Deck 6: Russia and the Former Soviet Union

Question 1

​After the collapse of the Soviet Union,three overlapping categories of Russian organized crime groups appeared.Which of the following is NOT one of these three groups?

A)​sportsmen and veterans
B)​vory
C)​religious-based groups
D)ethnic-based groups

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The Chechen organized crime portfolio includes all of the following except for:​

A)​arms trafficking.
B)​currency counterfeiting.
C)​financial document counterfeiting.
D)child trafficking.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Post-1987 economic liberalization in Russia paved the way which of the following?​

A)​criminal organizations
B)​improved law enforcement
C)​bank regulations
D)stronger judicial efforts to reduce crime

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Where did the vory develop?​

A)​in church
B)​in prison
C)​in the slums
D)in saloons

Question 5

Which of the following activities is associated with Russian organized crime?​

A)​trafficking in women for the sex industry
B)​trafficking in marijuana
C)​smuggling immigrants into the country
D)cloning cell phones

Question 6

​Russian gangsters have long been involved in the production and sale of what powerful drug?

A)​heroin
B)​methamphetamine
C)​cocaine
D)methadone

Question 7

In the Soviet Union,"organized crime" was simply a system of corrupt relationships among various sectors of society with the Communist Party in the dominate role,rather than what kind of organization?​

A)​Albaninan organized crime-style
B)​Mafia-style
C)​Mexican cartel-style
D)Colombian cartel-style

Question 8

The breeding and training ground for Russian organized crime was established during the:​

A)​Communist era.
B)​Military era.
C)​Democratic era.
D)Weimar era.

Question 9

Which of the following is/are part of Russian organized crime since the lifting of Communist control?​

A)​crime
B)​politics
C)​business
D)crime,politics,and business

Question 10

What did vory members often have that revealed their status in the organization's hierarchy and even their criminal specialty?​

A)​jackets
B)​flags
C)​tattoos
D)jackets,flags,and tattoos

Question 11

What does the term "Vory v zakone" mean?​

A)​"good for nothing"
B)​"hall or gathering place"
C)​"thieves with a code of honor"
D)"men of violence"

Question 12

Vory members' _____________ often reveal their status within the organization's hierarchy and even their criminal specialty area.​

A)​back patches
B)​weapon they carry
C)​color of outer clothing
D)tattoos

Question 13

Which type of structures do Russian organized crime groups create on an as-needed basis to carry out particular crimes?​

A)​floating
B)​rigid
C)​strict kinship
D)distinct

Question 14

Who are reportedly the only criminal group in Russia that does not respect the territoriality of the vory?​

A)​Siberians
B)​Latvians
C)​Georgians
D)Chechens

Question 15

In post-Soviet Russia,several years of market reform changed the nature of the nation's economy,and also:​

A)​improved the standard of living for most people.
B)​brought hyperinflation.
C)​reduced the level of unemployment.
D)stabilized the political system.

Question 16

​Which of the following is true about the contemporary vory?

A)​They allow female members.
B)Tattoos are not required.​
C)​Only former convicts can be members.
D)They are less well-organized than the old vory.

Question 17

During World War II,the vory split into two factions,one supporting efforts to defeat the invading Nazis and the other loyal to the thieves' underworld.What were these two factions called?​

A)​patriots; traditionalists
B)​traditionalists; realists
C)​conservatives; realists
D)realists; patriots

Question 18

What is one of the most nefarious activities associated with Russian organized crime,which only began occurring after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991?​

A)​hijacking airline cargo
B)​illegal alcohol distribution
C)​sex trafficking of women
D)gun smuggling

Question 19

With the collapse of the Soviet Union,the Nomenklatura were considered to be ________________ who merged with the criminal underworld to take advantage of the political and economic opportunity.​

A)​thieves with a code of honor
B)​elite Communist bureaucrats
C)​czarists
D)Chechen crime groups

Question 20

Vory membership requires all of the following,except for:​

A)​three sponsors.
B)​a formal ceremony.
C)​an oath of allegiance to abide by all 18 rules.
D)the murder of at least one random person on behalf of the organization.

Question 21

In the former Soviet Union,"organized crime" was a system of corrupt relationships among various sectors of society with the Communist Party in the dominant role.

Question 22

Currently,in the territory of the former Soviet Union,organized crime wields power over all the economy.

Question 23

In the former Soviet Union,law enforcement resources have been inadequate to deal with the menace of organized crime.

Question 24

Which of the following statements is false regarding Russian organized crime?​

A)​Russian criminals began their criminal careers as members of adolescent street gangs in ethnic ghettos.
B)​Russian organized crime encompasses any ethnic or national groups from the territory of the former Soviet Union.
C)​In the former Soviet Union,law enforcement resources have been inadequate to deal with the menace of organized crime.
D)The breeding and training ground for Russian organized crime was established during the Communist era.

Question 25

With the collapse of the Soviet Union,vory groups were no longer an important element in Russian organized crime.

Question 26

In 1995,Ivankov's reign as the reputed leading Russian crime boss in the United States ended when he was arrested for violations of which law?​

A)​RICO
B)​the Hobbs Act
C)​the Harrison Act
D)immigration laws

Question 27

During the 1990s in the United States,Russian organized crime groups were involved in a number of different schemes,including tax fraud and evasion on certain products like alcohol and:​

A)​chocolate.
B)​fuel oil.
C)​cigarettes.
D)seafood.

Question 28

The vory developed among hardcore prison camp inmates.

Question 29

The vory is one of the few organized crime groups in the world that allow woman.

Question 30

Today,many of the criminals who work for Russian organized crime operations in the United States tend to be of what descent?​

A)​Hungarian
B)​Yugoslavian
C)​Jewish
D)Polish

Question 31

Which of the following is NOT true about Russian organized criminals in the United States?​

A)​They are educated.
B)​They have military experience.
C)​They began their criminal careers as members of adolescent street gangs in ethnic ghettos.
D)They exploit the Russian émigré community.

Question 32

The Russian wiseguy,like his Sicilian mafioso counterpart,acts in what capacity so that persons who do not trust one another can transact business with a significant degree of confidence?​

A)​conservator
B)​motivator
C)​guarantor
D)contractor

Question 33

In reference to its level of organized crime activity,which area has been likened to "Chicago of the twenties"?​

A)​Georgia
B)​Moscow
C)​Chechnya
D)Odessa

Question 34

Russian criminals who come to the United States typically possess martial skills learned in the military and some degree of advanced education.

Question 35

In reference to organized crime in Russia,certain ethnic groups like the Chechens are no longer involved in illicit activities.

Question 36

In what section of New York City did many Russian émigrés settle and where many Russian organized crime groups have headquartered their illicit operations?​

A)​Manhattan
B)​Upper West Side
C)​Brighton Beach
D)Upper East Side

Question 37

Most Russian criminals began their criminal careers as members of adolescent street gangs in ethnic ghettos.

Question 38

Russian organized criminal groups have a long historical involvement in the trafficking of women for the sex industry both in and beyond Europe.

Question 39

Notorious Russian mobster and member of the Soltntsevskaya Bratva crime group,Semion Mogilevich made his first fortune by defrauding which group fleeing to the United States to avoid Soviet rule?​

A)Jews​
B)​Italians
C)​Catholics
D)Protestants

Question 40

Russian crime groups in the United States are typically fluid,membership is transient,and about what size?​

A)​5-20 people
B)​30-40 people
C)​about 50 people
D)upwards of 100 people

Question 41

Describe the role that the ethnic-based group known as the Chechens has had with the proliferation of organized crime activities in both Russia and beyond.

Question 42

_____________ are informal organizations whose members share a set of behaviors and expectations.

Question 43

The ethnic-based organized group known as the ________________ are reportedly the only criminal group that does not respect the territoriality of the vory.

Question 44

The _____________,highly regarded thieves who control many of the current Russian organized crime rackets,developed among hardcore prison camp inmates.

Question 45

Durkheim's concept of _____________ fits Russia's present day situation of social unrest.

Question 46

Explain the history of the vory,including who they are and what they represent.Next,what happened to the vory during WWII?

Question 47

A meeting between Russian Mafia bosses to resolve business disputes is the _____________,where both sides are accompanied by armed guards.

Question 48

How did the collapse of the Soviet Union change Russian organized crime?

Question 49

The breeding and training ground for Russian organized crime was established during the Soviet _____________ era.

Question 50

_____________ is an acronym for the Russian prison service and a term used to identify penal colonies.

Question 51

Russian organized crime has more in common with the historical American _____________ of the early 1900s than with the likes of the original Sicilian Mafia of the 1920s and 30s that impacted such areas as New York City and Chicago.

Question 52

Semion Mogilevich,a Ukrainian-born Jew with a degree in economics,made his first fortune by defrauding fellow Jews who were fleeing to _____________ before later joining the infamous Moscow-based organized crime group known as the Solntsevo Brotherhood.

Question 53

In what way did the economic liberalization that transpired after the fall of the Soviet Unionhelp foster and cultivate the growth of organized crime in Russia?

Question 54

The three overlapping categories of Russian organized crime are sportsmen and veterans,_____________,and the vory.

Question 55

How was the new vory that emerged in the 1980s different from the previous version of the organization? Why did it change?