Exploring the history, legends, and traditions of the criminal subculture in Russian prisons.
A literal translation and explanation of Russian prison ring tattoos numbered 13–24, revealing meanings connected to robbery, murder, prison hierarchy, religious symbolism, and criminal status.
Prison ring tattoos formed a visual language inside Soviet and post-Soviet prisons. Each symbol revealed an inmate’s crimes, status, and place in the prison hierarchy.
Russian prison “riddles” aren’t jokes — they’re tests of character. This article decodes the infamous “two chairs,” “ass or mother,” and “fork in the eye” dilemmas that shaped the unwritten rules of the criminal underworld.
A bloody conflict between two powerful Ryazan crime groups escalated into an open war. The infamous club shootout, revenge killings, and brutal executions became a symbol of the lawless 1990s in post-Soviet Russia.
The continuation of the Fenya glossary covers the letters E through L — showing how inmates used coded language to describe money, power, punishment, loyalty, and betrayal inside the Russian prison system. Each term reflects fragments of criminal history and the psychology of survival behind bars.
The next section of our Russian prison slang glossary (Fenya) covers words from V to D, revealing how inmates communicate through coded terms and idioms.
From “авторитет” to “блатной” — discover the secret prison language of Russia. The first part of our Fenya glossary explains the slang, traditions, and codes used behind bars.
From a 17th-century hussar village to Moscow’s largest pretrial detention center — Butyrka has witnessed revolutions, repressions, and escapes. Its history reflects every era of Russian punishment, from Tolstoy’s visits to overcrowded 1990s cells.
A look inside the coded world of Russian prison culture — its tattoos, slang, and unwritten rules. Each symbol and phrase carries decades of history, reflecting both rebellion and hierarchy within the criminal underworld.
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