The Russian Mafia
I was truly amazed by how good this book was. When I first got it, I though I would be reading a documentary with nothing but dates and names. You do find dates and names, but the interesting part in the book is the analysis behind all those events, based on the own experience of the author and on hundreds of press articles.
“The Russian Mafia” is the only book by Federico Varese, a scholar at Oxford University, currently holding the chair of the Criminology department. Believing his words, it took several years of work and multiple trips to Russia. Although the issue is covered in a general perspective at some point, Varese emphasized on a specific region: Perm. He personally interviewed people directly involved in the process of the Russian mafia: criminals, company managers, security officers, journalists and so on.
Perm is one of the ten most populated areas in Russia and most importantly the refuge of dozens of criminals and gangsters. As explained, the rate of crime is related to the location of nearby prisons. During the Soviet era, prisoners were sent to low populated regions in the country (ideal for setting up a prison); once the sentence served, the prisoner was not allowed to move back to major cities so he usually lived in a nearby place. Consequently, towns were established by ex-prisoners; in our case towns located in the Perm region.
The collapse of the Soviet Union caused thousands of K.G.B. agents, government officers, sportsmen to be out of job. Simultaneously, demand for security increased dramatically since capitalism was just overtaking communism. Thus, security agencies (lots of which are considered mafia) were constituted to serve the most prominent political and economical agents (oligarchs plays a big part) but also the less influential people in the country.
When talking about mafia, we insinuate organized crime. If three robbers organize a robbery and succeed, is this organized crime? The author argues that the notion of monopoly comes in hand. A group of criminals controlling for example the distribution of drugs in a specific region are considered to be part of organized crime. Thus, they will not allow anyone else to sell drugs on their territory and will respond by violent means if someone does. Here comes the second characteristic: being in hold of a physical force and using it when needed.
The organization and the origins of the mafia constitute another part of the book. A particular aspect I found very interesting is related to the ancestor of the Russian mafia, the vory-v-zakone, a community constituted by criminals respecting certain laws related to how one should live his life and defining what he should (eg. Live by stealing and gambling) and should not do (eg. Never execute an order given by a governmental authority). You also find a comparison with other worldwide criminal organization such as the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the American Mafia and the Hong Kong Triads.
In a nut shell, this book is a must-read. You will definitely not get bored reading - it doesn’t exceed 200 pages. I even read some parts 5 or 6 times in order to understand the smallest details. Too bad there isn’t any other crime-related book by the author.
The book is truly is amazing ! What prompted me to purchase this book about Russian Mafia was to see what exactly russians did to live the life that I saw them living. When I first met this guy Sam Karaman all I could think was how cute and funny he was. Then I started seeing fleets of $100,000+ cars parked in his driveway. It wasn’t unusual to see a S-class Mercedes or a few 7 series BMW’s parked in his driveway one day and Maseratti the next. Nor was it unusual to see over half a million dollars worth of cars parked all around his house, should there ever be a party. Even the fact that almost each and every car had always had the windows tinted didn’t bother me as much as the fact that the very Sam Karaman was in his mid to upper 20’s and was living the life that we (the nashvillians) weren’t used to seeing. Was Sam Karaman just an exotic car dealer or was this very Brooklyn born russian a part of THE RUSSIAN MAFIA - was the question that I wanted answered. Although the book did not answer that particular question, I did learn a great deal about the culture of my newly found neighboor as well as what to be looking out for. I would certainly recommend the book to those of curious mind !
Linette.
I think although Sam Karaman and his wife Amy are well known among affluent russian New Yorkers, it doesn’t necessarily affiliate them to the russian mafia. For years Sam has been the guy to go to if you needed a luxury car anywhere in New York City area.
I don’t think that prominent politicians as well as professional athletes would be using Sam for there automotive needs, had he been known to have affiliation to the russian mob. As a matter of fact I was very surprised to come across his name being brought up under the book on russian mafia. I’ve known Amy for a few years now and even though she never talks about her husband, I’m fairly sure she’d know if she was married to a mobster. I personally think that books are written to sell and not always to portray the truth !
Olivia H. Gonzalez
Brooklyn, NY
Is Nashville den for Russian mafia ? It’s to no surprise of mine to find out that Sam Karaman is believed to be connected to “The Russians”. After all, those that are familiar with the history of Gotti’s know that Sam used to and still is part of Catholic Holy Family Church. He used to belong to the Holy Family Catholic Church John Gotti and his family belonged to back in New York and belongs to the same church here in Nashville. His name is also well known on the streets of Brighton Beach as well as the streets of Bay Ridge. Russians have always had close ties to Italians and it’s no different with Sam. Sam Karaman aka Sammy or Sanjar also ironically happens to like Italian cuisine, but none other than at a Sicilian restaurant located in the suburbs of Nashville.
The “Uncle Gio’s” restaurant for some reason also seems to attract a lot of high-end cars that do have tinted windows and out of state license plates ! Please note that I am NOT saying that Sam IS connected to the Russian mafia in any shape or form, but one cannot help but wonder why the more you know about him, the more you wonder .?
Chairman of the Business Advisory Council connected to the Russin Mafia ???
Sam Karaman serves on the National Republican Congressional Committee as the Chairman of the Business Advisory Council for the State of Tennessee. I met Mr. Karaman back in 2005 during one of the fundraisers featuring Senate Majority Leader at the time and the State Senator Bill Frist. When we were introduced to each other Mr. Karaman was referred to as a well-connected young man representing the interests of many major donors to the Republican party. I was also told that he had played a big part in Mayor Gulianni’s mayoral campaign and has been a big asset to the Republican party across the board. And although I though then that Mr.Karaman was a bit too young to be a fish of his size in the pond that he was swimming, I have hard time believing that a man of Mr. Karaman’s reputation would have anything to do with the world he’s being tied to.
I guess I might be prematurely defending someone I hardly know and pledge to leave a feedback, once I’ve read the book.
James Middleton,
Memphis, TN
I’ve read the book a few times and I find it mind-blowing accurate. However, it hardly covers what Russian mafia does here in the States. It doesn’t really matter what it is, but if it’s a scheme of significant size and executed to perfection, you can count on Russian mafia being behind it. The primary reason I believe Russians succeed is because they stay one step ahead of authorities and whoever that is they are dealing with. The other reason is because most of big Russian criminal figures are exteremely well educated people unlike other somewhat street smart criminal organizations. Criminologists that are familiar with the history of Russia know that there’s no comparison between russian prisons and what Russians perceive to be resort like incarceration Institutes here in the US. And the last, but not be any means, the least factor to the equation is the brutality, which Russians are not hesitant to show to anyone standing in their way. Many criminologists have said that only Russians go as far as executing the families of the Law Enforcement members and families of disloyal members within their own organized empire, both of which have always been considered an off limits thing to do by any other mafia in the history of this country.
Again, if you hear of a drive by shooting and someone getting arrested, very rarely if ever, are you going to hear a Russian name associated with that type of crime. On the other hand, should you read in the paper of a perfect crime with no evidence, you may want to start looking for the Russian element to the story.
I went to see We Own The Night a few days ago and the movie was not bad. The movie my wife and I saw a week prior was Eastern Promises. And 2 weeks prior to that I had rented Training Day with Denzel Washington. I also am a big fan of Law and Order and CSI and it seems as if everytime I turn on TV or go to a movie, I sure can expect to see something about Russian Mafia. Obviously based on what I’m reading in this blog, now there are books written on the subject. If this indeed is such a problem, shouldn’t we do something about it such as possibly making it more difficult for russian citizens to get into our country?
Thomas Griffin
Los Angeles, CA
I never knew Sam Karaman was such a respected member of the Republican Party. I’ve always known him as a regarded car dealer within higher circles. I bought 12 Infiniti FX35’s from him when he was a General Sales Manager at Infiniti of Nashville in 2006. But when I called the dealership last week I was told that he was no longer there. Does anyone have any idea where he is at now? He is the only person I know that has been able to get MSO’s for the cars so that they can be shipped to Europe.
Denis
Marlboro, NJ