 |
Dec 31,2006 - Jan7,2006 |
The code of honour
Part 13 - The Russian mob claims respect and power through strict rules of conduct
By Antonio Nicaso
Originally Published: 2001-06-24
Honour is a fundamental concept in the Vorovskoi Zakon, the code of the vory v zakone. Anton Chekhov wrote: "Honour cannot be taken away, it can only be lost." And this is something well known to the vory v zakone (thieves with a code) even if they may have never read anything by the great Russian writer.
The only thing they hold for sure is that honour is a quality under public scrutiny, legitimization of value by the group one belongs to; it has a relational characteristic, and points to social subjects in well-specified communities or groups. Since it is a virtue that resides in the eyes of the beholder, i.e., that exists only if it is recognized, it can only be lost, as Chekhov said. We should not forget that the Russian Mob, just like the Italian Mafia or the North American La Cosa Nostra, (according to Paolo Pezzino, professor of contemporary history at the University of Pisa), is a secret organization whose existence must be known to everybody.
Also in Russia, some shades of honour depend on sexual prowess: the dishonoured par excellence is the betrayed husband. But it would be a mistake to confuse this symbolic level, the metaphor of honour, with its essence.
Manliness, as an expression of honour, therefore stands for the ability to impose oneself over others. Only those who possess this quality can be vory v zakone, much like members of the Italian Mafia. Being able to impose oneself remains as an indisputable title of honour. The recourse to law being out of the question, this ability unavoidably implies violence. There is a tight connection among honour, violence and distribution of roles and resources in the Vorovskoi Zakon.
Who insults a vor must be punished, and the killing of a vor must be avenged. Sasha, for instance, is a Russian boss belonging to this criminal elite. Convicted of a theft when he was 16, he never left jail where he killed another inmate who has showed disrespect for him.
Lately, especially following the fall of the Soviet Empire, in Russia like in Italy’s underworld, honour has become synonymous for wealth, so that the accumulation of capital, regardless of how it is obtained, serves to conquer or gain back "honour" and consequently power, and a position of supremacy.
Page 1/...Page 2
|
| Home / Back to Top |
|
|
 |
|
|
</ td>
