"The Russian Mafia, \"Rossiskaya Mafiya\" or Russian Mafia (French: Mafia Russe) is a major criminal organization in the Eastern Department of the French Empire and, since the late 1970's, the Empire as a whole and internationally. The Mafiya (sometimes also referred to as the Bratva, or \"brotherhood\") has its roots in the rural bosses during the 1920's and 1930's in the East, who emigrated to the cities in the 1940's and 1950's following the French Civil War and began operating larger criminal organizations."@en . . . . . "Russian Mafia (Napoleon's World)"@en . "The Russian Mafia, \"Rossiskaya Mafiya\" or Russian Mafia (French: Mafia Russe) is a major criminal organization in the Eastern Department of the French Empire and, since the late 1970's, the Empire as a whole and internationally. The Mafiya (sometimes also referred to as the Bratva, or \"brotherhood\") has its roots in the rural bosses during the 1920's and 1930's in the East, who emigrated to the cities in the 1940's and 1950's following the French Civil War and began operating larger criminal organizations. With the establishment of the Gurganov syndicate in Paris during the late 1970's, the Russian Mafia's influence has spread across the Empire and often overseas. For example, in the United States, Russian, Alaskan and Siberian immigrants formed the backbone of the American Bratva, and Russian gangsters are common in North Africa in enclaves as well."@en .