employee
Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
UDC 332.05
Introduction. Today, the shadow economy, money laundering, and corruption are the criminal phenomena that pose the most serious threat to the foundations of the state. They devalue the work of tens of millions of people, hold back social progress, and weaken the country’s economic – and hence defence – potential. This study aims to improve the effectiveness of the current organisational and economic model designed to counteract the criminalisation of the economy. Methods. This study is based on data from the economic security units of the Russian Ministry of the Interior for the post-Soviet period (1992-2025). The analysis focuses on three key areas: the number of recorded crimes, the total established financial losses, and the number of identified offenders. Results. The study reveals high volatility and unstable dynamics in key indicators within the current organisational and economic model for counteracting the criminalisation of the economy. A prolonged decline in recorded crimes during the post-reform period is interpreted as evidence that the model is approaching a critical state. The article proposes an updated organisational and economic model of social protection based on the primacy of state interest. This model conforms to three principles: (1) terminological precision - accuracy, clarity, and expressiveness - which permits the rehabilitation of the term “struggle” (bor’ba) and its reintroduction into the official name of economic security units; (2) a human-centered approach prioritizing values and meanings over technology and tools; and (3) a legal presumption of asset confiscation, granting the state the right to restore confiscation as a criminal penalty.
shadow economy, economic security, counteraction, struggle, term, principles, confiscation of property
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