mafia

The world's tackiest tombstones

Julien — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:17:01 +0200

Traditional Russian cemeteries mostly host unpretentious monuments. A small headstone featuring the name, birth and death dates of the deceased, as well as a small photo, is usually considered sufficient to cherish their memory. But around 15 or 20 years ago a new kind of monument started popping up amongst these modest graves. The newcomers are big - up to three metres high, and made of expensive black granite. They bear not names, but monikers. The figures sketched onto the headstones are uncommonly young, mostly in their forties, but often in their twenties. They look bold, wear thick gold chains and keep their hands in their pockets. The portraits are often accompanied by pictures of foreign cars. These new tombs can be found in any cemetery in Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. They contain the remains of thousands of gangsters, who died in criminal wars that followed the collapse of Russian communism.

Andrey Konstantinov

Andrey Konstantinov — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:41:45 +0200

Nom

Konstantinov

Prénom

Andrey

Blog ou Site web

Akonstantinov

Centres d'intérêts

Date de naissance

Description

Journalist and a writer Andrey Konstantinov is the general director of the Agency for Journalistic Investigations and author of the non-fiction bestseller "Gangster Petersburg".

langue

Russian

Profession

Journalist and writer

Standing up to the Cosa Nostra

Julien — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:45:00 +0100

Four years ago, young people from Palermo launched a website called Adio Pizzo to condemn illegal taxes imposed on Sicilian traders. Today, they have convinced almost 200 shopkeepers to break the silence and refuse to pay the ‘Pizzo' mafia tax. One of the scheme's organisers, Chloe Tucciarelli, and a local businessman, Riccardo Agnello, tell us about their fight against the Cosa Nostra.