Organized Crime as Mutual Aid in 1990s Russia

• In Event: Social Activism in Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia

Abstract

Many disabled veterans of the Soviet-Afghan war became activists after returning home, advocating for greater government support of and social recognition for Afgantsy. A smaller group of these veterans also became involved in organized crime—and those who did understood their involvement in criminal activity as of a piece with their activism, describing their work with money laundering, government corruption, and protection rackets as “mutual aid” among Afghan war veterans. This paper seeks to trace the meaning of the concept of “mutual aid” as understood by disabled veteran activists involved in organized crime in 1990s Russia.

Author

• Emily Hoge, Clemson U