Russian Criminal Tattoos: Russian Church tattoos

The church (sometimes depicted as a cathedral, monastery, fortress. etc, but usually depicted as a traditional russian church) is one of the main themes of "Vory v Zakone" tattoos. Usually this tattoos are large, covering significant areas of the chest or of the upper back. The number of domes/cupolas/towers signifies the number of convictions or, less often, it represent the number of years of incarceration (usually each dome represents a conviction; the number of the years served in prison is indicated trough dots tattooed on the knuckles).

(Photo: Arkady Bronnikov/FUEL Russian Criminal Tattoo Archive)

Russian Criminal Tattoos: Madonna and Child

A thief in law (Russian: vor v zakone) in the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet states and respective diasporas abroad is a specifically granted formal status of a professional criminal who enjoys elite position within the organized crime environment and employs informal authority over its lower-status members. Each new Vor is vetted (literally "crowned", with respective rituals and tattoos) by consensus of several Vors. Vor culture is inseparable with prison organized crime: only repeatedly jailed convicts are eligible for a high Vor status. Thieves in law are drawn from many nationalities from a number of post-Soviet states. According to the estimates of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, there were about 500 "thiefs-in-law", with the majority being of Caucasus ethnicities.(source: Wikipedia).

The Vor v Zakone are also known for their impressive tattoos. Tattoos are often done as a rite of passage in the criminal world - some of the Vor v Zakone members are tattooed before they are even sentenced to prison. It is hard to decode these tattoos because most of the tattoos have multiple hidden meanings. Some of the most common imagery is religious: the Madonna and Child, Russian churches, crosses, etc. However, these tattoos have absolutely nothing to do with religious beliefs; their real meanings are rooted in prison and criminal traditions.

For example, Madonna and baby Jesus is one of the most popular tattoos worn by criminals, and usually this tattoo symbolise loyalty to a criminal clan (the bearer of the tattoo is "clean before his friends" in that he will never betray them to authorities); it can also mean that the wearer believes the Mother of God will ward off evil; as well as meaning that the wearer has been behind bars from an early age.

(Photo: Arkady Bronnikov/FUEL Russian Criminal Tattoo Archive)

Skulls and skeletons tattoos (3)

Besides those already mentioned, there are some other meanings of the skulls tattoos that have their roots in some ancient beliefs and practices.

Skulls as trophies - it was a common practice to keep the skulls of the killed enemies and to display them as trophies (eg.: to decorate with them the city walls and towers, to keep the skulls on the palisades as a warning sign, to display them on pikes at the Traitor's Gate, etc) or even to use them as wine-cups. Skulls-tattoos as trophies are a very common theme when it comes to the gang tattoos, prison tattoos, etc. For example, if we consider the russian criminal tattoos, a skull tattoo signifies murder (a significant one). When a tattoo design combines skulls with military insignia (especially with the epaulets tattooed on the shoulders), it usually designates a murderer.

The epaulets are distinctive decorations for the inmates who are members of the "Vory V Zakone" (aprox "Thieves in law"). An inmate who has this kind of tattoo is a person with a high position in the prison hierarchy. The presence of the skull designates the wearer as a murderer. Read more about this topic on this blog: russiancriminaltattoo.blogspot.com


A russian criminal tattoo. The presence of the epaulets indicates that the wearer has a high rank in the prison hierarchy. The presence of the skull designates the wearer as a murderer. The spider is a symbol with multiple meanings; it may symbolize racism, doing time in prison, drug addicted, etc. Read more about this topic on this blog: russiancriminaltattoo.blogspot.com

In the Mexican tattoo-culture, skulls and skeletons are linked with the celebration of the Day of the Dead. The most common themes and representations are: the sugar-skull (brightly colored and highly decorated), the partying skeletons (because El Dia de los Muertos is not a time for sadness, but for joy and celebration) and the in-loving-memory-tattoos (these tattoos include attributes of the passed person in the skull's design: her favourite flowers, his / her weaopns, facial features, etc).

In-loving-memory-tattoo. Some of the passed person's features are still present (the moustache and the hair)


Typical Mexican tattoo: a fancy dressed skeleton playing a violin


For the Mexicans, El Dia de los Muertos is not a mournful day, but a day of family gatherings and holiday cheer.

Alchemy and Magic - the skull is an ancient symbol and it has several embodiments of the alchemical �union of opposites�, an ancient doctrine which accepts a syncretism of conflicting views, a harmony as opposed to a never-ending conflict between Good and Evil.

The skull is a one of the alchemical symbols

Wisdom - sometimes, a skull tattoo is a symbol of the mature realization of a continuity of life into death, and the ability to accept death. This is very important because it is only when a person can live with the presence of death that he can fully learn to appreciate life.

A medieval depiction of the skull as a symbol of wisdom.

Related posts:
Various elements which can occur in a Death tattoo: skulls and skeletons (1)
Skulls and skeletons tattoos (2)
Death tattoo - various elements which can occur in a Death tattoo
Death tattoos: the main depictions of the Grim Reaper
Death Tattoos / Grim Reaper Tattoos: themes and meanings
Death tattoo - various elements which can occur in a Death tattoo - animals

The mark of Cain: the russian criminal tattoos (V)

The mark of Cain: the russian criminal tattoo (V)

Getting a tattoo in prison can be very risky for the health; AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis and syphilis are just a few examples of diseases that can be transmitted through tattooing.
There are over 100.000 convicts with TB in the russian prisons, and aprox 20.000 of them have an incurable form of tuberculosis.

The mark of Cain: the russian criminal tattoos (IV)

The mark of Cain: the russian criminal tattoo, episode 3. The first episode can be seen here and the second episode can be seen here. The 3rd episode can be seen here

In this episode: details about the White Swan, the toughest prison in Russia

A tough convicted has the right to get a tattoo on the eyelids - usually a message like "Don't dare to wake me up!" - an avertisment for the other convicted to keep quiet when the tough guy is sleeping.

The mark of Cain: the russian criminal tattoos (III)

The mark of Cain: the russian criminal tattoo, episode 3. The first episode can be seen here and the second episode can be seen here.

Extras from this episode: The lowest category in the criminal world are the so-called Downcast. The men in the colony who fulfill, mostly by force, the female role. [...] These people (the Downcast) live separately, they eat separately,they sit apart in the mess hall. They don't have the right to look in the eyes of the other convicts. [...] Sometimes they have humiliating words (like slave, or bitch) tattooed on their faces, so they can be easily recognized when they arrive in a new prison.

The mark of Cain: the russian criminal tattoos (II)

The mark of Cain: the russian criminal tattoo, episode 2. The first episode can be seen here.

Did you know...?

- the cross is one of the most popular tattoo designs among the russian convicts. If an inmate has a tattoo with the representation of the crucifixion of Christ, it means that he (the inmate) is the leader of a criminal organization

The Mark of Cain: the Russian criminal tattoos (I)

The Mark of Cain documents the fading art form and the Russian criminal tattoos, once a taboo subject in Russia. The virtual disappearance is now seen as a reflection of the transition of Russian society in general. Filmed in some of the most notorious prisons in Russia, including the famous White Swan, interviews with prisoners, guards, and criminologists show the secret language of the area and the Code

Stalinist Gulag inmates, or the area, as it is called, has developed a complex social structure (documented in the decade of 1920) that incorporated highly symbolic tattooing as a mark of rank. The existence of these inmates in prisons and labor camps was considered by the state as a closely guarded secret.

In the 1990s, the population of Russia broke jail overcrowding among the worst in the world. Some estimates suggest that in the last generation of over thirty million of Russia�s inmates have had tattoos, but the process is illegal in Russian prisons.

The Mark of Cain discusses all aspects of tattooing, the mere creation of the tattoo ink, tattoo artists interviews and sobriety seen in the double-edged sword of tattoos in prison. In many ways, which is needed to survive brutal Russian prisons, but it makes the prisoner for life, which complicates any reentry into normal society they may have.

Did wou know...?

- a tattoo with a proeminent personality of the comunism (like Lenin, Stalin, Marx and Engels) could be a "safety warrant" against the capital punishment (because no one dared to shoot the image of a great comunist leader)

- a tattoo is like an ID, it can be read like a book and tells everything about a convict

- an executioner tattooed on the forearm means that the person is a killer (usually in the service of a gang)

- a sailing ship is the symbol of a roaming life