Prison Ring Tattoos Meanings (37–48): Russian Criminal Symbols Explained

37. Inverted spade suit on a white background.
A hooligan’s ring. Its owner was convicted of hooliganism. The symbol is also found on the ears.

38. Club suit.
“A day for scholars, a night for thieves.”
“Was convicted of theft of personal property.” The tattoo is also applied to women.

39. Diamond suit.
“Diamond Ace.” Symbol of a highly skilled card cheat.

40. Black-and-white ring divided diagonally. In the lower right corner — a club suit.
“Passed through ‘Kresty’.”

41. Heart suit on a white background.
“Celkarik,” “Amurik,” “Lokhmatukha.”
The owner of the tattoo received a sentence for rape of a minor. The ring is often applied forcibly.

42. Heart suit in the lower right corner.
Convicted of indecent acts against a minor.

43. Club and spade suits divided by a diagonal line.
Sadness for lost youth.

44. Club and spade suits arranged in a checkerboard pattern.
Ring of a camp authority. The tattoo may be combined with cathedral domes, the number of which indicates the number of convictions.

45. Black-and-white spade suit divided diagonally.
“Came of age in a juvenile colony.” Usually applied during transfer to an adult correctional facility.

46. Black square.
“From bell to bell.”
“Released without early release.”

47. Black square with a white diagonal stripe.
“Passed through the zone.”

48. Black square. On the white diagonal stripe — three dots.
Ring of a “waffler” (“rooster”) — an inmate belonging to the lowest caste of humiliated prisoners. The tattoo is applied forcibly after an act of sodomy. After release, the mark is usually altered into ring No. 46 — “From bell to bell.”