Russian prison tattoos and meanings

This is one of the most widespread tattoo designs that is easily recognizable in the Russian criminal underworld. Only a convict who has served his time can get a church or a kremlin tattooed on his body, russian prison tattoos and meanings. Also, the number of domes is not random; it equals the number of prison terms served by the owner of the tattoo.

The ink created and worn in Russian prisons is a mysterious and often intimidating part of the world of tattoos. These tattoos often represent a hostile set of beliefs, a crime, or where the wearer stands in the criminal underworld. However, they can be helpful for prison authorities because they can give vital information. For example, sometimes tattoos are enough to send a person back to prison or even save the life of a man with a badge. Soviet period prison tattoos hid an elaborate and rich visual language.

Russian prison tattoos and meanings

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. This is a variation on the myth of Prometheus, who is chained to a rock in eternal punishment after tricking Zeus. The sailing ship means the bearer does not engage in normal work; he is a travelling thief who is prone to escape. Monasteries, churches, cathedrals, the Virgin Mary, saints and angels on the chest or back display a devotion to thievery. Skulls indicate a conviction for murder. Coffins also represent murder; they are burying the victim. Eight-pointed stars on the clavicles denote a high-ranking thief. The dollar sign on the bow tie shows that this man is either a safe-cracker or money launderer. A snake around the neck is a sign of drug addiction. These trousers are the uniform of the strictest type of prison regime in the Soviet Union. They are not subject to parole. The medals are awards that existed before the revolution and as such are signs of defiance towards the Soviet regime. A gun-toting cowboy shows a thief that is prepared to take risks and exploit any opportunity. The skull and crossbones show that a prisoner is serving a life sentence.

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Throughout history, those shunned by society have sought unity amongst themselves by creating a language of allegiance and ranking through the ink embedded in their skin. Criminals and convicts all over the world have come together to create their own language by tattooing symbols onto themselves as a way to communicate what they have done and show others that they are not afraid or ashamed. There is nowhere else on Earth where that is more true than in the Russian prison system. Every prisoner is marked, every drop of ink holds meaning, and the symbols are a language in and of themselves. Each body tells a unique story of time served and crimes committed.

For 20 years, Bronnikov travelled across the Ural region uncovering the codified language of Soviet prison tattoos. According to the unwritten law between prisoners, everyone had to have tattoos. The only inmates who were permitted to have clean skin were those on the inside for political crimes. The language of Soviet prison tattoos was almost poetic. Murderers branded themselves with skulls, daggers and other such morose imagery. Some tattoos gave prisoners a social advantage, denoting their rank within the prison system.

Russian prison tattoos and meanings

In the era of the Soviet party, Russian prisons were controlled by a gang known as the Thieves in Law. This gang enforced strict guidelines, including what and where prisoners could tattoo on their bodies. Tattoos had to be earned through physical acts or other ways of standing up to authority, whether it was inside or outside of the prison.

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Only an experienced prison tattoo expert can quickly read all of the messages coded in rings tattooed on the fingers of inmates. The barbed wire denotes the length of a single sentence with each barb representing a year served. By the s, the intensification of the thieves' laws had resulted in reprisals against the legitimate thieves, orchestrated by prison authorities who would often throw a legitimate thief into cells with prisoners they had punished or raped. Eight dry hunger strikes in one year! Most popular. The Russian Mafia: How to look like you belong. The tattoos must be earned, and an inmate wearing an undeserved tattoo risks a beating or worse. Various cat tattoos. Their initials are either side of the manacles. This is one of the most widespread tattoo designs that is easily recognizable in the Russian criminal underworld. In the era of the Soviet party, Russian prisons were controlled by a gang known as the Thieves in Law. Skulls indicate a conviction for murder. Different parts of the body.

The ink created and worn in Russian prisons is a mysterious and often intimidating part of the world of tattoos.

A spider tattoo tells everybody that its owner is a thief. Those with Thieves Stars on their knees command respect, and are worn by high-ranking members of the Thieves in Law. The tattoo of a tiger is a sign of aggression. Specifically among those imprisoned under the Gulag system of the Soviet era, the tattoos served to differentiate a criminal leader or thief in law from a political prisoner. It can also emphasize how difficult learning how to tattoo can be. Petersburg flat. The medals are awards that existed before the revolution and as such are signs of defiance towards the Soviet regime. Given the unsanitary conditions, hygiene was severely lacking, putting inmates at significant risk of infections and diseases. The tattoo of an otritsala a convict who refuses to submit to any kind of authority , who was frustrated with the length of his sentence nine years. Older Generations still stigmatize tattoos in Russia. Churches and Cathedrals. In the Russian criminal tattoo code, a rose is the symbol of a blighted youth. Our Motherland 'We love our Motherland like a bride, and cherish her as an affectionate mother. Stomach, hip. Does Tattoo Ink Cause Cancer?