"Law and Security", the journal

Issue 1 (10), March 2004

Personality of Organizer and Participant of Illegal Military Groups

B.S.Beybullatov, Candidate of Science in Law

Personal features of a criminal's personality quite limitedly impact criminal and legal qualification of socially dangerous act that he or she has made. Personality of crime subject is more important for making decision on a certain criminal penalty to a guilty person.

Unfortunately nowadays we do not possess comprehensive details of personality of organizer, leader and participant of an illegal military group (IMG) to give a representational description. That is why we have certain even separate information in this respect being though of great importance for understanding of motivation of IMG set up, management and participation.

We have revised more than 30 criminal cases (one of them concerning the events of 1997 in Yuzhdag connected with "Lezghin National Armed Guards", the rest are based on the events of 1999 in connection to attack of "Wahabite detachments" to Dagestan) when studying practical material for the research. Sentencing decisions and judgments as well as materials that they contain which characterize the personalities of guilty people allowed to make a more or less clear understanding of IMG organizers' and participants' personalities (for example judgment of Superior Court of the Russian Federation of 28.09.98 No 2-56 with regard to Rizvanov D.Z. in accordance with Article 208, part 1 of RF Criminal Code, Karimagomedov S.M. in accordance with Article 208, part 1 and Sefikuliev K.S. in accordance with Article 208, part 2 of RF Criminal Code; judgment of 29.03.00 with regard Almurzaev Ch. A. in accordance with Article 208, part 2 and Article 279 of RF Criminal Code; judgment of 21.03.00 with regard to Khasbulatov Kh.N. in accordance with Article 208, part 1, Article 112, part 1, Article 222 , part 1 and Article 280, part 1 of RF Criminal Code,; judgment of 19.07/.00 with regard to Khazatov A.M. in accordance with Article 222, part 1 of RF Criminal Code; judgment of 10.03.00 with regard to Omashev B.I. in accordance with Article 222, part 1 of RF Criminal Code etc.)

IMG participants are males mainly of young and middle age (their life is short, they are especially vulnerable for both snatchers and criminal justice), generally originating from Daghestan (sometimes Chechnya as well), people of various nationalities of Daghestan and Chechnya, almost all of them are married and having children to bring up (often more than 3). Almost all of them lack higher and even secondary technical education. Almost all of them are unemployed. Thus the people do not have official and substantial bread-winners for themselves and their families. In practice they face a lot of difficulties trying to get a job. For these reasons and due to their low cultural and educational level and psychological features the people are more subject to someone's influence from outside (they have a week "inner core" and some apathy towards the surrounding environment, predisposition to become a "zombie"). About all of them are RF citizens and do not have previous convictions, no matter how odd it is. Most of them have a clear attitude to religion, they are apt to ulterior aggression and ignoring of social standards. Many of them were not needed by society, they could not find themselves and their place in life. Some just could not find sources to support their living. The majority were involved into a strong impact of Moslem religious trend "Wahhabism". Main part of IMG participants is prove to be having such covert features as individualism, indifference to certain public interests and requirements, negative and scornful attitude towards some normative instructions. First of all it is expressed by the fact that IMG organizer understands that he creates an IMG (i.e. infringes criminal law, Article 208 of RF Criminal Code) and means that. Intellectual and volitional efforts of IMG leader are the same. A participant of such group understands that he entered an IMG and wishes to take part in its activity.

IMG organizers (creators and. especially, leaders) are a bit different. Their personalities are more powerful and energetic. As a rule they are older (average age is 39 years) and more or less wealthy (though they may also be unemployed and of scanty means). But their main difference consists in the fact that they are more educated (70% have a higher or secondary technical education) and in the majority of cases they have undergone a quality military training and are experts in arms and military operations. From amongst IMG leaders more than 50% were in security services, 25% are professional military servicemen, about 8% are people of other occupations, 17% never worked. Social and demographic reference of IMG organizers who took part in illegal actions within Northern Caucasus reveals that all of them are male, 95% of them are married.

Generally speaking of organizers, leaders and participants of IMG we should note that 90% of them are men of 18-14 with secondary or higher education, mainly undergone military training or service in law machinery. They are most commonly former military men and servicemen of law machinery dismissed, fired of self-discharged due to some reasons. Female terrorists are minority but there are quite vivid persons among them.

There is no particular specific character of committing special dangerous state crimes depending on nationality. Where may be no genetically and biologically criminal nation because crime-is a social phenomenon. The above does not mean that people of various nations and folks are represented in structure of state dangerous special offenders in proportion to their number. Actual nationality of a person envisages social and political problems of social life. Thus if law machinery face special dangerous crimes committed by people of the same nation they have to understand that under the issue of nationality there are social problems, interests and views. National composition of IMGs committing special dangerous state crimes is logically bound with activity of special services which actively effect spy (subversive) activities against Russia.

Education is an important index of intellectual level of IMG members. It is somehow bound with the nature of crimes. Special dangerous crimes against state are quite complicated in terms of bringing into practice and require a serious moral comprehension of own deeds and consequently certain brains. Here we do not take into account low-rank IMG members who are often accepted in accordance with principle "the less thinking the better". In this situation IMG leaders find it easier to control their subordinates. When committing specially dangerous crimes against state previous convictions usually only instigate agreement of a person to make antisocial acts.

From the point of view of psychology we may define two types of IMG participants:

  • morally strained type (64% of all IMG people). It is characterized by negative or full-blown bad attitude to constitutional system, its political institutions, economic traditions, mood of life. The basis of criminal activity of this type of people consists in hostile ideas of various content and trend (national, religion-connected etc.) The distinguishing feature of this type is hostile mood of personality, stability and confidence in the ideas sometimes coming up to fanaticism.
  • selfish and criminal type (28% of all IMG people1). It is characterized by selfish motives.

The basis of activity of this type of people consists in self-interest, money-grubbing, power of money of overriding importance. In correlation of moral and material factors their interest is limited by relations aimed at profit gaining at that way and means of reaching the purposes are on the back burner.

However there are some particular features of crime subject personality envisaged by Article 208 RF Criminal Code. A person may organize or participate in activity of IMG on the grounds of good intention (social security defending, defending of a settlement from criminals, struggle against crime etc.) This constitutes a great difference of IMG organizers, leaders and participants in comparison with subjects of other deliberate crime.

Notes:

1. Diyakov S.V. Crimes against State (against basis of constitutional system and security of state) and criminals of State, M., 1999. 320 p.

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