Russian prison tattoos

Between andduring his career as a prison guard, Danzig Baldaev made over 3, drawings of tattoos.

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. If the tattoos were undeserved, they would be forcibly removed from the person before they were further punished with beatings or worse. These days, the tattoo guidelines of the Thieves in Law are no longer followed and inmates are creating their own images with varied meaning.

Russian prison tattoos

During the 20th century in the Soviet Union , Russian criminal and prison communities maintained a culture of using tattoos to indicate members' criminal career and ranking. 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. The practice grew in the s, peaking in the s and declining in popularity in the s and s. The branding of criminals was practised in Russia long before tattooing was customary, and was banned in In the 19th century, a "pricked" cross on the left hand was often used to identify deserters from the army, and up until , criminals sentenced to hard labour were branded "BOP" thief , the letters on the forehead and cheeks. In the s, Russian criminal castes began to emerge, such as the Masti suits and the Vor v Zakone rus. Up until World War II, any tattoo could denote a professional criminal, the only exception being tattoos on sailors. Under the Gulag system of the Soviet era, laws that were implemented in mid allowed short prison sentences to be given to those convicted of petty theft, hooliganism, or labor discipline infractions. This led to an increase in the prison population during and after World War II. By January , the Gulag workforce had increased by approximately , prisoners. Some of the motifs came from English sailor tattoos , such as the flying tall ships, a heart pierced by a dagger, anchors, a serpent-entwined heart or a tiger baring its teeth. A thief's collection of tattoos represents his "suit" mast , which indicates his status within the community of thieves and his control over other thieves within the thieves' law. The tattoos show a "service record" of achievements and failures, prison sentences and the type of work a criminal does. They might also represent his "thief's family", naming others within hearts or with the traditional tomcat image. Many convicts had fought in penal units , in contravention of the thieves' code that no thief should serve in the military or cooperate with authorities in any way.

A sentimental tattoo. The owner of the tattoo was convicted for taking down a propaganda poster in the Babushkin Gardens in Nevsky area, russian prison tattoos, Leningrad. Barbed wire told other inmates that the prison was serving a life sentence, and would spend the rest of their days incarcerated.

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. The origins of these prison tattoos can be traced back to the early age 19th century. At this time, the government initiated a practice of tattooing "KAT" on the faces of convicted criminals.

Beetle, spider, fly on a background of the prison bars or entangled in the web of the network — indicates that most of his life was spent in prisons. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. He has been repeatedly punished for violating the rules of the penal colony and is committed to a life of crime. And the years go by, and my temples have gone grey, and my youth has been damaged. Cards, a knife a woman, a gun, prison bars, a skull and money. The woman in Nazi uniform means the bearer is antagonistic towards the police. Tattoos in the traditional style, with the most important motif in the centre of the chest, occupying as much space as possible. Among the criminal elite known as blatnie , the image of the crucifixion of Christ symbolises faith in the brotherhood. The woman being burned at the stake right side shows that the bearer blames his imprisonment on a woman, with the implicit message. The number of logs on the fire denotes the custodial sentence given.

Russian prison tattoos

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. If the tattoos were undeserved, they would be forcibly removed from the person before they were further punished with beatings or worse. These days, the tattoo guidelines of the Thieves in Law are no longer followed and inmates are creating their own images with varied meaning. When worn on the knees, the stars are a sign of a prisoner who commands respect.

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Tattooing Styles. A Guide to Russian Prison Tattoos. Along with propaganda denouncing the "traditional thief" that had grown in popularity in Russian culture, punishments in the prisons intensified for anyone that identified as a legitimate thief, including beatings and torture. Work lasted for twenty months between and , costing the lives of over , political and criminal prisoners. The tattoo was made in a Arkhangelsk Region corrective labour colony in After the Second World War, a split emerged in the criminal world, and men began creating more intricate and discreet tattoos; these became a way of displaying their skills and past achievements to their fellow convicts. He was caught stealing food and gasoline from a kolkhoz collective farm warehouse. Nazi symbols can mean that an inmate has fascist sympathies, but more usually they are inked as a protest towards the prison or camp administration. Various thieves tattoos. A tulip or a rose ensnared in barbed wire or wrapped around a dagger is symbolic of a convicted imprisoned before the age of

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

An old thieves' tattoo of the s and s specifying the place of imprisonment - Kitoy station, near Irkutsk. A Jesus and Mary tattoo represents that the wearer was either born in prison or into crime. Eight dry hunger strikes in one year! It can also emphasize how difficult learning how to tattoo can be. Drawing No. Tattoo culture. Corrective Prison Camp No. An epaulette, or ornamental shoulder piece typically found on a military uniform, are used to signify rank within the Thieves In Law. Corrective Labour Camp No. Tattoos on the hands and fingers were common, and for women, palm tattoos showing insults were popular in the s and 50s. Tikhonov, had several previous convictions for theft.