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Dmitry Medvedev, who recently served as Russia’s prime minister last week and has now been transferred to the Security Council, where he serves as vice president, participated in a discussion on a new draft of the Concept of Public Security.
The document, with guidelines valid until 2030, should form the basis of the government’s efforts to combat crime.
Medvedev spoke about crimes, noting that in the past five months there have been fewer crimes in Russia than usual. After all, in fact, a poor thief, when many people are sitting at home.
New fraud opportunities
The Interior Ministry reports that 4.9 percent of homicides and attempted homicides occurred in the first quarter of this year. less than in the previous quarter. Thefts: 8.4 percent. less, and rape and attempted rape: 31.1 percent. Less.
Clearly, according to Galeotti, the police had to monitor the quarantine for a long time, so there was not enough time to report on the significant increase in domestic violence, as elsewhere. Furthermore, crime in Tatarstan has just increased by almost 20%.
Scanpix / ITAR-TASS photo / As the number of infected people in Russia increases, the fight against the pandemic does not stop
However, one indicator is simply impressive: Cybercrime has increased by up to 85%. In total, about 180,000 of them were recorded during the quarter, which is why the overall crime rate in Russia even increased by 0.8 percent in three months.
M. Galeotti: New spaces have been opened for fraud. Fake coronavirus and drug tests can be sold, and government support schemes can be abused.
According to Galeotti, the coronavirus epidemic only highlighted a long-term trend. In the past, online programmers and scammers are said to have primarily operated in the West, because there simply were more opportunities to make money, now that people in Russia are using the Internet more and more, there are opportunities at home.
“It just came to our attention then. False coronavirus tests and drugs can be sold, and government support schemes can be abused.
An official from the Ministry of Finance considers out loud that approximately a quarter of the requests for support are completely unfounded or highly embellished, ”writes the analyst.
Migratory mafiosis?
Crime in Russia can also be affected by the second wave, especially when the consequences of the closure of the economic state are felt.
And Medvedev drew attention to the migrants who lost their jobs in the country and lost their jobs, but were unable to return home due to the restrictions that still exist. According to the Russian Prime Minister, such people may resort to criminal activities.
Photo by Scanpix / ITAR-TASS / Dmitry Medvedev
According to Galeotti, this is possible, of course, but dental migrants are not shown at this time. In St. Petersburg, for example, in the first four months of this year, migrants completed 16.5 percent. fewer crimes than during the same period last year.
“But migrants can become targets of organized gangs. Some of them were brought to Russia by gangs, which can now oppress them.
If migrants cannot go home and earn a living as usual, they can become easy prey for these sharks or be recruited, “says Galeotti.
Reuters / Scanpix photo / Immigrants in Russia
Furthermore, such a possibility is possible in a broader context. If the economy does not move for a long time, it will be possible to speak not only of the prolonged shadow, but also of the threat to the current balance in the world of Russian criminals.
For example, during the 2008 crisis, heavily ruble-dependent gangs suddenly realized that they were earning far less than gangsters capable of getting rich in euros or another foreign currency, such as drug traffickers.
Then there were many small local conflicts, but first of all, according to Galeotti, the consolidation. The smallest gangs were simply pumped into larger transnational networks.
“Tensions in the current status quo It already exists, so if the economy stops for a long time, underground power will be redistributed, “says the expert.
The mafia will adapt to reality.
According to him, the biggest fight should be over drug smuggling routes. It seems that even with the current restrictions, the demand for drugs did not drop: the price of drugs on the streets remained stable, which, among other things, proves that the stricter border controls did not stop smugglers.
“After all, the cargo continues to travel by air, land and sea. Drugs also travel: Russian gangs transport heroin from Afghanistan, cocaine from Latin America, synthetic drugs, marijuana.
Arno Strumilos / 15min photo / Mark Galeotti
Many of these imports are consumed domestically: in Russia, most people in the world use heroin on average. But more drugs are being re-exported, especially to Europe, where demand is still high, “says Galeotti.
It is now more difficult for individual operators to operate, so they have switched to larger loads. In early June, three criminals were arrested in Moscow, carrying 35 kg of cocaine worth half a million euros on the street.
According to the analyst, Russian gangsters will definitely adapt, if they have not already done so, to the changed reality. They are already seen as fierce capitalists who know how to take advantage of new opportunities and take on challenges.
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