Thief in law

Thief in law (Russian: вор в законе, vor v zakone; Georgian: კანონიერი ქურდი, kanonieri kurdi; a more clear translation may be "A criminal who obeys The Thieves' Code") is a criminal who is respected, has authority and a high ranking status within the criminal underworld in the old Soviet Union, Russia and the republics that formed the former Soviet Union. Thieves in law are the elite of the Russian world of organized crime: an equivalent of the rank 'Godfather' in the Italian mafia or the rank of General in the army. According to the Russian TASS news agency there are currently 149 "vory v zakone" throughout the world. Over 90% of thieves in law are no longer exclusively ethnic Russians but are Georgian, Chechen and citizens of other eastern countries which used to be part of the Soviet Union.

History

Although Georgia, Chechnya, Armenia, Ukraine, and Russia have long had criminals and bandits, during the disorder of the Russian Revolution of 1917, armed gangs proliferated until they became a very significant factor which controlled society. The criminal culture with its own slang, culture and laws became known as Vorovskoy Mir in Russian (i.e. воровской мир) or "Thieves World" (World of Thieves).

As the police and court system were re-established in the Soviet Union shortly after the 1917 revolution, the NKVD secret police nearly completely exterminated the criminal underworld. Under Stalin, the forced labor camps (Gulags) overflowed with political prisoners and criminals, that a new organized group of top criminals arose, the vory v zakone, or "thieves in law." (thieves who abide the laws of the criminal world).

The "thieves in law" formed as a society for ruling the criminal underworld within the prison camps, "who govern the dark gaps in Soviet life beyond the reach of the KGB". They adopted a system of collective responsibility, and swearing to a code of "complete submission to the laws of criminal life, including obligations to support the criminal ideal, rejection of legitimate employment (must support oneself through criminal enterprises) and refusal to participate in all political activities." As an example, while incarcerated, a Vor (вор) must refuse all work, nor assist the warden/correction officers in any way, as the thieves' code states that: "Your own prison you shall not make." For example, if an inmate walks past a guard, and the guard asks him to ring the dinner bell, the convict must refuse or he will be judged by his fellow inmates and found guilty of assisting his jailers. The Vors organized their own courts and have trials governed by the code of 'thieves honor and tradition'. Acceptance into the group is often marked by specific tattoos, allowing all member of the criminal world to instantly recognize a "thief in law". Most prison inmates are tattooed (by other inmates) to indicate their rank within the criminal world, noteworthy criminal accomplishments and places of former incarceration. For example, a tattoo of one cat indicates that the criminal robs alone while multiple cats indicate that he has partners during robberies. (see Criminal tattoo) Reportedly, "while the Communist Party had a steadfast grip on government and society, the Vory had something of a monopoly on crime."

After World War 2, the vory in the GULAG system were weakened by the so-called Bitch Wars - a prison gang war between pure vory and the so-called suki ("bitches"). The 'suki' were former members of the criminal underworld who had broken the thieves' code by agreeing to join the Soviet army and fight against Nazi Germany during World War 2 (in exchange for being freed from prison). By joining the army, they violated the Thieves' Code which expressly forbids assisting authority in any way. After the end of the war, thousands were re-arrested again for new crimes and were placed at the very bottom of the criminal hierarchy in prison, treated with the same lack of respect shown to police informants and victims of prison rape. Since most 'suki' were tough, life long criminals and assassins hardened by the experience of brutal combat during World War 2, they decided to murder all the 'pure vors'. This resulted in the so called Bitch Wars which lasted for decades. Due to a large number of 'suki', most gulags were divided into two separate zones: one for 'suki' and one for 'vors'.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, the vory assumed a leading role within the Russian criminal hierarchy (see Russian Mafia). The group was able to "infiltrate the top political and economic strata while taking command of the burgeoning crime network that spread murderously through the post-Soviet countries." Thieves In Law are given the title by other vory and in order to be accepted they must demonstrate considerable leadership skills, personal ability, intellect, charisma as well as a well documented criminal history. Once accepted they must live according to the thieves' code. The penalty for violation of this code is often mutilation or death. Reportedly, "today the Vory have spread around the world, to Madrid, Berlin, and New York" and are "involved in everything from petty theft to billion-dollar money-laundering while also acting as arbiters among conflicting Russian criminal factions."

Reportedly, as capitalism begun to take hold in Russia, an increasing number of college educated criminals began to take over more lucrative ventures. While these new criminal elements first worked with the Vory in the 1990s, in the first decade of the 21st century, ties to big business and government grew in importance. Consequently, while the "Vory are still strong in gambling and retail trade," their importance "in Russian economy and society" has decreased. However since the majority of criminals eventually are arrested and incarcerated, at some point they will come in contact with the Vory who are at the top of the hierarchy of the criminal world within the penal system in Russia.

One famous Vor V Zakone is Vladimir Podatev who was appointed a member of the commission for human rights under President Yeltsin, in spite of three previous felony convictions for murder, assault, and rape. Another famous vor is Vyacheslav Ivankov, notorious Georgian-born mobster with convictions in both the former Soviet Union and the United States who was assassinated in 2009.

The Thief's Code

Vors consider prisons their true home and have a saying 'The home for angels is heaven and the home for a Vor is prison.' According to Aleksandr Gurov, an expert on the Vory who headed the organized crime units of the Soviet Interior Ministry and the GRU, "unlike the Cosa Nostra the Vory have 'less rules, but more severe rules' [and the] members must have no ties to the government, meaning they cannot serve in the army or cooperate with officials while in prison. They must also have served several jail sentences before they can be considered. They also are not allowed to get married."

Furthermore, according to Michael Schwirtz, "ethnicity has rarely determined whether someone can join the club, and today many members, even those active inside Russia, are from other post-Soviet countries such as Armenia, Ukraine, Georgia, or Chechnya, and are not ethnic Russians."

Under the theoretical code of the vory, a thief must:

• Forsake his relatives: father, mother, brothers, sisters.
• Not have a family of his own: no marriage, no children; this does not however, preclude him from having an unlimited number of women.
• Never, under any circumstances, have a legitimate job or significant property (i.e. a house), no matter how much difficulty this brings; live only on money obtained through gambling or theft (the word 'theft' as used here describes any criminal activity considered 'legitimate' by the Vory), and rely on lower-level criminals for accommodation. For example, harming or molesting children is strongly frowned upon and may endanger a vor's status and could provoke a more brutal retaliation from one's comrades than from the police. A 'thief in law' is a leadership position (equivalent of General in the army) so direct participation in Arms smuggling and drug trafficking is incompatible with their high status since those crimes are a form of commerce. However receiving tribute from smugglers and drug-dealers or robbing and extorting them is a legitimate activity for a 'thief in law'.
• Help other thieves: both by moral and material support, utilizing the commune of thieves.
• Rule and arbitrate the criminal world and protect basic needs of criminals' and prisoners according to the extents and priorities set by the thieves' commune (typically in a given prison (prison cell)) or region when not imprisoned)
• Keep secret information about the whereabouts of accomplices (i.e. dens, districts, hideouts, safe apartments, etc.).
• In unavoidable situations (if a thief is under investigation or is arrested) to take the blame for someone else's crime; this buys the other person time to escape and remain free.
• Demand an inquiry and judgement by a council of thieves to resolve disputes in the event of a conflict between oneself and other thieves, or between thieves.
• If necessary, participate in such inquiries if called upon.
• Punish any offending thief as decided by the judgement of the thieves council.
• Not resist carrying out the decision of punishing the offending thief who is found guilty, with punishment determined by the thieves council.
• Have good command of the thieves' slang called ("Fenya"), a distinct language spoken by hardcore criminals in Russia and understood by few outsiders. (An equivalent would be for members of the American Crips gang to say: 'Hook me wid da shank cuz' which translates to 'Give me the home-made knife'.)).
• Never gamble without being able to cover losses.
• Be good at playing card games for money.
• Teach the criminal way of life to youth with potential.
• Have, if possible, informants from the rank and file of thieves.
• Not to lose your reasoning abilities when drunk.
• Have nothing to do with the authorities (particularly with the ITU, Correctional Labor Authority), not participate in public activities, nor join any community organizations.
• Not to serve in the military or accept any weapons from the government or prison authority (police baton).
• Make good on promises given to other thieves.
• Never deny his Vor status directly. To the questions like 'Are you a Vor?' or 'Who are you in this life?', Vor should always answer : "Yes (Vor)", even if it is asked by police and videotaped. The latter question phrase is ritual and video footage containing the answer commonly used by the Russian militsiya to illustrate vors arrests in the media.

The above code is no longer in use besides the standard prison code of ethics of not cooperating with prison authorities or informing on your fellow inmates. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, author of The Gulag Archipelago, claimed never to have seen any thief honor the code if it conflicted with his personal criminal wants.

Tattoos

The Vory subculture (more exactly: the prison inmate subculture where Vory are the respectful leaders) are well-known for having very well-made tatoos.

The tattoos are usually done in the prison with primitive tools, and thus remain lifelong.

Many tattoos have special meaning: like "I've lost my freedom due to woman", "murderer", "prison-born" (a tattoo of a baby). Some tattoos, like the large Christian crosses, Orthodox cathedral with onion-shape roofs, or the military rank insignia tattoo on the shoulders, mean Vor himself - the respectful leader "crowned" (approved) on some Vory meeting.

Female prison inmates also often have tattoos, like "they are tired" on the feet.

In the USSR times, it was a well-known fact that the ordinary person must never have a tattoo which denotes a Vor, and, if the criminals will see such a person, he will be "asked" (offended, sometimes deadly) by them for being an impostor of a Vor.

According to some ex-law-enforcement officers like Dmitry Puchkov, this gradually ceased with the USSR downfall.

The Notions

"Ponyatiya" (literally "the notions") is the rules of conduct (or even the customary law or code of honor) among prison inmates, with Vory being respectful leaders and judges according to these rules.

The are "vorovskie ponyatiya" - the requirements for the one who wants to be a Vor, they are listed above. There are also "ludskie ponyatiya" - the requirements for all prison inmates ("ludi" - "people", in this meaning more like "rank and file").

The important part of "ludskie ponyatiya" is that everybody is required to maintain his own honor, mainly by avoiding doing any impure, humiliating and thus tabooed things. Such things - like, say, cunnilingus (or even telling detailed stories of oneself's sexual adventures) or raising the items from the floor - are collectively named "zapadlo". Touching a "petuh" ("rooster"), or accepting items from his hands, is also such. More so, the floor is considered to be impure not due to hygienical reasons, but because the "roosters" are contacting with the floor by walking.

Also, "ponyatiya" prohibit the use of the words used in the Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code. For instance, one must not say "witness" ("svidetel'"), one must say "ochevidetz" ("beholder").

Some words like "to ask from smth" have special meaning - intensive conflict when one offends another due to some violations of "ponyatiya", dishonesty in money-related affairs and such. Such a conflict can be deadly. Asking questions must be in the form of "he was interested", not "he asked me".

Some words are considered to be deadly verbal insults, often punisheable by murder - like "rooster" (more so - anything related to bird and feather), "kozel" ("goat") and so on.

According to "ponyatiya", women are disrespected a lot and considered to be equal to animals. The opinion of the women can never be significant. The guy who betrayed his male friends due to a romantic affair is despised.

"Petukhi" ("the roosters")

Humiliated part of the prison inmates, the subject of constant humiliating acts (including anal rape) from another inmates. Something like Pariahs or Chandala in Indian system.

Disallowed to touch the "normal" inmates or to share any items with them. Occupy the worst places in the prison cell. Contacting a "petukh" is "zapadlo" and can sometimes even lead the other person to be declared a "petuh" - usually be beating and knocking under the bed ("pod shkonku").

Sometimes, a person can become a "petukh" due to un-respectful criminal law article for which he is imprisoned. Sexual offences, especially against minors or women completely unknown to the offender (street rapes), are such (rape of women after being her guest and drinking with her is not considered a humiliating deed).

The status of "petukh" is lifelong and cannot be cancelled. A "petukh" is obliged to warn everybody on his status (the standard formula - "I have problems in this life") in any new prison/camp he is relocated, and even in his possible next imprisonment after serving the current punishment and liberation. Otherwise, it is considered that he polluted ("zashkvaril") the normal people who communicated to him being unaware of his "petukh" status, this can cause severe beating or even a murder.

In popular culture

• The Isaac Babel play Maria includes the character of Isaac Dimshits, a Lithuanian Jewish vor who rules a black market empire in 1920 St. Petersburg.

• The vory are featured prominently in the 2007 David Cronenberg film Eastern Promises, with members being a part of a criminal gang involved in sex trafficking and smuggling.

• In Season 3 of Third Watch, there are several episodes that center around a murderous vor.

• They are also featured in the popular Soviet comedy film Gentlemen of Fortune. Although the issue is not directly addressed, both the main character and the criminal he is impersonating sport prison tattoos that may be found on a vor. The black comedy film Zhmurki also features a character who is a vor.

• In the Soviet TV miniseries The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed, the police are tasked with bringing down a gang of vicious robbers known as the Black Cats in post-war Moscow, several members of which are described as thieves in law.

• The Thief's Code is also featured in the Criminal Minds episode "Honor Among Thieves."

• The vory are featured in the Law & Order: SVU episode "Disappearing Act," in which a father/son duo in the Witness Protection Program are connected to "Sergei," a local vory leader in the United States.

• The vory v zakone make an appearance in the 2006 Paul Walker film Running Scared, where John Noble stars as a Russian Mafia family head in Little Odessa named Ivan Yugorsky. Ivan is the uncle of Anzor Yugorsky played by Karel Roden, and next-door neighbor of Paul Walker's character Joey Gazelle, who is a smalltime associate of Tommy and Frank Perello, who run the local Italian Mafia. Near the end of the movie, during an argument in a hockey rink, Joey Gazelle uses the word "vor" as an insult to the elder Yugorsky, ultimately precipitating a fight and gunbattle between the two rival mafias.

• In The Getaway: Black Monday the vory v zakone deal weapons to the Yardies. The vor, Viktor Skobel is the main villain, having killed many people close to the protagonists.
• In The Getaway's spin-off Gangs Of London, a different vor is featured.

• In BBC TV Series Spooks, The character Lukas has several tattoos that would mark him as a vor, despite working for MI5.

• In the shadowrun roleplaying game, vory v zakone are one of the major criminal organizations mentioned in the core rules.

• In the popular Facebook-based game Mafia Wars you can reach the "Vor" title in one stage held in Moscow.

• In The Secret Speech (book), a novel by Tom Rob Smith, the primary antagonist Fraera is a vor. Vory are also encountered at other points in the story.

References

• Gurov, A. I. (1990). Professional Crime Past and Present. Moscow: Iuridicheskaia Literatura. 
• "Thieves by Law", documentary by Alexander Gentelev, 2010

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