The myth of "no crime"

The myth of the “absence of crime” in the USSR was actively supported by official propaganda. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reports constantly stated that there was no mafia and daring gangster robberies in the country, characteristic of the “decaying West.” In fact, it was in the Soviet Union that powerful organized crime and the famous “institute of thieves in law” were formed.

It is interesting that the “world of thieves” arose largely thanks to the law enforcement system itself. In overcrowded prisons and camps, complete chaos reigned with the indifference of the administration, and “thieves in law” became a kind of criminal self-government body - an analogue of a “trade union” among prisoners. This greatly strengthened the system of organized crime, and the “prison as an institution” entered the lives of entire generations. Robberies, assaults and other serious crimes, of course, existed in the USSR: people were imprisoned for them, and they happened regularly in the camps. There were also serial killers - just remember Chikatilo (1978–1990) or Mosgaz, which operated in Moscow in the 1960s. Many such cases were most likely simply classified and did not reach the press. As a result, crime in the Soviet Union did not disappear anywhere, and it is pointless to deny its existence.