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A thief in law (or thief with code, Russian: вор в зако́не, romanized: vor v zakone) in the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet states, and their respective diasporas is a formal and special status of "criminal authority", a professional criminal who follows certain criminal traditions and enjoys an elite position among other members within organized crime and correctional facility ...
In 1846, VOR was replaced by "KAT"; the first three letters of the word for "hard labour convict" or katorzhnik. [3] [4] In the 1930s, Russian criminal castes began to emerge, such as the Masti (suits) and the Vor v Zakone (rus. Вор в Законе) or Blatnye (authoritative thieves), and with that a tattoo culture to define rank and ...
Stars: Worn on the knees: signifies that an owner 'will kneel before no man'. Stars: Worn on the shoulders: Signifies that the owner is a man of discipline, status, and tradition. Men will also receive stars when promoted to "Captain" in the Vory V Zakone. Swastika: Against prison authorities. Does not literally mean that the wearer is a Nazi ...
In the Russian mafia, "Vor" (pl.: Vory) (lit. ' thief ') is an honorary title analogous to a made man in the Sicilian and Italian-American mafia. The honor of becoming a Vor is given only when the recruit shows considerable leadership skills, personal ability, intellect, and charisma. A Pakhan or another high-ranking member of an organization ...
The now vanishing practice is seen as reflecting the transition of the broader Russian society. Filmed in some of Russia's most notorious prisons, including the fabled White Swan, the interviews with prisoners, guards, and criminologists reveal the secret language of "The Zone" and "The Code of Thieves" (Vor v zakone).
Alix Lambert's book contains several interviews with vor v zakone bemoaning the fact that in the 'New Russia' there is a new breed of criminal, who don't respect the old codes; and that their tattoos are no longer accorded 'proper respect'.
Naming a child is no small feat and there are many factors to consider—the potential for unfortunate rhymes, mispronunciations and less-than flattering meanings. That said, if you opt for a baby ...
At the age of 17 he was convicted of armed robbery and served time in prison. It was here that he was initiated as a 'vor v zakone', or thief-in-law. By the 1980s he was one of the most prominent thieves-in-law of Moscow. [2] In the 1990s Oniani moved to Paris, where he was introduced to Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov.