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September 3, 2006
As Chechnya Emerges Resurgent, So Do Chechen Mafia Groups Across Russia
On the night of August 29-30 a Chechen mafia hit squad murdered three ethnic Russians in a restaurant in the town of Kondopoga in northwest Russia, not far from the border with Finland.
This ethnic violence speaks of a resurgent Chechen mafia, much like the early 1990s when the Chechen mafia terrorised Russia. Unless the authorities take action soon, however, the situation looks set to become worse than it ever was. If the Chechens were mere criminals in the early 1990s, now they are infused with the spirit of Islam and the 7th century Arabian warlord, Mohammed, one of history's most infamous murderers and criminals.
The Kondopoga restaurant, Chaika, was controled by Chechens. According to press reports, a fight broke out between the Russians and a waiter, (the reason is not clear). The waiter fled, and called for assistance from a Chechen mafia `protection' unit.
While fights are common in such restaurants since Russians like to get blind drunk, they usually end in scrapes, bruises, and a few broken bones. It's almost a form of entertainment for hotheads in small towns. But the murderous intent, ferocity and brutality of the Chechens was totally beyond what is usually accepted in such fights.
Kondopoga, population about 35,000, is located about 54 kilometres outside of Petrazavodsk, the capital of the Republic of Karelia, a part of the Russian Federation that borders Finland.
Horrified by the grisly multiple murder, on September 1 the local population called a town meeting, and demanded the government to kick the Chechen mafia out of town (see photo above). When the government failed to act, later that night the local population clashed with riot police and destroyed the Chaika.
And the government's reaction? Riot police have arrested several dozen townspeople. Meanwhile, the Chechen murderers have been allowed to escape.
The incident is not accidental. As Chechnya emerges resurgent under the devout and brutal Islamic warlord, Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen mafia is becoming more aggressive throughout Russia. Few people today care to remember how the Chechen mafia terrorised Russia in the early 1990s. (I am writing from personal experience)
The Chechen mafia controlled large parts of both the legitimate and black market economy, especially prostitution of Russian women (not Chechen women of course!), as well as drugs and weapons.
Since the Russian state at the time was in chaos and eviscerated, the Chechen mafia was one of the the most powerful groups in Moscow and other major cities at that time, and it posed a serious threat to the existence of the Russian state.
It was in this context that Russia began its attack in December 1994 on the Chechen Republic, which had illegally declared its independence from the Russian Federation in 1991, (and after which the Chechens launched a thorough and bloody ethnic-cleansing against the approximate 260,000 non-Chechens living in the republic.)
After the Chechen war began, the power of the Chechen mafia faded dramatically throughout Russia. Now that Chechnya is resurgent under the warlord Kadyrov, Russia can expect a rise in organized crime.
After Russians and Tatars, Chechens are the most populous ethnic group in the Russian Federation, and number close to 1.5 million, with about 1 million living in the Chechen Republic in Russia's south.
Posted by Jean de la Valette at September 3, 2006 5:52 AM
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