One Hand Washes Another : Informal Ties Between Organized Criminal Groups and Law-Enforcement Agencies in Russia

• Main Authors: Alexander Salagaev, Alexander Shashkin, Alexey Konnov
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche sur les Sociétés et les Institutions Post-Soviétiques 2006-11-01
• Series: Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies
• Subjects: Russia; Corruption; Law-Enforcement Agencies
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/pipss/449

This article discusses the forms, contents and peculiarities of the existing informal ties between members of organized criminal groups and representatives of law-enforcement agencies in the Tatarstan Republic of Russia. Particular attention is paid to the origins of informal ties; ways how these relations are established, maintained, and utilized by both parts; causes of corruption in the law-enforcement agencies and the possibilities to understand it. The main conclusions are based on the results of ninety-six in-depth interviews with the law-enforcement officers, businessmen, members of organized criminal groups, and journalists conducted in main cities and towns of the Tatarstan Republic under support of the Transnational Crime and Corruption Centre at American University.