Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia Volume III

Thisfinalvolumeofpreviouslyunpublisheddrawingsandphotographscompletesthe"RussianCriminalTattooEncyclopaedia"trilogy.DanzigBaldaev'sunparallelledethnographicachievement,documentingmorethan3,000tattoodrawings,wasmadeduringalifetimeworkingasaprisonguard.HisrecordingofthisesotericworldwasreportedtotheKGB,whounexpectedlysupportedhim,realizingtheimportanceofbeingabletoestablishfactsaboutconvictsbyreadingtheimagesontheirbodies.Themotifsdepictedrepresenttheuncensoredlivesofthecriminalclasses,rangingfromviolenceandpornographytopoliticsandalcohol.Amedievalknightissurroundedbytheseveredheadsofhisenemies,anakedwomansimultaneouslyservicesamanandtwodwarfs,acryingPresidentGorbachevgripsahumanbonebetweensabre-likefangs,agroupofangelsdrinkvodkawithGodonacloud--themeaningsofthesearrestingimagesareexplainedtotheuninitiatedeye.SergeiVasiliev'sgraphicphotographsshowthegrimrealityoftheRussianprisonsystemandsomeofthealarmingcharactersthatinhabitit,whiletheillustratedcriminalsofRussiatellthetaleoftheirclosedsociety.ThislastvolumeinthetrilogyincludesanintroductionbyhistorianAlexanderSidorovexploringtheoriginsoftheRussiancriminaltattooandtheirvariousmeaningstoday.