ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the answers to the key question of the efficacy of radical systemic change as a tool for eradicating state crime. It focuses on the criminal and criminogenic nature of the prevailing systemic arrangements and the crimes committed by, on behalf of, or with encouragement from the Communist Party, especially crimes committed by the security services. The chapter also focuses on specific legal measures, institutional arrangements and resistance strategies that were employed before 1989 to curtail some of the abuses or reduce their immediate impact. One of the most striking features of 1989 revolution was the so-called "conversion of power" phenomenon. The chapter discusses developments in 1990s and attempt to trace the role and fortunes of main players identified earlier - the communist system's power networks - in the period of dynamic transition towards market economy and democracy. It provides a check-list of rudimentary measures designed to ensure at least some accountability of new and old elites.
