Faq

Frequently asked questions about the Russian political-economic system as analysed on Kleptopedia: mafia state, Uber Krysha, black cash, kleptocracy vs oligarchy, Russian Laundromat, mobilisation state.

How Does Black Cash (Chyornaya Kassa) Work?

Short answer: black cash (chyornaya kassa) means off-the-books funds generated through criminal or semi-criminal activity and available for covert state or regime purposes. Structural process, not isolated seizures.

Kleptocracy or Oligarchy — What Is the Difference?

Short answer: 1990s oligarchy implied relative autonomy from the political centre; post-2000 kleptocracy / kremligarch system implies wealth and security contingent on loyalty to the vertical of power.

What is a “Mafia State” or “Criminocracy”?

Short answer: an analytical label for a polity where boundaries between state, security services and organised crime are systematically blurred, and criminal methods become tools of governance. Limits of the claim.

What is a “Mobilisation State”?

Short answer: analytical term for the post-2012/2022 shift in which criminal networks, black-cash channels and authoritarian alliances are treated as instruments of regime survival, sanctions circumvention and hybrid pressure.

What is Uber Krysha?

Short answer: analytical metaphor for the Kremlin as the ultimate ‘roof’ (krysha) that licenses and disciplines both oligarchs and selected criminal networks in exchange for loyalty and service.

What Was the Russian Laundromat?

Short answer: a large-scale money-laundering scheme documented by OCCRP that moved tens of billions of dollars out of Russia through banks, shell companies and intermediaries. Emblematic of broader illicit flows.