In Popular Culture
- The 1994 film Little Odessa, the Russian mafia of Brighton Beach, New York is the subject.
- The 1998 film Rounders prominently features members of the Russian mafia.
- In the FX television show Sons of Anarchy the Russian mafia is a rival to the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club.
- In the video game Grand Theft Auto IV the main protagonist is at first allied with and later on against a Russian mafia gang. The Russian mafia also appears in Grand Theft Auto 2 in the game's Industrial Sector and the player can take jobs from the gang.
- The Russian mafia appears in the Artemis Fowl series of books by Eoin Colfer.
- The 2007 film Eastern Promises, the Russian mafia in London is the subject.
- In the 1998 film Blues Brothers 2000, Elwood Blues first humiliates two Russian mobsters who were running a protection racket against one of his friends, then causes a scene at the funeral for another mobster in an attempt to get another friend to join his band. For the rest of the movie the mafia is seen following the Blues Brothers to kill Elwood.
- The 1997 film Jungle 2 Jungle features a Russian mafia in New York City run by Alexei Jovanovic (David Ogden Stiers).
- In the 1999 movie The Boondock Saints, Russian crime associates are killed by the titular brothers.
- The final two episodes of Law & Order Season 9 (1998–99), "Refuge (Part 1)" and "Refuge (Part 2)", center around the Russian mafia in Manhattan.
- The video game Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction includes an interact-able faction called the "Russian Mafia", which also provides the player with purchasable arms and vehicles from most other factions.
- In the film Training Day, Denzel Washington's character is trying to pay a ransom of money for his life after he assaulted a member of the Russian mafia in Las Vegas.
- The U.S. version of the TV series Life on Mars featured a 2009 episode titled "Take a Look at the Lawmen" which centered on a New York police investigation involving a Russian gangster named Vassily Lukin. Detective and unwilling time traveler Sam Tyler tells his partner, "It's 1973, the Russian mob is just getting started in America." This statement was consistent with real-life developments.
- In Running Scared, the Russian Mob is seen to have paired with the Italian mob on a deal that undercover FBI Agent Joe Gazelle (Paul Walker) is investigating.
- In The Red Scorpion: The True Story of a Ruthless Russian Mob Boss's Dramatic Redemption Rami Kivisalo wholesales drugs for the Russian mafia in Europe before becoming a Christian.
- In Arrow Oliver Queen/Arrow says he's a member, flashing a tattoo on his chest.
- The Russian mafia is prominently featured in the anime and manga series Black Lagoon.
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Famous quotes containing the words popular culture, popular and/or culture:
“Popular culture entered my life as Shirley Temple, who was exactly my age and wrote a letter in the newspapers telling how her mother fixed spinach for her, with lots of butter.... I was impressed by Shirley Temple as a little girl my age who had power: she could write a piece for the newspapers and have it printed in her own handwriting.”
—Adrienne Rich (b. 1929)
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Dating from World War I—when it was used by U.S. soldiers—or before, the saying was associated with nightclub hostess Texas Quinan in the 1920s. It was the title of a song recorded by Sophie Tucker in 1927, and of a Cole Porter musical in 1929.
“The white dominant culture seemed to think that once the Indians were off the reservations, they’d eventually become like everybody else. But they aren’t like everybody else. When the Indianness is drummed out of them, they are turned into hopeless drunks on skid row.”
—Elizabeth Morris (b. c. 1933)