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In the post-[[soviet]] collapse, many of the [[groups]] that used [[violence]] to offer [[protection]] used [[Hollywood]] [[mafia]] [[movies]] and [[Hong Kong]] [[action]] movies as a [[playbook]] to learn their [[business]] from.
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Part of the [[game]] of [[intimidation]] in post-[[Soviet]] [[protection]] [[rackets]] was finding a [[sweetspot]]. Too intimidated, and the [[victim]] may [[resist]] or go over to the [[police]]. Not intimidated enough, and they would not [[pay]]. Too [[injured]], and they may get [[disabled]] or [[die]], and cease to be a valuable [[asset]] ("shrouds do not have pockets"). In a short time, [[groups]] came to an [[agreement]] to avoid hitting businesses that other groups had already claimed as their turf.
- Protection [[money]] in the post-[[Soviet]]-collapse world often started around US$340 per month (around $700 in 2022), and increased until it reached 30 to 40% of income. [[Businesses]] with fast [[cash]] turnover, low asset requirements, and simple [[technology]] paid most. So, [[import]] [[retail]] and [[services]] were the first to be taken in protection rackets. By 1996, rackets were widespread and [[normal]]. Most shopkeepers treated [[racketeering]] [[groups]] as a substitute for [[state]] [[protection]]. As a result of [[intergroup]] [[competition]] and a desire for [[long-term]] gains, groups end up providing actual protection services. Toward the end of the nineties, many violence-providers became [[legitimate]] shareholders in their client’s businesses.
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In the [[violence]] [[industry]], the surplus that a violence provider takes in after accounting for the costs of providing that protection is [[tribute]]- tribute is a form of [[profit]], but not all profit is tribute. Much of their income is [[protection]] [[rent]], according to [[Frederic Lane]]. The [[shape]] of the [[game]] for violence providers is reducing [[cost]] for [[customers]] and and increasing protection costs for [[competitors]].
- Stable [[exchange]] of [[goods]] and [[services]] is enabled by a series of [[agreements]] of how the exchange is to take place, and these agreements are, at their roots, backed by [[threat]] of violence.