Russian Prison Tattoos

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

I read through this book yesterday featuring drawings and photos of tattoos on Russian criminals, and it was very fascinating. Lots of bizarre and savage imagery, anti-Communist and anti-authoritarian scripts (fair amount of misogyny and anti-Semitism too, so be warned), messages of despair, etc. Anybody know more about these tattoos and the culture of the Russian criminal underworld?

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:21 (twenty-two years ago)

also, this is a good look:

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Barbed wire was invented in Worcester, MA along with the monkey wrench, the smiley face and the space suit.

― HAMBURGER NEURON GROUP (ex machina), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Thats why I love it here so much.

― Chris 'The Velvet Bingo' V (Chris V), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:30 (twenty-two years ago)

Worcester, MA is responsible for the closing of the American West, then.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:35 (twenty-two years ago)

Can't we put everyone in "red states" in a barbed wire enclosure?

― HAMBURGER NEURON GROUP (ex machina), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:36 (twenty-two years ago)

hahahaha Turner Diaries to thread.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:37 (twenty-two years ago)

i looked through that book a few weeks ago. you're right - it's totally fascinating. i'd heard that the russian underworld used tattoos, but i had no idea how complex the whole system is.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:39 (twenty-two years ago)

MO PIX PLZ THX BYE

― Markelby (Mark C), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:40 (twenty-two years ago)

where did you see it? I wanna get a copy, I hear the International Photography Center thingy in Midtown has it.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:40 (twenty-two years ago)

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:41 (twenty-two years ago)

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:42 (twenty-two years ago)

st. mark's books, shakespeare and company, and mondo kim's all have it - the usual hipster suspects.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:42 (twenty-two years ago)

freakin' a, hipster book stores, what a concept.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey, look there are EMO KIDS in the gulag!

― HAMBURGER NEURON GROUP (ex machina), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:44 (twenty-two years ago)

emo kids don't usually have tats of a dog with Communist Party insignias buttfucking a prostitute, Jon.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I bought a nice book, at st. mark's books.

― RJG (RJG), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:45 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.arcspace.com/news/books/holl_parallax/1.Parallax.jpg

― RJG (RJG), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:46 (twenty-two years ago)

NAUTICAL STARS

― HAMBURGER NEURON GROUP (ex machina), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:50 (twenty-two years ago)

An image of birds flying over the horizons means “I was born free and should remain free.”

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:52 (twenty-two years ago)

The tattoos are painfully applied with needles and electric shavers, using ink made from urine, soot, and shampoo. Infection from the procedure is frequent, and death not uncommon.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:53 (twenty-two years ago)

who would get a tattoo on ther head!?

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 10 June 2004 13:58 (twenty-two years ago)

if you gotta count days in the gulag, there are probably worse things you could do.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:00 (twenty-two years ago)

i saw a thing on the bbc about south african prison gangs a while ago. it was weird. i actually felt physically sick. they were big on facial tattooing, too.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:01 (twenty-two years ago)

READ A BOOK!

― NA (Nick A.), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:02 (twenty-two years ago)

uh, xpost.

― NA (Nick A.), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Dave you know about the tattooed teardrop thing, yeah?

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:05 (twenty-two years ago)

who would get a tattoo on ther head!?

take a look at the road crew next time you go to see a band.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:09 (twenty-two years ago)

i have an idea - it means you've killed someone, yeah?

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:09 (twenty-two years ago)

yep.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

i don't watch bands, ever, for almost precisely this reason.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

i did once see a guy with a picture of a man having a wank on his forearm.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:10 (twenty-two years ago)

you know about the tattooed teardrop thing

yves saint-laurent put those on their runway models one year.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:12 (twenty-two years ago)

one of the photos in the book was a dude's uncircumsized cock with a tattoo on it. No, it didn't say "Welcome to Jamaica have a nice day!"

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:12 (twenty-two years ago)

YSL is HARD!!!!

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:12 (twenty-two years ago)

i'm glad you pated the teardrop thing lauren - if that was a reply to my post, i wouldn't have been able to pick myself off the floor for laughing

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:15 (twenty-two years ago)

i would have said to the guy in question, how are you going to explain that to yr grandkids, but i don't think that was much of an issue for him, really.

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:16 (twenty-two years ago)

a friend of mine was going to get a tattoo his upper arm but kept procrastinating. finally, he said he had decided against doing it because it might interfere with getting a job. another friend of ours told him that any place that allowed a man to show up to work in a tank top probably wouldn't care about tattoos.

― lauren (laurenp), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:20 (twenty-two years ago)

ha! there were some good tattoos at the party last night, too.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 14:21 (twenty-two years ago)

that sun with the bird has the word 'freedom' written in its rays. thtas a pretty cool tat, as they go/

― ambrose (ambrose), Thursday, 10 June 2004 15:05 (twenty-two years ago)

can you read Russian? Wish I could. Having that ability would probably enhance my interest in these even more.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 15:06 (twenty-two years ago)

Is it another slow day at work, hstencil?

― tokyo rosemary (rosemary), Thursday, 10 June 2004 15:07 (twenty-two years ago)

actually, no, more like I'm hungover and don't really wanna concentrate.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 15:09 (twenty-two years ago)

i want to see more head tattoos and read more gruesome details

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Thursday, 10 June 2004 15:13 (twenty-two years ago)

http://spc.bodymodification.com/galleries/tattoos/faces.htm

― JaXoN (JasonD), Thursday, 10 June 2004 18:07 (twenty-two years ago)

ACK!

― JaXoN (JasonD), Thursday, 10 June 2004 18:08 (twenty-two years ago)

What's the title?

― Jocelyn (Jocelyn), Thursday, 10 June 2004 19:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Yakuza tattos > Russian gangster tattoos

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 10 June 2004 19:17 (twenty-two years ago)

classist.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 10 June 2004 19:18 (twenty-two years ago)

Russian taTus > Yakuza tattoos, though

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Thursday, 10 June 2004 19:20 (twenty-two years ago)

I can't argue with that.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 11 June 2004 05:44 (twenty-two years ago)

barbed wire was invented in DeKalb, Illinois.

― oops (Oops), Friday, 11 June 2004 05:46 (twenty-two years ago)

ten years pass...

this is so fucking dope

http://assets.vice.com/content-images/article/russian-criminal-tattoo-fuel-damon-murray-interview-876/galleryImage/RCTPF-PAGE-151.jpg

― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Thursday, 16 October 2014 21:03 (eleven years ago)

I saw an old lady offering roadside tattoos yesterday. Wasn't tempted at the time but I may bring that picture with me and tell her to go for it.

The new photo book from Fuel looks interesting, though I'm not sure it'll offer much that the three-volume Danzig Baldaev series didn't.

― Wristy Hurlington (ShariVari), Friday, 17 October 2014 12:39 (eleven years ago)

Is that Ernest Borgnine?

― bizarro gazzara, Friday, 17 October 2014 13:19 (eleven years ago)

It kind of looks like Menachem Begin imo

― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Friday, 17 October 2014 20:32 (eleven years ago)

more confusing to me is what kind of gun he is supposed to be holding. It looks like a space gun and it says "US" on it

― my jaw left (Hurting 2), Friday, 17 October 2014 21:28 (eleven years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.