can do without episodes of murders and violence, and images of "brothers" have acquired easily recognizable epic features. The so-called "concepts" of the underworld suddenly became an urgently needed social, spiritual and cultural model of behavior for a whole generation of former citizens of the USSR. The echoes of those times will remain for a long time in the culture and language of our people in the form of a very stable idiomatic that from time to time slips even in official speeches that sound at the highest state level.

The philosophy of life of modern times

During the last two decades of the history of the USSR, an alternative value system was actively spreading in society, based on the views and concepts of the underworld. Gradually, it began to play an increasingly important role in the life of the younger generation. Its popularity was due to the changed socio-cultural demands of Soviet society and the crisis of official ideology. In the era of perestroika, the old system of Soviet values finally collapsed, and an alternative ideology collapsed into the emptiness formed by the turbulent flow of people, which at that time proved to be the most powerful and socially-demanded "philosophy" of life, in which survival becomes the most important issue. "Die you today, and I - tomorrow" - in the criminal world have long been prepared verbal formulas, according to which, as by templates, life began to be built throughout the post-Soviet space.

The role of the thieves subculture

The thief subculture in the last decade of the existence of the USSR became the catalyst for the formation of the OPG of the 90s. Any business in the country for a long time was a criminal offense, that is, what was done exclusively by rogues and bandits. From this point of view, speculation and fartsovka did not differ from pocket thefts and drug trafficking. In the last years of the Soviet regime, certain forms of business were allowed at the legislative level and members of criminal communities were given the opportunity to carry out their activities legally. But the real exit from the criminal field turned out to be a more complicated process.

Criminal gangs of the 90s as a way of organizing and doing business in a transitional era

Effective and highly profitable business at that time was possible only if criminal and semi-criminal methods of enrichment were involved. One of the forms of successful business was OPG 90's. For the representatives of the criminal world, new opportunities for enrichment were opened with the help of forceful methods. The emergence of legal forms of business has broadened the base for charging tribute to the criminal community, which has traditionally been practiced with respect to any business in the USSR. There were objects of property, which had not existed before. Factories and factories, restaurants and parking, shops and markets - all this required confirmation of ownership rights based not only on the laws of the state, but also on the basis of the laws of the underworld, where only the right of the strong plays a role. The risks associated with any business in that transition era required additional insurance in the form of power support that could be needed at any time. It took a well-organized force structures, consisting of people with good physical training. The thief subculture by that time had already prepared the necessary cadres from among the younger generation of the last years of the Soviet Union's existence. Spontaneous (informal) youth associations received professional leaders from among the members of those or other criminal communities that began to turn crowds of street hooligans into well organized power units.

The main functions that began to perform OPG 90 in the conditions of the formation of a market economy

The organized criminal communities of a new type have become an important and multifunctional element in the life of the post-Soviet society. These were highly effective commercial enterprises aimed at extracting maximum profit in favor of the top management of their leaders. It is possible to list the main lines of activity that were characteristic of the organized crime group of that time.

1. Insurance activities. The OPG could be a real, and sometimes the only, guarantee of repayment of debts, compensation of that or other damage, compliance with the terms of contracts and commercial transactions.
2. Security. Protection of life, health, integrity of property, security in the implementation of transactions in those days was a very popular service.
3. Informal arbitration in dealing with contentious issues in any area of life, from regulation of commercial relations to conflicts arising out of the basis of one or another speech action.
4. Ensuring competitive advantages in commercial activities, provided that they receive their interest from the enterprise's profits. This can also include the provision of advantages in resolving judicial and property disputes in official government structures.
5. Control over compliance with unwritten thieves' laws and concepts, which for a long time were considered the main regulator of the relationship of all participants in any business, both legal and illegal.

The activities of criminal groups brought enormous profits to their organizers, as well as gave the opportunity to acquire property in property, enterprises and other tangible assets. The largest states in Russia were formed with the direct participation of certain OPG. Some of the activities of the OPG of the 1990s gradually became the prerogative of the state directly, or indirectly, through special commercial structures, for example, collection firms.

The organization of the organized crime group and the distribution of its revenues

The composition of the OPG can be divided into four main levels. The fighters, which included young people from 16 to 25 years old, were the lowest unit of the organized crime group and were direct participants in military actions. Criminal dismantlings OPG 90's occurred in their presence, but they were only in time to fulfill the command of senior managers. They collected tribute, carried out various assignments, accompanied management during important events and meetings. Usually their hands carried out bloody crimes and other dirty work. The soldiers received from several hundred to several thousand dollars a month, depending on the tasks performed, and submitted to the strictest discipline under pain of severe punishment. The middle line included people who had the right to receive a small percentage of the total profits of the OPG from several tens to several hundred thousand dollars a month. These members of the criminal community directly participated in the dismantlings, appointed "arrows", organized important events, liquidation, etc. The highest unit of the organized crime group - from 3 to 7 people. They controlled the turnover of OPG funds, which could range from several dozen to several hundred million dollars a month. A separate group within the organized criminal group was made up of officials and some law enforcement officers who provided information, administrative, and sometimes judicial cover for the gang's activities. These members of the organized criminal group received substantial deductions from the monetary turnover of the criminal organization.

Ways to generate income

Almost all criminal groups began their activities with extortion of money from entrepreneurs who started their activities in the late 1980s. Under the threat of violence and creation of other problems, entrepreneurs were forced to give bandits up to 50% of their incomes. Among the criminal groups there was competition for the opportunity to collect tribute from those or other entrepreneurs. The second source of income for the beginners of the organized crime group was fraud, organized on the principle of thievery in the thimble. Gradually, the groups moved to the traditional criminal high-profit business - arms trade, drugs and the organization of brothels. Received money by criminal means, the leaders of organized criminal groups began to invest in legal business and high-yield real estate. To provide competitive advantages to the controlled commercial enterprises, force methods were also used. For all contract killings, there are commercial interests and the desire to assign sources of income to competing criminal groups. The main criminal methods of enriching the leaders of organized criminal groups have always been torture, murder, forgery, fraud, money laundering, the organization of various forms of illegal business, smuggling and bribery of officials. Organized crime in the 90s of the last century acquired such dimensions and forms that threatened the integrity and security of the state.

The most influential organized criminal groups in Russia

The rating of the OPG of Russia in the 90s should be based on the degree of influence that the group has had throughout the country, the duration of this influence and the profitability of the criminal business. The largest and most influential organized criminal groups were based in Moscow and exercised control over industrial enterprises throughout Russia. In terms of the scale of influence on the Russian economy, such rating should be headed by the Moscow Group of Internal Operators of the 90s "Izmaylovska" and "Solntsevo-Orekhovskaya".

Izmaylovskaya OPG

This is the oldest grouping that emerged as an association of youth gangs of the Izmailovsky district in the mid-1980s. The beginning of the criminal business was quite standard - extortion, robbery, incomes from "thimbles", etc. The grouping was always distinguished by a strong management team. All power in this criminal business community has always belonged to a very narrow group of authorities, the most famous being Anton Malevsky (Izmailovsky). Subsequently, under the wing of this group, a number of other OCGs, such as Galianovskaya, Perovskaya, and others began to work. Izmaylovskaya OPG gradually turned into a powerful financial and economic empire, in the sphere of activity of which the whole sectors of the country's economy, such as aluminum production, pulp and paper industry, woodworking enterprises, export of timber abroad, oil and gas sphere, a number of domestic and foreign banks. But a special direction for this organized crime group was the gambling industry, whose traditions date back to the "thimbles" of the clothing markets "Izmaylovo", "Vernissage", and the bus station "Shchelkovsky". The main difference between the Izmaylovo OPG is the broad support from the power structures, which made it possible to become one of the most successful commercial enterprises of modern Russia.

Solntsev-Orekhovskaya coalition

Separate structures of the Solntsevo-Orekhovskaya OPG were formed in different places and under various circumstances in the late 1980s. In the early 90's a number of independent organized criminal groups of the South-West district of Moscow created a powerful coalition, the leadership in which at different times belonged to representatives of those or other OPG members. This criminal coalition included such well-known OPG as Chertanovskaya, Cheryomushkinskaya, Yasenevskaya, Orekhovskaya, etc. The history of Solntsevo-Orekhovskaya OPG is connected with the most famous episodes of the criminal war of the 90s. About those events, a huge number of feature films and documentaries were shot and hundreds of books were written. The most famous leader of this group is Sergei Timofeev ("Sylvester"), the leader of the "Orekhovskaya" gang, considered one of the most bloody only criminal Russia knew. OPG 90's waged a fierce competition, which resulted in the death of the brightest leaders of the Solntsevo-Orekhovskoye coalition, including Timofeev, blown up in his Mercedes in 1994. With the disagreements between the leaders of Solntsevo-Orekhovskaya, Coalition, as well as other factions linked the most bloody episodes of the criminal war between the OPG 90's. Photos and reports about the brutal murders of the leaders of "Solntsevskaya" and "Orekhovskaya" factions did not leave the pages of press and television screens for several years. With the history of the "Solntsev-Orekhovskaya" organized crime group, many commercial organizations, flourishing nowadays, are engaged in activities in various spheres of the economy at home and abroad. The activities of the members of this united bounty gradually entered the framework of the law and spread to all spheres of life in modern Russia, including politics.

A short period of gangster careers

Most of the well-known OPG Moscow of the 1990s gradually lost their influence, and their participants were faced with a harsh fate. "Kurgan", "Balashikha", "Medvedkovskaya", "Odintsovskaya" and other well-known organized criminal groups lost their influence, having lost an able and authoritative leadership by the end of the 90s. The group leaders destroyed each other, fighting for power and influence, and the survivors received large prison terms. The fight against organized crime gradually became the most important state task and at the beginning of the zero task it began to be solved more and more successfully.

Regional organized crime groups

Organized crime in the early 1990s was a widespread phenomenon affecting all regions of the country, and by profitability of business, many regional organized criminal groups were not inferior to the capital. By cruelty and brutality, some regional groupings significantly exceeded the capital and entered the most bloody pages in the crime of the 90s. OPG Kazan began to form in the 70-ies of the last century. Famous gangs, such as "Tyap-Ljap" and "Kinoplenko", were characterized by unlimited cruelty even in the years of the existence of the USSR. The victims of their actions of intimidation very often became completely random people, and the terror that they unleashed on the streets of the capital of Tatarstan was akin to primitive savagery. Elephant OPG, led by Vyacheslav Ermolov , nicknamed "Elephant", managed to extend its influence far beyond the Ryazan region. Starting a criminal business, as a gang of racketeers and extortionists, the "Elephants" created one of the most successful regional commercial enterprises, whose turnover reached hundreds of millions of dollars. Many members of this gang are still occupying an important position in politics and the economy of the country, and Ermolov himself became a successful citizen of the European Union. Uralmash group was actively engaged in political activities, and its leader Alexander Khabarov was a deputy of the city duma of Yekaterinburg and head of the socio-political union (OPS), which included all the active members of the organized crime group. Practically in every city there were very influential organized criminal groups whose leaders were part-time very big businessmen. For example, Igor Chikunov, who was in charge of the powerful Saratov OPG in the 1990s, was the largest shareholder in the oil business. Nikolai Gavrilenkov, leader of the Velikolutskaya OPG, was a well-known businessman in St. Petersburg, engaged in the restaurant and beer business. The leaders of the Volgovskaya group actively influenced the activity of the Avtovaz concern. Many businessmen who acquired their fortunes by criminal means were killed in the course of criminal wars. For example, the city in which the contract killings occurred as a result of the dismantlings of the OPG of the 90s - Saratov. Chikunov and 11 people of his gang were shot during a card game in his office.

OPG of those years in our time

If we compare with the OPG of the 90s, in our time classical OPG survived only in small provincial cities. A well-known example is the gang A. Tsapka. In remote areas of the country, there are still disassemblies under the old rules, with weapons and involving a large number of participants. In the remote province, there are still "arrows", and the relationship is not found in the "legal field" of the courts, but in the open field and in the language of "concepts." Loud contract murders became the basis of the plots of a huge number of films about the criminal activity of the OPG of the 90s. Documentary films were filmed about virtually every known gang, and the images of killers, leaders and gang members from the 90s acquired clear literary and cinematographic canons. Modern criminal groups are more compact, conspiratorial and do not have the opportunity to deploy such wide-ranging activities as the OPG of the 1990s had. Photos and film materials about the crimes of the 90s testify to the belief in the impunity of gang members who loved everything that could emphasize their status and isolate them from the crowd. A crimson jacket, a thick gold chain and a huge gold cross on the belly have long become elements of a historical costume.