“For many of the Soviet public the revelations of deviancy, depravation, and corruption were hardly new. What shocked, however, was the endemic and systemic nature of these social ills. Moreover, the very presence of certain phenomena, particularly organized crime, became an indictment of ideological foundations up which the Soviet society rested.” (Rawlinson). Before Glasnost the public knew about organized crime and the mafia, but what the public did not know was the fact that the government enabled most of the illegal activities committed.
In Russia today Vladimir Putin is faced with the challenges of organized crimes. According to the deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Kozlov “acts of crime and corruption in the Russian government rose 35 percent in 1999.” (Webster, de Borchgrave and Cilluffo). The Russian Federation is still full of corrupt government officials, illegal business activities, and criminals. The corruption has impaired the development of a free market economy and a democratic government. Democratic reforms that have been set in place are not rooted institutionally creating even more problems for the already fragile