7. RUSSIA

Hacking, smuggling, extortion

Russia played a big part in the McMafia story. The Godman family are Russian exiles living in London. When communism collapsed, there was a power vacuum in Russia and the rest of the Eastern Bloc. This was soon filled by the Russian mafia, as represented by Vadim Kalyagin, played by Merab Ninidze in the TV series (left). “Russia is involved in extortion and protection rackets in Russia itself. But it is also involved in the smuggling of untaxed cigarettes or sex trafficking and in bringing heroin from Afghanistan. Above all, they are the supreme criminal hackers.” Russia contains just 0.5% of the world’s population but is estimated to consume 12% of the world’s heroin.