The mafia is a secret criminal community. Initially, the mafia arose to organize self-defense of the population on the island of Sicily in Italy. The mafia opposed the rulers who had suppressed this country for many years. And the police served as an instrument of oppression at that time. The exhausted inhabitants of Sicily already then learned to keep their mouths shut and never show their emotions, and not to forget that society is worst enemy. People have never sought justice from the government, and therefore have always turned to the people's intercessor - the mafia.
Later, the mafia established its control over the criminal business: smuggling, drug trafficking, prostitution and began to interact with the political structures of society. Italians sometimes claim that there are “good” mafiosi who do not kill, and there are “bad” ones.
Over the years, mafiosi in their circles have formed their own life principles and a kind of wisdom that helped them survive.
Don't touch the problem until the problem touches you.
Listen to advice that gives you an edge. Don't give this advice to anyone.
If you lie, be brief.
Nothing personal, it's just business.
An open mouth kills fish.
Is it possible to forgive an enemy? God will forgive! Our task is to organize their meeting.
Some people are careful not to lose. If you play carefully, you will definitely lose.
Random coincidences can not be.
A fool is one who cannot hide his wisdom.
A minute of patience is ten years of comfort.
The eagle does not hunt flies.
I will give three dozen of my thugs for one person who knows how to solve problems by talking.
There is nothing easier than a promise.
Don't shake a green apple tree - when the apple is ripe, it will fall off on its own.
Always pull the snake out of the hole with someone else's hands.
As a child, I prayed to God for a bicycle. Then I realized that God works differently. I stole a bicycle and began to pray for forgiveness.
Tolerate fools from time to time, you might learn something worthwhile. But never argue with them.
The world belongs to the patient.
Don't test the depth of the river with both feet.
Be fair with everyone, sociable with many, close with a select few, and a friend to a few.

A former mafioso tells entrepreneurs about the values ​​of people from criminal circles.
1. Hide the gun and move the old man across the street. Honor family values
Gangsters with early years They teach the younger generation to respect boundaries, respect hierarchy, age and gender. The person who becomes the main breadwinner of the family gains the most influence.
2. Why are the gangsters in the newspapers always so old? Love what you do, and there will be no “work days” in your life.
If you look at the members of the mafia, you will find old bandits not only among the mafia elite, but also among ordinary “hard workers.” And all because they like their work. You can offer an old thief a billion dollars, but he will refuse and then try to steal it from you. He lives and breathes this business.
3. Gangsters don't write notes. Sharpen your memory
Calls to girls of easy behavior, small black notepads, correspondence by e-mail - prosecutors can use all this against a gangster to put him behind bars. If you write something, then every word should be as precise as if you were writing for the front page Time magazine. This will help you a lot.
4. Three will keep a secret if two of them are dead. The hard truth of life
Trust is extremely important in the world of the mafia. In the world of business it is just as significant. You have tremendous power if you are trusted. And if you team up with one or two people you can trust, that’s already success.
Many gangsters have died because of secrets. Smart mafiosi stick to those they can trust, even if these people have some mistakes in the past. If you already have a trusted circle, take advantage of this. But don't offer loyalty just to anyone, otherwise you will be used or your trust abused.
5. A gangster's word is gold. The one who reaches highest level trust inevitably collides with prosperity
No comments needed.
6. Turn trash into gold. Sniff out opportunities
Look at what everyone else is passing by. You can see the potential and become one of those who see more and further. What do others find unattractive? Roll up your sleeves and do what you have to do. Remember that opportunities are everywhere. The mafia is famous for finding a way to make money everywhere and doing everything quickly.
7. Shoot at the target or yourself. Respect the chain of command
Hierarchy helps employees remember who to listen to. And leaders do not forget that they are responsible for the orders they give. All this, so to speak, helps the train arrive on schedule.
8. Talk less
In understatement lies the power of wisdom. If you keep your mouth shut, you show your discipline and rise above the ocean of talkers. Besides superfluous word often turns into embarrassment. The less you talk, the more chance that you will be heard when you do take the floor. A true mafioso does not waste words and behaves with dignity even in provocative circumstances.
9. How to kill a victim without a weapon? Motivate your people
The ability to see potential and influence people to inspire them to do something is distinguishing feature leader. Inspire your world, and that world will expand exponentially.
10. Become a mediator in disputes and learn the art of compromise
Ensure fairness and objectivity to every person in your organization. Get rid of all internal resentments. Make sure that the parties do not endlessly try to defend their truth. If you can do all of this, your productivity will improve.
Imagine a world where people sit down at a table, discuss problems, and resolve the dispute the same day. This is the world of the mafia. Gangsters know that grudges hinder growth, that heated arguments lead to trouble. Become a referee and invite employees to discuss issues today.
11. The “bad guys” thin skin: Never embarrass people in front of others
Don't harass people in public. This will not make you look stronger, but the retaliatory “blow” will be such that you cannot even imagine. A face-to-face conversation will put the employee on the right path, but a public spanking will make him weaker, and perhaps even lead to thoughts of revenge.
Behind the masks of cold-blooded killers there are often touchy and vulnerable people. The slightest offense can have deadly consequences. That's why mafiosi talk to their subordinates in private.
12. Why do gangsters force their sons to pull the trigger? Build trust
No matter how provocative it may sound, gangsters often take their teenage sons to kill. The idea is to show my son real life, develop confidence in him. It's the same in business. A leader assesses potential in an employee and then pushes him beyond his comfort zone. This is a challenge for the subordinate, but in this way he can earn trust and become stronger.
13. The bosses' reception areas have large steel doors that are always open. Stick to the policy open doors
A successful mafia boss is well protected, but never isolated. If only a few people have access to the boss, then those few people control what information gets to the top and what doesn't. Mafia bosses sit in places where massive doors are installed, but any “employee” can visit the boss and discuss business with him. Thanks to the open door policy, the mafia leaders constantly have their finger on the pulse.
14. It's good to be a king. But no one is above the law
There are scum in any company, writes the author of the book, but if you are a bastard yourself, you risk being surrounded by enemies.

Being a bandit is not easy, but each of them chooses their own path. It's judgmental and scary, but unbearably romantic. Choose gangster status on VK!

Statuses for real bandits

Let your enemies be afraid

Your VKontakte page should be as dangerous as you yourself. Publish your bandit status on VK right now.

The most popular gangster statuses

Humiliation and begging are definitely not about a bandit. He will go to the end, no matter the cost:

1. It's not that I'm aggressive, but I never wait to get hit.
2. I respect strength, but I hate show-offs.
3. In principle, you can send me, but then you shouldn’t be offended.
4. There are friends out of boredom, and there are friends forever.
5. If you feel like you're too tough while driving a foreign car, I can help you come down to earth.
6. Seriously, this is when coffee and cigarettes no longer help.
7. The jackal is not a mammoth: it will not go extinct on its own.
8. Time to be alone is just as important as making good friends.
9. Drinking is harmful, living a boring life is even worse.
10. I am strong because I am not afraid to appear weak.
11. I was not an excellent student, I was not diligent, but few people know: a thief can be gentle.
12. I'm not sad, I just never hide the truth.
13. No matter how many years pass, the bandit will definitely keep everything in his heart.
14. A bandit is like a mirror: what you give to him, so does he to you.
15. After the most terrible shocks, I believe that this is not the greatest loss that a person could experience. This is how I survive.
16. I have done so many things... But I only feel sorry for my mother and the girl who took care of me in my heart.

Set your bandit status now!

It would seem that what can compare in its emotions to a trip to Antarctica? Muscovite Yuliy Apryatin visited the southernmost continent, about which "". And yet there were places that were not inferior to the world of snow and ice - Brazil and Argentina. About a trip to Latin America - in a new traveler's story.

Having collected big company friends, at the beginning of January we went on a two-week tour of two countries Latin America. The route was as follows: first to Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), from there to the most beautiful waterfalls in the world - Iguazu, then to mountain fishing in the Argentine Bareloche and at the end of the trip - the capital of this country, Buenos Aires.

God's city

During the flight, as political information, we watched two gorgeous films: “City of God,” which tells about life in the favelas, and “ Elite Squad"starring Wagner Moura (known to many for his role as Escobar in the TV series Narcos), also telling about the favelas and their cleansing before the visit of the Pope in 1997.

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So, no one knows the exact population of Rio. More precisely, they don’t know how to count it correctly. About 6.5 million people officially live in the city itself, plus 6 million residents of the favelas, who literally put Rio under siege in a tight ring. This knowledge alone is enough to understand: the city is extremely unsafe. It is strongly recommended that you leave all valuables in the hotel safe before your trip. And this is not reinsurance. We met our compatriots, whose chain was torn off on the beach in the morning and their wedding ring was taken away with a knife.

We stayed at the historic Copacabana Palace Hotel, built in 1923 and located on Copacabana Beach of the same name. If you look at the hotel from the ocean, you can see that literally two or three streets inland the favelas begin. Therefore, this beach is one of the most unsafe in the city. And if you are not a fan of the movie “Flight to Rio,” then it is better to just go to the hotel for a cocktail and stay in a place that is safer for walking.

For example, close to the beaches of Ipanema and Leblon. They are much safer, more civilized and surrounded by almost European streets with incredibly cozy restaurants, bars, clubs and a huge lake with a large walking area. Rio can only be called truly beautiful when you look at it from a bird's eye view or from a mountain called Sugar Loaf.

In my opinion, this is a must-see place. From there you can see the most incredible and fantastic views of the metropolis, luxurious beaches, bays, and bay. You can walk and admire the city for hours. But as soon as you go down, the mirage disappears. The city is quite poor, the ocean most The time is bracingly cold, and the beaches are very crowded. And it’s better to go out there only in swimming trunks, leaving the top brands for the pool at the hotel, otherwise there is a chance of returning naked.

You can never completely relax in Rio. You feel under siege all the time. It seems that you are in a relatively civilized center, but on the other hand, if you look up, there are favelas in the mountains, everywhere you look, ruled by the drug mafia, and there are about as many weapons in their hands as there are people living in the city.

Moreover, we must understand that the favelas are not inhabited by bandits, but mostly by the most ordinary people who work here in bars, restaurants, hotels, schools. And for whom nightly shooting is a common occurrence. And if you consider that periodically wars for influence begin between favela bosses, the life of these poor people is extremely depressing and dangerous.

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Our friend was eager to go there on an excursion, but the war between the factions was in full swing, so all the guides, even those living in the favelas, flatly refused to accompany him. They say that we survive there, but we cannot ensure the safety of strangers. In the evenings, so that some tipsy tourist in search of an adrenaline trip does not wander into a dangerous area, checkpoints are organized at the entrances to the favelas: there are cars with flashing lights on and police with machine guns.

Under the Watch of Christ

The statue of Christ the Redeemer rises majestically above the city - business card not only Rio de Janeiro, but also Brazil. Its height is 38 meters, it is located in the very high point Rio. Despite the fact that the statue was built, including with money, consecrated by Pope Paul IV, and representatives and Patriarch Kirill personally held divine services and prayer services around it, it never received divine protection, and it is regularly struck by lightning, at least four times a year. As a result, the Catholic diocese is forced to store a supply of stone for restoration.

Traveling to the statue is one of the most tiring activities and takes several hours. First there is a long queue for tickets, then a long wait for your time and after that - an uphill climb along a very old railway. After wasting about three hours, you come out to a small area, several hundred meters wide, filled with tourists who, in various strange poses, are trying with all parts of their bodies to push aside their neighbors and take a “unique” selfie or photo shoot with the palm of their hand.

I was not in Rio during the annual carnival, but we were also a little lucky - a tournament of 13 samba schools was taking place right opposite the hotel on Copacabana beach. The city simply “exploded” that evening. So many drunk, happy and dancing people I saw only a couple of times in Moscow after our team’s victory over Holland and Spain in 2008 and 2018.

After spending three days in Rio De Janeiro, we moved on. We made all our flights with Brazilian and Argentine airlines, and this was also a kind of attraction. When you see the square windows on an airplane, you realize that not only the Copacabana Palace is imbued with the spirit of history, but the airplanes too.

Rumbling Border

Iguazu Falls (there are as many as 275 of them) are one of the largest in the world, and are recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world. They are located on the border of Brazil and Argentina in national park Iguazu. And if you have enough time, then you need to look at them from both sides. We spent two days at the waterfalls. Immediately upon arrival we visited the Brazilian side. We only spent a couple of hours walking along it. But from the Argentine side the view is much cooler, so we spent the whole next day there.

You find yourself in an incredible fairy tale, walking along different paths and hanging bridges, constantly opening up incredible views of the waterfalls, coming close to the cliffs and admiring the power of the discharged water in one of the largest waterfalls in the world, “Devil's Throat” (in Spanish, Garganta del Diablo). It is taller than Niagara, and second in width only to Victoria Falls in Africa. Well, how could we do without an impressive boat excursion with a stop under the waterfalls themselves?!

Fishing, trout and... Barack Obama

Our next point The destination was San Carlos de Bariloche, a city in the Argentine part of Patagonia. Four and a half hours with a transfer in Buenos Aires, and you are in Bariloche - this is local Switzerland, famous for its ski resorts, lakes, rivers, beaches, delicious restaurants and golf courses.

Shortly before our arrival, former US President Barack Obama visited here for the same purpose as us - fishing. Residents still don't remember Obama very kindly. They say that because of him, roads were blocked, huge traffic jams formed, there were agents everywhere national security, and all this looked more like the occupation of Bariloche by the States.

Our choice fell on the incredibly beautiful Llao Llao Hotel, where the former US President also stayed. The hotel is made entirely of wood and is located on the shore of a mountain lake, and its interior is reminiscent of the TV series Twin Peaks. It seemed as if an agent would come out with a cup of coffee and blurt out something witty like: “The only thing Columbus discovered was that he was lost.”

Here we joined our friends from California, thanks to whom we learned about this amazing place, and who helped organize everything. On the first day we planned fishing on a mountain river. We divided into two people, sat in high chairs on boats (one at the bow and one at the stern), each of which was controlled by a local instructor, and while rafting we cast a spinning rod in the hope of catching river trout. I must say that it was purely a sporting interest. The license for this fishing implied that we were obliged to release all the caught fish back into the river, which we honestly did.

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On the second day we went fishing on the largest mountain lake in Argentina. It is located on the border between the provinces of Neuquen and Rio Negro in northern Patagonia, and it has a strange name for our ears, Nahuel Huapi, which is translated from the language of the Araucan Indian people as “Jaguar Island”. The day was already more fishy, ​​but not at all sporty.

We lowered the lures to different depths and slowly swam across the lake, while drinking wine and admiring the fantastic views of the mountains. We only got up from our seats to pull out the caught fish. In the end, our catch amounted to four trout, each weighing from two to three kilograms. Having landed on the island, we immediately fried the entire catch on coals and ate it with pleasure.

Import substitution, fountains and... favelas again

The next point on our program was the capital of Argentina, Buenos Aires. The city left very mixed impressions. It ranges from luxurious areas like Ricoletto with elegant houses and doormen at the entrance, to very poor areas, and real favelas where local police patrolling the slums organize private tours. The city is beautiful, but in severe decline. Several districts are architecturally reminiscent of Paris or Madrid. Stylish and beautiful, but you always feel that this is a former luxury.

IN summer period all the fountains in the city are turned off, otherwise the poor population of the city will occupy them and turn them into large baths and laundry areas, and all the monuments and numerous lawns are behind three-meter fences. IN otherwise on any free patch of lawn, slums immediately begin to appear, which are demolished by the police at night, and the next day everything repeats all over again.

Dogs are popular in Buenos Aires. People walking their four-legged friends are found everywhere, but for some reason the culture of cleaning up after animals does not exist. Because of this, you always have to look at your feet. Even in elite areas. For me, every city has a clear association with smells. So, after the rain, Buenos Aires smells like dog waste - in this regard, the capital left me with not the best best memories. And in the recent past, residents of the capital’s houses left garbage in bags at the entrances, which also did not add pleasant aromas to the city.

Many years ago, to boost the economy and create new jobs, Argentina introduced 100% import substitution of almost all goods. As a result, almost everything that is sold in Argentina is made there. From cars to household appliances, phones and food. As it turned out, the Argentines were simply unable to replace the Japanese, Chinese and Koreans, so in just a few years of “local” production of world-famous brands, the quality dropped catastrophically, and local residents began to bring bales of kettles, irons, televisions and other electronics from their trips.

The new president repealed this law, which turned out to be barbaric for the country, but two years passed, and only some stores that were relatively expensive for the average population began to stock foreign goods.

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Most economy class cars are assembled at local factories, and there are practically no expensive cars on the roads. If you see, for example, a Porsche, then you understand that its owner is a very rich person, since taxes on cars collected outside the country can reach up to 300 percent. More interesting fact: There are no car washes in Buenos Aires. You can wash your car only in disadvantaged areas with people with dirty rags and buckets of muddy liquid.

But the mayor's office is afraid to give licenses to open professional car washes, as this could spur poor areas to protest. After all, for many this is the only source of livelihood. And if previously a whole stream of immigrants came to Argentina from many parts of the world, now due to the daily deteriorating economic situation, poverty and lack of jobs, there is an outflow of the population.

Meat and wine

Just a few years ago I would have rated Argentinean meat as excellent. And my imagination pictured endless steak houses with luxurious Black Angus and delicious Malbec. Over the course of a week in Argentina, we ate more than a dozen steaks in the most different places- from expensive well-known restaurants to locally recommended steakhouses, and the impression was twofold.

If we compare our premium meat brands, they are not only not inferior to Argentinean meat with a history, but for my personal taste, they are even superior. And the same empanadas (Argentine pies with various fillings) are prepared tastier in Moscow-Argentine restaurants.

But the wine surprised me. Argentine wines that are supplied to Russia are quite primitive. Argentina itself has a ton of gorgeous red and white wines, and their price averages about $20 per bottle in stores and about $50 in restaurants.

Alas, after purchasing a license, delivery, renting a warehouse and other expenses, the price of such a wine in Moscow can be five to six thousand rubles, and this is already a premium line of French and Italian producers - hardly anyone will buy it for that kind of money in Russia. That's why we never drank truly great Argentinean wine.

After spending three days in Buenos Aires and one more night on the way back to Rio, we returned to Moscow in January to catch our breath and head across China, visiting Zhangjiajie - one of the most beautiful national parks, where the filming of the movie Avatar took place.

The American prison world is truly a vast and unknown civilization. There are millions of people behind bars in the United States, forced to abide by special unwritten laws and put up with discrimination that has not been seen in the wild for decades. Entire cities of prisoners provide the owners of prisons with fabulous income, turning the system of correction and punishment into a machine of exploitation and enrichment. decided to understand how American prisons work: the first text of the new series is dedicated to racism behind bars and the life of prison gangs.

“Monkeys don’t wear glasses,” prison guard Brian Paupor called out to black John Richard in the courtyard of a New York state prison. Convicted murderer Richard had poor eyesight and a prescription for dark glasses, so he wore them. A fight broke out, and several colleagues came to the security guard’s aid. As a result, the prisoner not only lost his glasses - he was beaten so that he could hardly walk, and was sent to a punishment cell for six months. Officer Paupor escaped with minor injuries, and wrote in his official report that Richard attacked him first. The note did not mention a racial slur.

Racial gangs

“Everything depends on race here. I mean, really everything,” says Jerry Metcalfe, who was convicted of manslaughter and weapons charges. - In the dining room, whites sit in one corner, blacks in the other. White people get their hair cut by a white barber, black people get their hair cut by a black barber. It's still the 1950s here - I mean, we only share drinking fountains. […] The only difference is that whites behind bars are often in the minority.”

Finding himself, deservedly or not, at the mercy of the American penitentiary system, the prisoner is faced with a cruel world, the population of which - more than 2.2 million people - is sometimes guided by the primitive laws of survival, strictly separating friends from foes, and is not afraid to resort to violence.

It is known that in terms of the number of convicts, the United States is significantly ahead of other states and ranks first in the world in terms of the ratio of prisoners and total number citizens. In some states, there are more than a thousand prison inmates per 100,000 residents, including children.

There are many reasons for this situation. Among them are called excessive strict laws and long sentences. People sometimes have to wait decades to get out of prison, and people have to adapt. The most obvious solution for many is joining a gang - and as a result, every tenth American prisoner is a member of one or another organized crime group.

Almost 40 percent of the American prison population is African American, compared with only 13 percent nationwide. According to 2010 data, for every 100 thousand adult American citizens there are 678 white male prisoners, 4.3 thousand blacks and 1.7 thousand of Hispanic origin.

Brother for brother

Prison criminal groups in the United States, people are strictly differentiated by skin color. This is an echo of past oppression - almost all the largest gangs were formed in the 60s of the last century. Then the state decided to end segregation in prisons and began to house prisoners together, regardless of race. But racism has not gone away. Prisoners expect their “friends” to be ready to help in conflict situation, and those who do not provide this assistance are deprived of support and become victims themselves. Most convicts are involved in racial violence in one way or another.

Divided among themselves without the help of the state, the criminals formed associations of many thousands with rich history cooperation and enmity are not branches of gangs operating on the other side of the prison fence, but fundamentally new structures that influence the lives of their members outside the penitentiary system. In each prison, gangs seize territory, mark it with their signs and divide the market for illegal goods and services. Against the background of this, real wars with mass clashes and killings take place between them. The leaders of the groups are deservedly considered brilliant managers - despite all the efforts of the prison guards, they manage to lead the most complex processes. As a rule, they communicate with their subordinates using encrypted letters on very small pieces of paper.

The Atlantic journalist Graham Wood shared his observation of the impending prisoner brawl: “At first it seems that we are seeing these terrifying men - tattooed killers, robbers and drug dealers - randomly walking around the courtyard. Some are stopped and searched by security, after which they adjust their clothes and continue to breathe fresh air. The first Latino approaches the concrete table, sits down and waits. The black prisoner goes to the horizontal bars and carefully looks at the people walking. The white guy, going out into the yard, immediately goes to the third point, near the basketball court. Another Latino occupies another table. Gradually it becomes obvious that they are following a tactic: each of them takes a place for their own.”

When several dozen prisoners gather in three groups in the yard, the guards also form a group and retreat to the fence. Describing what is happening in the yard, Wood writes that the criminals “move in such a coordinated and organized manner, as if they were obeying the instructions of invisible traffic lights.” “There are about thirty knives in this yard right now,” the security officer tells the journalist. “They hide them in their anus.”

Homemade knives are the main weapon in prison wars. Despite the fact that the administration severely punishes those who manufacture and store weapons, convicts continue to sharpen them. They are also not afraid to use them, despite the possible extension of the sentence - many gang members have already been sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2007, a massacre took place in Pelican Bay, resulting in dozens of casualties. Thanks to the efforts of the guards and doctors, only one prisoner among the wounded did not survive, and the administration confiscated 89 units of homemade weapons - sharpeners and batons.

Diversity of cultures

African-American gangs in prisons are often just cells of “traditional” street organized crime groups, such as Bloods And Сrips, feuding with each other based on old feuds and redistribution of drug markets. But there are exceptions, and they are significant: a prison group called "Black Guerrilla Family"(Black Guerilla Family) is built primarily on ideological principles. Members of this gang, founded in 1966 by George Jackson of the Black Panthers, define their ideals as “African-American Marxism-Leninism” and consider the fight against racism and the black revolution in the United States to be their goals. The symbol of the organization was a black dragon clutching a prison guard in its claws against the backdrop of a watchtower.

Latinos, mostly Mexicans, are united in gangs in American prisons "Mexican Mafia"(also known as "La Eme") and "Nuestra Famiglia", which means “our family” in Spanish. These gangs, like African American gangs, originated in California and identify each other by wearing blue and red clothing. They are waging the longest criminal war in US history, which began with the theft of shoes by one bandit from another in 1968. At the same time, Nuestra Familia's allies are left-wing radical Africans from the Black African Family, and on the side of the Mexican Mafia are white Nazis from "Aryan Brotherhood".

Both groups are largely Chicano - Latino nationalists - and accept whites into their ranks, while other Latinos are more likely to join the so-called "Texas Syndicate", more closed to representatives of other ethnic groups.

Ethnicity is, of course, important for white organized crime groups: they are usually united by the idea of ​​racial superiority. The most known group entitled "Aryan Brotherhood" formed in the same California prison, San Quentin, where the Black Guerrilla Family was founded - initially white prisoners banded together to protect themselves from black radicals, but soon outnumbered them in brutality. Now the gang is called the most authoritative and brutal in America. According to the principle of “blood in, blood out”, in order to join it, the candidate must attack a guard or a prisoner of a different race, and can only leave posthumously.

On this moment The "Brotherhood" unites more than 20 thousand criminals throughout the country. That's less than 0.1 percent of all prisoners, but the gang is responsible for about one in five murders committed inside the U.S. prison system, according to . Its members are identified by tattoos with Nazi symbols, clovers and the number “666” - they deny Christianity and mainly profess Scandinavian neo-paganism.

Neither great goal liberation of blacks, nor belief in the superiority of the Aryan race prevents prison gangs from making money. Contract killings, extortion, racketeering, arms trafficking, production and distribution of hard drugs - for each of the above gangs these are common sources of income and a key part daily activities both in prison and outside it. The ideas of racial solidarity with which these associations began have long become a kind of facade for the standard activities characteristic of organized crime groups around the world.

Racist system

Systemic racism, which once gave rise to racial gangs, has perhaps almost disappeared from American society as a whole - but is still alive in penitentiary system. In 2016 New magazine The York Times published a study of prison discipline that examined nearly 60,000 disciplinary actions in 54 New York State prisons.

The findings suggest that ethnic minority prisoners, particularly black prisoners, face not only everyday prejudice but also prejudice built into prison institutions. According to their data, black criminals are punished on average 30 percent more often than white ones. At the same time, the probability of receiving a sentence in a punishment cell as a punishment, where the criminal spends time 23 hours a day in complete solitude, is 65 percent higher for blacks. Wherein average term The isolation period for whites is 90 days, and for blacks - 125.

Days spent in solitary confinement are not just a psychologically difficult punishment. During this time, the prisoner cannot participate in educational or therapeutic programs designed to help him return to a normal life after prison. Thus, those who fail to manage their behavior move into a “downward spiral” of disciplinary violations and punishments, and their chances of correction decrease. Besides a large number of penalties reduce the likelihood of early release from prison - blacks spend an average of 10 percent more time behind bars for the same crime.

During the year, black prisoners in New York State received 1,144 sentences of more than 180 days in a punishment cell. Whites were punished as harshly only 226 times. You might think that these data have nothing to do with racial prejudice - the reason for the poor discipline of African-American criminals may also be the fact that on average they are much younger than representatives of other groups. However, some evidence does confirm that racism plays a role here.

There is a bias in punishments against blacks for almost all types of disciplinary violations. But, characteristically, most of all it manifests itself in the fact that the words of the guard are enough to prove guilt. In some prisons, African-Americans are punished twice as often as whites for “failure to comply with an order,” and sometimes this can be used to cover, for example, the fact that an inmate did not get out of the shower quickly enough when he was kicked out by a prison officer.

Black guests

Further evidence that differences in attitudes stem from prejudice comes from comparisons between different prisons. Inmates are evenly distributed throughout the state's state prisons, while representatives different races In the United States, life is by no means evenly distributed: blacks are much more represented in densely populated cities, and around them, in the ring of suburbs, white Americans live. They mainly inhabit small towns in agricultural areas - and work in prisons located there.

Such is the case at Clinton Correctional Facility, near the Canadian border: of the 998 prison staff as of 2016, only one was from an ethnic minority. There is almost no non-white population in the surrounding villages, and black prisoners are often the only African-Americans the guards are familiar with. The New York Times reports that inmates at the prison complain that they are subjected to racial slurs from the moment they cross the threshold. And, of course, this is where the difference between the races comes from. disciplinary sanctions- one of the highest in the state.

In 2018, the think tank People's Policy Project published a study that rejected the "race" explanation for the disparity in the American prison population. After analyzing data on the race and income of prisoners, sociologist Nathaniel Lewis came to the conclusion that the main factor of stratification is not skin color, but the economic stratum to which the prisoner belongs.

White Americans are represented roughly equally across all five income classes, while 40 percent of U.S. blacks are in the lowest income class, 20 percent are in the second-to-last income class, and upper class owns only about 8 percent of them. Additionally, an overwhelming number of African American prisoners do not have a high school diploma.

Depending on the criterion - the probability of being put behind bars after arrest and the probability of imprisonment as such, the duration of imprisonment is more than a month and more than a year - the difference between blacks and whites is covered by the difference between the poor and the rich by at least half or even almost entirely: from 53.7 to 84 .8 percent.

The authors of the study, however, are confident that racism plays a significant role here: the capitalist system itself, in their opinion, discriminates against blacks. According to their conclusions, the racial problem of American prisons should be solved by a humane socialist economy, which would certainly appeal to members of the Black Guerrilla Family, to the activists for the rights of African Americans from Black Lives Matter, and to everyone else who is convinced of the deep injustice of capitalism that exists in American society.

Read about how prisoners interact with each other, how they build a shadow economy, and how much marijuana you can buy for one package of canned mackerel.

It's no secret that the time of change of government in any country is the most difficult time in the history of the state. As a rule, lawlessness, anarchy and crime flourish at this time. Russia is no exception. Criminal gangs and gangster phrases of the 90s are an entire era in the history of our country, which left its indelible mark on our lives.

How did this happen?

What caused this rapid development criminal slang and its penetration into the masses? In the wake of the collapse of the Soviet system, our country began active interaction With Western culture. New words and expressions that were previously completely unknown began to appear. to the Soviet people. The new Russia and its people began to change beyond recognition. A new caste has appeared - gloomy guys in crimson jackets in six hundredth Mercedes, which actively interacted with the population in every sense of the word. As a result, people began to penetrate society set expressions from criminal world. Today's youth use a lot of words, but rarely think about where they came from and what they originally meant. Have you ever thought about where the expressions you use came from?

Catchphrases of gangsters

New caste new Russia became more and more extensive, recruiting more and more new members into its ranks. Understanding the language of bandits became a necessity for every citizen of Russia in the nineties. The slang of that time covered all spheres of life - from love to alcohol. Sometimes you could guess the meaning of a certain phrase, and sometimes you couldn’t. Here is a list of some gangster phrases of that time:

• bodyat (mix alcoholic drinks);
• arrival (state after drug use);
• blue (alcohol);
• barrel (weapon or bottle of vodka);
• pussy ( beautiful girl);
• cat (women's favorite);
• mare, goat, crocodile (ugly woman);
• profura (girl of easy virtue);
• werewolf (womanizer);
• kent (friend);
• rotten bazaars (bad conversations);
• paraffin (slander);
• visiting guest (stranger);
• for fun (for laughs);
• boil (be indignant);
• redeem (expose, understand);
• shnyr (minion);
• push bullshit (lie);
• drive (go into conflict);
• devil (prisoner not respected by his fellow inmates);
• hut (cell or house);
• bashlyat (pay);
• catch up (understand);
• does not channel (does not work, does not pass);
• excuse (excuse);
• show-off (empty talk not backed up by actions);
• Zhigan (daring, desperate criminal).

As can be seen from the above list, you can choose a synonym from the criminal sphere for any word and phenomenon. The reason for such a dense penetration of criminal slang into ordinary life is quite obvious - during the years of repression, many of our compatriots were in concentration camps. So life was in full swing, there were special orders. This could not but leave a mark on the history of Russia.

Nineties slang now

IN youth environment Expressions are often heard, the origin of which those who use them do not think about or even guess. The word “booze,” for example, definitely has a criminal history. The well-known word “squirrel” (by analogy with delirium tremens) also arose in places not so remote. Nowadays the word “boozing” is used not only in relation to alcohol. We can easily say about the soy sauce in the rolls we ordered that it is “bodied,” that is, diluted with water.

Is banditry cool? The cult of Sasha Bely

“Brother”, “Blind Man’s Bluff”, “About Freaks and People”, “Sisters”, “Brigade” and “Boomer” - a whole generation of people who are now between 20 and 30 years old grew up on these films and TV series. The cinema of dashing times in bright colors reflects the reality of that time - gang wars, shootings on the streets, prostitution and the Russian man, who was hit by freedom and the West, which he dreamed of, but did not really understand what to do with them.

Poverty mixed with permissiveness is the quintessence of the nineties of the last century; gangster phrases “with meaning” - what the boys quoted in the yards. Perhaps this is why the level of culture among modern youth has dropped significantly and the crime rate has increased.

But there is still something that can be done. If each of us develops culturally and watches our speech, then perhaps Russia will regain its former greatness. Instead of blaming the state and politicians for all the troubles and adversities - maybe it’s better for us to start small? Say not “woman”, but “woman”? Shall we try?