Maria Vaseva and Valeria Maneva
Maria Vaseva and Valeria Maneva | |
|---|---|
 Valeria (left) and Maria (right) | |
| Born | Maria Vaseva: 15 May 1928 Valeria Maneva: 27 September 1930 |
| Died | Maria Vaseva: 30 November 2015 (aged 87) Valeria Maneva: 18 April 2016 (aged 85) |
| Nationality | |
| Allegiance | Mava Organisation |
Maria Vaseva (Syara: Марија Васева, 15 May 1930 – 30 November 2015) and Valeria Maneva (Syaran: Валерија Мањева, 27 September 1932 – 18 April 2016) were Syaran–Gylian criminals. They were the founders of the Mava Organisation, and among the foremost perpetrators of organised crime in Gylias during the 1960s and 1970s.
Owing to their organisation's strict code of conduct and their cultivated image as romantic outlaws, Maria and Valeria attained unusual celebrity during the Groovy Gylias era. Their retirement in 1981 set off a crisis in the organisation that ultimately led to its legitimation under Myra Ďande.
Their exploits have inspired various works of Gylian crime fiction and a few biographical films.
Early life
Maria Vaseva was born on 15 May 1928 in Danyets, Makedon. Her parents died in the Siduri War, and she was sent to live with relatives. She was a poor student, expelled from one school for rebellious behaviour, and dropped out of high school. Falling under the influence of a Syaran communist group, she traveled with them to the Free Territories when they enlisted in the International Brigades.
Valeria Maneva was born on 27 September 1930 in Lerok, Scitaria. She was a poor student who barely graduated high school, and subsequently joined the Army during the Broken Years. She proved just as unruly a soldier, prone to tantrums and violence, and was dishonourably discharged. She drifted into the criminal world afterwards, and fled to the Free Territories after angering one of Syara's senior gangsters.
Criminal career
Maria and Valeria met when they were both in the Free Territories. Maria fell under Valeria's influence, and both turned to a life of crime.
The Liberation War provided them with an opportunity: the slow collapse of the Tymzar–Nalo regime and the People's Army temporarily focused on liberating Nauras caused a turf war in Aðnat. Maria and Valeria moved there, establishing a power base, and launched a campaign to unite the now-weakened gangs under their leadership.
Using a mixture of material enticements, intimidation, and violence, Maria and Valeria's campaign succeeded by 1956. They were strongly established in Aðnat by the time it was liberated by the People's Army. The group was now named the Mava Organisation, after the founders' shared initials.
Mava Organisation
Maria and Valeria ruled the Mava Organisation with an iron fist. They spent years disciplining the group, implementing organisational structure, and creating elaborate initiation ceremonies. They brought in a strict code of conduct, forbidding violence and involvement in violent crimes.
In the end, they succeeded in forging a group marked by fanatical loyalty to its founders. Maria found it amusing that Valeria contributed an emphasis on unquestioning obedience of orders, given her dishonourable discharge from the military.
From Aðnat, the group expanded in southern Aðuna, establishing a solid base in the "four cities": Aðnat, Tezira, Laiýs, and Rance. Attempts to expand operations beyond the "four cities" were less successful.
Maria and Valeria steered the group towards non-violent activities. They took advantage of the National Obligation period to establish a strong black market presence. They set up underground gambling and banking activities, and initiated protection rackets. The numbers game became a mainstay of their activities, being easy to run and popular due to the small fee charged.
Using a few crucial connections, Maria and Valeria managed to seize control of the supply of þalers in the "four cities". The cities' economies came to be dominated by scrips and local currencies. The Mava Organisation's strict control over the issue of þalers served to further enmesh the cities' economy with the group, and contributed to their acceptance among residents.
Maria and Valeria also established various legitimate businesses to strengthen their role in the local economy. These were concentrated in nightlife, the tourism industry, casinos, and sex industry establishments. Both of them also worked as sex workers, which both provided a front for their criminal activities and helped bring in money to finance them.
To avoid detection, they switched from protection money to payments in kind, forcing businesses to obtain services from Mava-controlled companies.
The 1960s and 1970s marked the height of the organisation's power and influence. Their direction changed to a focus on drug smuggling, establishing the "Gylian connection" that trafficked drugs from Nalaya northwards, to Knichus, Cacerta (mainly through the Provenzano gang) and Megelan (mainly through the ligéra).
Fame
Constantly seeking ways to avoid the attention of law enforcement, Maria and Valeria decided that gaining publicity would be an advantage. They led flamboyant lifestyles, regularly seen in the "four cities"' cultural hotspots, and cultivated an image as romantic outlaws. They earned a degree of celebrity and marginal connections to the Groovy Gylias scene, working as models.
They openly cultivated ties with ARENA, and befriended Şaisa Tausi, who gained virtual control of Gylian pornography. They spent much time maintaining influence in the "four cities", particularly by entryism and initiations of local officeholders, regardless of political affiliation.
They had contacts with Sweetie Letise, the political fixer for the Darnan Cyras government, who supported them out of expediency, because of their strict non-violence and cooperation with the Gylian Police to suppress more violent rivals.
Maria and Valeria formed an effective partnership. Maria was the more refined of the two, and thus took the lead with regards to publicity; Valeria was more aggressive and flamboyant, which made her particularly popular for sex work. Their popularity was aided by their idiosyncratic fashion sense, with matching outfits in public.
The two carefully maintained a non-violent reputation, and by the late 1960s they were seen as caring more about celebrity. Wary of exposure, they conducted a purge of the Mava Organisation in the early 1970s, getting rid of older and more violent members through suicidal missions to Nalaya. Foreign criminal organisations grew annoyed with the Mava Organisation and began bypassing the "Gylian connection" in the 1970s, while the wretched decade hit the group domestically.
Retirement
Maria and Valeria retired in 1981. This caused a leadership crisis in the Mava Organisation due to its heavily centralised nature, and set off an internal conflict between the "criminal" and "legalist" factions. The latter eventually triumphed under Myra Ďande.
Deaths
Maria died of a heart attack on 30 November 2015, aged 87.
Valeria died in her sleep on 18 April 2016, aged 85.