![]() Up until World War II, any tattoo could denote a professional criminal, the only exception being tattoos on sailors. Вор в Законе) or Blatnye (authoritative thieves), and with that a tattoo culture to define rank and reputation. ![]() In the 1930s, Russian criminal castes began to emerge, such as the Masti (suits) and the Vor v Zakone (rus. In 1846, VOR was replaced by "KAT" the first three letters of the word for "hard labour convict" or katorzhnik. Brands were also applied to the shoulder blade and the right forearm, in three categories "CK" for Ssylno-Katorzhny ( hard labour convict), "SP" for Ssylno-Poselenets (hard labour deportee) and "Б" for Begly (escapee). In the 19th century, a "pricked" cross on the left hand was often used to identify deserters from the army, and up until 1846, criminals sentenced to hard labour were branded "BOP" ( thief), the letters on the forehead and cheeks. The branding of criminals was practised in Russia long before tattooing was customary, and was banned in 1863. The practice grew in the 1930s, peaking in the 1950s and declining in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. 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. Example of traditional prison tattoo, with medal motif showingĭuring 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.
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