A prisoner's tattoos, 1940s
The Thieves in law, known as the vori v zakone in Russian, are violent criminals from the Soviet Union or its former republics that are members of prison gangs adhering to the traditions of the Thieves' World. The "Thieves in law" emerged in the Stalinist prison system during the Great Purge in the 1930s, replacing the defunct Thieves' World organization. The Russian underworld was transformed by World War II, and many Russian prisoners were promised freedom if they joined the Soviet Army; this was a breach of the Thieves' World contract, as they were considered to be traitors due to their work with the government. They were returned to prison by Joseph Stalin after the war's end, and a quiet slaughter ensued from 1945 to 1953; prisoners engaged in cannibalism and set labor camps on fire to punish the suki ("bitches"), the name given to the traitors. Prison officials supported the violence, as it was a way to thin out the ranks of the inmates in prison. The "Bitch Wars" ended with Stalin's death in 1953, and 8,000,000 criminals were released from prison. These criminals were allowed to do as they pleased, and they began to look a lot like the communist bosses. These criminals would form the modern Russian Mafia, which was not confined to prisons.