Odesa ‘criminal capital of Ukraine,’

[ML]

It has been noted here several times over the years that Odesa is a dodgy place.

This is confirmed by Ukrainian authorities.

http://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/avakov-calls-odesa-criminal-capital-of-ukraine-announces-crackdown-with-lutsenko.html

[DaveNY]

This was talked about even back when I was living in Moscow well over a decade ago. Don't know if it was the crime capital of Ukraine back then but it was well known if you wanted something illegal - guns, drugs, etc Odesa was the place to get it.

IMO one of the main reasons for Odesa's reputation is because it's a seaport. If inspections of incoming ships is lax or lacking or corrupt then illegal goods will come in via the seaports. It's been that way for millennia.

[tfcrew]

... it's a seaport. If inspections of incoming ships is lax or lacking or corrupt then illegal goods will come in via the seaports. It's been that way for millennia.

Is it not the largest seaport on the Black Sea?

[DaveNY]

Is it not the largest seaport on the Black Sea?

Probably. Odesa is over a million people. Another reason is before the war with Russia the border between the two countries was very porous in eastern Ukraine so it was probably easy to smuggle illegal goods into and out of Russia.

The crooks needed a safe place to unload the goods and if enforcement was lacking in Odesa unloading illegal goods in a port with good transportation and lax enforcement is an ideal situation.

[Boethius]

It has been noted here several times over the years that Odesa is a dodgy place.

This is confirmed by Ukrainian authorities.

http://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/avakov-calls-odesa-criminal-capital-of-ukraine-announces-crackdown-with-lutsenko.html

It's been a dodgy place since its founding at the end of the 18th century.  Moldavanka, now a district of the city, was a trade settlement, inhabited by criminals and runaways from all over the Russian Empire and beyond. 

Many writers explored themes on Odesa's uniqueness and criminality, with Isaac Babel's Odessa Stories probably being the most prominent. 

Odesa was, until the mid 1970's, a very Jewish city.  Most of those Jews emigrated, and the city lost something, and has never been the same.

I doubt the initiative will have much effect.

This post was composed without the aid of google.

[msmob]

Is it not the largest seaport on the Black Sea?

May be not ? The Romanians may disagree

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_of_Constan%C8%9Ba