I realize that there is a Russian OC Q&A thread , however it's very much died down , not to mention that it's focus is broader than that of this thread's , so I thought I might as well create this one .

So how strong are Russian OC groups in Europe ( outside of Russia ) ? Is their strength comparable to that of certain Italian and Irish outfits ? Also can it be said that Russian mobsters in Europe are more likely to be ethnically Russian than in the States ?

You can find them at places with significant Russian-speaking communities, but they usually don't operate on the streets. The BKA, german federal police, said that at least 20,000 to 40,000 individuals living in Germany may likely have ties with the Russian mafia.

Is there still a significant Aussiedler/non ethnic Russian element within Russian OC groups based in Germany ? Or are they strictly composed of ethnic Russians ? Also are they more involved in certain rackets than other OC groups ?

Thanks for the info by the way .

The Outfits have people from all over the former USSR.

Big bust in Spain this week!

https://www.europol.europa.eu/newsroom/news/two-main-russian-mafia-groups-dismantled-in-spain-europol%E2%80%99s-support

Hopefully, this time they will stay in jail for longer (although I doubt it, sadly). Last time they arrested the whole leadership of the Malyshevskaya organization from St.Petersburg in 2008, but now they are all free (were released on bail and fled back to Russia where there is no extradition). They only could confiscate their properties.

The guys from this article are even more "serious", I read Russian newspapers too, they say there are members of the Soltntsevskaya organization from Moscow including one of the leaders, Arnold Tamm (also known as Spivakovskiy, when using his wife's name). The Solntsevskaya group is probably the only one that seems to have never had any serious problems neither with law enforcement nor mafia rivals. The boss, Sergey Mikhailov, aka "Mikhas'", has really gone insanely megalomaniac lately. Wins defamation suits against him being called a gangster all the time. Last time, with the political opposition leader Alexey Navalny he lost the only time, and only because he couldn't prove that the Mikhailov who was mentioned in Navalny's articles was the same person. So, basically Navalny won the lawsuit due a technicality, but now the mafia bastard filed an appeal. He doesn't even need the money he wins from lawsuits, drowning in cash as he does already, I think he just enjoys the "law" bowing to him and telling him what he wants to hear. Passes himself as a religious person, yet thinks that giving a couple of millions to the Church can buy him Heaven in the future. Well, I understand there are arrogant people, but this one really "crossed all borders", even by gangster standards; if he is "untouchable", he could at least mind his own business as long as money continues to flow, instead of spewing shit on newspapers and TV. I won't be surprised if next time he says that Putin, Trump, the Pope and God himself should be his lackeys and would be honored to kiss his feet. No joke: he really acts as if the thought this, at least every time he says something in public for the media. Doesn't even need to threaten people with murder anymore, now it's the "law" that makes them humbly apologize for calling him a gangster. And meanwhile, articles about the hits he ordered continue to be published.

He was arrested in Switzerland in 1996, but they acquitted him (witnesses from Russia didn't come for the trial, somebody was whacked to be prevented from testifying, like Vadim Rosenbaum who was killed in Oirschot, Netherlands, 1997). After releasing him, they even paid him 500000$ for 2 years of "wrongful imprisonment". I read he spent 2 or 3 millions on lawyers, so again, it wasn't about money imo, but just to show he is the one in charge. And didn't choke on the "compensation", unfortunately.

The only time he was treated as deserved was in 2002, when a policeman almost broke his head during a home search (don't know why, the OMON squads are famous for having no brains and many muscles, but I guess he tried to act like "I am the boss here", while those guys are used to people quickly laying down on the floor face down with hands behind the back, when told to )

By the way, I didn't know he could give orders to Semyon Mogilevich himself, who the USA think is the boss of bosses of the Russian mob...They never had a boss of bosses anyway, but if Mikhas' can give orders and extort money from somebody like Mogilevich, then I don't know who can tell him where his ego really belongs, even among criminals (both politicians and "normal" ones)...Putin maybe? Or even he can't? That dude from Solntsevo really pisses me off, more than Putin himself even...Seriously, if making Mikhas' lose a lawsuit against being called a gangster, is already considered "a great accomplishment without precedents"....Nobody even talks about him going to prison anymore, it's like touching Tony Accardo when he was alive, but Accardo at least didn't push his [censored] down people's throat in public all the time.

There are some interesting articles, these ones for example (the site here can be switched between English and Russian languages, I post links to the English version:

http://www.rucriminal.com/en/material/632
http://www.rucriminal.com/en/material/524?hl=mogilevich

Great post Dwalin, that guy Alexander Grinberg is half Jewish half Russian.

Is Jewish a race or a religion?

I would say both.

I'm surprised to see that one of the articles states that Mogilevich is still involved in selling weapons produced in Hungary . IIRC he was banned from Hungary back in the 90s .