For more information turn to Grammar reference section. Unit 6.4 Illegal Drug Trafficking in Russia

Unit 6.4 Illegal Drug Trafficking in Russia

Starting Up

Exercise 1. Use your knowledge to answer the questions:

1. Is Russia is notorious for drug production and smuggling?

2. What are the main drug routes to Russia?

3. Is anyone you’ve known addicted to drugs?

4. Is it possible to solve the problem of drugs in Russia?

Word Study

Exercise 2. Match left and right.

Reading and Speaking

Exercise 3. Read Text 1 to speak on the problem of drug-trafficking in Russia.

Text 1

Russia’s War on Drugs

Drug-trafficking is one of the most serious and socially dangerous challenges to the national security of Russia and its neighbours. The Federal Drug Control Service put the number of frequent drug users in the country at 5 million in 2009, up from 3 million in 2002.

Drugs are brought to Russia through several main directions. The main routes of drug-trafficking originate in Afghanistan (heroin and opium) and Tshu (Chu) valley area at Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border land (cannabis), lesser routes are from Ukraine (poppy straw), and the EU countries (synthetic drugs and cocaine).

The Russia-Kazakhstan border is the other drug route. Lower volumes are smuggled through Russia’s borders with the Transcaucasian states, China, Ukraine, Byelorussia, and the Baltic countries.

After crossing the Russian border the most intensive flows of heroin, opium and cannabis are directed to the central (Moscow) and North-Western (St. Petersburg) parts of Russia, to the Volga and the Ural, Krasnodar and Stavropol regions; and further westwards to the EU states.

The Russian drugs industry thrives on corruption, with the police, border guards and Customs often turning a blind eye in return for offering protection to the criminal gangs who run the trade. Russia can hope to win the war on drugs only by stamping out such extortion.

The best protection against a drugs epidemic is something more basic – decent jobs and salaries for young people living in Russia, so they have a better future to look forward to.

Exercise 4. Comprehension questions.

1. What is one of the most serious challenges to the national security of Russia and its neighbours?

2. What are the main drug routes to Russia?

3. Where do the main routes of drug-trafficking originate?

4. What does the Russian drugs industry thrive on?

5. What actions can protect our society from a drugs epidemic?

Exercise 5. Fill in the gaps.

1. Drug-trafficking is one of the most serious challenges to _______.

2. The number of drug addicts in Russia is about _______.

3. Drugs are brought to Russia through _______.

4. The main _____ of drug-trafficking originate in _______.

5. Lower volumes are smuggled through Russia’s borders with _________.

6. After crossing Russian ________ the most intensive flows of heroin, opium and cannabis are directed to _________.

7. The police, border guards and Customs often turn a blind eye in return for _________.

8. The best protection against a drugs epidemic includes __________.

Exercise 6. Fill in the gaps using the words from the box.

The (1) _______ of the bribes proposed (especially at the stage of border and Customs control) can be hundreds of times the (2) _______ of the officials. However, the risk of serious (3) ________, the possibilities for less risky illegal (4) ________ (assistance for smuggling of consumer goods) and informal rules (for example, (5) ________ to drug-dealers is censured (осуждать, порицать) even among corrupted Customs officials) has, to some extent, restrained the (6) ________ of “narco-corruption” within state structures controlling Russian (7) ________.

Exercise 7. Read Text 2 and translate the Russian words into English.

Choose from:

establishment; land boundaries; responsible officials; evident breaches; huge expenses; fully-fledged; Customs services; struggle; sufficient; the system of control; low salaries; drug-trafficking; decision-makers; vulnerability; border guard; smuggling; checkpoints; imperfection.

Text 2

Most контрабанда goes through the existing пункты пропуска (на границе) while the несовершенство of the inspection procedures and the низкая заработная плата of officials (working for охрана границы and таможенные органы, police of border regions and districts) make очевидные нарушения within система контроля at Russian borders.

Taking into account the special уязвимость of the enormous Russian наземные границы, the огромные расходы required for the установление of полностью укомплектованный border control with достаточный salaries for ответственные сотрудники, should lead Russian policy руководители to pay more attention to use the борьба against нелегальные перевозки и торговля наркотиками.

Exercise 8. Answer the following questions:

1. What are evident breaches within the system of control at Russian borders?

2. What problems do the enormous Russian land boundaries have?

3. How can policy decision-makers and the community solve these problems?