Russian mafia

The Russian mafia (Russian: ру́сская ма́фия, romanized: russkaya mafiya [ˈruskəjə ˈmafʲɪjə] or росси́йская ма́фия, rossiyskaya mafiya [rɐˈsʲijskəjə ˈmafʲɪjə]), also known as bratva (братва́, bratva [brɐtˈva]; lit. 'brothers' clique'), is a collective of various organized crime-related elements originating and operating in Russia. Any of the mafia's groups may be referred to as an "Organized Criminal Group" (OPG, from Russian "организованная преступная группа"). This is sometimes modified to include a specific name, such as the Orekhovskaya OPG. Sometimes, the Russian word is dropped in favour of a full translation, and OCG is used instead of OPG. In December 2009, Timur Lakhonin, the head of the National Central Bureau of Interpol within Russia, stated that "Certainly, there is crime involving our former compatriots abroad, but there is no data suggesting that an organized structure of criminal groups comprising former Russians exists abroad" on the topic of international Russian criminal gangs. In August 2010, Alain Bauer, a criminologist from France, said that the Russian mafia "is one of the best structured criminal organizations in Europe, with a quasi-military operation" in their international activities. The Russian mafia, according to Mark Galeotti, an expert in modern Russia, is a highly organized and globalized criminal network that emerged and expanded significantly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. During this time, Russian criminals sought to es