Vory v Zakone

Roughly translated (and I mean roughly), it means “criminals who follow a code.” What that means varies between the different factions, which come from all over Eastern Europe. What it means for most of us is “Russian Mafia,” even though it’s more like “Georgian, Armenian, Chechen, Belorussian, Ukrainian, Azeri, and Jewish Mafia Alliance for Prosperity and Legbreaking.” So let’s start with that code, and how it plays into a small history lesson. It originates from a network between independent criminal syndicates in the old days of Russia, based off a code of prison conduct. Back then, the mobs worked a lot like others around the world, but with one major difference: They usually had connections to local government for back-channel black ops. Basically, the Vory was the Ministry of Crime. What kind of crime? Oh, buddy. Smuggling, prison culture, white-collar, prostitution, metahuman trafficking, and anything that involves breaking legs. Seriously, these guys love to fuck people up. Remember that code? Now it’s “Do whatever works.” Which means no limits to getting the job done. Vory are notoriously brutal and ruthless. Insult them and only get maimed. Betray them and get killed slow and bloody. There isn’t even the pretension of honor like Yakuza machi yakko. This is straight up “We are not ones with whom you fuck.” Which sounds absolutely intimidating in Russian. As far as shadowrunners go, there’s two things to know: One, the Vory are absolutely prejudiced against them. But not against any metatype. They just don’t like anyone not from the motherland. They’re not too keen on the Awakened, either. Two, aside from that, they’re liable to treat you pretty well if you do the job. A Triad or Cosa Nostra outfit is probably gonna pay, but they’ll still turn up their nose at you like their own crime has some respectability to it. Vory are results-driven, and odds are they’ll buy you a stiff drink when they pay you, so long as you deliver. You may not be Vory to them, but they may treat you with something like respect, or at least affection. Like I said before, there’s hundreds of factions, so there is no hard and fast rule here. Of course, those factions? Not quite so simple. On the global level, you’ve got Red Vory and White Vory (the Red being more aligned with Russia and its government, the White having more presence in Western Europe. Each group sees the other as inauthentic traitors). What does this mean to you? Less than you think, because you’re dealing with individual organizations, who may love or (probably) hate each other even if they’re part of the same overall movement. And distribution is spreading and diluting at the same time. While they once had a solid foothold in Russia, these days they’re seeing competition from all angles, even while they seep into every other corner of the criminal underworld. With the UCAS on the ropes, you can bet we’ll see a big push for North American markets. That means more work for us, because Vory don’t bring stability with them, and their entire concept is looking out for themselves and no one else.