Fwd: Russian Criminal Tattoos

[Sandra Evans]

There is an instrucitve essay by Abby M. Schrader called "Branding the  
Other/Tatooing the Self: Bodily Inscription amon Convicts in Russia  
and the Soviet Union" in: Written on the Body, ed. by Jane Caplan,  
London 2000.

Also: "Russian Prison Tattoos: Codes of Authority, Domination, and  
Struggle" by Alix Lambert.

The Russian Criminal Encyclopiedias by Danzig Baldaev are also  
fascinating. As a prison guard he recorded the tatoos of inmates and  
their meanings.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,

Sandra Evans





Zitat von Graham Wilkins <wilkins.graham at GMAIL.COM>:

> The student could check out the documentary film The Mark of Cain.  It isn't
> explicitly about Russian mafia and their tattoos (I think Vor v Zakone is
> what they are often called), but there is some explanation of their
> meanings.  The overall focus is on prison life in Russia.
>
> On Thu, Mar 31, 2011 at 7:37 AM, <gfowler at indiana.edu> wrote:
>
>> Greetings!
>>
>> A student in my second-year Russian class asked me yesterday about Russian
>> criminal tattoos. Of course I know nothing at all about this, but I asked
>> her to write up her question in forwardable form. If anyone can help her,
>> I'd be delighted to pass along any information sent directly to me or posted
>> to this list. Thanks in advance!
>>
>> George Fowler
>>
>> The student writes:
>>
>> I've had a few questions about Russian criminal tattoos pop up recently.
>> First of all I'll make the disclaimer that I don't know exactly what the
>> proper name for the Russian Mafia/Mob/Cartel/Bratva is, so I'll just be
>> using Mafia as a catch all - feel free to specify or to not get into it (I'd
>> like to learn, but my point in asking is the tattoos)
>>
>> My first question is: at what frequency these are given in prisons versus
>> those who get them done outside of prison. For example, the stars on the
>> collar bone and knees seem to be done mostly outside of prison (from my
>> extremely limited understanding, do correct me if I'm wrong), while
>> something like shackles would be more likely than not acquired during
>> incarceration. The tattoos I have specific questions about are the hands
>> holding the Kremlin, the stars for ranking, and the epaulets on the
>> shoulders (more specifically with the imperialist rankings over the soviet,
>> but any information will do) What are the exact meanings of these tattoos,
>> in what organizations/rings of crime are people more likely to get them,
>> and
>> how are they likely to be acquired? Is prison most likely for them all, or
>> are they concevably gained while outside of jail?
>>
>> ----- End forwarded message -----
>>
>>
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