minicivan

The group referred to above (no i didn't watch the video) are called Vore v Zkone. Thieves in Law (not thieves "by" law). They are a relic from the past, specifically from the prison system and gulags of Stalin. They are the closest thing in Russia to a structured mafia system and they are nothing today but a faint shadow of what they were. They are obligated to spend the majority of thier lives in prison and their strict codes of no drugs, don't fuck with families, don't own money or property etc etc etc was put to bed by constant fighting with other Russian criminal groups that came up in the 90s who just didn't give a fuck about anyone or their rules. Apart from Vore V Zkone, there is no structured mafia network in Russia comparable to the Italian concept of Locosa Nostra or "Mafia" as people imagine it to be. Russia has, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union been nothing but vast numbers of criminal gangs who continually rose and fell from whatever power they had leveraging whatever power or connections they had, while they had them. Further, criminal gangs are tightly interwoven into government and every aspect of commerce/business/finance and it is almost impossible to distinguish who is the good guy or bad guy when the entire system relies on corruption and connection, not law and the justice system. On top of everything else, Yeltin's attack on the KGB, his fragmenting the organization, cutting their funding etc as the result of the failed coup attempt resulted in the KGB itself getting into business to make its own money and most commonly is one of the primary players in security businesses for business (not simply extorting protection money, but also providing legit security) as well as all kinds of other enterprises and there is a strong case to be made that the KGB is the only actual true "mafia" in contemporary Russia.

Picking up a gun and killing someone to take their money or getting a small group of people together to do the same does not make one "mafia". Neither do prison tats, gold chains or a shitty attitude.

BTW... one of the main Vore v Zkone is probably still in prison in the US - Japonchik.