The standard of living of the population of the Far East tends to decline, and it is lower than the national average. Mediated through socio-psychological, geographical and other factors, the decline in living standards leads to an increase in crime. In addition, the Far Eastern region is characterized by a high level of criminalization of the population: more than anywhere else, the proportion of convicted persons suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction, neuropsychiatric anomalies, etc., which is also a provoking factor in the complication of the criminological situation.

Organized crime, using new social opportunities, is rapidly invading all spheres of economic and social life, mastering more and more new types of crimes. The ideology of the criminal world - the thieves ' law-has entered the market of ideas. Until recently, it was suitable for a very specific part of society, but today it penetrates into various spheres of public life, proclaiming camp rules and customs, putting them in the packaging of justice and brotherhood.

The thieves ' law was not invented yesterday. But today, coming out of the underground, it takes on new properties: legality, demonstrativeness, audacity, aggressiveness, which ultimately is an open challenge to society and the law. The growing influence of criminal ideology is expressed in the growth of claims of the leaders of the criminal world, changes in the methods of achieving goals: force pressure, mass riots and acts of disobedience, the use of mass media to intimidate or mislead the population.

Considering our region as a breeding ground for the spread of criminal ideology, it cannot be denied that it is extremely favorable. For more than a hundred years, the Far East has been used by the state as a place of imprisonment and exile. The 30s of our century were marked by a huge scale of camp construction. Those released from places of deprivation of liberty due to measures of state coercion or in connection with the loss of former social ties settled after the completion of the sentence.,

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thus forming the demographic environment of the region. Naturally, the high level of concentration of previously convicted persons in limited territories cannot but affect the expanded reproduction of crime.

The so-called obshchak acts as one of the most extensive organizations of the criminal environment in the region that actively supports the thieves ' law. His activities are known not only in the criminal world. "Obshchak" is a criminal community that, according to experts from the internal affairs bodies, has a number of features that indicate its organized nature, namely: it exists for quite a long time, has a fairly clear structure of subordination, intelligence, access to government bodies and law enforcement agencies, legal or semi-legal forms of "laundering" illegally acquired money. money. According to some sources, the "obshchak" was formed in the early 70s in correctional labor institutions and pursued "noble" goals - to facilitate the existence of those sentenced to a long term of imprisonment.

The main activities of obshchak, the ideological crime center of the Far East, can be presented as follows: propaganda of the "thieves' law " - a criminal ideology; organization of illegal communication channels of obshchak with places of deprivation of liberty, pre-trial detention centers for providing assistance and information exchange; providing material and other assistance to persons who collaborated on the outside with "general staff" held in places of deprivation of liberty and released from them; involvement of young people and minors in criminal activities; assignment by criminals of the functions of an arbitration court, "arbitration" in "showdowns", disputes between criminal groups, commercial structures, and private individuals.

More and more obvious is the desire of the "obshchak" not just to have huge funds, but to control the power, to have it themselves, to legalize and establish themselves in the public consciousness. Obshchak and its affiliated organizations are currently trying to use more psychological methods in communicating with representatives of various age and social groups.

Propaganda of the "thieves' law " goes through several channels and, as a rule, does not meet with any opposition. Experts note with alarm the vigorous penetration of organized crime into the youth environment. The intensity of underage involvement can be compared to an epidemic. The techniques used are very different: at the level of the yard group, involvement occurs almost during the game, the romance of the criminal world is skillfully served, and elements of the game are used in ordinary theft. Young people recruited by obshchak, mainly students of schools, vocational schools, those who are not engaged in anything, proving loyalty to the "thieves ' laws", terrorize their peers, take money from them, demand to bring food.

The penetration of criminal ideology into the youth environment confirms the fact that in the minds of some teenagers and young people, the opinion is being strengthened that being convicted, wearing signs of belonging to the criminal world is almost a sign of the highest valor.

We tested some of the ideas in a sociological study of young people aged 12 to 18, who, according to experts, are exposed to the most massive and targeted pressure from the "obshchak". The subject of the study is the degree of prevalence of its influence on young students living in various regions of the Khabarovsk Territory. Among the main tasks solved in the course of the study were: to find out the sources of respondents 'knowledge about obshchak; to clarify the opinions of adolescents about the direction of obshchak's activities and its assessment; to study the experience of young students' relationship with obshchak; to analyze personal experience and respondents ' opinions about the possibility of countering the growth of obshchak's influence; to determine the attitude of students to respondents ' compliance with the requirements of the law, etc.

The survey covered 1,900 students in February-March 1997 in Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur, Amursk, and Khabarovsk district. The study is most complete

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teenagers aged 14, 15, and 16 are represented (respectively 19,4 %, 20 %, 19,3 %). Among the respondents-12-year-olds-about 8 %; 13-year-olds-14 %, young people aged 17-8.1 %, 18 years and older-11.2 %; 53.3 % of boys, 46.7 % of girls.

A significant part of respondents (71.9 %) study at school; continue their education and acquire a profession in vocational schools - 11.5 %, in technical schools-5.4 %, in institutes-11.3 %. The social origin of adolescents is as follows: the vast majority of them come from working families-68.8 %, a significant part from the families of civil servants-21 %. Children whose parents work in the law enforcement system accounted for 6.9 %. Teenagers whose parents are military personnel, agricultural workers (farmers), representatives of commercial structures are not represented so much (0,5 %, 1 %, 0,9 %).

Yes to the question " Do they know about the existence of obshchak?" more than half of the respondents (53.4%) answered, 22% found this question difficult, and only 14.1 % of teenagers do not know about such a phenomenon as "obshchak". For a significant number of teenagers, the source of this information was their relatives and friends (19.2 %). This is more common for young men, respondents living in cities. Another important source of information was odnoklassniki (16.2 %). For the first time, almost 17% of girls (and only 15.5% of boys) learned about the existence of a "community center" from them, most often schoolchildren, university students, and students of technical schools. Acquaintances with whom some of the respondents spend their free time were also sources of knowledge and ideas about the "community center" (in 13.3 % of cases). Only 6.9 % of respondents first learned about obshchak from the mass media.

It should be borne in mind that the process of forming legal awareness for 43.7% of respondents takes place among close relatives and friends who have come into conflict with the legal law. The main "carriers" of such experience are friends (15.4 %), brothers (10.7%), and other close relatives (10.9%). 40% of them believe that compliance with the requirements of the law is necessary regardless of the circumstances. Among the law-abiding respondents, the majority come from families of civil servants (69.3 %) and all whose parents work in law enforcement agencies (100%), schoolchildren (40.6%) and students of technical schools and universities (42.6%, 39.6%).

In our opinion, a fact that deserves close attention is the fact that 52.4 % of respondents do not think at all about their relationship with the law. Among this category, there are equally many representatives of all ages, schoolchildren, students of technical schools and universities. Nevertheless, this position is more typical for people who come from working families, representatives of commercial structures, military personnel, young men, residents of rural areas, and students of vocational schools.

In this regard, the view of the surveyed teenagers on the criminal past of some citizens is not without interest. 17.2 % of respondents believe that being convicted or wearing signs of belonging to the criminal world is a sign of special valor. This opinion prevails among 13-14-17-year-olds, students of universities and especially technical schools, children from families of workers and civil servants. 10.4 % of respondents believe that this fact entitles them to a special position of the "strong" in society. This point of view is common among students of institutes, technical schools, 13-16-year-olds and those who have reached the age of majority, as well as young men and teenagers.

12.7% of respondents consider such a fact of biography as a criminal record to be a shameful fact. This opinion is more often expressed by 14-16-17-year-olds and adult respondents, students of technical schools, school students, vocational schools, and especially rural residents and children of law enforcement officers. Moreover, the latter are categorical and do not share other ratings. This social group of citizens does not evoke feelings of compassion and regret among the respondents. 58.6% found it difficult to answer.

According to a significant part of respondents, the main activity of obshchak is focused on helping those who are in prison (13.3 %) or have been released (15.7%). This point of view is shared by all respondents, regardless of age, residents of cities, those whose parents are civil servants or work in the state.

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law enforcement agencies. There are slightly fewer people who have this idea among those who live in rural areas and whose parents are engaged in agricultural production, as well as among students in vocational schools.

7.9 % of respondents believe that the main concern of the "obshchak" is to establish order in the city. Among them: 13-14-17-year-olds, slightly more young men than girls, people from families of civil servants, agricultural workers, students of ISU. Those who do not support this view are teenagers whose parents work in law enforcement agencies and commercial structures.

Some of the respondents (6.7 %) believe that the development of children's sports and creativity is one of the main activities of obshchak. Only a few respondents see in what obshchak does, the desire to provide financial assistance to the elderly, disabled, and needy (0.4 %), to develop art and sports (0.2%). 43.7% of young people found this question difficult, while 7.6 % did not want to answer it at all.

Evaluating the activities of obshchak, 11.2% of respondents expressed the opinion that it contributes to the involvement of young people in illegal activities. This assessment is more typical for girls, Komsomol residents, villagers, those who are 16-18 years old, students of technical schools and institutes. The position of people who come from families of civil servants and law enforcement officials in this issue is significantly different from the position of teenagers who are brought up in families of workers, agricultural workers, who do not see the danger of involving their peers in illegal activities by obshchak.

A small number of respondents (3.2 %) assess the activities of obshchak as an opportunity to solve the problem of fighting crime. They believe that it brings benefits, including to those in need (2.5 %), helps in resolving conflicts between citizens and groups (0.7%), and benefits young people and adolescents (0.4%). Such usefulness is noted only by a certain part of respondents in rural areas. At the same time, the children of military personnel and law enforcement officers deny it completely.

25.6 % of respondents, assessing the activities of the "obshchak", recognize it as very dangerous. Especially many of them are among 15-18-year-olds, university students, residents of Amursk, family members of civil servants, and military personnel.

Along with the general ideas, some teenagers have personal experience of relationships with representatives of the"obshchak". For the majority of respondents, they were their peers (21 %). Moreover, such contacts are typical for 13-14-17-18-year-old residents of cities, more often for students of technical schools and institutes than for schoolchildren and students of vocational schools. This indicator differs significantly among rural schoolchildren, where only 2% had contacts with the" obshchak " through their peers.

In 13.3% of the survey participants, attempts to establish contact were made by teenagers slightly older than themselves. This happened more often in girls than in boys. 12.8% of respondents dealt with those who are significantly older than them, or adults. This is typical for a significant number of children from the families of law enforcement officers, slightly less than civil servants. The number of people who had difficulty answering this question is high (41.1 %). This may indicate that the respondents are afraid or want to hide a fact that is known to them. 37.8% of teenagers know that those who tried to establish contact with them were brought to criminal responsibility at different times.

The results of the study showed that 1/5 of respondents, or those who are their closest associates, to some extent experienced the influence of "obshchak". However, more than half (58.7 %) indicated that they had never experienced anything like this. There is a clear contradiction here: when asked who addressed them on behalf of the "obshchak", not 20, but 54 % of respondents acknowledged the fact of such communication.

Having distributed the importance of the requirements that were imposed on teenagers and young people, it can be stated that they wanted: money (in 18.5% of cases); organization of fundraising for the needs of "obshchak" (11.9 %); from 6.6% of respondents they demanded:

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6.5 % of respondents were offered to transfer money (information) to places of deprivation of liberty; 4.8 % of students and students were offered to take part in illegal actions. Quite a significant number of those who found it difficult to answer about the nature of the requirements of the "common fund" - 46.1 %.

Only 2% of respondents fulfilled the requirements of the "obshchak". Significantly more of them are those who, although they obeyed, but did not always do it (23 %). More than a third of young people (35.8 %) reported that they did not do what they were asked to do at all. Among those who voluntarily fulfilled these requirements (9.1%), most of them were 13-17-year-olds, residents of cities, students of vocational schools, technical schools, and people from working families. 13.6% of respondents complied with the requirements when using threats and physical force. Children of law enforcement officers found themselves in this situation more often than others. 26.9% of respondents preferred not to answer this question. The measure of influence that most often followed refusal to comply was physical violence( beating), experienced by 26.7 %. 6.9% of respondents were subjected to public humiliation. - Among the motives that most often guided teenagers to resist was the unwillingness to submit to the influence of others (21 %). 14.3% of respondents did not concede because they wanted to protect their property. 8.4% of respondents tried to protect someone. The desire to resist the influence of the criminal world, to demonstrate their courage, determination, and self-confidence were less often motivating motives for the young people we interviewed.

Almost a quarter of respondents (24.9 %) rely on friends most of all in case of conflicts with representatives of the "obshchak". Some of the survey participants rely on their parents and relatives in this situation (10.3 % and 11.1%). 8.2% of respondents rely only on themselves and their own strength. Among this category, most of them are rural residents, vocational school students, and children whose parents are engaged in commercial activities. 8.7 % of respondents do not rely on anyone. Only 7.8% of teenagers rely on the participation of the police in conflict resolution. Among those on whom teenagers least of all count in a difficult moment - teachers, city (settlement) authorities. Quite a large number of those who found it difficult to answer this question (28.2 %).

A fifth of the respondents had to ask for help themselves (or their close friends), because they came to the attention of the "obshchak". So many respondents found this question difficult. However, most of the survey participants do not know about cases of seeking help. Those who applied for help, so assess the participation in their fate: 13% were helped by friends, 6 % - acquaintances, 4 % - parents, relatives, 2.8 % - those familiar with the criminal past, 2 % - the police. There are isolated cases of applying in one form or another to teachers, the "helpline". 12.4% of respondents applied but did not receive assistance and support from the police, 5.4% from parents and relatives, and 2.6% from the authorities.

Assessing the capabilities of state structures and public formations, 13.2 % of respondents believe that the police can really influence changes in the situation. There are twice as many people who believe that law enforcement officers can only have some influence. 18% doubt the capabilities of the police and 7.6% of respondents deny any role of the police. 10.7% of respondents consider the participation of their family members and relatives in countering the influence of obshchak to be real. However, a considerable number of respondents doubt (10.3 %) or deny such participation (15.6%). Some respondents hope that teaching and student groups of educational institutions can influence the situation to some extent (6.9 %). But 30.7 % express doubt or deny this possibility. According to respondents, the role of local authorities in solving the problem may be more specific (11.3 %).

Summing up the results of the conducted sociological research, we can conclude that 2/3 of respondents to some extent have an idea of the existence and activities of the "obshchak".

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We should not exclude the fact that in some cases teenagers are robbed and terrorized on behalf of the "obshchak" by hooligan groups and individual young people looking for easy ways to make money. But it is unlikely that such facts are widespread. The main source of knowledge on this issue for almost half of the respondents (48.7 %) is their peers from the immediate environment: friends, classmates, acquaintances. Among other sources of information (11.7%), meetings with police officers were more often indicated, and conversations with teachers were less often indicated.

Attention is drawn to the fact that neither the family nor close relatives practically participate in the formation of an objective idea of the "obshchak" and its essence among adolescents. Although, as practice shows, its activity among teenagers causes serious concern among parents. This may be due to insufficient awareness of the parents themselves, or underestimation of the severity of the problem.

The result of the fact that those social institutions (the family, mass media, educational institutions ' collectives, etc.) that are able to convey objective information to them, form a point of view and a civic position are not sufficiently occupied in forming the ideas of adolescents and young people about the "common people", is that in the youth environment not only do they have the ability to communicate objective information, but distorted ideas, pseudo-romance, dubious moral values, fear and fear are being strengthened, but "propagandists" and "conductors" of the ideology of the criminal world are also actively working.

The fact that the process of education, development of social roles by teenagers, assimilation of moral and moral values for more than 40% of respondents takes place among people with a criminal past, can not but affect both the formation of legal awareness, and the representation and relationship with the "obshchak".

Although the number of those who are ready to violate the requirements of the law is small, however, along with those who do not think about the problem of relations with the law, this is a very solid part of the respondents (almost 60 %). Ignorance, disrespect for the law or outright disregard for it is a direct path to anti-social and criminal activities. This category of respondents is dominated by people from families of workers, military personnel, entrepreneurs, rural residents and vocational school students. Apparently, in this environment, the threshold of moral requirements is low; perhaps teenagers often witness the illegal actions of their parents. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that those who can come into conflict with the law are most likely in vocational schools.

The results of our research show that a significant part of respondents have a very real idea of the activities of obshchak, which, according to almost a third (29 %), consists in providing assistance to those who are in prison. Despite the massive processing of public opinion about the sponsored, socially-oriented activities of obshchak, only 7.2 % of respondents consider it such. At the same time, 44% of those who found it difficult to answer are evidence of poor awareness of the real state of affairs among teenagers. Evaluating the activity of obshchak, 36.8 % of respondents consider it antisocial and even very dangerous, and only a few see its usefulness. At the same time, more than half (51.9%) who found it difficult to assess the activities of obshchak may be those who do not think seriously or do not see it as dangerous, which means they can join the number of its supporters.

Thus, a certain part of respondents has experience of relations with the "obshchak", although, as the survey showed, not everyone recognizes this. Perhaps the high percentage of respondents who answered negatively to this question is evidence of a lack of experience or insincerity of some of the respondents. It is possible that they do this out of some misgivings, and this is especially evident when they have to move from general considerations to talk about personal experience.

As mentioned above, to establish contacts with students and students

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Obshchak often uses their peers, who are often well-known to them. However, not everyone who had to deal with obshchak obediently obeyed its representatives. This is confirmed by the fact that 23.7% of respondents know cases of open opposition to this phenomenon. The results of the survey indicate that a certain part of young people, despite threats and the use of physical force, tries or actively opposes its influence. Among the respondents, more than half (61.8 %) in one form or another refused to do what was required of them.

When considering the issue, a special position of several categories of respondents was identified. Those whose parents work in the law enforcement system are more likely to experience harsher pressure from the "obshchak". At the same time, they are more energetic and consistent in this confrontation. Perhaps this is the result of greater awareness, perhaps confidence gives them a sense of security, it is possible that this is the result of upbringing in the family.

On the contrary, those who come from working-class families, and especially students of vocational schools, show little concern about their relationship with obshchak or avoid answering questions. This suggests that some of them are not so critical and do not reject the possibility of active activity in their environment "obshchak", which is most firmly rooted here.

The problem considered by us requires further study from the point of view of sociology and psychology (development of recommendations for young people who find themselves in the field of view of the "obshchak" and want to be influenced by it, for their parents), pedagogy, criminology, etc. The object of research can be families whose members have a criminal past.

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