They all mean something.*
Jan. 11th, 2014 04:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bending_sickleIn the summer of 2013 I spend a week researching Russian criminal tattoos and writing this post. I talk about the history, methods, and symbology of Russian prison tattoos and attempt to interpret the tattoos of the Lucas North character in the British television drama series Spooks. One day I'd like to do the same for the Nikolai character in the movie Easter Promises. So, if your interested in tattoos, prison culture, or symbols, this is for you. (I'm damn proud of this post, too.)
"A group of convicts imprisoned for drug-related crimes. Convict (left) on both arms: ‘I live in sin / I die laughing’. Images of demons and monsters are intended to intimidate other inmates and give significance to the bearer within his circle. Convict (centre) German text below the neck: ‘God with us’; on the left arm: ‘Hurry up and live’. The sailing ship on the forearm signifies a lust for freedom and that the bearer is a potential escapee. Convict (right) on upper arm: ‘Keep love’; on forearm: ‘KRAB’: Klyanus Rezat Aktivistov i Blyadey (I swear to kill activists and sluts). The rose on the shoulder means that the bearer turned eighteen in prison.” [x]
Background - The Vory
During the Russian Revolution of 1917, armed gangs, with their own slang, culture, and criminal code, proliferated. This criminal culture became known as the Vorovskoy Mir (воровской мир), the Criminal (or Thieves’) World. [x]
After the revolution and the NKVD secret police “nearly completely exterminated the criminal underworld” and forced labor camps (Gulag) were filled with political prisoners and criminals, a new organized group arose: the vory v zakone (thieves in law; singular vor v zakone) [x]. This group “began to play an important role in the criminal hierarchy of Russia” following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 [x].
The Vory ruled “the criminal underworld within the prison camps and adhered to “system of collective responsibility” [x]. Members swore to a code of “complete submission to the laws of criminal life, including obligations to support the criminal ideal, rejection of legitimate employment (must support oneself through criminal enterprises) and refusal to participate in all political activities.” [x] The term vor v zakone, more fully translated as “thief who follows the law,” refers to this Thieves’ Code. [x]
A thief in law “is a career criminal who is respected, has informal authority and an elite status within the organized crime environment”. Currently this crime environment ranges from the Soviet Union to “post-Soviet states and respective diasporas abroad” [x]. Estimates of members, of various post-Soviet state nationalities, throughout the world range from several hundred to over 10,000 [x].
Background - Vory and Prison Tattoos
Russian prison tattoos are distinctive for their bluish color and blurred edges, resulting from the use of ink from a ballpoint pen and the lack of adequate instruments, respectively. The ink is also made from molten rubber (by burning the heel of a shoe, for example), and mixing this with urine or water and sugar. [x]
Russian criminal and prison tattoos have a complex iconography which, by their symbols and placement on the body, can give detailed information about the wearer. [x] Many of these tattoos are characteristic of “the Old Regime”, when the Vor v Zakone “was more structured” in prisons [x]. The Vory are particularly known for such symbolic tattoos [x].
"This prisoner’s tattoos display his anger and bitterness towards Communist power; the tattoos on the face signify that he never expects to go free. He works as a stoker. Text under the eyes reads ‘Full / of Love’; on the chin ‘Danger of Death’; around the neck ‘To each his own’; above each head of the double-headed snake ‘Wife’ and ‘Mother-in-law’; on the chest ‘It is not for you whores, to dig in my soul’; on his arm ‘Communists, suck my dick for my ruined youth’." [x]
Because of their symbolism, tattoos had to be earned, and “carried huge integrity, they were more important than anything else for a criminal [E]”. The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison. [x]
Given their importance, sporting an unmerited tattoo brought severe punishment from fellow inmates. At best, it would be removed with sandpaper, glass, a brick or a razor. If he refused the offender would be raped or killed. [x]
Tattoos could also be forcibly applied to stigmatize, punish, or lower the status of the wearer for reasons ranging from losing at cards to breaking the criminal code [x, x, x]. “They often humiliate the person’s ethnicity, sexual orientation or involvement with prison officials" [x]. Such tattoos include a heart inside a white triangle (the sign of a child rapist, indicating the wearer was “an untouchable, and subject to the sexual whims of other prisoners” [x]) and a pair of eyes on the lower stomach or backside (indicating a homosexual or “that the prisoner is used for sexual gratification” [x]).
A criminal with no tattoos was devoid of status [x].
Right: “Mikhail Kovanev, poet, artist and musician, was serving a sentence of fifteen years for murder. He claimed he was innocent of this charge. Every part of his body was covered with tattoos, many of his own design. The eyes on the stomach mean that he was a homosexual (the penis makes the ‘nose’ of the face). In the colony he became a drug addict and was subsequently killed.” [x]
Lucas North’s Tattoos
1) Chest - William Blake’s The Ancient of Days
The Ancient of Days (1794) shows Urizen “crouching in a circular design with a cloud-like background,” holding a compass over a void. Urizen is Blake’s embodiment of conventional reason and law, usually depicted as a beared old man with either an architect’s tools (with which to create and constrain the universe) or nets (with which to ensnare people into law and conventional society). [x] The work represents the event described in the Book of Proverbs viii. 25, “when he set a compass upon the face of the earth” [x]. The term “ancient of days” is a name for God in the biblical Book of Daniel [x].
Lucas is an admirer of English poet and painter William Blake. He has two prints of Blake’s art in his flat (The Ancient of Days, like his tattoo, and The Red Dragon) and a “well-thumbed” old edition of The Poetry of William Blake. Elizabeta [Lucas’ ex-wife] speaks of his admiration of Blake and suggests it is because, like Blake, Lucas “distrusts systems”.
“Blake is most well known for his dislike of religious dogmatism and mysticism was a strong element in many of his works. What is less appreciated about Blake is that he also held unfavourable views towards British imperialism, taxation, and believed strongly in racial and sexual equality.” [x]
In general, religious iconography is common in Russian prison tattoos, although their meaning may not be religious. For example, a tattoo of the Madonna and Child may indicate that the wearer has been a criminal from a young age, or, if in Orthodox style,it means “I will not betray”, as does a crucifix, typically worn on the chest. [x, x, x]
2) Stomach - Text Gnothi seauton
The Ancient Greek aphorism γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnōthi seauton), also written in Latin as nosce te ipsum or temet nosce and meaning, literally, “know thyself”, has a variety of interpretations and contexts. [x]
In Ancient Egyptian, for example, it appears in the Inner Temple of the temple of Luxor as, "Man, know thyself … and thou shalt know the gods.” Plato uses the maxim Know Thyself extensively. In his Charmides, Critias suggests the phrase “was an admonition to those entering the sacred temple to remember or know their place”, while in Philebus, it is used “to build an example of the ridiculous”, saying “that people make themselves appear ridiculous when they are trying to know obscure things before they know themselves.” [x]
The phrase also shows up in the context of science, such as, in the Latin form, on the anonymous texts accompanying anatomical fugitive sheets and anatomical atlases), and Carl Linnaeus’ Systema Naturae (1735), “in which he described humans […] with the simple phrase, ‘Nosce te ipsum’.” [x]
It is also appears in poetry, such as Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man, Epistle II (1734), Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Γνώθι Σεαυτόν (1831), and Samuel T. Coleridge’s Self Knowledge (1832), all three of which touch upon the knowledge of oneself and God. [x]
In the case of Lucas North, his condition as prisoner, spy, and imposter, as well as his interest in William Blake’s work, make this a particularly significant tattoo.
While not a typical Vor tattoo, with all the hidden symbolism those carry, there may be some further significance in its the placement. Tattoos consisting of political or anti-authoritarian statements (known as “grins”) are often placed on the stomach, and confer status. [x]
3) Back - Text Dum spiro spero
Dum spiro spero is Latin for “While I breathe, I hope.” [x]
“It is a common phrase and symbol tattooed that [portrays] the emotional and psychological state of the prisoner. Generally [it symbolizes] their hopes, fears and emotions, but also their psychological hardening and their physical ability to endure long years of pain and humiliation.” [x]
"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 (also often a pirate). The Latin text on the shoulder reads ‘Remember your mortality’." [x]
4) Back – Cupolas
Religious temples such as churches and mosques, as well as other buildings like fortresses, are common Russian prison tattoos, often placed on the chest, back or hand. The number of cupolas or towers indicates either the number of prison terms or the number of years of the sentence. A cross at the top of the spire indicates that the sentence was paid in full (see also: bell tattoos and manacle tattoos, below). The phrase, “The Church is the House of God” is often inscribed beneath, with the metaphorical meaning that, “Prison is the Home of the Thief”. [x, x, x]
Right: German text on the top of his right arm reads ‘God with us’. Latin text on the forearm ‘Remember your mortality’. Text on the fingers of the left hand reads ‘BARS’: (literally ‘lynx, snow leopard’), Bey Aktiv, Rezh Suk (beat up activists, kill bitches); underneath this ‘No Salvation, No Happiness’.
As with the cupola tattoos, bells are also used to indicate that the wearer will or has served his full sentence (“from bell call to bell call” or “to the bell”) [x]. Manacle tattoos (e.g. around the ankles in the pictures on the right) indicate that the wearer’s sentences were over five years [x].
4) Back – Text MИP
Mиp is Russian for peace or world. Previously, world used to be written as Mйp, but the breve over the и has since been dropped, meaning context is required to differentiate between the two words.
Active use of the breve began around the 15th and 16th centuries, and became obligatory in Church Slavonic orthography (also used for the Russian language) around the middle of the 17th century. The breve and all other diacritic marks were removed from the Russian writing system during the alphabet reforms of Peter I, but the breve was restored shortly after his death. Й was not officially considered a separate letter until the 1930s. [x]
However, in the context of Russian prison tattoos, Mиp refers instead to меня исправит расстрел (menya ispravit rasstrel), “[only] execution by firing squad will fix me” [x; seschat, pers. com.], and is used “to denote one who will never be rehabilitated or re-educated” [x].
Prison tattoos often use only the initials of words to compose a statement. Examples include [x, x, x]:
Stars, like cupolas or manacles, are commonly used to represent time in prison or sentences, with each point indicating a year in prison. [x, x]
Eight-point stars are specific to the Vory, and one of their most recognizable tattoos. They are usually placed on under the collarbones or on the knees. [x, x]
When placed on the shoulders, the tattoo indicates the rank of Captain as a Vor, or, more generally, as “a man of discipline, status, and tradition” [x] . When placed on the knees (called отрица́ть, otrizát, “I refuse”), it indicates the wearer will not kneel to authorities (e.g. by working with the prison administration or complying with their laws). [x, x]
Shoulder insignias are also a mark of solitary confinement [x].
Centre: Characteristic of the Old Regime and rarely used nowadays, images of Lenin and Stalin were often tattooed on the chest or back. This was done to protect the wearer’s vital organs, as guards would not desecrate the images by hitting or shooting them. [x, x]
8) Left forearm – Text Я ничего не вижу…
While the exact text is hard to discern, it appears to be Я ничего не вижу, ничего не слышу, ничего не знаю и ничего никому не скажу (Ja nitchjego nje vizhu, nitchjego nje slyschu, nitchjego nje znaju i nitchjego nikomu nje skazhu). This may be translated as “I don’t see anything, hear anything, know anything and won’t say anything [to anybody]” [seschat, pers. comm.]
The text is thus reminiscent of the proverb illustrated by the three wise monkeys, which states, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Sometimes a fourth monkey, symbolizing the principle of “do no evil” is added to the pictoral maxim. [x]
This maxim was popularized by a 17th century carving over a door (above) of the Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, Japan. It is believed that the temple’s carvings depict Conufcius’ Code of Conduct, “using the monkey as a way to depict man’s life cycle”. The philosophy was probably brought in from China in the 8th century, where a similar phrase exists in the Analects of Confucius (2nd to 4th century B.C.): “Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety” [x]
In the Western world, rather than being an instruction regarding one’s conduct, the maxim “is often used to refer to those who deal with impropriety by turning a blind eye” [x].
The criminal code looks down upon (and in the case of the Vory, specifically prohibits) collaboration of any kind with the authorities or the legal system (see omertà, below). Tattoos consisting of political or anti-authoritarian statements, known as “grins”, are common (see gnōthi seauton, above), as well as tattoos threatening collaborators or declaring an unwillingness to cooperate with authorities [x]. Thus, Lucas’s tattoo is probably just such a “grin”: a promise of non-collaboration with the authorities, particularly of not informing on fellow convicts.
Omertà is an Italian term originating in Corsica and Southern Italy and may be a dialectal alteration of umiltà, meaning humility or modesty. It is “a rule or code that prohibits speaking or divulging information about certain activities, especially the activities of a criminal organization” as well as prohibiting interference in the legal or illegal actions of others. It is prevalent in Italian criminal organizations such as the Cosa Nostra, ‘Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and Camorra, as well as the Italian-American Mafia “and other Italian ethnic enclaves in countries such as Germany, Canada, and Australia, where Italian organized crime exists”. [x, x]
9) Left wrist – Quincunx
Since the early 1950s, dots or crosses on the hands or knuckles have been used to indicated the number of prison terms [x, x].
The quincunx (five dots pattern), often placed on the hand or wrist, represents four watchtowers and a convict in the middle, as in the Russian saying четыре вышки и я (chetyre vyshky i ya, “the four towers and I”). It indicates extensive prison time and has become an international tattoo. [x, x]
Right: Cat tattoos indicate a pickpocket or thief. Single cats meant the wearer worked alone, whereas several cats meant the wearer was part of a gang. Bow-ties on the cats used to be forcible tattoos, to indicate the wearer had broken the thieves’ code (e.g. had sided with the police or prison authorities), but nowadays cats with bow-ties are common and carry no stigma. Cats can also symbolize luck and caution, or refer to the acronym K.O.T (literally “cat”), see above, Back). [x, x, x]
10) Right Shoulder - Ship
One of the more straightforward tattoos, a sailing ship indicates a love of freedom or a lamentation for its loss. The image of a setting sun, often accompanied by birds flying over the horizon, (see below) has the same significance. In the 1940s and 1950s, a sailing ship was more specifically used by convicts who had attempted escape. [x, x, x]
A setting sun with birds flying.
One source [x] also suggests that a sailing ship tattoo indicates a “guest-thief”, although I have been unable to confirm this with other sources, or to determine whether one could be a “guest” vor member.
The placement may also be significant, as a shoulder insignia often indicated solitary confinement [x].
Ship on left wrist. Note also the manacles and initials on the right hand, and the cupolas and ring tattoos on the left. Ring tattoos on the fingers show the wearer’s status when the rest of his body is covered. [x, x]
Ship on right forearm. Note the religious iconography, cupolas, Lenin and Stalin, and the beetles. Beetles (see below), often tattooed on the hands, symbolize a pickpocket. The acronym Ж.У.К. (literally “beetle”), which stands for желаю удачной кражи (Zhelayu Udachnoy Krazhi, “May your theft be a success”) is also used. [x]
Left: “A palm tattoo from a convict detained in this famous prison [The ‘Crosses’. St. Petersburg.] (constructed in 1890). Beetles, ants, cockroaches, bumblebees, flies, and spiders (without cobwebs) are the symbols of pickpockets.” [x]
See also: the large ship tattoo of man with the dum spiro spero tattoo (left).
11) Right Forearm - Band with chain
Barbed wire, handcuffs, chains, and manacles (see above) are often used to indicate years in prison by their number of nodes. As with voluntary facial tattoos, they can also represent a commitment to the criminal world, or that the wearer does not expect to ever be released [x, x].
Note the similarity between Lucas’ arm band and that right arm of the man with the dum spiro spero (right).
12) Right wrist – Text ВЯХ or ВТК
Deciphering this tattoo is difficult for two reasons: identifying the letters (see block and cursive alphabet below) and the possibility of it being an acronym. (See, for example, Ж.У.К., literally “beetle”, above in the Right Shoulder – Ship section).
Вях is the old term for the common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) or вяхирь, in Russian (seschat, pers. comm.).
Вях can also be another spelling for Вёх, a perennial herbaceous plant known in English as Cowbane or Northern Water Hemlock (Cicuta virosa). This plant contains cicutoxin, making it toxic to humans, producing symptoms of “nausea, emesis and abdominal pain, typically within 60 minutes of ingestion”. Due to the rapidity of the symptoms, treatment is usually unsuccessful. “There has been some dispute whether it was a hemlock of the genus Cicuta or the genus Conium which was used in ancient Greece as state poison”, was with the execution of the Greek philosopher Socrates. [x]
Hemlock also appears in various mythologies in relation to water dragons or snakes, such as the Finnish tale of Lemminkäinen [x]:
ВТК may stand for Воспитательно-Трудовая Колония (Vospitatjelno-Trudovaja Kolonija, “reformatory labour camp”), referring to the camps (also called Исправительно-Трудовая Колония, abbr. ИТК, “corrective labour camp”) used during Stalinism. These camps were mainly for underaged (sixteen and under) “convicts and captured беспризорники (besprizorniki, street children, literally, ‘children without family care’)” [x].
In the context of Lucas North, however, none of these interpretations seem to apply. (One could try to go hemlock -> dragons -> William Blake’s “The Red Dragon”, or hemlock -> Socrates -> gnōthi seauton, but either connection is really reaching.) The tattoo may be an acronym for some other unknown phrase.
Other Russian prison tattoos, a sample:
"The tattoos across the eyelids read ‘Do not / Wake me’. The genie on the forearm is a common symbol of drug addiction. […] Epaulette tattoos (on the shoulders) display the criminal’s rank in a system that mirrors that of the army (major, colonel, general etc).” [x]
Tattoos on the eyelids are particularly respected due to their method of application: a metal spoon is inserted under the lid so that the ‘needle’ does not penetrate the eye. [x]
“The epaulette and the spider on the shoulders denote a high-ranking criminal. The text across the chest reads: ‘O Lord, forgive me for the tears of my mother’. On the right side of the bearers chest is tattooed 100-ruble note, usually signifying involvement in counterfeiting and commitment to criminal life.” [x]
“The dagger through the neck shows that the prisoner committed murder while in prison, and that he is available to ‘hire’ for further murders.” [x]
“The epaulette tattooed on the shoulder, the thieves’ stars and religious tattoos on the chest all denote this thief’s high rank. The skull in the centre of the epaulette can be deciphered as: ‘I am not and will never be a slave, no one can force me to work’. ‘YK’ indicates the bearer has been through the ‘Intensive Colony’.” [x]
Main sources:
* Lucas North, Spooks
Tattooing’s part of the culture in there. You don’t do it, you don’t belong, you don’t belong, you’re dead. They all mean something. There’s a specific iconography. Fascinating, really. - Lucas North, Spooks (7x01)
"A group of convicts imprisoned for drug-related crimes. Convict (left) on both arms: ‘I live in sin / I die laughing’. Images of demons and monsters are intended to intimidate other inmates and give significance to the bearer within his circle. Convict (centre) German text below the neck: ‘God with us’; on the left arm: ‘Hurry up and live’. The sailing ship on the forearm signifies a lust for freedom and that the bearer is a potential escapee. Convict (right) on upper arm: ‘Keep love’; on forearm: ‘KRAB’: Klyanus Rezat Aktivistov i Blyadey (I swear to kill activists and sluts). The rose on the shoulder means that the bearer turned eighteen in prison.” [x]
Background - The Vory
During the Russian Revolution of 1917, armed gangs, with their own slang, culture, and criminal code, proliferated. This criminal culture became known as the Vorovskoy Mir (воровской мир), the Criminal (or Thieves’) World. [x]
After the revolution and the NKVD secret police “nearly completely exterminated the criminal underworld” and forced labor camps (Gulag) were filled with political prisoners and criminals, a new organized group arose: the vory v zakone (thieves in law; singular vor v zakone) [x]. This group “began to play an important role in the criminal hierarchy of Russia” following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 [x].
The Vory ruled “the criminal underworld within the prison camps and adhered to “system of collective responsibility” [x]. Members swore to a code of “complete submission to the laws of criminal life, including obligations to support the criminal ideal, rejection of legitimate employment (must support oneself through criminal enterprises) and refusal to participate in all political activities.” [x] The term vor v zakone, more fully translated as “thief who follows the law,” refers to this Thieves’ Code. [x]
A thief in law “is a career criminal who is respected, has informal authority and an elite status within the organized crime environment”. Currently this crime environment ranges from the Soviet Union to “post-Soviet states and respective diasporas abroad” [x]. Estimates of members, of various post-Soviet state nationalities, throughout the world range from several hundred to over 10,000 [x].
Background - Vory and Prison Tattoos
Russian prison tattoos are distinctive for their bluish color and blurred edges, resulting from the use of ink from a ballpoint pen and the lack of adequate instruments, respectively. The ink is also made from molten rubber (by burning the heel of a shoe, for example), and mixing this with urine or water and sugar. [x]
Russian criminal and prison tattoos have a complex iconography which, by their symbols and placement on the body, can give detailed information about the wearer. [x] Many of these tattoos are characteristic of “the Old Regime”, when the Vor v Zakone “was more structured” in prisons [x]. The Vory are particularly known for such symbolic tattoos [x].
"This prisoner’s tattoos display his anger and bitterness towards Communist power; the tattoos on the face signify that he never expects to go free. He works as a stoker. Text under the eyes reads ‘Full / of Love’; on the chin ‘Danger of Death’; around the neck ‘To each his own’; above each head of the double-headed snake ‘Wife’ and ‘Mother-in-law’; on the chest ‘It is not for you whores, to dig in my soul’; on his arm ‘Communists, suck my dick for my ruined youth’." [x]
Because of their symbolism, tattoos had to be earned, and “carried huge integrity, they were more important than anything else for a criminal [E]”. The more tattoos a convict gets, the more sentences he has served, the more respect he gets in prison. [x]
Given their importance, sporting an unmerited tattoo brought severe punishment from fellow inmates. At best, it would be removed with sandpaper, glass, a brick or a razor. If he refused the offender would be raped or killed. [x]
Tattoos could also be forcibly applied to stigmatize, punish, or lower the status of the wearer for reasons ranging from losing at cards to breaking the criminal code [x, x, x]. “They often humiliate the person’s ethnicity, sexual orientation or involvement with prison officials" [x]. Such tattoos include a heart inside a white triangle (the sign of a child rapist, indicating the wearer was “an untouchable, and subject to the sexual whims of other prisoners” [x]) and a pair of eyes on the lower stomach or backside (indicating a homosexual or “that the prisoner is used for sexual gratification” [x]).
A criminal with no tattoos was devoid of status [x].
Right: “Mikhail Kovanev, poet, artist and musician, was serving a sentence of fifteen years for murder. He claimed he was innocent of this charge. Every part of his body was covered with tattoos, many of his own design. The eyes on the stomach mean that he was a homosexual (the penis makes the ‘nose’ of the face). In the colony he became a drug addict and was subsequently killed.” [x]
Lucas North’s Tattoos
1) Chest - William Blake’s The Ancient of Days
The Ancient of Days (1794) shows Urizen “crouching in a circular design with a cloud-like background,” holding a compass over a void. Urizen is Blake’s embodiment of conventional reason and law, usually depicted as a beared old man with either an architect’s tools (with which to create and constrain the universe) or nets (with which to ensnare people into law and conventional society). [x] The work represents the event described in the Book of Proverbs viii. 25, “when he set a compass upon the face of the earth” [x]. The term “ancient of days” is a name for God in the biblical Book of Daniel [x].
Lucas is an admirer of English poet and painter William Blake. He has two prints of Blake’s art in his flat (The Ancient of Days, like his tattoo, and The Red Dragon) and a “well-thumbed” old edition of The Poetry of William Blake. Elizabeta [Lucas’ ex-wife] speaks of his admiration of Blake and suggests it is because, like Blake, Lucas “distrusts systems”.
“Blake is most well known for his dislike of religious dogmatism and mysticism was a strong element in many of his works. What is less appreciated about Blake is that he also held unfavourable views towards British imperialism, taxation, and believed strongly in racial and sexual equality.” [x]
In general, religious iconography is common in Russian prison tattoos, although their meaning may not be religious. For example, a tattoo of the Madonna and Child may indicate that the wearer has been a criminal from a young age, or, if in Orthodox style,it means “I will not betray”, as does a crucifix, typically worn on the chest. [x, x, x]
2) Stomach - Text Gnothi seauton
The Ancient Greek aphorism γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnōthi seauton), also written in Latin as nosce te ipsum or temet nosce and meaning, literally, “know thyself”, has a variety of interpretations and contexts. [x]
In Ancient Egyptian, for example, it appears in the Inner Temple of the temple of Luxor as, "Man, know thyself … and thou shalt know the gods.” Plato uses the maxim Know Thyself extensively. In his Charmides, Critias suggests the phrase “was an admonition to those entering the sacred temple to remember or know their place”, while in Philebus, it is used “to build an example of the ridiculous”, saying “that people make themselves appear ridiculous when they are trying to know obscure things before they know themselves.” [x]
The phrase also shows up in the context of science, such as, in the Latin form, on the anonymous texts accompanying anatomical fugitive sheets and anatomical atlases), and Carl Linnaeus’ Systema Naturae (1735), “in which he described humans […] with the simple phrase, ‘Nosce te ipsum’.” [x]
It is also appears in poetry, such as Alexander Pope’s An Essay on Man, Epistle II (1734), Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Γνώθι Σεαυτόν (1831), and Samuel T. Coleridge’s Self Knowledge (1832), all three of which touch upon the knowledge of oneself and God. [x]
In the case of Lucas North, his condition as prisoner, spy, and imposter, as well as his interest in William Blake’s work, make this a particularly significant tattoo.
While not a typical Vor tattoo, with all the hidden symbolism those carry, there may be some further significance in its the placement. Tattoos consisting of political or anti-authoritarian statements (known as “grins”) are often placed on the stomach, and confer status. [x]
3) Back - Text Dum spiro spero
Dum spiro spero is Latin for “While I breathe, I hope.” [x]
“It is a common phrase and symbol tattooed that [portrays] the emotional and psychological state of the prisoner. Generally [it symbolizes] their hopes, fears and emotions, but also their psychological hardening and their physical ability to endure long years of pain and humiliation.” [x]
"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 (also often a pirate). The Latin text on the shoulder reads ‘Remember your mortality’." [x]
4) Back – Cupolas
Religious temples such as churches and mosques, as well as other buildings like fortresses, are common Russian prison tattoos, often placed on the chest, back or hand. The number of cupolas or towers indicates either the number of prison terms or the number of years of the sentence. A cross at the top of the spire indicates that the sentence was paid in full (see also: bell tattoos and manacle tattoos, below). The phrase, “The Church is the House of God” is often inscribed beneath, with the metaphorical meaning that, “Prison is the Home of the Thief”. [x, x, x]
Right: German text on the top of his right arm reads ‘God with us’. Latin text on the forearm ‘Remember your mortality’. Text on the fingers of the left hand reads ‘BARS’: (literally ‘lynx, snow leopard’), Bey Aktiv, Rezh Suk (beat up activists, kill bitches); underneath this ‘No Salvation, No Happiness’.
As with the cupola tattoos, bells are also used to indicate that the wearer will or has served his full sentence (“from bell call to bell call” or “to the bell”) [x]. Manacle tattoos (e.g. around the ankles in the pictures on the right) indicate that the wearer’s sentences were over five years [x].
4) Back – Text MИP
Mиp is Russian for peace or world. Previously, world used to be written as Mйp, but the breve over the и has since been dropped, meaning context is required to differentiate between the two words.
Active use of the breve began around the 15th and 16th centuries, and became obligatory in Church Slavonic orthography (also used for the Russian language) around the middle of the 17th century. The breve and all other diacritic marks were removed from the Russian writing system during the alphabet reforms of Peter I, but the breve was restored shortly after his death. Й was not officially considered a separate letter until the 1930s. [x]
However, in the context of Russian prison tattoos, Mиp refers instead to меня исправит расстрел (menya ispravit rasstrel), “[only] execution by firing squad will fix me” [x; seschat, pers. com.], and is used “to denote one who will never be rehabilitated or re-educated” [x].
Prison tattoos often use only the initials of words to compose a statement. Examples include [x, x, x]:
- C.C. for сохранил совесть (sohranil sovest) - “kept my conscience”
- С.Э.Р. for свобода это рай (svoboda eto ray) - “freedom is paradise”
- К.Р.А.Б. for клянусь резать активистов и блядей (klyanus rezat aktivistov i blyadey) - “I swear to kill activists and sluts”
- A.C.A.B. for “all coppers are bastards”, which originated and is most popular in the UK.
- K.O.T. for коренной обитатель тюрьмы, (korennoy obitatel tiurmy) - "chronic prison inmate"
- О.М.У.Т. for от меня уйти трудно (ot menya uiti trudno) - “it is difficult to get away from me”
Stars, like cupolas or manacles, are commonly used to represent time in prison or sentences, with each point indicating a year in prison. [x, x]
Eight-point stars are specific to the Vory, and one of their most recognizable tattoos. They are usually placed on under the collarbones or on the knees. [x, x]
When placed on the shoulders, the tattoo indicates the rank of Captain as a Vor, or, more generally, as “a man of discipline, status, and tradition” [x] . When placed on the knees (called отрица́ть, otrizát, “I refuse”), it indicates the wearer will not kneel to authorities (e.g. by working with the prison administration or complying with their laws). [x, x]
Shoulder insignias are also a mark of solitary confinement [x].
Centre: Characteristic of the Old Regime and rarely used nowadays, images of Lenin and Stalin were often tattooed on the chest or back. This was done to protect the wearer’s vital organs, as guards would not desecrate the images by hitting or shooting them. [x, x]
8) Left forearm – Text Я ничего не вижу…
While the exact text is hard to discern, it appears to be Я ничего не вижу, ничего не слышу, ничего не знаю и ничего никому не скажу (Ja nitchjego nje vizhu, nitchjego nje slyschu, nitchjego nje znaju i nitchjego nikomu nje skazhu). This may be translated as “I don’t see anything, hear anything, know anything and won’t say anything [to anybody]” [seschat, pers. comm.]
The text is thus reminiscent of the proverb illustrated by the three wise monkeys, which states, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Sometimes a fourth monkey, symbolizing the principle of “do no evil” is added to the pictoral maxim. [x]
This maxim was popularized by a 17th century carving over a door (above) of the Tōshō-gū shrine in Nikkō, Japan. It is believed that the temple’s carvings depict Conufcius’ Code of Conduct, “using the monkey as a way to depict man’s life cycle”. The philosophy was probably brought in from China in the 8th century, where a similar phrase exists in the Analects of Confucius (2nd to 4th century B.C.): “Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety” [x]
In the Western world, rather than being an instruction regarding one’s conduct, the maxim “is often used to refer to those who deal with impropriety by turning a blind eye” [x].
The criminal code looks down upon (and in the case of the Vory, specifically prohibits) collaboration of any kind with the authorities or the legal system (see omertà, below). Tattoos consisting of political or anti-authoritarian statements, known as “grins”, are common (see gnōthi seauton, above), as well as tattoos threatening collaborators or declaring an unwillingness to cooperate with authorities [x]. Thus, Lucas’s tattoo is probably just such a “grin”: a promise of non-collaboration with the authorities, particularly of not informing on fellow convicts.
Omertà is an Italian term originating in Corsica and Southern Italy and may be a dialectal alteration of umiltà, meaning humility or modesty. It is “a rule or code that prohibits speaking or divulging information about certain activities, especially the activities of a criminal organization” as well as prohibiting interference in the legal or illegal actions of others. It is prevalent in Italian criminal organizations such as the Cosa Nostra, ‘Ndrangheta, Sacra Corona Unita, and Camorra, as well as the Italian-American Mafia “and other Italian ethnic enclaves in countries such as Germany, Canada, and Australia, where Italian organized crime exists”. [x, x]
9) Left wrist – Quincunx
Since the early 1950s, dots or crosses on the hands or knuckles have been used to indicated the number of prison terms [x, x].
The quincunx (five dots pattern), often placed on the hand or wrist, represents four watchtowers and a convict in the middle, as in the Russian saying четыре вышки и я (chetyre vyshky i ya, “the four towers and I”). It indicates extensive prison time and has become an international tattoo. [x, x]
Right: Cat tattoos indicate a pickpocket or thief. Single cats meant the wearer worked alone, whereas several cats meant the wearer was part of a gang. Bow-ties on the cats used to be forcible tattoos, to indicate the wearer had broken the thieves’ code (e.g. had sided with the police or prison authorities), but nowadays cats with bow-ties are common and carry no stigma. Cats can also symbolize luck and caution, or refer to the acronym K.O.T (literally “cat”), see above, Back). [x, x, x]
10) Right Shoulder - Ship
One of the more straightforward tattoos, a sailing ship indicates a love of freedom or a lamentation for its loss. The image of a setting sun, often accompanied by birds flying over the horizon, (see below) has the same significance. In the 1940s and 1950s, a sailing ship was more specifically used by convicts who had attempted escape. [x, x, x]
A setting sun with birds flying.
One source [x] also suggests that a sailing ship tattoo indicates a “guest-thief”, although I have been unable to confirm this with other sources, or to determine whether one could be a “guest” vor member.
The placement may also be significant, as a shoulder insignia often indicated solitary confinement [x].
Ship on left wrist. Note also the manacles and initials on the right hand, and the cupolas and ring tattoos on the left. Ring tattoos on the fingers show the wearer’s status when the rest of his body is covered. [x, x]
Ship on right forearm. Note the religious iconography, cupolas, Lenin and Stalin, and the beetles. Beetles (see below), often tattooed on the hands, symbolize a pickpocket. The acronym Ж.У.К. (literally “beetle”), which stands for желаю удачной кражи (Zhelayu Udachnoy Krazhi, “May your theft be a success”) is also used. [x]
Left: “A palm tattoo from a convict detained in this famous prison [The ‘Crosses’. St. Petersburg.] (constructed in 1890). Beetles, ants, cockroaches, bumblebees, flies, and spiders (without cobwebs) are the symbols of pickpockets.” [x]
See also: the large ship tattoo of man with the dum spiro spero tattoo (left).
11) Right Forearm - Band with chain
Barbed wire, handcuffs, chains, and manacles (see above) are often used to indicate years in prison by their number of nodes. As with voluntary facial tattoos, they can also represent a commitment to the criminal world, or that the wearer does not expect to ever be released [x, x].
Note the similarity between Lucas’ arm band and that right arm of the man with the dum spiro spero (right).
12) Right wrist – Text ВЯХ or ВТК
Deciphering this tattoo is difficult for two reasons: identifying the letters (see block and cursive alphabet below) and the possibility of it being an acronym. (See, for example, Ж.У.К., literally “beetle”, above in the Right Shoulder – Ship section).
Вях is the old term for the common wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) or вяхирь, in Russian (seschat, pers. comm.).
Вях can also be another spelling for Вёх, a perennial herbaceous plant known in English as Cowbane or Northern Water Hemlock (Cicuta virosa). This plant contains cicutoxin, making it toxic to humans, producing symptoms of “nausea, emesis and abdominal pain, typically within 60 minutes of ingestion”. Due to the rapidity of the symptoms, treatment is usually unsuccessful. “There has been some dispute whether it was a hemlock of the genus Cicuta or the genus Conium which was used in ancient Greece as state poison”, was with the execution of the Greek philosopher Socrates. [x]
Hemlock also appears in various mythologies in relation to water dragons or snakes, such as the Finnish tale of Lemminkäinen [x]:
He roused up a water dragon,
Stalk of cowbane from the river;
Thrust it through the man’s heart,
Straight through Lemminkainen’s liver
ВТК may stand for Воспитательно-Трудовая Колония (Vospitatjelno-Trudovaja Kolonija, “reformatory labour camp”), referring to the camps (also called Исправительно-Трудовая Колония, abbr. ИТК, “corrective labour camp”) used during Stalinism. These camps were mainly for underaged (sixteen and under) “convicts and captured беспризорники (besprizorniki, street children, literally, ‘children without family care’)” [x].
In the context of Lucas North, however, none of these interpretations seem to apply. (One could try to go hemlock -> dragons -> William Blake’s “The Red Dragon”, or hemlock -> Socrates -> gnōthi seauton, but either connection is really reaching.) The tattoo may be an acronym for some other unknown phrase.
Other Russian prison tattoos, a sample:
"The tattoos across the eyelids read ‘Do not / Wake me’. The genie on the forearm is a common symbol of drug addiction. […] Epaulette tattoos (on the shoulders) display the criminal’s rank in a system that mirrors that of the army (major, colonel, general etc).” [x]
Tattoos on the eyelids are particularly respected due to their method of application: a metal spoon is inserted under the lid so that the ‘needle’ does not penetrate the eye. [x]
“The epaulette and the spider on the shoulders denote a high-ranking criminal. The text across the chest reads: ‘O Lord, forgive me for the tears of my mother’. On the right side of the bearers chest is tattooed 100-ruble note, usually signifying involvement in counterfeiting and commitment to criminal life.” [x]
“The dagger through the neck shows that the prisoner committed murder while in prison, and that he is available to ‘hire’ for further murders.” [x]
“The epaulette tattooed on the shoulder, the thieves’ stars and religious tattoos on the chest all denote this thief’s high rank. The skull in the centre of the epaulette can be deciphered as: ‘I am not and will never be a slave, no one can force me to work’. ‘YK’ indicates the bearer has been through the ‘Intensive Colony’.” [x]
Main sources:
- Gang tattoos: A look at their use and meaning
- Russian criminal tattoos: Breaking the code
- Russian criminal tattoo
- Russian criminal tattoo archive
- Symbols of a life of crime: The fading tattoos on Russia’s gangland prisoners that can be read like a criminal underworld CV
- Criminal tattoo: Russia and former Soviet republics
- Sergei Vasiliev’s photographs of Russian prison tattoos, taken between 1989 and 1993 in prisons and reform settlements across Chelyabinsk, Nizhny Tagil, Perm and St Petersburg: here and here
- Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia, Vol. 1-3
- The Mark of Cain documentary: Wikipedia article and YouTube
* Lucas North, Spooks
