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| .: Jack In :. |
wrx://storyline/organisations/vory v zakone |
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| "It's . Do you know where your meat body is?" |
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| · X-Star [21-01-2008 / 13:31:31] |
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.: Introduction
The Vory? Shit, that's difficult, chummer. The Vory v Zakone, as they are formally called, are the Russian equivalent of the Mafia. Actually, they're not entirely Russian - about one-third Russian, one-third Georgian and the rest a compilation of Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Kazakhs and Abkhazians.
According to my Matrix translators, Vory v Zakone means "thieves who follow a code." This code, called the Vorovskoi Zakon, or "thieves' code," has to be followed by one and all, lest you be punished by the Vorovskaia Spravedlivost or "thieves' justice," administered by the Shodka, the Vory court.
Complicated? It's only going to get worse.
 .: History
If you want, you could trace Vory origins all the way back to the great bands of thieves living in the cities throughout Russia during the rule of Peter the Great, from 1695 to 1725. That is, if you really wanted to, which I don't, so I'm going to take a leap through time and land your collective meatbodies in the middle of the "February Revolution," in which Tsar Nicholas the Second was dethroned after treating his subjects poorly during World War I. It seems that even peasants have a point beyond which they stop taking the bullying, and it seemed that forcing them to fight, pitchfork in hand, against a superior army sort of does it. A couple of angry mobs carrying pitchforks further and the Tsar was history. A provisional rulership was set up of lawyers, businessmen, scholars and doctors, who proved to be totally inept at running a country quite that large, so another revolution was needed. This time it was called the "Bolshevik Revolution." Don't see the link yet? Don't worry, I'll continue the history lesson...
The leaders of the Bolshevik Party, who picked up the rule of Russia after the revolution, were revolutionaries-turned-politicians, and seemed to be much more capable of actually running the country. The smartest of their rulers, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, was pushing up daisies by 1924 after which a young Georgian guy, by the name of Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili - better known as Joseph Stalin - rose to power quickly and ruthlessly and became the dictator of the Soviet Union by the time 1930 came around.
Stalin's forced collectivisation of agriculture cost million of lives, while his industrialisation program made his country militarily strong but provided little material welfare for its citizens. Moreover, the population suffered immensely during the Great Terror of the 1930s, during which Stalin and his henchmen purged the Bolshevik Party of "enemies of the people" and sent millions to the Gulag - an archipelago of slave labour camps in Siberia. Under terrible conditions criminals and political dissidents were forced to work for the state.
It was in these camps that the first Vory were born. Many of the political dissidents came in contact with the gangs of thieves that had formed in these camps, called the Zhigani and spread the word of revolution to their leaders. They taught them certain rules of revolution, such as not to work, not to create a family, not to serve in the military, not to contribute to social welfare, not to go to the police to redress a wrong suffered, not to testify in a criminal case.
The compromises some had to make in the name of the cohabitation between political dissidents and criminals didn't go down well with some. There were two different attitudes amongst the criminals: Zhigani aspired social recognition, while thieves, always involved in petty crimes, had no intention of changing their nature. In the 1930s, many defected: large numbers of thieves turned their backs on the Zhigani and created autonomous groups led by cunning bosses, called Urki. From these conflicts between Zhigani and Urki the Vory were born, and with them the code that still dictates law among Russian gangsters.
World War II caused another big drift among the Vory. Many answered the call to arms, and enlisted. Others kept their promise not to collaborate with the state, and remained in jail. At the end of the war the Vory who had joined the Stalinist cause tried to rejoin the underworld. Labelled as traitors they were turned away. The clash was unavoidable and became known as Such'ya Voina, a kind of war on traitors. The Suki, as these traitors came to be called, then decided to adopt an autonomous code, less strict than the Vory one, allowing them to collaborate with authorities. Stalin himself used the Suki to fight the regime's enemies in the Gulag prison camps.
With the eventual fall of the Soviet Union, the Vory started looking beyond their border and started spreading all over the globe. Western Europe and the United States were particular favourites, but the lifestyle lead to a lot of Vory compromising on their code. This offered a flexibility that was essential in establishing an incredible influence, rivalling that of La Cosa Nostra.
When the Awakening happened the various Vory organisations had taken on scary proportions, but with a new world came new rules. Following a popular trend in the turbulent years following the Awakening and the Crash, many of the Vory fell back on the traditions and rules that were considered the fertile soil from where their success had grown. Going back to those ways were the way forward.
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.: Culture
The Vory culture is a strange one, and incomprehensible by most "civilians." Let's look at a couple of facts, shall we?
The avarage age of a Vor, according to official research from the Californian Department of Justice, is really low; about 85% of the Vory the department has on record is younger than 35, and there are only three Vory known to be between 35 and 60, and only one older than 60. So don't mistake the Vory with the La Cosa Nostra with old men sitting in dark studies, or empty Italian restaurants, speaking of "the Old Country" and plotting their next hit on the Japanese. Save that for the sim-chips.
No. A Vor spends a large part, if not most of his life in prison. No Vor considers jail to be a burden since their belief is that "Freedom is a temporary state one of being." Spending most of your life behind bars is normal, an honour, a privilege, especially in the eyes of the young. Jail is home. It's where the Vory's rule is total, and where the code is taught to young Muziki and Pahany - young men and boys - who will, if they're ruthless and cunning enough, one day become part of the next generation of Vory.
 Vory are always repeat offenders, and are considered to be amongst the hardest criminals to rehabilitate. Most known Vory who get caught are never up for parole, and are kept in suspended state of animation, usually kept stuck in simsense rigs and tucked away, fed intraveneously. Upon release, they sometimes suffer from serious Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. The Obshchak takes care of them if they've been good earners in the past. But even the fear of that doesn't deter them from commiting crimes, taking the fall for others and doing time. Their tattoos tell their tale; "A passport, a biography, a uniform with medals. They reflect the Vor's interests, his outlook on life and his world views," says criminologist Arkady G. Bronnikov, who has studied Vory tattoos for 30 years. Vory wear tattoos only when they've committed a crime for which they were sentenced. The more convictions, and the more severe the term of incarceration, the more tattoos. Someone with incorrect or unauthorised tattoos could be punished or killed by the Vorovskaia Spravedlivost, the Vory justice.
So I've mentioned the code a couple of times, and you must be wondering what turns all these men into the stone cold criminals we know the Vory to be? Well, there are 18 rules a Vor must abide by, lest he incur the wrath of the Shodka, the Vory court, whose justice, the Vorovskaia Spravedlivost is as swift and ruthless as the Vory themselves. The price that's paid for breaking any of these rules is usually paid with a Vor's life.
A thief is bound by the Code to...
- ...forsake his relatives - mother, father, brothers, sisters.
- ...not have a family of his own - no wife, no children. This does not however, preclude him from having a lover.
- ...never, under any circumstances work, no mafter how much difficulty this brings. Live only on means gleaned from thievery.
- ...help other thieves - both by moral and material support, utilising the commune of thieves.
- ...keep secret information about the whereabouts of accomplices (i.e. dens, districts, hideouts, safe apartments, etc.).
- ...in unavoidable situations (if a thief is under investigation) to take the blame for someone else's crime; this buys the other person time of freedom.
- ...demand a convocation of inquiry for the purpose of resolving disputes in the event of a conflict between oneself and other thieves, or between thieves.
- ...if necessary, participate in such inquiries.
- ...carry out the punishment of the offending thief as decided by the convocation.
- ...not resist carrying out the decision of punishing the offending thief who is found guilty, with punishment determined by the convocation.
- ...have good command of the thieves'jargon (Fenya).
- ...not gamble without being abie to cover losses.
- ...teach the trade to young beginners.
- ...have, if possible, informants from the rank and file of thieves.
- ...not lose your reasoning ability when using alcohol.
- ...have nothing to do with the authorities (particularly with the ITU [Correctional Labor Authority]), not participate in public activities, nor join any community organizations.
- ...not take weapons from the hands of authorities; not serve in the military.
- ...make good on promises given to other thieves.
.: Organisation
Vory organisation isn't as hierarchical as most other organised crime syndicates. Some say it's because of the fact that there were many different prison camps, leading to many different Vory groups. Others say that it's because a Vor leader, known as a Pakhan, or Czar would never acknowledge another as a superior. For as much as we can determine, each Czar controls, roughly, four different cells through an intermediary called a Brigadir, sort of like a lieutenant, who is also a Vor. The Brigadir has several soldiers, or Bojevik to secure and maintain his position within the group he controls. The Czar usually selects one or two Bojevik from this group to act as spies for him in order to secure the loyalty of the Brigadir, and to make sure he doesn't get too powerful.
Working for the lieutenants are the Avtoritety, or "Authority," who are much like the Vory, only far less influential. They preside over a particular criminal expertise, like extortion, smuggling, burglary, car-theft, etc. They also act as a buffer between the Vory and the Shestiorka, the "affiliates." It's the Shestiorka who are the working unit of the organisation. Prostitutes, burglars, gangers, thieves, assassins, extortionists, etc. They are traditionally unaware of the identity of their Vory superiors, dealing only through the Avtoritety. When in need, the Avtoritety can request help from the Bojevik for security, or make use of the Obshchak, which I'll get to later.
Working along side the Avtoritety are the Deltcy, a separate fringe group devoted solely to fraudulent crimes like corporate extortion and insurrance fraud. They mostly resemble the Japanese Sokaiya.
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Czar |
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Sovetnik |
Brigadir |
Bojevik |
Obshchak |
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Avtoritety |
Deltcy |
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Shestiorka |
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The two elements in the organisational diagram that are odd ones out are the Sovetnik, and the Obshchak. The Sovetnik are councelors to the Czar, usually older Vory with a lot of experience. Some of them were once, or are still Brigadirs or Bojevik, or perhaps even Czars of their own Vory faction. Obshchak is a monetary fund kept by the Czar to which all Vory must donate part of their earnings to in order to cover costs of bribes, expansions, investments, medical costs as well as costs for maintaining a Vor who's imprisoned. This fund clearly shows the socialist roots from whence the Vory were born.
The upper two layers in the organisation are true Vory, while the lower two layers are aspirants. They must abide the Vory code, but haven't proved themselves to be loyal or worthy enough. They are unaware of who the leaders are, being buffered by the layer above them from knowing the true identity of the upper echelons of the Vory v Zakone. This creates speculation and mystery, which in turn proves to be a good way to increase popularity and reputation. Since there are but a few people in the top two echelons of the Vory structure, they are considered to be somewhat akin to aristocrats, underworld princes, which is probably why a Pakhan is often referred to as a Czar.
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