logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
53m 59s

The Chechen Mafia Strikes Back: War Prof...

The Underworld Podcast
About this episode
The Soviet Union is toast, Chechnya is at war and Grozny, its embattled capital, is being bombed to dust. Gangs of Chechen criminals are getting rich off the bloodshed, capitalizing on gun- and drug-running networks that flourished under Communism. When the war ends a new breed of Chechen mobster-terrorist emerges, empowered by Arab Jihad and financed by goo ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
Italy Clan Wars, Irish Gangster Politicians & Cartel Nigerian Breaking Bad: Stash House!
On this week's Stash House: A fugitive Dutch cocaine kingpin dodges capture off the coast of West Africa. An Irish gang boss trades gangland warfare for electoral politics. Mexican officials accused of working for the Sinaloa Cartel surrender to U.S. authorities. A violent mafia ... Show More
1h 5m
May 26
The Rise and Fall of The Yakuza Devil's Child
Mako Nishimura graduated from high school delinquent to kamikaze biker gang, street tough and, eventually, a fully made member of a yakuza syndicate - the first (or perhaps second?) woman to do so. Nishimura made her gang huge amounts of cash selling women plus selling, and takin ... Show More
1h 2m
May 19
The Cartel Del Noreste's Kingdom of Terror w/ Andrew Glazer
Nuevo Laredo is one of the most feared cartel cities in Mexico, a place where disappearances, gun battles, and corruption became part of daily life as the Cartel del Noreste, or CDN, tightened its grip on the border. Born from the remnants of the brutal Zetas organization, CDN tu ... Show More
1 h
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2021
Operation Gladio Pt. 1
During the Cold War, a secret military operation hid hundreds of weapons caches throughout Europe. They trained resistance fighters and prepared for a Communist invasion, and may have also orchestrated a series of devastating terrorist attacks. Learn more about your ad choices. V ... Show More
48m 55s
Mar 2022
Putin's war in Chechnya
When Vladimir Putin was appointed prime minister in August 1999, he was a political unknown. He quickly made his name by ordering Russian Federation forces to re-take control of the breakaway republic of Chechnya, which just years earlier had fought and won autonomy from Moscow. ... Show More
10m 25s
Sep 2020
“Merchant of Death” Pt. 1: Viktor Bout
When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s, there was a surplus of weapons and cargo planes collecting dust. One Russian government worker, Viktor Bout, saw the potential of all that discarded equipment. Within a few short years, Bout became one of the most infamous arms ... Show More
43m 42s
Oct 2023
90. The Russian Revolution: Overthrowing the Tsar
Russian politics is fast destabilising. Strikes, assassinations, and famines have made Russia increasingly turbulent at the turn of the century. Revolutionary politics is on the rise, as is dissatisfaction with the tsar. When compounded by the strains of the defeat in the Russo-J ... Show More
56m 1s
Oct 2022
Theatre siege in Moscow
It is 20 years since heavily-armed Chechen rebels took an entire theatre full of people hostage. They threatened to kill them all if the Russian government didn't call off the war in Chechnya. When Russian special forces stormed the theatre they let off gas to stun the Chechens - ... Show More
11m 3s
Jul 2022
Russian Oligarchs on the Run
While foreign correspondent Laura Haim is on assignment in Paris reporting on the effects of the war in Europe, she's also been following the story of a small coastal village in the South of France that's drawn Russians for years - and not just wealthy Russians, but some of the w ... Show More
31m 1s
Aug 2023
Как чеченские силовики превратили преследование ЛГБТ-людей в целую индустрию, которая приносит деньги благодаря пыткам и убийствам
tail spinning
36m 23s