The Obshchak is a traditional umbrella organization of criminal groups in Estonia, functioning as a trade union that settles conflicts and establishes boundaries among groups like the Russian mafia and Estonian organized crime. Dominated by Nikolai Tarankov from 2003 until his murder in 2016, it funds legal fees and packages for imprisoned members. The organization has about ten member groups and has been involved in drug trafficking, tax fraud, and white-collar crime. Estonian police have disrupted its operations through arrests since the 2010s.
CRIMENET has extracted 4 linkages for this organization, including 2 cooperative ties across 2 organizations, 2 other connections and footprints in 1 country.