Based on over 130 interviews with criminals, law enforcement officials and government representatives from post-Soviet Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, this book situates organized crime in the debate on state formation and examines the diverging patterns in organized crime following the aftermath of these countries' Coloured Revolutions.

List of Charts and Tables Acknowledgements Introduction Political-criminal Nexus and Patterns of Dominance Impact of Soviet and Post-Soviet Organized Crime Ukraine - Privatisation and Re-privatisation: from Shadowy Takeovers to Corporate Raiding Georgia - Extortion: from Professional Criminals to the 'Revolutionary Government' Kyrgyzstan - Drug Trafficking: from Sportsmeny and Ugalovniki to Police and Elites The Coloured Revolutions and their Consequences Organized Crime, Transitions and State Formation Conclusion Bibliography Index