The “Bitch War” in the Gulag

 Background of the "Bitch War"

The "Bitch War" was preceded by the Great Patriotic War — part of the Second World War, as it is usually called in world historiography. In the summer of 1941, after Germany’s attack, the Soviet Union suffered catastrophic losses. By 1942 it became clear that the available forces were not enough for defense. The country’s leadership decided to use a huge reserve — prisoners, of whom there were more than a million in the GULAG system at that time.

Special penal units were created for them, better known as СМЕРШ (SMERSH). A large-scale recruitment of convicts began.

From the point of view of the criminal world, this step was deadly. The code of the "thieves-in-law" strictly forbade any cooperation with the state and the administration. Military service was considered a direct violation of thieves’ rules, and the punishment for this was usually death.

Nevertheless, thousands of convicts saw in the war a chance to gain freedom. For some it was a pragmatic choice, for others a mixture of calculation and patriotism: the war was defensive, it was literally about the survival of the entire people. Many went to the front, and their participation later became the foundation of the future split in the criminal world.

Return of the Frontline Soldiers

After the Battle of Stalingrad the initiative in the war passed to the Soviet Union and its allies. The need to recruit soldiers from among prisoners disappeared. The leadership also did not intend to release former inmates outside the country, fearing looting and crimes in the liberated territories, as well as the possibility that many would simply escape abroad. Returning to their homeland, a significant part of the criminals who had gone to war soon ended up back in the camps.

There they were met by those who had remained and strictly observed the code. These “old formation thieves” despised the former convict-soldiers. They believed that the real trials had fallen precisely on the camps: in 1941–1943 the conditions were catastrophic, there was a lack of food, clothing and basic means of survival. In their opinion, in the army at least they fed and provided uniforms, while in prison convicts survived on the edge.

The frontline veterans were called “suki” or “ssuchennye,” which meant they no longer belonged to the thieves-in-law and lost all privileges. The punishment was severe, up to death. But the “old” thieves underestimated the scale of the phenomenon: tens of thousands of people were returning from the front. The clash of two camp subcultures became inevitable.

Beginning of the "Bitch War"

The confrontation quickly escalated into extreme violence. The reprisals were carried out in the most brutal ways: shivs were used, pieces of furniture, sometimes killings turned into public torture. A ritual appeared — the “kissing of the knife,” after which a person was considered “suchenniy” and passed to the side of the “suki.”

The situation was sharply aggravated by the March 1947 decree imposing a moratorium on the death penalty. Now it was impossible to receive more than 25 years, which in fact was life imprisonment. For thieves, who considered the camp their “native home,” the risk of committing murder became negligible: the punishment did not change. The same rule applied to the “suki.” In 1953 the death penalty for camp banditry was returned, but by that time the wave of violence had already gone out of control.

 Support of the Administration

The “suki” quickly realized their advantage — their readiness to cooperate with the camp administration. In a number of cases the leadership of zones even directly armed them, directing them against the “old formation thieves.” Sometimes the “suki” were specially released into the barracks of the “thieves,” armed with shivs and iron pipes, while their opponents had almost no weapons. One of the methods of killing was when a defiant thief was grabbed by the limbs, thrown up and smashed against the floor — a couple of blows were usually enough to kill.

Traveling groups of “suki” were also known. For example, according to Shalamov’s memoirs, a former thief nicknamed King, with his henchmen, traveled through the northern camps and “broke” old thieves, forcing them to publicly obey the administration’s orders. Refusal meant brutal beating or death. Public reprisals were also known: during the construction of railways, the administration could gather thieves on the parade ground and propose “to ring” — to strike the rails with a hammer. Even such an act was considered working with the administration. The thieves came out one by one from the line and refused, and for this King’s gang beat them to death.

 Escalation of the Conflict

By the early 1950s it became obvious that the situation was out of control. Mass amnesties under Beria and Khrushchev reduced the share of “fraery” and “muzhiks” — ordinary inmates, on whom both the “thieves” and the “suki” relied. Competition for control over this contingent intensified the war.

Clashes occurred by the dozens. One known case: about a hundred “thieves” clashed in battle with about 150 “suki.” The latter had weapons, the former only bare hands, and almost all the “thieves” were killed.

The administration tried to create separate zones, but any mixing of groups ended in a massacre. The authorities realized that the bet on the “suki” had turned into a bloody war that threatened the stability of the camps.

 Results and Consequences

Gradually, by the end of the 1950s, the “Bitch War” came to an end. Formally, it is impossible to single out a clear winner, but in fact the “suki” prevailed. They were supported by the administration, and other oppressed camp groups also joined them, including Polish criminals who had old grievances against the thieves.

The “thieves-in-law” almost disappeared as an open force. If earlier it was considered prestigious to demonstrate one’s status, by the end of the 1950s thieves began to behave secretly. Out of tens of thousands of representatives of this caste, no more than three percent survived. But the events of the “Bitch War” for many decades ahead divided the criminal world into uncompromising adherents of the thieves’ code and those who admitted cooperation with the administration.