Skip to main content

The Effects of Political, Economic, and Social Changes on Homicide in Eastern Europe

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

This chapter draws on literature from a variety of disciplines (criminology, sociology, political science, and public health) to describe and explain the effects of the postcommunist political, economic, and social changes on homicide in Central and Eastern Europe. It first describes the state of knowledge about homicide rates and trends during the communist period. Next, it describes the changes in homicide rates and events that occurred after the fall of communism. Then, it reviews research studies that have provided explanations for homicide changes during the postcommunist period. Finally, it discusses three ways in which homicide research in Eastern Europe should be expanded.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Source: World Health Organization Statistical Information System

References

  • “Alarming” rise in crime this year. (1990, August 30). Czechoslovak Press Agency. Retrieved from Lexis/Nexis database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adler, F. (1983). Nations not obsessed with crime. Littleton: Fred B. Rothman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, D. (2004). Divide and save? Partition and ethnic conflict. Diplomacy & Statecraft, 15(4), 781–782.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barany, Z. (2001). The socio-economic impact of regime change in Eastern Europe: Gypsy marginality in the 1990s. East European Politics and Societies, 15(1), 64–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bienkowska, E. (1991). Crime in Eastern Europe. In F. H. A. M. Farrell (Ed.), Crime in Europe. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borowiec, A. (1990, January 23). Problems in Poland mounting. The Washintgon Times, A9. Retrieved from Lexis/Nexis database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, J. (1994, May 6). Germans voice concerns about rising crime. The Christian Science Monitor, 6. Retrieved from Lexis/Nexis database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butler, A. (1992). Crime in the Soviet Union. British Journal of Criminology, 32(2), 144–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bye, E. K. (2008). Alcohol and homicide in Eastern Europe: A time series analysis of six countries. Homicide Studies, 12(1), 7–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ceccato, V. (2008). Expressive crimes in post-socialist states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 9(1), 2–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chervyakov, V. V., Shkolnikov, V. M., Pridemore, W. A., & McKee, M. (2002). The changing nature of murder in Russia. Social Science & Medicine, 55(10), 1713–1724.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. E., & Wildner, M. (2000). Violence and fear of violence in East and West Germany. Social Science & Medicine, 51, 373–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connor, W. D. (1969). Deviance in Soviet Society: Crime, delinquency, and alcoholism. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Council of Ministers meeting on crime rate. (1990, March 23). Bulgarian Telegraph Agency. Retrieved from Lexis/Nexis database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowe, D. M. (2008). The Roma in post-communist Eastern Europe: Questions of ethnic conflict and ethnic peace. Nationalities Papers, 36(3), 521.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durkheim, E. (1897 [1951]). Suicide. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eckhardt, K., & Pridemore, W. A. (2009). Differences in female and male involvement in lethal violence in Russia. Journal of Criminal Justice, 37(1), 55–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Einhorn, B. (1993). Cinderella goes to market: Citizenship, gender, and women’s movements in East Central Europe. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foglesong, T. S., & Solomon, P. H. (2001). Crime, Criminal Justice, and Criminology in Post-Soviet Ukraine (NCJ 186166). Washington DC: National Institute of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gal, S., & Kligman, G. (2000). The politics of gender after socialism: A comparative-historical essay. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallagher, T. (1998). Conflicts between East European states and minorities in an age of democracy. Democratization, 5(3), 200–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Genov, N. (1998). Transformation and anomie: Problems of quality of life in Bulgaria. Social Indicators Research, 43(1–2), 197–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gledhill, J. (2005). States of contention: State-led political violence in post-socialist Romania. East European Politics and Societies, 19(1), 76–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gondolf, E. W., & Shestakov, D. (1997a). Spousal homicide in Russia versus the United States: preliminary findings and implications. Journal of Family Violence, 12(1), 63–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gondolf, E. W., & Shestakov, D. (1997b). Spousal homicide in Russia: Gender inequality in a multifactor model. Violence Against Women, 3(5), 533–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grigoriev, P., Shkolnikov, V., Andreev, E., Jasilionis, D., Jdanov, D., Mesle, F., et al. (2010). Mortality in Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia: Divergence in recent trends and possible explanations. European Journal of Population, 26(3), 245–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halasz, K. (2009). The rise of the radical right in Europe and the case of Hungary: ‘Gypsy crime’ defines national identity? Development, 52(4), 490–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horvat, P., & Evans, G. (2010). Age, inequality, and reactions to marketization in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe. European Sociological Review, (4), 490–494.

    Google Scholar 

  • Howard, G. J., Newman, G., & Pridemore, W. (2000). Theory, method, and data in comparative criminology. In Criminal justice 2000, Volume 4: Measurement and analysis of crime and justice (pp. 139–211). Washington: U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. E. (2001). Privatizing pain: The problem of woman battery in Russia. NWSA Journal, 13(3), 153–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. E., & Brunell, L. (2006). The emergence of contrasting domestic violence regimes in post-communist Europe. Policy & Politics, 34(4), 575–595.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, H., Ollus, N., & Nevala, S. (2007). Violence against women: An international perspective. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karstedt, S. (2003). Legacies of a culture of inequality: The Janus face of crime in post-communist countries. Crime, Law, and Social Change, 40(2–3), 295–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenney, P. (2006). The burdens of freedom: Eastern Europe since 1989. New York: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., & Pridemore, W. A. (2005a). Poverty, socioeconomic change, institutional anomie, and homicide. Social Science Quarterly, 86, 1377–1398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S., & Pridemore, W. A. (2005b). Social support and homicide in transitional Russia. Journal of Criminal Justice, 33(6), 561–572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, C. (2010). Extreme politics: Nationalism, violence, and the end of Eastern Europe. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kochanowicz, J. (1997). Incomplete demise: Reflections on the welfare state in Poland after communism. Social Research, 64(4), 1445–1469.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korbonski, A. (2000). Violence and democracy in Eastern Europe. Terrorism and Political Violence, 12(3–4), 237–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krajewski, K. (2004). Crime and criminal justice in Poland. European Journal of Criminology, 1(3), 377–407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kutnjak, S., & Hagan, J. (2011). Reclaiming justice: The international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and local courts. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaFree, G. D. (1999). A summary and review of cross-national comparative studies of homicide. In M. D. Smith & M. A. Zahn (Eds.), Homicide: A sourcebook of social research (pp. 125–145). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaFree, G. D. (2007). Expanding criminology’s domain: The American Society of Criminology 2006 presidential address. Criminology, 45(1), 1–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaFree, G. D., & Drass, K. A. (2002). Counting crime booms among nations: Evidence for homicide victimization rates, 1956 to 1998. Criminology, 40(4), 769–800.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaFree, G. D., & Tseloni, A. (2006). Democracy and crime: A multilevel analysis of homicide trends in 44 countries, 1950–2000. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 605, 26–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarevic, J., & de Tessieres, S. (2008). A real and persistent danger: Assessing armed violence in the Caucasus, Eastern Europe and South-Eastern Europe. Geneva: United National Development Programme/Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lehti, M. (2001a). Homicide trends in Finland and Estonia in 1880–1940: Consequences of the demographic, social, and political effects of industrialization. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 2(1), 50–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lehti, M. (2001b). Homicide trends in Estonia, 1971–1996. In H. Ylikangas, P. Karonen, & M. Lehti (Eds.), Five centuries of violence in Finland and the Baltic Area (pp. 133–187). Colombus: The Ohio State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Łoś, M. (1988). Communist ideology, law, and crime. New York: St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Messner, S. F., Raffalovich, L. E., & Sutton, G. M. (2010). Poverty, infant mortality, and homicide rates in cross-national perspective: Assessments of criterion and construct validity. Criminology, 48(2), 509–537.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Messner, S. F., & Rosenfeld, R. R. (2007). Crime and the American dream (5th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikhalev, V. (2003). Overview: Inequality and transformation of social structures. In V. Mikhalev (Ed.), Inequality and social structure during the transition (pp. 1–18). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Milanovic, B. (1998). Income, inequality, and poverty during the transition from planned to market economy. Washington: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neapolitan, J. (1997). Cross-national crime: A research review and sourcebook. Westport: Greenwood.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nikolic-Ristanovic, V. (2004). Post-communism: Women’s lives in transition. Feminist Review, (76), 2–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nivette, A. (2011). Cross-national predictors of crime: A Meta-analysis. Homicide Studies, 15(2), 103-131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paré, P.-P. (2006). Income inequality and crime across nations reexamined. The Pennsylvania State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paré, P.-P., & Felson, R. B. (manuscript under review). Income inequality, poverty, and crime across nations reexamined.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrov, I. C. (2007). The elderly in a period of transition: Health, personality, and social aspects of adaptation. Annals of New York Academy of Sciences, 1114, 300–309.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, T. C., & Godsey, T. W. (2002). Social support and homicide: a cross-national test of an emerging criminological theory. Journal of Criminal Justice, 30(6), 589–601.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pratt, T. C., & Godsey, T. W. (2003). Social support, inequality, and homicide: A cross-national test of an integrated theoretical model. Criminology, 41(3), 611–643.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A. (2001). Using newly available homicide data to debunk two myths about violence in an international context: A research note. Homicide Studies, 5(3), 267–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A. (2002). Vodka and violence: Alcohol consumption and homicide rates in Russia. American Journal of Public Health, 92(12), 1921–1930.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A. (2003). Demographic, temporal, and spatial patterns of homicide rates in Russia. European Sociological Review, 19(1), 41–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A. (2005). Social structure and homicide in post-Soviet Russia. Social Science Research, 34(4), 732–756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A. (2006). An exploratory analysis of homicide victims, offenders, and events in Russia. International Criminal Justice Review, 16, 5–23.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A. (2007). Change and stability in the characteristics of homicide victims, offenders and incidents during rapid social change. British Journal of Criminology, 47(2), 331–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A. (2008). A methodological addition to the cross-national empirical literature on social structure and homicide: A first test of the poverty-homicide thesis. Criminology, 46(1), 133–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A., Chamlin, M. B., & Cochran, J. K. (2007). An interrupted time-series analysis of Durkheim’s social deregulation thesis: The case of the Russian Federation. Justice Quarterly, 24(2), 271–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A., & Eckhardt, K. (2008). A comparison of victim, offender, and event characteristics of ­alcohol-and non-alcohol-related homicides. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 45(3), 227–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A. (advance access April 1, 2011). Poverty matters: A reassessment of the inequality-homicide relationship in cross-national studies. British Journal of Criminology, 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A., & Chamlin, M. B. (2006). A time series analysis of the effects of heavy drinking on homicide and suicide rates in Russia. Addiction, 101(12), 1719–1729.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A., & Kim, S. (2006). Democratization and political change as threats to collective sentiments: Testing Durkheim in Russia. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 605, 82–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A., & Kim, S. (2007). Socioeconomic change and homicide in a transitional society. The Sociological Quarterly, 48(2), 229–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A., & Shkolnikov, V. M. (2004). Education and marriage as protective factors against homicide mortality: Methodological and substantive findings from Moscow. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 20(2), 173–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pridemore, W. A., & Trent, C. L. S. (2010). Do the invariant findings of Land, McCall, and Cohen generalize to cross-national studies of social structure and homicide? Homicide Studies, 14(3), 296–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Razvodovsky, Y. E. (2008). Homicide and alcoholic ­psychoses in Belarus, 1970–2005. Psychiatria Danubina, 20(1), 71–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rising crime in Slovakia. (1991, February 4). Czechoslovak Press Agency. Retrieved from Lexis/Nexis database.

    Google Scholar 

  • Round, J. (2006). The economic marginalization of post-Soviet Russia’s elderly population and the failure of state aging policy: A Case Study of Magadan City. Oxford Development Studies, 34(4), 441. doi:10.1080/13600810601045791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saar, J. (2004). Crime, crime control, and criminology in post-communist Estonia. European Journal of Criminology, 1(4), 505–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwirtz, M. (2010). Kyrgyzstan seeks Russian help to quell unrest. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com. Accessed Date on Nov 26, 2010.

  • Shelley, L. (1991). Crime in the Soviet Union. In A. Jones, W. Connor, & D. E. Powell (Eds.), Soviet social problems. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shelley, L. I. (1981). Crime and modernization: The impact of industrialization and urbanization on crime. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shkolnikov, V., & McKee, M. (2001). Understanding the toll of premature death among men in eastern Europe. British Medical Journal, 323(7320), 1051–1056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shlapentokh, V. (2001). Fear in the post-communist world. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 13(1), 61–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stamatel, J. P. (2006). Incorporating socio-historical context into quantitative cross-national criminology. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 30(2), 177–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stamatel, J. P. (2008). Using mortality data to refine our understanding of homicide patterns in select post-communist countries. Homicide Studies, 12(1), 117–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stamatel, J. P. (2009a). Contributions of cross-national research to criminology at the beginning of the 21st Century. In M. D. Krohn, A. J. Lizotte, & G. P. Hall (Eds.), Handbook on crime and deviance. New York: Springer Science  +  Business Media.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stamatel, J. P. (2009b). Correlates of national-level homicide variation in post-communist East-Central Europe. Social Forces, 87(3), 1423–1448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Standing, G. (1997). The folly of social safety nets: Why basic income is needed in Eastern Europe. Social Research, 64(4), 1339–1379.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stickley, A., & Makinen, I. (2005). Homicide in the Russian empire and Soviet Union: Continuity or change? British Journal of Criminology, 45, 647–670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stickley, A., & Pridemore, W. A. (2007). The social-structural correlates of homicide in late-tsarist Russia. British Journal of Criminology, 47(1), 80–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stickley, A., & Pridemore, W. A. (2010). The effects of binge drinking and social capital on violent victimization: Findings from Moscow. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 64, 902–907.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stickley, A., Timofeeva, I., & Sparén, P. (2008). Risk factors for intimate partner violence against women in St. Petersburg, Russia. Violence Against Women, 14(4), 483–495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuckler, D., & King, L. (2007). Mass privatization and the postcommunist mortality crisis. In L. David (Ed.), The Transformation of State Socialism: System Change, Capitalism, or Something Else (pp. 179–197). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilly, C. (2003). The politics of collective violence. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Homicide Statistics, Public Health Sources, Latest Available Year (2003–2008). Retrieved from http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html.

  • Van den Berg, G. P. (1985). The Soviet system of justice: figures and policy. The Netherlands: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization Statistical Information System (WHOSIS). (2005). Retrieved from http://www3.who.int/whosis/menu.cfm?path=whosis,mort. Accessed Date on Oct 19, 2005.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janet P. Stamatel .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Stamatel, J.P. (2012). The Effects of Political, Economic, and Social Changes on Homicide in Eastern Europe. In: Liem, M., Pridemore, W. (eds) Handbook of European Homicide Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-0466-8_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics