Occupying a high position in a criminal hierarchy (Article 210.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation): the genesis of criminal development

Criminal liability under Article 210.1 of the Russian Criminal Code is based on the presumption that the bearer of this status is knowingly involved in criminal activity as an individual initiating efforts to organize and control criminal activity, promote criminal activity, and recruit members of the underworld. The qualitative composition of individuals occupying the highest positions in the criminal hierarchy is shifting in favor of those who favor the permissibility of personal enrichment and a life of material luxury. It is the latter who influence the place, role, and capabilities of the criminal community within the system of financial and economic relations and the correspondingly changing social environment, ensuring the authority of the «thief in law» within the criminal underworld through their political, administrative, and financial influence, based on corrupt connections with representatives of various levels of municipal and federal government, including law enforcement agencies. Financial opportunities and a wide range of criminal services are the basis for a business alliance between subjects at the highest level of the criminal hierarchy and representatives of various levels of the administrative-political power of the state, with competing industrial, financial and political clans.