ABSTRACT
Crime has become a major popular concern in the Russian transition from a communist state to a market economy and democracy. Since 1993, inflation and crime have been the two top public concerns. A popular view has evolved both inside and outside Russia that the sharp rise in crime is connected with the liberalization of the economy and privatization. Russians are well aware of crime and take a great deal of private precautions, which helps to reduce property and other less severe crimes. The law enforcement organs appear to improve their work and sensibly seem to focus on the most serious types of crime, notably murders, which explains the decline in homicide rates. The most conservative countries saw little increase in crime with the exception of Tajikistan which was caught in civil war, which boosted its crime rate.
