Surprisingly, very often people, absolutely far from the criminal concepts and the world of thieves, are drawn to know the meaning of this or that tattoo. Of course, no one is safe from prison, everyone knows that. "Show me a man with a tattoo, and I will show you a man with an interesting past," wrote Jack London.
Well, sometimes, on your way home on public transport, you may indeed notice a person "with an interesting past" when you see a finger or hand painted with cheap paint. In this article we will talk about the meanings of common prison tattoos, and we will start with finger ring tattoos.
Prison finger ring tattoos and their meanings
| Felons in the family. It is traditionally associated with the acronym GREAT, which stands for "Testament of the Beloved Father. |
| A minor underclass under his belt. Childhood spent in penal colonies and detention camps. |
| As a rule, such rings are "worn" by Muslims. A crescent and a diagonal line indicate a sentence served in a high-security correctional facility. |
| A solid black ring. Means time served "from bell to bell." Released according to a court sentence, without parole. |
| Can be found on both men and women. The identification mark of those who have served their sentences in the famous Kresty, a prison in the city of St. Petersburg. |
| The ring of a man sitting for robbery. |
| One of the tattoos of the "lowered" and "parashnikovs". Mostly done by force. In the 90s, you could meet card debtors with such a ring. After release, convicts with such a stigma often painted over the white part of the square, turning the tattoo into a black solid square (its meaning is written above). |
| A black square with a transverse white stripe on the diagonal. The wearer of such a ring has passed the zone and has been released. |
| A tattoo in the form of a diagonal white stripe with three black dots inside on a black background. This is the so-called ring of the "cock"-homosexual. Such a tattoo refers to the caste of the downtrodden and offended in prison. |
| A black and white peak separated by an oblique line. Usually deciphered as "I met my adulthood in the penitentiary". |
| The ring with the black suit on the bottom right. The suit of a pedophile - convicted of lewd acts against a minor. |
| Sign of authority. The ring shows the hearts and clubs suits in staggered order. |
| Bicolor ring, separated by a slash. In the white part is the sign of the clubs suit. The tattoo stands for "passed through Kresty," the famous prison in the city of St. Petersburg. |
| Most often, such a ring is applied forcibly. Its presence on the finger denotes a sentence for the rape of a minor - "Tselkarik". |
| Tattoo "ace of diamonds. Characterizes the owner as a professional card cheat. |
| Such a symbol can be found not only on the fingers. Denotes a "cormorant" sitting for hooliganism. The ring looks like an inverted pike on a white background. |
| Both male and female tattoo. Denotes a prison sentence for theft. A common thief's tattoo. |
| Tattoo with an image of a tulip on a white background. Its owner served his sentence in a correctional labor colony. Around the flower can also depict the rays, denoting the term or the number of strokes. |
| One of the tattoos is "denied". Owners of such tattoos are characterized by the phrase "To live means to fight". The owner will not back down, will not give up, is ready to resort to violence. |
| This ring designates a "pakhan", a thief in law. The tattoo looks like a crown on a white background. Can be depicted with diverging rays, the number of which denotes the number of convictions. |
| Swastika tattoo in a white circle. Sign of denial, has nothing to do with Nazism. Symbol of anarchism, brutality, aggression in the zone. |
| Ring with the image of sickle and hammer. Its owner disagrees with the verdict. The tattoo is found in conjunction with the abbreviation GOD: "was condemned by the state. |
| Ring in the form of a figure cross. Denotes the memory of deceased parents. |
More on this topic: Gothic tattoos
| The famous "cathedral." Applied both in the form of rings and on large parts of the body. It is applied by cons with at least three strokes. The number of domes symbolizes the number of terms. |
| A black cross with diverging rays, also denotes a criminal record and the number of prison terms. |
| Tattoo in the form of a black cross on a white background. Also denotes jail time. May be depicted with numbers indicating length of sentence or number of strokes. |
| The ring of someone who started criminal activity as a minor. The tattoo looks like a black cross with a dot and diverging rays. "Alone in the circle of friends." |
| The grave cross is an ambiguous tattoo. Sometimes found in deniers. Can denote the memory of deceased relatives. |
| Black cross on a white background, as a rule, is applied to the index finger. Indicates time served. Can be found in both men and women. |
| Distinctive sign of the six - a convict, following the orders of the authorities in the zone. |
| Rather rare tattoo, denoting the crime committed on religious grounds. An inverted star is considered a sign of Satanists. |
| A ring denoting affiliation with the Jewish community. The classic Zionist Star of David. "Passed the zone, but did not betray the faith." |
| According to prison concepts, the pacifist sign has a very different meaning from the classic one. It is a tattoo applied to the worst offenders of the prison regime, serving as a sign of aggression. |
| A dagger stuck into a shoulder strap. Indicates a criminal record for a crime against a law enforcement officer. Deciphered as "death to cops". |
| The ring "COT": the native inhabitant of the prison. The tattoo signifies a long stay in prison. Thief Symbol. |
| Originally a maritime tattoo. The ring features a heart, an anchor, and a heart. Deciphered as "love and freedom." |
| A tattoo on the finger in the form of a hare characterizes its owner as prone to debauchery or connections with prostitutes. |
| Such a tattoo can be on the finger of both men and women. Two stripes denotes two strokes. |
| The sign of a man serving time for murder. A dagger with a snake denotes aggression, cruelty. |
| A very common ring. On the back of the spider is a white cross. Symbol of a convicted robber. |
| A characteristic symbol of the "man" - observing neutrality in the zone. |
| Often a woman's tattoo, denoting lost youth. The ring depicts the sun and seagulls. |
| "Passed the Bitch Zone." |
| A former thief who abides by the thief's code. The tattoo depicts two white triangles on a black background. The number in the top denotes time served, the number in the bottom denotes the number of convictions. |
| One of the thieves' tattoos. Denotes a criminal record for theft. |
| Classic female prison tattoo. Denotes a conviction for hooliganism. |
More on this topic: Baroque in tattoos
In men.
Very often guys seek to emphasize their strength and leadership with an original tattoo. Women are not inferior to them in ingenuity and exclusivity of body art, following the fashion. There are army, prison, exotic, magic and other kinds of tattoos.
Guys actively use different styles of tattooing on the body: from traditional to modern: ethnic style, Celtic, Japanese and others. For example, often there is such a drawing as playing cards, or rather the meaning of this tattoo is hidden in the suit of the card applied to the body.
The history of the cards themselves can be observed from the deep history, where the cards themselves were considered as immorality and blasphemy, sin and debauchery. And if you put a man in a tattoo like this, it caused indignation and condemnation.
In ancient times, playing cards was associated with the crucifixion of Christ, God's son, and that's why putting such pictures on the body was seen as contempt for the torments of Jesus: black spade - a spear that pierced Christ's body - symbolized by the suit of spades; diamonds - nails that nailed Christ's hands; cross symbolized the crucifixion cross, and hearts symbolized the sponge that they offered to the crucified to relieve his sufferings.
It was believed that this kind of tattoo carries vices and suffering, human sins and troubles. Modern men pay little attention to this, boldly applying suits of cards on the body. In gambling circles, it is believed that suits of cards, a symbol of luck and gambling. Apply a similar tattoo, and you will be lucky in gambling and business.
Many drawings are borrowed from the cards Tarot, bearing a certain meaning, but modern men do not pay attention to it, because it looks stylish and flashy. The ace of spades is considered the most senior card in the deck - a man in authority. But to a large extent, modern youth has simplified the meaning of the suit of cards, which can not be said about the criminal world.
What other tattoos mean in the zone
The rings are not the only kind of prison tattoo. Before I show you other prison tattoos that are applied to completely different parts of the body, I must say that prison tattoo culture is changing as rapidly as the art of body painting.
The meanings we're talking about in this article were current by the 90s and 2000s. Of course the tradition of the cool tattoo is still alive in Russian prisons and will be for a long time to come. Tattoos are still beaten up with homemade paint made from burnt soles and laced with iodine. But whether it will be like this for a long time is hard to say.
By the way, and among the famous personalities are the owners of such works. One of them is the controversial mixed martial arts fighter Alexander Emelianenko, about whom you can read in a separate article.
Women's
Girls also keep up with the times. Their tattoos are peculiar, fashionable, bright. For example, the tattoo of an angel is you strive to know other worlds and establish a connection with them. Butterflies and different flowers - harmony, beauty, love. Tattoos in the form of bracelets and ropes - rebelliousness of character and love of freedom.
Often used and symbolism of card suits, which among women is not considered anything mediocre or vulgar. It is simply a beautiful stylish tattoo on the body. Young ladies actively apply it both to the body and on the hands and fingers.
By applying the symbol of cards on the body, a woman considers herself bright and unpredictable, without in any way carrying the meaning of the prison theme.
Real photos of prison tattoos
You've probably heard of the famous thieves' star tattoo on your knees. We wrote about its meaning in a separate article. This is the most famous thieves' tattooFor which the prison administration without unnecessary questions beats the prisoner (based on the stories of former convicts), in order to check whether they do not get on their knees. Below you will find some photos of common prison tattoos.
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| Thief in Law | Women's ring "thief" | Women's "first conviction" tattoo | "Always remember the zone." |
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| Growing up in an orphanage | Anarchist badge | Badge of Fatherlessness | Badge of the White Guard |
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| Racketeer | Badge of a thief | Waffler | Six |
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| Thief authority | Denied | Murderer | Cathedral |
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| Served full time | Thief in Law | "Round orphan" | Kumov's suit |
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