[JohnRawls]

the homicide rates only demonstrate that factions have divident the territory and any new startups are summarily crushed.
.

Actually oxy is right on this one . Saw some documentary about this . During 1990-2000 they also mostly relied on numbers and after 2000 , since Mr. Putin kinda started a war of sorts againt Russian Mafia , they killed off most of the 'cannon fodder' and started to rely on small highly qualified groups , instead of large numbers.

Actually since i live in a post USSR country , i can confirm this , when i was uh smaller , you could see 'Russian Mafia types' walking on the streets . Which you could discribe as 'Bratva' . But nowadays they are not so 'open' . Kinda went underground and it all started around 2000.

[Potemkin]

Something is strange about this case. Why would anybody steal that ship , it isn't worth much .

Well my best guess is that something was on that ship which was hidden or something was loaded onto the ship to transport somewhere . A saw a picture of that ship and it seems to have been a ship with 2 large cranes for transporting heavy equipment so who knows.

[JohnRawls]

[Huntster]

Pirates in European waters?

Why not? The complete and utter failure to deal effectively with piracy in the Gulf of Aden is a green light for others all over the world.

"Build it, and they will come." This is true for baseball fields, parks, performing arts centers, opportunities for piracy, and everything else under the sun.

[W01f]

Read the book Red Mafia it provides a very detailed account of the Russian mafia.

The book was written a decade ago and reflects what went on in the 90s, during the height of their power. How would that inform me of the current situation?

the homicide rates only demonstrate that factions have divident the territory and any new startups are summarily crushed.

You base this on what information?

You are very ignorant on the subject then.

Actually I'm not. Why don't you post some up to date info then instead of repeating hearsay and citing books written in 2000? There's very little information I can find on the current situation actually, and based on what people who actually own businesses in Russia are saying these days, there's no reason to believe that they still have a serious grasp on the real economy like they used to.

[Oxymoron]

The book was written a decade ago, near the height of their power, and reflects what went on in the 90s. How would that inform me of the current situation?

What exactly changed? Where there sweeping arrests no one heard about? They are still here much more dangerous then ever.

Actually I'm not. Why don't you post some up to date info then instead of repeating hearsay and citing books written in 2000?

What source did you provide exactly?

There's very little information I can find on the current situation actually, and based on what people who actually own businesses in Russia are saying these days, there's no reason to believe that they still have a serious grasp on the real economy like they used to.

Which means they have gotten more powerful.

[W01f]

The lack of news is good news in the case of the mafia. Not the other way around like you seem to believe. If there's no news, no new books being written, no businesses reporting mafia intervention, then what am I to assume? That they still exist as powerful as ever but everyone's just keeping their mouth shut? Unlikely.

[Oxymoron]

The lack of news is good news in the case of the mafia.

They have gotten smarter, and no news means they have gotten smarter in avoiding attention.

Not the other way around like you seem to believe. If there's no news, no new books being written, no businesses reporting of mafia intervention, then what am I to assume? That they still exist but everyone's just keeping their mouth shut? Unlikely.

You keep living in your bunker, but in the real world The Bratva is more powerful then ever.

[W01f]

but in the real world The Bratva is more powerful then ever.

Right and the illuminati controls us all.

Is this some sort of religion for you oxy? Strange, how can you believe something with nothing at all to base it on?

[Oxymoron]

Right and the illuminati controls us all.

Wolf sometimes you can be such a troll. The bratva is not some myth, it is a chronicled group with a very documented history. They are here they are powerful and they are becoming stronger. With connections in the Russian military, connections in Afghanistan and central Asia, connections in South America and New York with highly trained former KGB and special forces people in their ranks, with large amounts of money made during the fall and wholesale of the Soviet Union they are by far the most dangerous syndicate in the world right now.

Strange, how can you believe something with nothing at all to base it on?

I have my life expriences to base it on, as well as highly respected documentary works on the subject.

[W01f]

he bratva is not some myth, it is a chronicled group with a very documented history.

True.

They are here they are powerful and they are becoming stronger.

This is where you lost me. Prove it. All signs point to the opposite being true.

they are by far the most dangerous syndicate in the world right now.

Again, why do you believe this? If this were 1996 I would understand, but now? They don't even have a hold of Russia's economy like they used to, thanks to them losing all their oligarch connections.

I have my life expriences to base it on, as well as highly respected documentary works on the subject.

I have no doubts about the past, but I'm talking about right now, the past 5 years or so. They've all but disappeared, and to believe that they're "stronger than ever" rather than the more rational logic that they've simply died off and become a group of pimps, internet scammers and drug dealers makes no sense to me.

[Oxymoron]

They've all but disappeared, and to believe that they're "stronger than ever" rather than the more rational logic that they've simply died off and become a group of pimps, internet scammers and drug dealers makes no sense to me.

I hope your right, but am very sure you are wrong.

[Rojik of the Arctic]

Oh grow up you lot. Can't you see that the vikings are back?

[Truth-a-naut]

im da boat in da op

[The Sabbaticus]

Figured the top members of the 'Russia mafia' are now the nouveau riche of the oligarchy echelon.

[JohnRawls]

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- A Russian-crewed cargo ship that went missing for more than two weeks was hijacked by pirates, Russia's defense minister said Tuesday.
The Arctic Sea was found by a Russian Navy vessel on Monday.

The Arctic Sea was found by a Russian Navy vessel on Monday.

"The hijackers boarded the Arctic Sea, threatened the crew with weapons and demanded that their orders be followed," Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov told President Dmitry Medvedev, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

Russian authorities announced Tuesday that they had opened a criminal investigation on charges of "kidnapping by an organized group of people," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.

Eight hijacking suspects -- from Estonia, Latvia and Russia -- were being interrogated, RIA Novosti reported. Crew members also were being questioned.

The Arctic Sea was located Monday about 300 miles (480 km) from Cape Verde, an island nation a few hundred miles from the coast of western Africa.
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"The Arctic Sea was following a route toward the African continent with all communications and navigation equipment shut down, as ordered by the hijackers," Serdyukov said.

None of the crew was injured in the operation that took back the ship, Serdyukov said. The crew was "alive and well," the defense minister said.

The Arctic Sea, which sails under a Maltese flag, had not been heard from since July 31. It was carrying 6,500 tons of timber from Finland to Algeria when it reported trouble on July 24 off Finland.

The ship's 15-member crew had told authorities that eight to 12 people with guns and pistols boarded the vessel about 3 a.m. that day, masked and wearing uniforms with "police" written on them, the Malta Maritime Authority said.

It was scheduled to arrive in North Africa on August 4.

On Friday, the ship was reported in international waters north of Cape Verde. The news came from Portugal's state news agency, which quoted Cape Verde's defense director, Pedro Reis.
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The U.S. military also had a report last week that the ship had been seen a few hundred miles from Cape Verde, two military sources told CNN, but the United States had no independent verification of those reports. The U.S. military was not involved in the search.

At the time, Russia's ambassador to Cape Verde denied that the Arctic Sea had been spotted near the island nation.

-CNN http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europ ... ef=topnews



Seems oxy was right , seems to be Russian mafia .

[Igor Antunov]

Russian mafia was my suggestion. But they could also be working for someone else.

[Maas]

or... they pirates are a bunch of idiots...
Really... who is dumb enough to steal a boat there, and than travel all the way past the EU border and think they can escape.

At the time, Russia's ambassador to Cape Verde denied that the Arctic Sea had been spotted near the island nation.

Our news said this was all fake reports. Shipping in the EU is so intence... there is no way an unidentified boat can travel from A to B.

[Aekos]

I have no absolute allegiance to any country.

Proklet bio izdajica svoje domovine...

[Einherjar]

What strikes me is the Eunuchean Union not doing anything about a ship attacked in its own waters flying the flag of one of its member-states.