Corruption, organised crime and the free market in Russia

In this context of narrative and usage, the chapter examines the links between corruption and organised crime in Russia. The main argument claims that corruption poses the greater security and moral risk both domestically and internationally, firstly because the abuse of entrusted powers has a more diffuse negative impact on society at large, and secondly because the history of the relationship between these two phenomena in Russia overwhelmingly demonstrates that organised crime is consistently the weaker partner, even though it has been the focus of security concerns to a far larger degree than corruption. Finally, the chapter extends the argument of linkage to a broader debate on the pathological nature of the neoliberal project that underpinned Russia's move from communism to capitalism.