April 01, 2004

Russian Prison Tattoos. "It is not known when tattooing first became a common practice in Russian prisons and Stalinist Gulags. Soviet researchers first discovered and studied this underground activity in the 1920s; photographs of prisoners from that period suggest an already elaborate and highly developed subculture. More than simple decoration, the images symbolically proclaim the wearer's background and rank within the complex social system of the jailed." Via Geisha Asobi.

Something about this site makes me think of DeNiro in Cape Fear.

posted by exclamationmark 20 years ago
  • Grotesquely interesting -- something about this makes me think of Mel Gibson's latest work. [caution, may have annoying popup thingy.]
  • Yes, beeswacky, it is the tattoo-Jesus with a prison hair cut. Check out the link at the bottom of the page to a full body view. And, if he was serving a life sentence, it's no wonder he looks so sad.
  • It was this one and this one that made me think particularly of DeNiro.
  • Fascinating stuff.