Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia, Volume II
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- Create Date：2021-09-27 09:53:12
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Danzig Baldaev
- ISBN：0955006120
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Summary
Danzig Baldaev's father was an academic， an ethnologist who found himself imprisoned under Soviet rule as an enemy of the people。 In fact much of Baldaev's family moved through the Soviet prison system， while he became a guard。 At his father's suggestion， Danzig used his access to document and study the tattoos that were pervasive among the truly criminal portion of the prison population， the vory v zakonye， or legitimate thieves， a semi-professional class who kept their own brutal laws。 During his 30 years supervising inmates in St。 Petersburg's notorious Kresty Prison， Baldaev recorded more than 3，000 of their tattoos and parsed their meanings， in the drawings and text that made the first volume of the Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia a bestseller。 This essential second volume， which collects all-new， previously unseen photographs and drawings， goes to the extremes of his incredible collection。 Sergei Vasiliev's photographs authenticate the images， Baldaev's drawings make sense of them and through them both we glimpse an extraordinary world where the criminal's position， history and even sexual preference are displayed indelibly on his body。
Reviews
Abby Ozrovitz
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More grotesque than I thought it would be but when you read about what the tattoos symbolize and the ranks that they represent， it's very interesting。 More grotesque than I thought it would be but when you read about what the tattoos symbolize and the ranks that they represent， it's very interesting。 。。。more
Morgan Blackledge
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#obsessedandnotinthegoodwayNot into fascism or cruelty at all。 I abhor racism， and misogyny。And crime is a HUGE turnoff for me。 But these tattoos speak directly to my shadow。And I find them nearly irresistible。 They speak to that impulsive， mischievous “bad idea” guy within me。 The guy who clearly recognizes a poor choice when he sees it， and then does it any way （for some reason）。Maybe just to punish his future old man self。 Maybe as a slightly less self destructive way of expressing all of tho #obsessedandnotinthegoodwayNot into fascism or cruelty at all。 I abhor racism， and misogyny。And crime is a HUGE turnoff for me。 But these tattoos speak directly to my shadow。And I find them nearly irresistible。 They speak to that impulsive， mischievous “bad idea” guy within me。 The guy who clearly recognizes a poor choice when he sees it， and then does it any way （for some reason）。Maybe just to punish his future old man self。 Maybe as a slightly less self destructive way of expressing all of those （millions） of NSFW automatic thoughts that will forever remain trapped within my skull （for a good good good reason）。 That being said， I literally want to get all of the tattoos in each of these volumes （I，II and III）And yes， I realize it’s cultural appropriation。 That only makes me want them more。 Dear god。I thought I already had my midlife crisis。Perhaps this is my 3/4’s of the way dead crisis。 Either way。 I smell a bad decision a-commin’。 。。。more
Tara
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As the back cover of the book proudly proclaims （with a blatantly cheeky grin， of course）， this volume of The Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia contains prison tattoos which depict， among other things， “salami-wielding prostitutes。” So you know you’re in for some classy shit right there。 Anyway， I found the second volume every bit as fascinating as the first。 It’s comprised of a succinct yet informative prefatory essay， numerous photographs of actual inmates， and drawings of various tattoos As the back cover of the book proudly proclaims （with a blatantly cheeky grin， of course）， this volume of The Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia contains prison tattoos which depict， among other things， “salami-wielding prostitutes。” So you know you’re in for some classy shit right there。 Anyway， I found the second volume every bit as fascinating as the first。 It’s comprised of a succinct yet informative prefatory essay， numerous photographs of actual inmates， and drawings of various tattoos along with brief descriptions of their meanings。 I’m including a couple of entertaining excerpts from the introductory material below:Never play cards with Russian convicts: “The winner demanded a terrible humiliation as penalty: he commanded the barrack ‘artist’ to tattoo an enormous penis on the man’s face， pointing at his mouth。 Minutes later， the man pressed a hot poker against his face， obliterating his tattoo—and scarring himself for life。” Russians really can’t live without their vodka， and smuggling it into prison can lead to all kinds of insanity: “A condom is hermetically attached to a long piece of thin plastic tubing。 The zek then swallows it， leaving one end of the tube in his mouth。 To avoid swallowing by accident， he wedges it in a gap between two teeth; there are not likely to be any zeks in existence with a full set of 32 teeth。 Then， with the help of a syringe， up to three litres of spirit are pumped into the condom via the plastic tubing—and the zek goes back to his zone。 […] When the ‘hero’ returns to the zone he is hung head down from a beam under the barracks roof and the end of the plastic tubing is held over a dish until every drop has been retrieved。 Then the empty condom is hauled out。” Lastly， I also wanted to share a fairly representative （though non-pornographic） example of the types of sketches you’ll find in the book:For the raunchier stuff， which， let’s face it， can be pretty damn fun， you’ll just have to read it yourself。 Though probably not in public。 。。。more
Blair
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Another interesting volume。 The intro is worth it alone。 Some really fascinating information here。
Robin Paul Otchoa
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Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia 。。。more
Manatee
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An interesting but somewhat disturbing book。 A fascinating look at the symbolism of Russian prison tattoos，but I could have gone my ENTIRE life without knowing about the forcible tattoos etched on the foreheads of snitches and the weak political prisoners。The cats are the only attractive tattoos in this book，but they were not appealing kitties but the mark of a thief。
Erin
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This was my favorite of the three volume set。 The introductory essay was insightful and a good read。
Griffin Alexander
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Despite the extreme interest this presents for the tattoos alone， what really makes these collections remarkable are the essays。 Alexei Plutser-Sarno's critical theory laden treatise on the construction of ideal selves through the criminal tradition of tattooing was engrossing; Anne Applebaum's historical background on the system of tradition within the Russian criminal caste is invaluable bordering on the detail given in Nicolai Lilin's own firsthand account in Siberian Education: Growing Up in Despite the extreme interest this presents for the tattoos alone， what really makes these collections remarkable are the essays。 Alexei Plutser-Sarno's critical theory laden treatise on the construction of ideal selves through the criminal tradition of tattooing was engrossing; Anne Applebaum's historical background on the system of tradition within the Russian criminal caste is invaluable bordering on the detail given in Nicolai Lilin's own firsthand account in Siberian Education: Growing Up in a Criminal Underworld。 A must have/read for anyone interested in criminality/tattoos/underworld culture。 。。。more
Sarah
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This explains alot about Russian cultural identity。 Very disturbing and sad， yet also somehow almost beautiful or funny。
Thedakotakid
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Fascinating accounts and horrific pictures drawn by a former guard of the camps
Rena
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Illustrations at times are hardcore， but very informative。
Tina
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Fascinating anecdotes of Russian criminal culture and psychosocial analysis of the associated tattoos。 Another world。
Stephanie
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My interest in this was sparked by the movie "Eastern Promises" My interest in this was sparked by the movie "Eastern Promises" 。。。more
Chris S
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Some seriously scary looking people in this。。。
Nilesh Jagtap
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good
Andy
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Just when you thought there wasn't anything uglier than American jailhouse tats we're treated to a book of tats from our Russian neighbors。 Their tattoos aren't only filthy but have a whole story written next to the picture。。。whatever you do， if you lose playing cards pay your debts！ Just when you thought there wasn't anything uglier than American jailhouse tats we're treated to a book of tats from our Russian neighbors。 Their tattoos aren't only filthy but have a whole story written next to the picture。。。whatever you do， if you lose playing cards pay your debts！ 。。。more
Pau Pommegranate
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Contiene documentación valiosísima en cuanto a los efectos colaterales del comunismo， así como nuevos puntos de vista respecto a la antigua comunidad sovietica， todo enfocado desde la própia vivéncia。 Crudo。
Emily
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I wanted it to be more of a taxonomy。 After watching 'Eastern Promises，' I somehow became convinced that there is a language to all tattoos and that this book was the key。 But really， the book is more of a tour of tattoos （or the people that have them） with some interpretation added。 That said， it's a handy little volume and makes a nice gift。 I wanted it to be more of a taxonomy。 After watching 'Eastern Promises，' I somehow became convinced that there is a language to all tattoos and that this book was the key。 But really， the book is more of a tour of tattoos （or the people that have them） with some interpretation added。 That said， it's a handy little volume and makes a nice gift。 。。。more
Jessmccoy
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Russia + Crime + Art = ！！！This book combined several of my interests and was indeed quite satisfying。 I only wish it had more photographs， which were the most fascinating part。 The portraits of the prisoners are mesmerizing。 I also would wish for fewer pornographic tattoos， which don't intrigue me much。Mostly I liked the symbolic tattoos， not the ones that give a clear visual reference but tattoos as code and communication。 I'm struck by the role tattoos played in projecting identity and maintai Russia + Crime + Art = ！！！This book combined several of my interests and was indeed quite satisfying。 I only wish it had more photographs， which were the most fascinating part。 The portraits of the prisoners are mesmerizing。 I also would wish for fewer pornographic tattoos， which don't intrigue me much。Mostly I liked the symbolic tattoos， not the ones that give a clear visual reference but tattoos as code and communication。 I'm struck by the role tattoos played in projecting identity and maintaining hierarchy， proclaiming political views and declaring sexual preferences， preserving memories and capturing trends in a context where prisoners probably had no means of expression beyond the own bodies and voices。 。。。more
Nick
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When that ex-KGB hitman finally catches up with me， at least I'll I'll be able to tell his entire criminal history from his tattoos。 When that ex-KGB hitman finally catches up with me， at least I'll I'll be able to tell his entire criminal history from his tattoos。 。。。more
Tyson Marshall
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One of the coolest little books I've came across。 Not much text， but a ton of drawings of prison tatts。 Pretty raw and gritty stuff。 One of the coolest little books I've came across。 Not much text， but a ton of drawings of prison tatts。 Pretty raw and gritty stuff。 。。。more
James
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