Story by Jessica Runyan-Gless
Illustration by Roger Bong
The first mafia tattoo he ever saw: a cross inked on a man’s chest.
He didn’t understand what it meant or why it was important. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, however, he would come to understand the meanings of these symbols that are central to Russian mafia culture.
The dark underground of the Russian mafia is marked by the tattooing of sins upon the bodies of its members. At first glance, the symbolic tattoos look like elaborate religious symbols conveying individual religious convictions. As an outsider this would make sense because the Russian mafia is largely a religious group of people. But for those who know, the tattoos educate others, inside and outside of prison, about the bearer’s criminal accomplishments and rank in a seedy, underground network.
Nikolai Krasnagorov was 14 years old when he saw the tattoo of the cross. Today he’s a 21-year-old businessman in Portland, Oregon. Krasnagorov was born in Kiev, Ukraine, part of the former USSR. He grew up in a traditional Russian household, eating customary food, speaking Russian, and attending the Russian Orthodox Church. But his lifestyle varies dramatically from the lifestyle of those he is surrounded by. His uncles and close friends have chosen to become part of an infamous criminal organization, known as the Russian mafia.
“Getting tattoos will make [you] even more respected because each [tattoo] represents a different occurrence in a person’s life.” As Krasnagorov talks about the practice of tattooing in the Russian mafia his serious demeanor intensifies. “Respect is everything. That’s how others will view you and show their loyalty, dedication, honor, and fear.”
“Respect is everything. That’s how others will view you and show their loyalty, dedication, honor, and fear.”
Krasnagorov grew up learning the meanings of the different tattoos. Members of his family, friends, and friends’ older brothers all bore the markings of the Russian mafia. He knew the images carried different meanings, but he had to learn what each one represented by asking those closest to him. For the native Ukrainian, tattoos were part of Russian culture growing up. “It all portrayed the idea of the hard-life.”
There are certain designs that are extremely common within the mafia. Churches, cathedrals and monasteries are immediately recognizable by members and the U.S. government, which worked to decode them during the migration of the mafia into U.S. The number of spires or towers indicates how many years a person has spent inside prison walls or how many times he has been incarcerated.
A single cat or tiger, often hard to distinguish between the two, represents a thief who works alone. A group of cats or tigers represents someone who works within a gang of thieves. These cats are often found inside the pointed stars as well.
Cobwebs and skulls often symbolize murders committed.
Barbed wire across the bicep is a representation of the barbed wire that runs along the outside of the prison, and represents the bearer’s confinement. This tattoo is almost always received while a member is imprisoned.
Barbed wire across the forehead: life-sentence with no possibility of parole.
With such a high value placed on the rank-bearing tattoos, fraud is inevitable. If a member receives a tattoo that he did not earn, it may be punishable by death.
Krasnagorov believes the old-looking cathedrals are the most common tattoos. “In Russian they are pronounced ‘Zolotiye-Kupola,’ which means the gold tops of churches. [Members] are sensitive about the churches because that’s where they seek repentance” he says. Stars and crosses are very common, he adds. Stars appearing on the chest area near the heart, or on the knees and elbows, represent total commitment for life.
Vyacheslav Ivankov, who at one point was believed to be the head of the Russian mafia in the U.S., sported eight-pointed stars on his shoulders. Receiving a tattoo of a cross is a way for the bearer to seek penitence for his sins. Krasnagorov has encountered tattoos of cathedrals, stars, crosses, and a portrait of man’s mother.
Tattoos are applied inside prison using needles, guitar strings, or electric razors, and, inked with soot and urine. Because of the nature of the application, infection is common, and sometimes may result in death.
The process is long, and excruciatingly painful, but without the tattoos the prisoner bears no accomplishments.
The markings define the criminal and prove that he has led a life of crime in the Vory V. Zakone, otherwise known as the Thieves in Law. This group also includes murderers. Krasnagorov says most members receive their tattoos in prison while doing longer sentences. The tattoos vary inside and outside of prison. Outside of prison color is available, but inside, where most members receive their tattoos, the ink is limited to a blue-green color. “They sing about the gold church tops I mentioned, but there will be no sign of color for a real long time because they are locked up,” he says.
Some believe that tattooing in the Russian mafia is a fading practice, but Krasnagorov strongly disagrees.
“Absolutely not. No one is going to walk around naked and show you their body, especially if they are trying to stay low-key. You only see [the mafia tattoos] if you know the individual.” He believes it has become part of the Russian culture. Because the older generation of the mafia has lived longer, spent more time in prison, and has a greater list of past accomplishments they have more tattoos. “They have a longer history of involvement.” The level of importance cannot be determined by generations because the difference in age is crucial.
The Vory’s reach stretches from local ownership of bars and restaurants to multi-billion dollar money laundering scams. “The mafia is active and existing today. The mafia is in the politics and the people of higher official positions,” Krasnagorov says. “However, [it] will always remain in the other levels of society.”
Krasnagorov recognizes that outsiders have romanticized mafias around the world. He also knows that its not what it seems to be. His hard gaze softens for a minute as he speaks, “The whole idea is cool, being a bad-ass in prison.” But he continues, saying that most of them are alcoholics. “We have a word for those bald men who sit in prison all tatted up, in English you would pronounce it czechs. These are mean-looking motherfuckers.”