18 September 2024
by Vic Peterson
Vic Peterson reviews Russia in Four Criminals by Frederico Verese [Hardback, £20, 140pp, ISBN-978-1509563609, Polity, Cambridge, Oxford, Boston, New York, 2024]
Russia in Four Criminals, by Frederico Verese, provides a great way to glimpse into the underworld of Russian life through portraits of four notorious lawbreakers. Or are they lawbreakers if the laws have broken down? And what, exactly, is an underworld when corruption is so pervasive as to be virtually the norm? The genius of this little book is that by focusing on the specific behavior of four specific individuals, it takes on several immense topics. Mass psychology, criminology, economics, and history all get their time on stage, revealed through richly-documented studies.
The four criminals in this rogues’ gallery form a lens to view Russian culture. Understood together, the reader can extrapolate an accurate vision of the primary criminal pressures on everyday Russian life:
Vyacheslav Ivan’kov: Vyacheslav Ivan’kov, born in 1940, was a prominent mafia boss in the Soviet Union and, later, Russia. He rose to notoriety as a ‘thief-in-law,’ an honorific given to top figures in the Russian criminal underworld who uphold strict mob codes. His criminal career spanned decades, and he became infamous for his role in organized crime, particularly in the 1990s. Despite multiple incarcerations, including in the United States, Ivan’kov maintained significant influence. He was revered by followers and remembered for his collection of religious icons, a notable contrast to his criminal life.
Boris Berezovsky: Born in 1946, Boris Berezovsky was a mathematician turned oligarch who gained significant wealth and power in post-Soviet Russia. His early life was marked by success in academia, but during the chaotic 1990s, Berezovsky exploited privatization efforts to accumulate vast fortunes, controlling key industries like oil, automobiles, and media. Known for his close ties to President Boris Yeltsin, Berezovsky played a crucial role in securing Yeltsin’s re-election in 1996. Despite his influence, Berezovsky’s fortunes waned, and he spent his final years in exile before his death in 2013.
Sergei Savel’ev: Whistleblower Sergei Savel’ev gained international recognition for exposing torture and abuse in Russian prisons. Imprisoned for drug-related offenses, Savel’ev managed to smuggle out over a thousand videos documenting horrific acts committed by prison officials. These revelations sparked an international outcry and investigations. Savel’ev fled Russia in 2021, seeking asylum in France after releasing the footage through the human rights organization Gulagu.net. His actions were both lauded as heroic and questioned by some as potentially orchestrated by Russian authorities. (Reviewer’s note: Savel’ev had been mentioned in Rights in Russian.)
Nikita Kuzmin: Nikita Kuzmin is a cybercriminal best known as the creator of the Gozi virus, one of the most powerful malwares in history. Kuzmin’s invention laid the groundwork for cybercrime-as-a-service, a model that has since proliferated across the globe. Kuzmin was not only a brilliant programmer but also a visionary in the criminal world, creating sophisticated cybercrime networks. He enjoyed a lavish lifestyle until his arrest in the United States in 2010. His cyber exploits, particularly Gozi, have had a long-lasting impact on digital security worldwide.
Our guide through the Russian underworld, author Frederico Verese, a researcher at Oxford University, never strays from his goal. His premise is clever. The book plays off two sensibilities seemingly at war in those intrigued by recent Russian political history. On one hand, solid data and a well-crafted argument support an engaging blend of scholarly expertise and journalistic accessibility. On the other, the reader can get a pulp-like thrill in the exploits of these villains. Want to understand the ever-fluid “honor among thieves” ethic of the Russian mafia? Learn how the programming of a computer virus led to the template for global criminal cyber-gangs? Hear a mobster frame his thuggery in the language of a mendicant? It’s all there, and more. The stories are fascinating.
Yet we are never rooting for John Dillinger against the FBI. Unlike tabloid pandering, Verese’s book has ethical ballast: these portraits are almost case studies. When we understand how civil society breaks down, we can anticipate how to strengthen it.
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