Abroad they are the "Russian mafia," for us they are bandits, but here and there they are called "thieves." They are everywhere - in movies, books, crime reports and, of course, on the streets. Thieves' jargon entered everyday speech, chanson is one of the most popular musical genres, and the underworld still puts pressure on business. At the same time, the "thieves" are constantly changing and adjusting to the requirements of the moment: they abandon the principles for which their predecessors died, adopt tactics from foreign "colleagues," master new technologies and skillfully disguise themselves. The book of the British political scientist, specialist in international crime and Russian special services Mark Galeotti, is an exciting journey through the history of the thieves' world of Russia: from Yaponchik (1891-1919) to Yaponchik (1940-2009). Galeotti talks about the birth and death of old "concepts," explains the key differences between Vladivostok organized crime groups and St. Petersburg, and also shows how the inexorable logic of the underworld works.