Theoretical Criminology 2015, Vol. 19(2) 278–288 © The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1362480615581099 tcr.sagepub.com Informality, crime and corruption in Russia: A review of recent literature Leonid Kosals National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia Anastasia Maksimova National Research University Higher School of Economics, Russia A Ledeneva, Can Russia Modernise? Sistema, Power Networks and Informal Governance, Cambridge University Press: New York, 2013; 327 pp.: 9780521125635 G Favarel-Garrigues, Policing Economic Crime in Russia: From Soviet Planned Economy to Privatization, Oxford University Press: New York, 2011; 288 pp.: 9780199327317 SN Inshakov (ed.), Theoretical Fundamentals of the Analysis of Latent Crime, UNITI-DANA: Moscow, 2011; 839 pp.: 9785238021256 (С.Н.Иншаков (ред.), Теоретические основы исследования и анализа латентной преступности, ЮНИТИ-ДАНА: Москва, 2011; 839 c.: 9785238021256) GA Satarov (ed.), Russian Corruption: Level, Structure and Dynamics. Evidence from the Sociological Surveys. Liberal Mission Foundation: Moscow, 2013; 752 pp.: 9785903135417 (Российская коррупция: уровень, структура, динамика: опыт социологического анализа / под ред. Г.А. Сатарова, Фонд «Либеральная Миссия»: Москва, 2013; 752 с.: 9785903135417) Informality appears to be a systemic trait of Russian society: it intrudes into all major social institutions and shapes the economy, politics, legal system and people’s daily life. As a result a peculiar mismatch emerges between formal norms and laws and the actual operation of institutions. To understand what is going on in Russia and other states in the former Soviet Union knowledge of this “dual reality” is necessary; it is not enough to know just the visible institutions but also their informal functioning. Corresponding author: Leonid Kosals, Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Sociology, Department of Economic Sociology, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Myasnitskaya ul., Moscow, Russia. Email: lkosals@hse.ru 581099TCR 0 0 10.1177/1362480615581099Theoretical CriminologyKosals and Maksimova research-article 2015 Review article