The global move from state regulation to market freedom has created a challenge to legal systems around the world. The role played by political and economic forces around the globe determine to some extent the nature of the criminal activities. With freedom has come rapid economic change with a surge in the scope of illegal actions that is most apparent and significant in Russia. There has been an explosion of criminal activities of all kinds, including organized crime that is rooted in Russia's transition from communism to capitalism. The move to the privatization of state property has positioned the current international focus on Russian crime. Three social forces inside Russia were identified and emerged as the key agents and beneficiaries of economic liberation; bureaucracy, underground business persons, and professional criminals. This liberation and economic reforms stimulated two main types of large-scale illegal activities: (1) criminal enterprises, such as drug trafficking, prostitution, racketeering, and illegal trade in areas and (2) violations of the law by the victims of the created legal vacuum forced to commit crimes, such as bribery, tax evasion, collusion with criminal organizations, and illegal transfers of money abroad to survive. Two specific case studies involving East European, Russian criminals are presented, the YBM Magnex International Stock Fraud case and Bank of New York, Money Laundering case. The final section of the conference paper reviews unique policing issues related to East European crime specifically in Canada, such as what the police community saw to be the key threats from Russian organized criminals.