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The brutal truth behind Russian Mafia Tattoos is one that we are only dimly aware of. Perhaps you caught the much acclaimed and multi-award winning movie "Eastern Promises" starring Viggo Mortensen, in which he plays a driver of a Russian Mafia boss' son. His body is riddled with tattoos that trace his history in the Vory v Zakone - the Russian criminal world.
The film makes for great viewing, and really shows up the importance of the tattoos in the criminal society of the Russian Mafia. But these tattoos are more than simple body art, each picture and symbol in a Russian Mafia tattoo is filled with meaning. The tattoos tell the life story of the man wearing them, his sins, his prison sentences, what rank he is, where he is from, and even how many people he has killed.
The tattoos are deeply symbolic and properly unravelling the meanings behind them can only be done by other members of the Russian Mafia. Often, the symbols used are religious, and can include cathedrals and churches with the number of spires indicating the number of times they have been in prison.
Upon initiation into the Russian Mafia, a new recruit is often given a tattoo on their chest which incorporates a rose. As they rise in ranks, they may be given more tattoos, and when they reach the rank of captain, they are finally given a star on their shoulder and very often on their knees as well - to indicate that they kneel before no one.
The culture of Russian Mafia tattoos are said to have originated in the gulag - a prison in Siberia that is known as one of the toughest prisons in the world.
The criminals in the Russian Mafia are bound by a very strict code of conduct, much like the that of the Mafia in Italy, and members who tattoos themselves falsely (to inflate their rank or pretend that they have done certain things that they really haven't) are often punished with death. Furthermore, if you break the code, you can often be forced to have a tattoo of a sexual nature in a prominent place such as the forehead. These are specifically designed to embarrass the wearer.
I'm a historian, with an interest in the peculiar.
The world of Russian Mafia Tattoos is explored on my website http://russianmafiatattoos.blogspot.com/
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