The Rise of Arms Dealing Post-Soviet Union Collapse
If you were an arms dealer in the early 1990s, the fall of the Soviet Union was like Christmas Day crossed with Black Friday.
In the years leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the USSR was engaged in an arms race with the West, plumbing billions of dollars into their military in an attempt to keep up with their western adversaries.
But as the economic situation within the USSR began to deteriorate and the Ruble began to lose its value, even the most well-paid within the military soon found themselves unable to not only feed themselves but their families as well. Not to mention, what money they did have would not be enough to retire on. All the while, they were literally sitting on billions of dollars worth of guns, ammunition, vehicles, and tanks. All of which were sitting in storage facilities for a war that was not going to happen.
The Perfect Conditions for Arms Dealers
With the USSR starting to collapse and the government in total chaos, conditions were perfect for arms dealers to enter the country and meet with some of these Soviet officers. All they needed to do was flash a few million dollars in front of their faces, and soon the Soviet military became their primary supplier. And besides, with everything on fire, who was going to notice if a “few” crates of guns and ammunition went missing during the night? Or a few armored vehicles or even tanks?
It was not long before the black market was flooded with Soviet/Russian-made arms, and there were many questionable organizations ready to buy them. Soon you had modern (for the time) assault rifles and sniper rifles finding their way into South America. RPGs and other anti-tank weapons were being used by terror groups in the Middle East and Asia. There were even rebel groups in Africa who were suddenly showing up to battles with main battle tanks, armored cars, and in some cases, MiG fighters piloted by ex-Soviet Air Force Pilots.
The Wild Story of Ludwig “Tarzan” Fainberg
But one of the wildest stories to come from this time comes from a guy named Ludwig “Tarzan” Fainberg. An ex-enforcer for the Gambino Family who got into arms dealing in the 1990s and had strong ties with the Medellín and had even smuggled helicopters into Colombia for them. One day, one of the cartel’s associates came to Ludwig with an outlandish request. The Cali Cartel wanted a Soviet submarine, which could be converted to smuggle narcotics into the U.S. and were willing to drop $50 million for it.
Though odd, Ludwig reached out to one of his contacts within the Russian navy to see if it was even possible to acquire such a vessel. What his contact said next scared him: “With or Without Missiles”. It even went so far as to Ludwig and his associates going to Russia and touring the submarine that would have been sold to them. But the deal never went through, as their associate had disappeared with the money, and Ludwig was later arrested by FBI agents who had been monitoring him for months prior to the scheme. After that affair, Ludwig got out of the arms business.
~NC
