Nature and characteristics of drug-related crime in the Soviet Far East in the 1920s

The article outlines the main features of crimes related to the illicit manufacture, acquisition and distribution of narcotic substances, as well as the involvement of others in these activities. The aim of the study is to analyze the nature and characteristics of drug-related crime in the Soviet Far East in the 1920s. Emphasis is placed on the fact that much of this territory was inhabited by foreigners, mainly Chinese and Koreans, during the period under review. Attention is drawn to the fact that it was the culture of opium smoking that caused widespread drug use among the population, with irreversible negative social consequences. It is noted that for the manufacture of opium vast areas in Primorye were sown with a certain variety of poppies for the purpose of subsequent export of drugs abroad or to sell them to local brothel keepers. It is emphasized that the greatest accumulation of establishments of this type was in Chinese neighborhoods in large cities of the Far East. The conclusion is made that the problem of drug-related crime has deep historical roots and today is one of the most dangerous to society.