Russian+Mafia

The Russian Mafia (Russian: Русская мафия, //Russkaya mafiya//) or Bratv//a// (Братва; slang for "brotherhood", which applies to all gangs, including rivals) — often transliterated as Mafiya — are names designating a diverse group of organized crime syndicates originating in the former Soviet Union, Russia and the CIS. Since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, these groups have amassed considerable worldwide power and influence.