Each oligarchy is like a pyramid, with a political figure at the apex backed by a financial or industrial group. But at the base of the oligarchy there must be a krysha. Businessmen say they need the krysha because the laws and court system that regulate economic activity in other countries are not functioning in Russia. Post-Soviet civil and criminal codes have been approved but are often ignored. The cutthroat battles over property and capital are often carried out in a twilight zone where there is no clear line between legal and illegal.
Legitimate businessmen say the only way they can enforce a contract is to turn to a krysha.
The biggest and wealthiest companies have created their own protection forces, including paramilitary teams to protect factories and private espionage networks to spy on competitors and stanch leaks of secret business information. The largest companies often have several kryshas, including one up front to ward off competitors and guard property and another secret agency for the most sensitive business intelligence, security experts said. At the same time, for many smaller businesses a krysha is an unwelcome and dangerous protection racket run by organized crime syndicates, who use extortion and threats to extract payments. The killing of Naumov triggered an angry letter sent to three Moscow newspapers in which officers of the elite Saturn unit claimed their superiors had not told them they were guarding a gangster. They said they were outraged not by their assignment but by their low pay.