Karaganda, a city, which is surrounded by the depths of Kazakhstan, has an evil stain with unspeakable history of criminality. Also known as the Soviet Union metal working capital, Karaganda has always been associated with Red Mafia whose presence still leaves a shadow of darkness in the area. This blog will dive deep into the emergence of the Red Mafia, how it is related to Karaganda, and the silent power that this criminal network has had on economy and politics of the city.
How Red Mafia was Born in Karaganda
The history of the Red Mafia of Karaganda is the one that goes hand in hand with the history of the Soviet Union. In the Soviet times, Kazakhstan was a vial component of the Soviet industrial complex and Karaganda, which boasts rich coal mines, became one of the most important industrial cities of the country. Nonetheless, the high rates of the city development in this period also welcomed the entry of organized crime.
The Red Mafia, also referred to as Russian Mafia, initially was established on the back of the Soviet regime where members of the criminal fraternity exploited the political turmoil of the moment. These gangs ascended to power in Karaganda with the help of the corruption that was prevalent in the Soviet era. These mafia gangs were underground and they regulated smuggling channels, black markets and even infiltrated the local political systems. Having an immense net of contacts, not only in Kazakhstan but also in other states, the Red Mafia strengthened itself and was able to grow even after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Part of Karagandas Industrial Background
The development of Karaganda was focused on its industrial foundations and, finally, giving birth to the Red Mafia. The city became the significant player of the Soviet industrial complex, and it enriched production of steel, coal, and energy of Kazakhstan. With the economic success of the city, came the opportunities of the organized crime to permeate.
Gangsters in the Red Mafia were not only the criminals, but also business people who were closely related to the economic life of Karaganda. They took advantage of the industrial explosion of the city to access big contracts, privatized sector and raw materials. As stated by the crime specialist Andrei Zdravomyslov, influence of the Red Mafia in Kazakhstan, especially Karaganda, was not all about illegal activity it was about the power to handle economic driver and corruption as the tool to gain dominance.
During the post-Soviet transition when Kazakhstan embedded in the independent state, Karaganda with its industrial base presented an appeal to exploitation by the strong criminal networks. These groups took control of most of the major economic activities of the city such as mining of natural resources and running of factories. Although some business owners really cared about their city, others joined the Red Mafia in order to prevent loss of their status as the leaders.
Political impact of the Red Mafia
The Red Mafia was not involved in the economic fiction of Karaganda only but also had a prominent influence in the local politics. The mafia started to gain its influence on the local governments in the turbulent years of the Kazakhstan independence. It was not only the shadows that the mafia used to work, but also the forces of political decision-making and the discourse in the city.
The Red Mafia used its interests that were safeguarded by bribery, threats, and networks with the local politicians. Power in politics also helped the mafia to remain domineering in Karaganda. Those political leaders who resisted the mafia or who may have tried to undermine its hold over the economy of the city would be subjected to violent vengeance or the latter would simply be ruined professionally.
Karaganda was characterized by close knit political structure which made corruption prevalent in the city over the many years. Research on local governance showed that there were various cases of mafia-funded candidates getting influential offices. According to one Kazakh journalist, the boundaries between politics and criminality were obscure in Karaganda, and it was almost impossible to know who was advancing whom.
The Business Landscape in Karaganda is in the Shadow of the Mafia
During the post-Soviet period, the whims of organized crime were the frequent plots of businesses in Karaganda as in many post-Soviet cities. Business transactions of the Red Mafia were clouded in secrecy, yet it was no longer a secret that they had some influence in some important sectors of the city including coal, steel and transport industries. It was clear that the hand of the mafia was in almost every nook and cranny of Independence Karaganda in its economy.
As an example, numerous small and medium-sized companies within the region had to pay protection money to the mafia to allow them to carry out their operations without any trouble. This system was to become the order of the day where the mafia groups became the bouncers to economic prosperity to many companies in the city. The favor of these so-called protection fees gave businesses the liberty to conduct business and use mafia controlled resources and networks.
Meanwhile, most construction and infrastructure projects in Karaganda involved the mafia, as construction was also a large-scale project. These ventures helped the mafia launder money as well as widen its presence economically in the city. The involvement of mafia-affiliated business in the economy of Karaganda also brought about the corruption loop that was almost impossible to be quenched because legal and corrupt matters started to interrelate and blend with each other.
The Shrinking influence of the Red Mafia
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a turning point to the domination of the Red Mafia in Karaganda and the entire Kazakhstan. With increased independence of the country, the control of the mafia became decentralized, yet it learned to fit the new political world. This change witnessed the mafia expand its operations, moving beyond normal crime-based industries into more modern business affairs.
Although the immediate influence of mafia on the economy of Karaganda and its political life diminished, the effect of criminal network could not be totally destroyed. The Red Mafia has transformed; it started to exploit more delicate ways to sustain its hold on the power. The problem of corruption was also major, and mafia still had an influence on the leading spheres of the economy. But its strategies were transformed into less obvious ones, where mafiosi frequently present as commendable businessmen or politicians.
The role of the Red Mafia has been most significant in the recent years in Karaganda with the government of Kazakhstan acting in order to suppress the corruption and organized crime. However, the Red Mafia legacy continues to hover over Karaganda with a wide belief that some remnants of the mafia are still in existence operating behind the scenes.
Conclusion: The Red Mafia in Karaganda
Historically, Karaganda is characterised by its industrial importance and being one of the key Soviet centres. Nevertheless, it is also a place bearing the burden of history, known as the Red Mafia, the criminal group that did not leave a trace in written and spoken words but did form the economics, politics, and social lives of the region. The influence of the mafia may be absent but shadow still stays and the city is also a reminder of the effects that the criminal organizations can have on the development of the area.
Although Kazakhstan has taken significant steps towards decreasing corruption and criminal impact, Karaganda is the reminder of the strong connection between crime and politics that affected most post-Soviet countries. Social changes and development of the city are still in progress, and it is important to see the history which formed the city nowadays, and be sure that its past is not forgotten.
Said Andrei Zdravomyslov: To know the present, first we need to know the forces that created it. The Red Mafia, in Karaganda, was an irreducible part of the city, of its past which cannot be neglected.”