From Kokokintyre

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

Well it looks like it went from the 20′s right on through to the present.  Russian prison tattoos are no joke.  Over the last 10 or so years they’ve also been featured more in movies like Eastern Promises and even 25th Hour.

Honestly it doesn’t get much more hardcore than if you’re a Russian prisoner.  I guess getting tattoos is a way to symbolize how tough it is in there.

Here’s a crazy stat:

From the mid-1960’s to the 1980’s, thirty-five million people were incarcerated, and of those, twenty to thirty million were tattooed

Put it this way, if you meet a Russian and he’s got tons of tattoos?  Be careful.

Check out the gallery after the jump