The criminal hierarchy in Russia: features and characteristics.

Abstract

The article highlights the main problems associated with the definition of the criminal hierarchy of Russia, its criminological features and characteristics. The criminal hierarchy represents a system of relations that have developed in the criminal environment and determine the order of subordination of the lower links to the higher ones. The author conducts a comparative analysis of the criminal hierarchy of Russia and the hierarchy operating in places of deprivation of liberty (penitentiary hierarchy), noting that the criminal hierarchy is a broader concept and includes the prison (penitentiary) hierarchy, which is its integral part. The author presents various opinions of scientists on this issue concerning the functioning, characteristics and features of the criminal hierarchy of Russia. The main conclusion of the study is that there is not and cannot be a single criminal hierarchy on the territory of Russia with a single control center, a strict system of subordination and subordination of the lower levels of criminal communities (organizations) to the higher ones. The analysis of the operational situation shows that various OPS and EOPGS operate in the Russian Federation, including those headed by persons with leadership status who carry out their activities within the so-called "thieves' community", which is the most structured segment of the criminal hierarchy, in addition, prison (penitentiary hierarchy) operates in correctional institutions, which is also a segment of the criminal hierarchy. Only the totality of all segments forms the so-called criminal hierarchy of Russia (the criminal world of Russia), which is not a single and integral structure, and the system of subordination is characteristic only for its individual elements.