MAFIA, american or russian ?

[2nd row]

  Read somewhere that the Russian Mafia are much more powerful now, than the Italian ( American ) Mafia has ever been ... surely  the 'word ' Mafia is Italian ? so what is the equivelent in Russian ? When did they become organised ? before,or after the Berlin wall came down ? if there any Americans out there, " is there any sort of crime war, between these two groups, going on in the States ? and if there are any Russians out there, History please on the Russian 'Mafia' .... thanks

[Yinzer]

Good morning 2nd row! I'll ask my husband for sure when he gets home from work. I don't know about crime but there are some russian mafia operations around here in america. Stores set up as fronts for money laundering, sneaky russian men who can get you a freaking bazooka and a fake passport if you have enough money, stuff like that. Will post more later once I ask...

[bernardo]

I think that "Mafia" is used to describe any dodgy or irregular business in Russia, even smalll Arthur-Daley type of things.  It sort-of fills the gap where legal reforms have not yet caught up with the economic realities of post-communism.

[2nd row]

  sorry Bernardo, cant see it,,,, some petty Arthur Daly type things ? so the fella' selling a dodgy car , or even someone like Dell Boy, belonging to, or classed as 'mafia ', doesnt sort of sound right to me, and to be fair, i thought, think, that the Mafia is a organised group, at the highest level, involved in legal/illegal activities that create more wealth, more power etc.... be they Russian or American ( Italian )  ... now, are there any Italians out there ? MAFIA  is it an Italian word ?

[galltin]

You lot may not be fans of The Sopranos. There were Russian gangsters featured in a previous series - in fact my fave episode involved them. They are an organised mob but they don't call themselves Mafia which is an Italian term.

[Del68]

Ma�fi�a n. i, A secret terrorist organization in Sicily, operating since the early 19th century in opposition to legal authority. ii,A secret criminal organization of Italian origin operating in the United States and engaged in illegal activities such as gambling, drug-dealing, and prostitution. iii,Any of various similar criminal organizations, especially when dominated by members of the same nationality.

[Yinzer]

OK, the russians do use the word "Mafia" just because it is sort of international, but russian mob is nowhere near as organized as the italian mafia used to be. In russia for the most part they are comparable to american gangs in the turf wars that they would have as well as certain connections to the members of the government. Now the russian mafia in america is a different story. Any turf war would be so darn large that for the most part everybody tries not to step on each other's toes. There could be a group in pittsburgh and a group in new york and a group in los angeles and they all are one big happy dysfunctional family. Nothing going on that gets much media attention, outside of the rather accurate movie portrayals. Does that answer your question?

[2nd row]

  Hello Yinzer, thanks for your ' promised  reply '. am i right in thinking that you are over there, where both these Mafia groups are operating ? you mention areas where the russians operate, and my reason for asking if there was any sort of a crime war between the 2 factions,was in the belief that the italian mafia would never allow anyone, or anything take away,or destroy their empire... have they then become weaker ? am i correct into thinking that the AM/ mafia are only america based ? because the 'word ' is that the R/mafia are now firmly based/established in many top cities, in many countries, London included,, 'tis very interesting, and i , once again , say ' thanks ', oh yes ! my other qestion you replied to. " M..O..M" . ' tis not the glass ceiling you must worry about, mirrored ones are the best ....... think about it !