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CIAO DATE: 2/99
Drug Addiction in Russia: a Threat to the Nation?
Translated by
Richard Weitz
Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project
John F. Kennedy School of Government
September 1998
Preface
This monograph represents part of series of publications of the "Whither Russia?" project of the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, based at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (BCSIA) at Harvard UniversityÌs John F. Kennedy School of Government.
The group behind this monograph, the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (CFPD), is a non–governmental public association of influential Russian politicians, public figures, government officials, scholars, businessmen, and members of the news media. It is chaired by Dr. Sergei Karaganov, who is also Deputy Director of Russia’s Institute of Europe. The Council promotes research on foreign and defense issues of concern to the Russian Federation and its citizens. The other authors of the report are Dr. Igor E. Malashenko, Director General of NTV Holding, and Dr. Andrei V. Fedorov, President of the "Political Research" Foundation and Political Projects Director at the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy.
I am pleased to be able to present their ideas to a Western audience, especially since we in the United States are also trying to consider new types of national security threats in the era after the Cold War. This report properly highlights the threat to Russia from a danger often overlooked by Western analysts: the problem of narcotics addiction. The report was commissioned as a result of an international conference convened by the CFDP, in conjunction with Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the German Society for Foreign Affairs, in December 1997 on "Russia and the Outside World: A New Agenda for the 21st Century." At the conference, combating drug trafficking was identified as one of the principal items for this "new agenda."
The report begins by specifying the nature of the threat. According to the authors, addiction to illegal drugs during the 1990s has increased exponentially (especially among the youth, the military, and women) within Russia and the other former Soviet republics. Particularly disturbing is the surge in the use of "hard" drugs such as heroin and LSD. The increase in narcotics addiction has contributed to the growth of Russian organized crime and the spreading of serious diseases such as AIDS. These developments have placed additional burdens on Russia’s already strained law enforcement and health care budgets.
The second chapter of the report discusses Russia’s position within the international narcotics market. Russia has attracted the interest of foreign drug dealers for two reasons: it has a huge, practically undeveloped domestic market for narcotics; and its location makes it an important transit country for narcotics. Supplies for the Russian domestic drug market come mostly from the direction of Central Asia, whereas those intended for consumers outside Russia originate from a more diverse range of regions—including Latin America.
In the third chapter, the authors warn that a narcotics "mafia" is forming in Russia. It is a multifaceted structure that embraces the organization of the production, reprocessing, transportation, and distribution of narcotic substances on a national scale. Foreigners are heavily involved in the distribution of narcotics throughout Russia, especially in the major cities. Nevertheless, despite the growing interaction between the major drug trafficking groups inside the country and the expansion of their international contacts, an obvious narcotics cartel of the "Medellín–type" (which could under certain conditions actively begin to infiltrate the country’s economic and political power structures) has not yet emerged in Russia.
In the fourth chapter, the authors survey the experience of other countries with respect to drug addiction. They conclude that the United States and the other members of what they classify as the "strict control" group have made the most progress in combating drug abuse in recent years. These countries pursue a policy that involves strict control over all narcotics and active opposition to the narcotics mafia, but they do not implement extreme measures such as capital punishment against drug dealers. They also supplement their law enforcement efforts with a powerful promotional campaign aimed at those elements of society who are most susceptible to drug abuse.
In the final chapter of the report, the authors lay out a detailed set of proposals that they believe will best allow Russia to counter the narcotics threat. They especially highlight the need for a vigorous information and public relations campaign. They also review the (limited) effectiveness of some of the government’s recent anti–narcotics legislation. Above all, they insist that Russia’s political, economic, and societal leaders must recognize that the distribution and consumption of narcotics in Russia is a direct threat to the country’s national security.
This text was translated under the guidance of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy by Dr. Richard Weitz, a 1996–1998 Fellow in BCSIA’s International Security Program. In July 1998, Dr. Weitz became a Research Analyst for the Policy, Strategy, and Forces Division at the Center for Naval Analyses in Alexandria, Virginia. Funding for the "Whither Russia?" project has been provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
In our efforts to present Western scholars and policy makers with the broadest range of views within Russia, we have solicited a range of opinions on highly controversial topics. The opinions expressed in the monographs are those of the authors and do not represent the views of Harvard University, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, or the translators and editors.
Graham Allison, Director
Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project
Introduction
Among the many problems facing Russian society today, the problem of narcotics addiction is definitely assuming a more prominent position as a global threat to the health of the country’s population and its national security.
So great is the scope and speed of the spread of drug addiction in the country that they call into question the physical and moral health of Russian youth, and even the future of a large share of them, as well as the social stability of Russian society in the near future. In many developed states there are legal, medical, social, and other systems for the rehabilitation of drug addicts and powerful public relations campaigns against narcotics.
In Russia, unfortunately, all this is either in an embryonic state or is altogether lacking. Against a background of a growth in the number of drug addicts and crimes committed under the influence of narcotics, such a situation demands the immediate adoption of radical measures. These measures must be taken both by government bodies and by the media, cultural centres, and responsible Russian businesses.
We believe it essential to call the attention of decision–makers and those who influence the destiny of society, the executive and especially legislative authorities, as well as the leaders of the mass media to the problem of drug–addiction in Russia. Society, in fact, has no immunity against this new, terrifying threat. It is defenseless.
The purpose of this report is to provide an objective description of the situation concerning drug addiction in the Russian Federation (RF) and to propose a set of measures for effectively combating it both inside the country and in the international arena, taking into account the fact that drug addiction has become one of the global challenges to humanity as a whole.
It is urgent to change significantly the attitude of Russian society to the problem of drug addiction from the existing attitude of relative indifference to one of active resistance. Everyone should become aware of the fact that the struggle against drug addiction begins first of all in the family, at school, and at the university. To stand aside and hope that the state will take care of everything without the support of its citizens is simply naive and even criminal.
(1) Drug Addiction In Russia: Facts And Figures
Drug addiction is spreading alarmingly fast in the former Soviet republics, particularly in Russia. The statistical data of both the Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation and Russia’s public health agencies testify to this. However, there are reasons to believe that the situation is actually more alarming than that shown by the statistics.
Over the past five years, the number of drug addicts in the country has grown approximately three and a half times. Experts believe that with a continuation of the present trend, the number of drug addicts in Russia next year may exceed three million people. Looking at the age group of most drug addicts, that of 13–25 years olds, a third of the next generation of the country is in fact under threat.
It is necessary to bear in mind that these numbers address only people who regularly use narcotics of the so–called "classical type." If one takes into account those who use various other forms of drugs, such as those who sniff glue, etc., then such people in the country number not less than in the tens of millions. Russian society ought to be particularly alarmed by the 6.5 fold growth in the past decade of the number of women who take drugs.
According to the data of the Ministry of Health, 219,000 people had a medical record of non–medical use of narcotics, psychotropic and drastic substances at the beginning of 1988. About 39,000 of these were minors and over 25,000 were women.
It is fundamentally important to note that drug users in Russia make the transition from different kinds of "pseudo–narcotics" to narcotics proper much faster than in other countries. As shown by polls of Moscow school children, such a transition in most cases takes not more than a month, with all the consequences that follow. Moreover, the Russian drug scene is characterized by a rapid transition from "light" to "hard" drugs.
During a six month period in 1996, heroin addicts, the most dangerous and difficult if not impossible to cure, accounted for 28.4 percent of all the patients addicted to opium who were undergoing treatment at the Scientific Research Institute of Narcology. During the same period in 1997, they comprised 74.4 percent.
The growth of drug addiction among schoolchildren, primarily in large cities, and among university students is especially alarming. It has increased by six–to–eight times during the last four years. According to the latest data, in St. Petersburg every fifth pupil has already tried drugs, while in the senior grades of many schools as many as one third of the pupils are regular drug users. In many of the most famous higher educational establishments in Moscow, drug addiction is becoming more visible.
In this way a process of degradation is beginning of many of those who could compose the new well–educated and well–qualified elite of the state. The state acutely needs them during its transition to the market economy. However, the overwhelming number of drug addicts die before they reach the age of 30, and most of them become incapacitated even earlier. The average life expectancy of drug addicts after they begin using narcotics is between 4 and 4.5 years.
The fact that narcotics are becoming more and more accessible to young people and that new drugs, including those with a powerful destructive capacity, are peddled in growing volumes on the Russian market, is evoking alarm above all.
In Moscow’s schools in particular the mass sale of drugs at very reduced prices has been noted, with the obvious goal of attracting as many schoolchildren as possible to drugs. The price naturally skyrockets after they have become addicted. Moreover, instances have been increasingly recorded of free–of–charge distribution among young people in many areas of the country at the initial stages of drug use.
In the Amur region, approximately 50 percent of the young people regularly use drugs, a fact which came to light during the campaign "Life without Fear."
Poppy stems, raw opium and opium solution, marihuana, ephedrine, hashish, LSD, methadone, heroin, cocaine, and "ecstasy" (methylene–dioximethylamphetamine) are widely used drugs in Russia. At the same time, the appearance of new synthetic drugs, including those that are produced in Russia, presents a special danger.
During the last four years, law–enforcement bodies uncovered more than three hundred clandestine laboratories where drugs were manufactured or new drugs were being developed. Significantly, many of these laboratories employed professional chemists who had succeeded in creating a new generation of narcotic substances. Some of these laboratories were located in educational centers, especially in Moscow. The volume of synthetic drugs confiscated in such laboratories has increased by almost 1.5 times.
In Moscow and St. Petersburg alone, monthly sales on the narcotics market amount to approximately $90 million, while for the whole country the money turnover from drug sales amounted to almost $1.5 billion in 1996. According to the preliminary estimates for 1997, this figure amounted to over $2.5 billion. At the same time, some Western specialists give a figure of $5 and even $7 billion. St. Petersburg occupied first place with respect to the use and sale of narcotics in Russia in 1997.
The "standard margin profit" for drug operations amounts to between 300 and 2,000 percent. A kilogram of heroin costs $9,000 in Afghanistan, $25,000 in Tajikistan, and up to $150,000 in Moscow. According to the latest data, about 20,000 people are involved in active narcotics trafficking in Moscow alone.
Data from the RF Ministry of Interior shows that the number of crimes linked with narcotics and related substances grew from 16,255 to 96,645 over the last five years. Almost six of every ten property crimes are committed by drug addicts. People under 35 years old commit the majority of these crimes.
It is well known that narcotics cost a lot of money. A long–term drug addict taking heroin today needs up to 500 (denominated) rubles daily to obtain drugs. Naturally, in the majority of cases it is impossible to get this kind of money by legal means. Consequently, drug addiction clearly generates crime.
Statistical data overwhelmingly testifies to the very tight connection between the growth of drug addiction in the country and the increase in the number of those ill with AIDS, viral hepatitis, and other very serious diseases. In 1996 alone the number of HIV infections increased by eight times. As a result, state expenditures on the treatment of HIV are growing considerably.
One of the most vivid examples in recent years is the town of Verkhniya Salda in the Urals. In a town with a population of 52,000 people, 36 people have been infected with HIV. In comparison, in Yekaterinburg, with a population of 1.5 million, 15 people have been infected. The source of the infection proved to be a young married couple of drug addicts who, upon arriving from Ukraine, actively began to distribute narcotics.
In 1997, the number of newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection grew by 1.6 times over 1996 and exceeded the overall number of HIV patients for the preceding 10 years. The areas with the highest number of registered HIV patients were Kaliningrad with 1,706 persons; Krasnodar with 1,098; Nizhny Novgorod with 530; Tver with 693; Rostov–na–Donu with 866; Saratov with 330; Moscow and the Moscow Region with 710; and Tyumen with 130 persons. Over 91 percent of the newly diagnosed cases of HIV in 1997 were among people who take drugs intravenously and commonly used syringes and needles.
Over the past ten years, the number of deaths from narcotics use in the general population has increased by 12 times, and among children by 42 times.
It is impossible to ignore the fact that according to the data of the RF Ministry of the Interior, the number of homeless children in the country is approximately one million. Among them, drug addiction is becoming an every–day practice. Practically half of them have either tried or are already taking drugs on a more or less regular basis.
A new dangerous phenomenon is the appearance of "family drug addiction" (i.e., instances when one family member involves the others in drug use). This is particularly noticeable with young families in Moscow and other large cities. According to preliminary estimates there are already tens of thousands of such couples. There are cases when parents involved their own underage children in drug addiction.
Extremely alarming data about the drug addiction problem is coming from the country’s armed forces. In many regions, especially in Moscow, areas around Moscow, and Kaliningrad, practically every twelfth draftee during the past two–to–three years has tried drugs, while one out of every thirty has been taking them more or less regularly.
Whereas in the 1980s the use of narcotics in the army was quite rare (with the exception of servicemen who had participated in combat operations in Afghanistan), today it has become a serious problem. There are hundreds of cases of narcotics use and drug trafficking in military units in all the military districts without exception. Drug addicts have been also diagnosed in the federal security bodies. According to preliminary data, in 1996 alone over one hundred people in the army were convicted of drug trafficking.
Whereas in the Soviet era cases of the regular delivery of narcotics to criminals in penitentiaries were rare, nowadays in practically all the correctional institutions of the country there is a growing and well–organized delivery of narcotics. That is also true of places where juvenile delinquents are imprisoned. According to some preliminary estimates, in recent years between 100 and 200 kilograms of various narcotics have been annually supplied to penitentiaries. There are about one million people imprisoned in penitentiaries at present, forming a huge base for the expansion of drug use in the future.
Statistical data and the information supplied by doctors at drug treatment clinics indicate that in all only 5–6 percent of drug addicts are cured, defined as doing without drugs for over one year. This information refers primarily to the large cities. In small towns and in rural localities the chances of rehabilitation are practically nil due to the absence of both specialists and rehabilitation centers.
The number of patients diagnosed for the first time as "drug addicts" in 1996 increased by 34 percent as compared with those in 1995. The increase over the preceding year of "toxicomaniacs" and "narcotics abusers" were 42 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
By the beginning of 1994, 38,700 people had been registered as drug addicts in the medical centers of Russia. At the end of 1994, 49,900 people had been registered. At the end of 1995, 65,000 were registered and at the beginning of 1997 there were 88,000 registered. In other words, in 4 years the number of such patients in Russia grew by over two times. But this figure does not reveal the true dynamics of the problem.
The number of adolescents under medical observation at the end of 1996 exceeded by almost 11 times the figure for 1992.
If one takes into account the calculation of specialists that the true number of drug addicts exceeds by 10 times the number of registered patients, then their total number in Russia at present approaches one million people.
The danger of the narcotic flood is all the greater given that over the past ten years, due to the shortage of required financing, the number of narcological clinics in Russia decreased by one third and the number of places for patients by 60 percent. During the same period, the number of narcologists fell by 25 percent.
(2) The Main Routes Of Entry Of Narcotics Into The Russian Federation And Their Main Channels Of Distribution
At present Russia attracts drug traffickers for two main reasons: first, its huge, practically undeveloped domestic market; second, its key location as a transit country within the international narcotics market. There are definite differences in the volumes, types, and forms of transfer of narcotics in each sphere.
The main flow of drugs for the domestic market comes from the direction of Central Asia: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and to a lesser degree, Turkmenistan. These drugs are primarily heroin and opium. On the whole, the expansion of opium coming from the direction of Asia increased by 13,451 times between 1992 and 1996.
It is well known that the first heavy flood of drugs from Afghanistan swamped the territory of the USSR during the period of the Afghanistan war. At present there is a powerful, well–functioning supply network of narcotics from Afghanistan in which tens of thousands of people are engaged in narcotics production. According to data of the UN committee on the control of narcotics trafficking, Afghanistan annually supplies approximately 300 tons of opium to the black market. Furthermore, there has been an increase in deliveries to Russia of pure heroin produced in laboratories in Pakistan.
The main flow comes through Tajikistan where it is impossible to completely seal off the border on account of the events occurring there. The Russian border troops stationed in Tajikistan are for many reasons not in a position to oppose the flow of narcotics effectively, though they are doing everything they can.
Along with these facts, the recent appearance of large shipments of narcotics, primarily heroin, in Moscow and the other large cities of the country, forces one not to rule out the possibility that drug dealers are using airplanes of the Russian military transport fleet. It is known that similar cases took place during the Afghan War.
According to the information of the Federal Border Service, no more than 5–10 percent of the narcotics sent to or through Russia are seized at the Tajik–Afghan border. One can grasp the real figure if one takes into account that the volume of drugs seized annually comprises over a ton and a half.
From Tajikistan, drugs mainly flow to Kyrgyzstan, where the town of Osh has in the recent years become a major transshipment point for the narcotics mafia. It is worth noting that in the course of their numerous operations against the narcotics mafia, law–enforcement bodies have repeatedly detained the leaders of the various governing bodies of this town.
Drugs are then brought to Russia, either by couriers or, especially from the territory of Kazakhstan, by truck transport. The railroad is also used quite intensively, while couriers sometimes deliver relatively small consignments of drugs by planes.
In the past three years, a very significant volume of narcotics has been brought into Russia and the countries of Western Europe from Afghanistan and Pakistan in containers mixed with various industrial and agricultural goods. In particular there is the example of 1.75 tons of hashish being transferred in this manner from Afghanistan to the Netherlands through St. Petersburg.
The intensification of the drug flow into Russia through Central Asia is not only linked with the loose control exercised from that direction, but also to the fact that Iran not too long ago introduced capital punishment for all drug dealers. This resulted in the transportation routes through its territory that had been used earlier becoming too dangerous.
There has been an increase in the number of cases connected with smuggling drugs and drastic medical substances from China. Only during the Potok ("Current") raid in 1997, law–enforcement and customs bodies detected 128 cases of smuggling ephedrine and ephedrine–containing drugs.
A certain share of the drugs, especially poppy stems, comes from the territory of Ukraine, and the volumes of delivery grow with every year. The fact that consignments of dozens of kilograms are seized no longer causes a sensation.
There are sufficient grounds to assert that Ukraine is definitely turning into the main supplier of narcotics of the opium class. It is worth noting that the main producers and suppliers of these narcotics are the inhabitants of the six regions of Western Ukraine, including the Ivano–Frankivsk, Chernivtsy and Lviv regions.
The statistics show that from 1991 through 1996 the amount of seized poppy stems grew from almost 6,000 kilograms to 19,100 kilograms. Whereas in 1991, 63 kilograms of opium were confiscated, in 1996, this figure grew to 1,400 kilograms.
Various kinds of narcotics from Azerbaijan and Georgia are also finding more regular channels of delivery. From Azerbaijan, a shipment most likely will go by truck together with fruits and vegetables.
Inside the Russian Federation proper, the Far East remains the main zone of the illegal growing of cannabis. One should admit, however, that there has emerged a clear tendency for cannabis plantations (though small in size) to appear in the European part of Russia, as well as in the Urals and in Eastern Siberia.
The number of cases of "kitchen gardens," when cannabis is grown on individual land allotments, has grown sharply. Even in the Moscow Region, over 100 cases in recent years have come to light of the growing of cannabis in summer cottage communities.
On the whole, according to the data of the Ministry of Interior, in 1996 alone 28,000 instances of the illegal sowing of narcotic plants were exposed, and over 3,000 hectares of wild narcotic plants were destroyed. Whereas in 1990 the total area of the illegal sowing of opium poppy, seed–oil poppy, and cannabis that were revealed comprised 9,500 hectares, in 1996 this amount was already 27,400 hectares.
The growth of the delivery of narcotics to Russia from Latin American countries has become obvious in the past two years. So far these deliveries have been more in the nature of transshipments that are directed primarily at drug users in the countries of Western Europe and the United States. In this case, Russia acts as a transit country. One of the most vivid examples of the growth in the volume of deliveries was the seizure in St. Petersburg in 1996 of a consignment of cocaine from Columbia disguised as canned meat which weighed almost a ton and had a value in the range of $100 million.
Naturally, such a volume was not intended exclusively for Russia. Almost a million people could be turned into drug addicts with this amount. Most of it was to proceed elsewhere. A Russian company in St. Petersburg was the recipient of the cargo.
The international narcotics business has begun actively taking steps to include the Russian market in its sphere of influence with the intention of gaining market control. Its goals are to ensure direct deliveries of narcotics, primarily heroin and cocaine, laundering of narcodollars, and the development of new and safe narcotics transit routes from Latin America to Europe.
Despite the large consignments, the majority of narcotics continues to enter into Russia with the help of drug couriers. The seizure of consignments of heroin of up to two kilograms at Moscow’s airports no longer seems particularly unnatural.
It is common practice to use the inhabitants of the Central Asian republics in the role of drug couriers from the south. This is connected in particular with the high level of unemployment existing in, for example, Tajikistan. However, cases of the transshipment of narcotics from this region by Russian citizens, including by train, have become more frequent.
Couriers who bring drugs from abroad, especially from Latin America, are primarily citizens of Nigeria and Afghanistan. However, recently the number of Russian citizens, recruited in particular among the so–called shuttle traders, has grown. In the past three years, around 100 Russian citizens have been detained in various countries for the transport of narcotics.
The speed and scale of the distribution of narcotics on Russian territory during the last five years demonstrates that we are confronting a pandemic. The mechanisms of drug distribution are functioning to one degree or another in practically all 89 members of the Russian Federation.
On the territory of the Russian Federation, one can in principle single out several major zones of narcotics distribution. First place in drug consumption, undoubtedly, belongs to Moscow and St. Petersburg, though there has been a noticeable increase in many other regions such as the Krasnodar Territory, the Kaliningrad Region, the Sverdlovsk Region, the Republic of Dagestan, the Khabarovsk and Primorski Territories, and the Moscow Region.
The influence of the spread of narcotics on the crime situation is quite obvious. In the Moscow Region, the number of drug–related crimes increased by 12 times during a five–year period. Only slightly more than ten major drug dealers have been sentenced and imprisoned over the past year and a half. In the first six months of 1997 alone 81,800 crimes related to narcotics and drastic substances were committed. The peculiarity of Moscow and its region lies in the fact that most of the expensive and hard drugs, heroin, cocaine, and ephedrine, are concentrated there.
A considerable share of these are distributed among criminals, though a trend has arisen whereby their distribution throughout society has expanded. Cases have become more frequent of the use of these narcotics by businessmen and representatives of the artistic elite and show business. According to some estimates, almost half of Russia’s leading performing artists have taken or are taking these drugs at present. Cocaine is becoming quite fashionable and is referred to as the "intellectuals’ drug."
In the past three years in practically all the large cities, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there has been a dramatic increase (by tens and hundreds of times) in the use of the most popular youth drug of this decade—methylene–dioximethylamphetamine (MDMA), colloquially known as "ecstasy".
This narcotic is a powerful stimulant with a weak hallucinogenic effect which affects the body for 6 to 8 hours. In 1971, MDMA was recognized an especially dangerous drug and was entered into List No.1 of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. In the United States, where MDMA was prohibited in 1985, as well as in most European countries, it belongs to the class of category "A" narcotics along with heroin and crack.
The main distribution channel of "ecstasy" is through youth discotheques and higher educational institutions. In Moscow this narcotic is readily available in almost 90 percent of the discotheques. In recent months the capital’s law enforcement authorities have been paying considerably more attention to the main centers of "ecstasy" distribution. In Great Britain one can get a life sentence for distributing MDMA.
Three main channels for the entrance of "ecstasy" presently exist: the Netherlands, Poland, and Germany. In all three countries there are well–developed illegal facilities for producing MDMA, a great deal of which is intended for Russia. In each of these other countries "ecstasy" has become an integral part of the "rave culture" which Russian youth are actively absorbing. The delivery of "ecstasy" from these countries is carried out primarily by couriers, both Russian and foreign nationals, by means of automobile, train, and plane. Criminal organizations have been particularly interested in this drug as profits from transactions involving "ecstasy" can reach 2000 percent. According to the available data, a new surge in the use of this drug in Russia should be expected in the near future considering that in the past 5 to 6 months its area of distribution has clearly expanded.
Another serious challenge for Russia includes problems related to the need for an efficient control system at the chemical and pharmaceutical plants where drugs and their components are used. There are hundreds of such enterprises throughout the country.
There are two main problems in this regard. First, the direct pilferage of drug–containing components at the enterprises. There are over 200 such cases annually. Second, the unregistered production of narcotic substances which comprises 3 to 5 percent of the total production volume of chemical and pharmaceutical firms.
Furthermore, during the last four years there has been nearly a seven–fold increase in the number of thefts of narcotic substances from hospitals and pharmacies, as well as a three–fold increase in the number of cases involving forged prescriptions for narcotic–containing substances. Efforts on the part of the Ministry of Interior resulted in the reversal of this tendency and these crimes have started decreasing since 1996. In 1997 there were 289 cases, a 57.9 percent decrease.
The total weight of the drugs confiscated in 1997 amounted to 50 tons. Criminal charges for drug–related offenses were brought against 102,000 people, an increase of 64 percent against 1996. Out of this number of indicted people, 8,500 are drug dealers who committed 25,600 crimes. The work against illegal drug trafficking was most effectively conducted in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the regions of Novosibirsk, Rostov, Samara, and Sverdlovsk and the Krasnodar Territory.
(3) The Narcotics Mafia In Russia
It is well known that until the end of the 1980s the Soviet Union was considered to be in a relatively favorable position as regards the distribution and consumption of narcotics. Of course, facilities in the country had developed for the production of various kinds of narcotics, though in small quantities. This production was entirely illegal and was intended for the use of a very narrow, "specific" community: free and imprisoned criminals.
Besides that, some of the narcotics market was intended for the republics of Central Asia, where light drugs were frequently considered an element of the traditional national lifestyle, and their use was perceived as a relatively everyday occurrence.
A narcotics mafia in the literal meaning of this word is currently taking shape in Russia. It is a multifaceted structure that includes the organization of the production, reprocessing, transportation, and distribution of narcotic substances on a national scale.
In its structure, the national narcotics mafia consists of three parts, which represent the classic mafia pyramid. The first part, which serves as its base, is comprised of retail traders who number several thousand people in Moscow alone. The second part is medium–size wholesalers and carriers who employ "security units" to protect the goods in transit and the local traders. The third part is the upper echelon whose members have no direct dealings with narcotics. Their task is to plan operations and launder the money that is received.
A peculiar consideration is the fact that due to well–known reasons, it cannot be a "Russian Mafia" in the ethnic meaning of this word. The criminal groups operating in the various regions of Russia seldom have mono–ethnic compositions. Moreover, they are forced to cooperate with those organizations that were quite active on the territory of the former USSR, especially criminals from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
The latter are the main force in the drug market in a number of regions. In Moscow and the areas near Moscow in particular, Tajiks, Afghans, and Azeris control practically 100 percent of the heroin trade, as well as a considerable share of the marihuana market.
Furthermore, according to the data of the law–enforcement agencies, at present several thousand foreigners are engaged in the narcotics business in Moscow. For over three years now, communities of foreign nationals involved in the narcotics trade have existed in Moscow. The largest of these are the Afghans, Chinese, and Vietnamese.
The Afghan group specializes in the delivery from Afghanistan of heroin through the Central Asian republics and the market in Moscow. It devotes most of its efforts to the continued transfer of narcotics through Russia to Western Europe and the United States.
The Chinese are noted for the distribution of various types of synthetic narcotics, while the Vietnamese are involved a little in the entire drug spectrum. It should be noted that in the past two years there has been an almost tenfold increase in the amount of ephedrine illegally imported into Russian from China, especially in the Far East to be shipped to other regions.
In Moscow and its surrounding region, there are several hundred Nigerian "pushers" whose preference is to sell cocaine and heroin. It is noteworthy that the drugs are not produced in Nigeria itself, but Nigerians, especially students, appear frequently as carriers and couriers of narcotics. They mainly specialize in bringing drugs to Russia from West European countries.
Whereas in 1992, 1,549 nationals of the former Soviet republics were detained for drug related crimes; in 1996, 3,188 had been detained.
As for foreigners, not counting citizens of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), 19 people were detained in 1992; while in 1996, 2,882 were detained. The increase in this figure graphically testifies to the considerable expansion of the Russian drug market.
Despite the growing cooperation and interaction between the major drug trafficking groups inside the country and the expansion of their international contacts, an obvious narcotics cartel of the "Medellín–type" which could start to actively infiltrate the country’s economic and political power structures has not yet emerged in Russia.
This does not mean that such a danger will remain absent in the future. On the contrary, given the internationalization of crime and the increasingly active role of Russian criminal groups in the international arena. This danger can only grow. Suffice it to say that practically every operation aimed at seizing large consignments of narcotics revealed the presence of foreign links in the network.
During the past three years, at least four meetings have been held between leaders of Russian criminal groups and the most influential international narcotics groups in the world from the United States and Latin America. Two of these occurred in Colombia, one on the Caribbean islands, and one in the United States. At these meetings the participants reportedly discussed the issue of global cooperation in the field of drug trafficking and the creation of favorable political conditions for it at the national level. The main Latin American partner of Russian organized crime involved in the narcotics business is the large Colombian Cali cartel, which in its dealings with Russia specializes in cocaine deliveries.
The profitability of the drug trade for foreign criminal organizations is shown by the fact that while the price of one gram of cocaine in Moscow in the early 1990s reached $200–$250 or more, in the manufacturing country the price for the same amount was $20–$30. Nowadays the price of cocaine in Russia has dropped by at least two times, but mass consumption has increased, so the revenue of the foreign narcotics mafia which supplies cocaine to Russia did not drop much.
Preventing negative developments such as the appearance of a similar cartel in Russia, and, if possible, excluding foreign narcotics dealers from here altogether, is the main task of the state and all its agencies, above all those involved in law enforcement.
One ought to single out the problem of money laundering by the Russian narcotics mafia. The sum laundered in Russia is huge, on the order of $1 billion. The money is laundered through front organizations involved in cash sales such as restaurants, gambling establishments, etc.
Cash handed in by shop assistants to the "cash–box" is continuously exchanged for foreign cash currency by representatives of these organizations at the exchange offices of some banks. A recent example of this is how the Sherhan Company in Moscow, which was founded by Afghans, daily exchanged tens, and sometimes even hundreds of millions of rubles at the exchanges of the MDM and the Russian Financial Initiatives banks.
The acquisition of the stocks of various Russian enterprises with drug money, primarily those involved in fuel and energy and in the telecommunication market, has become a new goal of the narcotics mafia since 1996. According to some estimates, at least 900 billion rubles were spent for this purpose in 1996.
It must be noted that in Russia a "drug lobby" has already formed. It exercises fairly strong pressure on various groups, including federal and regional lawmakers, with the purpose of preventing any strengthening of the national legislation against drug addiction. A part of this lobby operates publicly. The Radical Party and several other associations are openly carrying out a wide–scale promotional campaign that includes the publication of books, leaflets, brochures, and newspapers with articles regarding their philosophy and methods of taking drugs. According to the most conservative estimates, the total print run of drug literature has exceeded five million copies in the past five years.
One can not help feeling concerned by the fact that people who have a strong influence on youth, especially rock music stars, take part in promoting narcotic substances, often realizing quite well what they are doing.
(4) The Fight With Drug Addiction In Other Countries: Problems And Results
Drug addiction is a problem in a growing number of states. Various national models exist for fighting the distribution and consumption of narcotics. These can be provisionally placed into three groups.
The first is the "tough policy group," in which the struggle is conducted by the most severe methods, including capital punishment, and the legislation against drug trafficking is quite severe. Malaysia, Iran, and Pakistan are its most prominent members. Statistical data show that despite such measures, drug–related crimes, and the transportation of drugs in particular, still increase by 2–3 percent a year.
The second group is the "strict control group." Its members carry out strict control over all kinds of drugs and actively oppose the narcotics mafia, but do not undertake extreme measures. The United States, Great Britain, and France belong to this group. In the United States, most states punish not only the possession and use of drugs, but even the attempt to buy them. In Britain and France, courts send drug addicts to compulsory treatment. It should be noted, however, that in the last three years these countries have been toughening their approach.
In the countries belonging to this group, above all in the United States, the fight against drugs within the legal sphere is simultaneously combined with a very powerful anti–drug media campaign aimed primarily at the most vulnerable categories of the population: the unemployed, school children, and university students.
This vigorous approach results above all from a realization that drug addiction causes enormous losses to society. The annual damage from it amounts to approximately $150 billion.
The third group is the "liberal group." Its most well–known representatives are the Netherlands and Switzerland. One ought to note immediately that a false myth has taken root, including in Russia, that drugs are fully legalized in the Netherlands. This is not how things stand. The legalization of "soft" drugs such as marijuana, which started in the mid–1950s, did not in the end result in an expansion of the list of narcotic substances whose distribution was permitted. The number of drug–related offenses really did partially stabilize, but there was no fundamental change. Furthermore, the Netherlands (especially Amsterdam) have turned into "the drug pit of Europe."
The Dutch government believes that the opportunity exists in their country to effectively control drug addicts. The country does not have its own "raw material" or drug–production facilities, and there exists a well–developed network of charitable and medical assistance to drug addicts. At the same time, it does not take into consideration the tolerance factor, that is, the need of drug addicts to increase their doses continuously.
There is also the example of Spain, whose government followed the example of the Netherlands in 1985. As a result, over the decade the number of registered drug addicts alone grew from 200,000 to almost 1.6 million people.
The peculiar feature of the present situation is that, within the framework of a "Europe without borders," the Netherlands’ position as a center of narcotics distribution is strengthening. This alarms many countries, above all France, where the growth of crimes with a "Dutch trace" amounted to nearly 20 percent in the last three years.
The United States has achieved the greatest success in fighting drugs. In the past decade the number of people using narcotics fell by 50 percent.
One of the main reasons is the fact that the war against drug addiction began to acquire a genuinely national dimension, and included the efforts of both the government and such non–governmental organizations as For a Drug Free America
Here are the key elements of this campaign:
One must note that expenditures on the anti–drug campaign in the United States in recent years have amounted to around $1 billion annually.
In the international arena, some efforts are undertaken above all by the United Nations in the framework of the UNDKP. First, this involves information–related activities connected with the global monitoring of the state of affairs regarding narcotics and the drawing up of general recommendations to governments for fighting drug addiction. The problem of narcotics addiction is raised in practically all key documents of the UN and its specialized agencies, especially the World Health Organization. Second, these efforts involve practical assistance to a number of narcotics–producing countries, primarily in Latin America, with the aim of reorienting their peasants to the cultivation of agricultural products. Third, it involves managing a register of prohibited narcotic substances. At present, this includes around 200 varieties, of which only seven are natural. All the others are synthetic.
(5) What Must Be Done In Russia?
We should publicly recognize that the problem of the distribution and consumption of narcotics in Russia is a national problem which must be classified as a direct threat to the national security of Russia due to its long–term consequences. This demands immediate state action and a recognition of its priority at the highest level.
It is also essential to realize that today Russia is in a unique situation. It belongs to the few states that are zones of drug consumption, production, and transit at the same time. A proper understanding of this threat both to the stability of society and to the health of the nation as such has yet to occur within Russian society. The drug–addiction problem is not always understood as an independent one, frequently being considered within the general context of crime. It is necessary to reverse this attitude, and this can be achieved through the involvement of all major organisations of society and the state from the law–enforcement agencies to the medical and educational bodies. Even the most resolute measures will, if taken within only one of these sectors alone, prove ineffective.
Above all, it is essential to stimulate society itself to resist the narcotics pandemic more actively. A vigorous media campaign is needed, aimed at young people, parents, and national leaders. The media can and must play a key role in protecting society from this new menace. Any mass media effort will save hundreds of people, while a larger campaign will save hundreds of thousands.
The Mass Media Against Drugs movement, led by Vladimir Gusinsky, Konstantin Ponomarev, and Grigory Yavlinsky, which was set up on December 19, 1997, is one of the first important steps in this direction. It ought to be backed by the authorities.
Taking into account the drug–distribution system in the cities, especially the large ones, it would be expedient to conduct a national campaign entitled "Drugs–Free Zone." It should focus its attention on places where young people study and relax. It is important to elaborate a system of moral and financial support to organizations, centers, and stores that are ready to participate in this campaign. It is also important to incorporate into legislation sanctions against organizations where drugs are distributed.
The basis for this is now being shaped. In late November 1997, the Moscow City Duma adopted the law "On Sanctions against Organizations and Enterprises Involved on City Territory in Activities that Promote Drug Addiction in Moscow." It stipulates that, if in the course of an inspection of a discotheque, militiamen find people under the influence of narcotics, or discover instances of drug use or drug distribution, then a police report will be made against the firm that organized the event. On the basis of this report, the Moscow city authorities will be able to impose fines equal to 500 times the minimum wage. If the offense is repeated within the next six months, the authorities can double the fine and declare the operation of the firm "socially dangerous." The law also provides penalties for repeat offenders, including the withdrawal of patents and licenses and the annulment of rent contracts.
Since statistical data show that the most vulnerable age for involvement in drug addiction is between 12 and 17 years of age, a special program, "Youth and Drugs," should be established. It would pay particular attention to the influences of the mass media and other psychological factors on this age group. The experiences of other countries in this area should be actively studied, especially those of the United States. The anti–narcotics campaign should be continuous and comprehensive, involving the mass media, educational establishments at all levels, and legislative and executive bodies.
The basic feature of this campaign would be close cooperation of state bodies and the public. The experience of the past two years proves that one–sided activity does not bring the desired results. One cannot expect a real effect through the efforts of only individuals or public organizations. It is important for this campaign in Russia not to be limited to the federal level. It must receive real support from the heads of the members of the Russian Federation. It is also essential to provide adequate financing at all levels.
A helpful impetus could be given by a special Presidential address to Russian society on the problem of drug addiction. The President can also provide his personal patronage to the entire range of measures that are being undertaken both at the state and the societal levels in the struggle with drug addiction.
A special public hearing held in the State Duma on March 2, 1998, became an important event aimed at raising public awareness of the drug addiction issue. Above all, the hearing helped to coordinate the efforts of various state bodies and public organizations, as well as to determine necessary future legislative measures.
The federal law, "On Drugs and Psychotropic Substances," adopted by the State Duma and signed by President Yeltsin, provides for the introduction of certain additions and amendments to a number of federal acts. Monitoring will be exercised over executive authorities responsible for the preparation of the statutes provided for by the above law.
The Russian Federation has adopted a "Concept of State Policy for the Control of Narcotics" (approved by the President of the Russian Federation on July 22, 1993). Along with the issues of preventing the abuse of narcotics and treating and socially rehabilitating drug addicts, the document establishes the task of improving anti–narcotics legislation. In particular, it provides for the regulation of the legal sale of drugs used for medical and scientific purposes, as well as a review of the existing criminal and administrative legislation concerning liability for drug–related offenses. It also provides for the introduction of compulsory treatment as a measure replacing criminal punishment for misdemeanors that do not present a great social danger, as well as a number of other new legislative ideas. However, the basic proposals of the Concept have yet to be embodied in legislation.
A government commission on countering the abuse of narcotic substances and their illegal sale was formed in July 1994. The task of the commission is to conduct a unified strategy and coordinate the efforts of the various state agencies in this field. A vice premier of the government heads the commission. Regretfully, one must note that for a number of reasons, the effectiveness of the work of this commission has turned out to be close to zero.
A special federal program, entitled "A Group of Measures to Resist the Abuse of Narcotics and their Illegal Sale for 1995–1997" (adopted by a government decree on June 3, 1995), also provided for a range of measures, including the development of analytical projects, and a campaign in the mass media and educational institutions.
However, it did not receive the required funding either from the federal budget or from local budgets. As a result, most of the planned activity has remained on paper only. Nevertheless, experts believe that some positive experience has been accumulated from the program even as executed. Action programs at regional levels have been elaborated for over 65 regions of the country, and interdepartmental commissions have been set up and are presently operating in 51 regions.
Russia still lacks one state body that would collect, process, and analyze information regarding all the dimensions of the narcotics problem. Its creation is one of the most urgent tasks, for without it, it is impossible to plan the work of the state and society efficiently.
The problem of drug trafficking and the fight against drug addiction must be considered at the level of the CIS leaders given that the main flow of narcotic substances enters Russian territory primarily from Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
It is quite obvious that the fight against drug addiction requires more active and better–organized international cooperation. A need exists both to improve the legal basis for such cooperation by signing bilateral agreements, and for practical cooperation in particular in the conduct of operations for controlling the transit of narcotics through Russian Federation territory. Forty–nine intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements have been concluded which are partially or entirely devoted to cooperation against illegal drug trafficking.
The RF Ministry of the Interior has established operational contacts with those states where bilateral agreements have not been concluded. Direct contacts have by now been established with 47 foreign law–enforcement units fighting illegal drug trafficking.
Russia should to try to make the problem of combating the illegal sale of drugs a standing issue on the agenda of the summits of the leaders of the most developed states. At the special session of the UN General Assembly on the fight against drug trafficking and drug addiction to be held in June 1998, Russia’s representatives should present information on the experience of both its state and non–governmental organizations regarding the fight against drug addiction in Russia.
It is necessary to create by the joint efforts of all the law–enforcement agencies of Russia and the CIS a special database that would include all people involved in the supply and distribution of narcotics. Under certain circumstances, representatives of the law enforcement agencies of countries with whom the most close cooperation in the struggle against the narcotics business is required (the United States, the Federal Republic of Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, China), should have access to this database.
Furthermore, it seems expedient to restrict the entry into Russia of people participating in narcotics trafficking, or even simply suspected of it, taking into account existing interstate agreements. In particular, this could involve placing in the passports of citizens from the former Soviet republics special stamps, whose presence would rule out their staying on RF territory.
It is clearly necessary to increase the ability of law enforcement authorities to monitor the transactions of known drug dealers to prevent them from laundering illegally earned income and to undermine the financial and other pillars of the narcotics business. The legal basis for such a policy is in place, including the Methodical Recommendations (issued by a Letter of the Central Bank of Russia, No. 479, of July 3, 1997) on organizing operations aimed at preventing the penetration of illegally received profits into banks and other credit organizations.
Special attention should be given to setting up in most regions of the Russian Federation centers of rehabilitation for drug users, and providing them with equipment and financing from both budget resources and sponsors’ contributions.
Issues related to financing require constant supervision by legislative bodies and public organizations; the RF organizations that provide assistance to drug addicts and alcoholics get only 30–60 percent of their required funds.
Existing federal legislation presents no real obstacles to the penetration of the spiritual life of Russian society by the narcotics business. An increasing number of instances have been recorded of narcotics being openly promoted by music stars and journalists. This is why Russia should amend such laws as "On the Mass Media," "On Advertising," "On State Support to the Mass Media and the Publishing Business," and others.
It is necessary to conduct constant and comprehensive monitoring of drug abuse, drug distribution patterns, and drug–related offenses. Such monitoring should include continuous representative sample research to determine precisely the amount, structure, and source of the illegal production, sale, and consumption of narcotics. In doing this, it is also essential to set up a special database on the whole range of issues relating to drug addiction and the narcotics business.
The need is obvious to strengthen urgently at all levels those units of the Ministry of Interior and the State Customs Committee that are involved in fighting illegal drug trafficking. Special attention should be attached to crucial zones such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Astrakhan, the Krasnodar Territory, the Northern Caucasus, and the Far East.
It is essential to modernize the technical equipment of all the services involved in combating drug trafficking. RF law enforcement authorities should more widely use new technical means for fighting drug transportation, especially gas analyzers capable of catching microscopic particles of drugs in all media. All customs check points and Ministry of Interior units in the zones of active drug trafficking and along narcotics transportation routes should be equipped with them.
The goal of the "Whither Russia?" project is to illuminate for the international community the ongoing debate in Russia about the country’s identity, security, and interests. Our central question is: what will emerge as the dominant conception of Russian identity, Russian security, and Russian greatness? More specifically, we hope this project can help clarify: competing images of Russia across the political spectrum; how these competing images are reflected in policy; the shape of the debate in specific arenas; the views of the political elite and the public about the debate; differences between views in the regions and those at the center; common threads in the competing images of Russia; and, based on the conclusions drawn, Russia’s fundamental geopolitical and national interests.
As part of the project, we are publishing important works by leading Russian policymakers and academics addressing a set of three broad questions:
In our efforts to present Western scholars and policy makers with the broadest range of views within Russia, we have solicited a range of opinions on highly controversial topics. The opinions expressed in the monographs are those of the authors and do not represent the views of Harvard University, the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, or the translators and editors.
Graham Allison, Director
Strengthening Democratic Institutions Project
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