Soviet prison tattoo

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Translating the Secret Meanings of Soviet Prison Tattoos | <<—— The imagery of trapped insects suggested that the prisoner was ‘mixed up in drugs like a beetle in manure and [will] never get out.’ Prison Tattoo Meanings, Mob Tattoo, Russian Prison Tattoos, Police File, Gang Tattoos, Russian Tattoo, Prison Tattoos, Omerta Tattoo, Spider Tattoo

Prison Tattoo Meanings

Russian Prison Tattoos

The Secret Meanings Behind Russian Prison Tattoos

During Soviet times, Russian inmates created a secret language made up of symbolic tattoos, which communicated prison hierarchy and crimes committed.

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Knife Through the Neck is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Meanings Behind Common Russian Prison Tattoos Prison Tattoo Meanings, Russian Prison Tattoos, Russian Tattoo, Latin Text, Prison Tattoos, Palm Tattoos, Medusa Tattoo, Old Tattoos, Inked Men

Prison Tattoo Meanings

Russian Prison Tattoos

The Meanings Behind Common Russian Prison Tattoos

From the 1960s to 1980s, photographer Sergei Vasiliev and retired police officer Arkady Bronnikov documented tattoos on prisoners in the Soviet ...

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Text across the chest reads ¿As long as I breathe, I hope¿. The turbaned man clutching a knife in his mouth indicates an inclination to brutality, sadism, and a negative attitude toward activists ¿ prisoners who openly collaborate with prison authorities Prison Tattoo Meanings, Tattooed Bodies, Prison Tat, Russian Prison Tattoos, Gang Tattoos, Russian Tattoo, Prison Tattoos, Palm Tattoos, Religious Tattoos

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Symbols of a life of crime: The fading tattoos on Russia's gangland prisoners that can be read like a criminal underworld CV

These haunting images were taken in the early 1990s by photographer Sergei Vasiliev after he gained access to some of Russia's toughest prisons at the peak of the post-Soviet Union gangland power struggle.

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Roses Russian Prison Tattoos, Gang Tattoos, Russian Tattoo, Prison Tattoos, Palm Tattoos, Religious Tattoos, Social Art, Vintage Tattoo, Little Tattoos

Russian Prison Tattoos

Religious Tattoos

The Meanings Behind Common Russian Prison Tattoos

From the 1960s to 1980s, photographer Sergei Vasiliev and retired police officer Arkady Bronnikov documented tattoos on prisoners in the Soviet ...

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Playing Cards 13 | FUEL

Text above the navel reads ‘Made in USSR’. A ship with white sails denotes that the bearer doesn’t engage in normal work and that he is prone to escape. The bracelet signifies a five-year sentence. A rose is a symbol of loyalty to a loved one. The lighthouse is a symbol of longing for freedom. A many-domed church surrounded by a wall can indicate a ‘bear hunter’, a thief who is able to crack safes. The barbed wire denotes the length of a single sentence with each barb representing a year…

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Playing Cards 05 | FUEL

Cards on the back of the hand display the ‘thieves suits’ of clubs and spades, denoting a ‘player’ (card-sharp). The barbs on the wire represent the length of a sentence (ten years). The ring tattoo worn by inveterate thieves, means ‘I’ll be a thief to the grave’. The lighthouse on the right arm indicates the pursuit of freedom.

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Print No. 21 Place Beyond The Pines Tattoos, Prison Tattoo Meanings, Russian Prison Tattoos, Place Beyond The Pines, Beyond The Pines, Pine Tattoo, Gang Tattoos, Russian Tattoo, Prison Tattoos

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Print No. 21 | FUEL

The tiger and the text ‘Killer’ (in English) tattooed on the hand symbolise the bearer's aggression. His ring tattoos signify he is a high-ranking thief and an anarchist, who ‘will never be corrected’. In this colony they make and sell wooden items that are in great demand. He was killed by his fellow inmates for refusing to contribute money to the ‘community kitty’.

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Home - Galerie Max Hetzler

Galerie Max Hetzler is a global contemporary art gallery representing over sixty artists across six spaces in Berlin, Paris and London, with an exhibition space and artist residency in Marfa.

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