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Title: Russian Prison System Documentary
Added: Dec 19, 2010
Author: rosaryfilms
Duration: 73:27
Description:
The Mark of Cain. Producer: Alix Lambert; Creative Commons license: CC0 1.0 UniversalThe Mark of Cain documents the fading art form and language of Russian criminal tattoos, formerly a forbidden topic in Russia. The now vanishing practice is seen as reflecting the transition of the broader Russian society. Filmed in some of Russia;s most notorious prisons, including the fabled White Swan, the interviews with prisoners, guards, and criminologists reveal the secret language of The Zone and The Code of Thieve.The prisoners of the Stalinist Gulag, or "Zone," as it is called, developed a complex social structure (documented as early as the 1920s) that incorporated highly symbolic tattooing as a mark of rank. The existence of these inmates at prisons and forced labor camps was treated by the state as a deeply-kept secret. In the 1990s, Russia's prison population exploded, with overcrowding among the worst in the world. Some estimates suggest that in the last generation over thirty million of Russia's inmates have had tattoos even though the process is illegal inside Russian prisons.The Mark of Cain examines every aspect of the tattooing, from the actual creation of the tattoo ink, interviews with the tattooers and soberly looks at the double-edged sword of prison tattoos. In many ways, they were needed to survive brutal Russian prisons, but mark the prisoner for life, which complicates any readmission to normal society they may have. Tattoos expressly identify what the convict has been convicted of, how many prisons he;s been in and what kind of criminal he is. Tattoos, essentially, tell you everything you need to know about that person without ever asking. Each tattoo represents a variety of things; cupolas on churches represent the number of convictions a convict has, epaulets tattooed on shoulders represent the rank of the individual in the crime world and so on and so forth.The unflinching look at the Russian prison system is slowly woven into the film. Cells meant to hold 15 hold 35 to 45 men. Drug resistant tuberculosis runs rampant through the prison populations and prisoners are served three meals a day of watery slop. There are allegations of brutality by the guards. As these men deal with pestilence, violence and grossly substandard living conditions, the prison guards and administration put on a talent show.The film served as source material for David Cronenberg's 2007 dramatic movie, Eastern Promises. He commented, "This is a very courageous documentary on the tattooing subculture in Russian prisons. I don't know how it ever got made, but it's beautiful, scary, and heartbreaking."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mark_of_Cain_(2000_film)
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Videos related to 'Russian Prison System Documentary'
Channel: News
Tags: prisons russia russian prison prisoner prisoners torture documentary film video criminology pathology tattoos tattoo tattooing tattooed system crime penitentiary penal practice gang gangs rules gulag social structure inmate inmates status human rights rehab rehabilitation sentence convicts brutality brutal culture punishment punish daily lives overcrowded overcrowding communists communism democracy democrats rank ranking history change tortured criminals justice violation violations illegal
prisons russia russian prison prisoner prisoners torture documentary film video criminology pathology tattoos tattoo tattooing tattooed system crime penitentiary penal practice gang gangs rules gulag social structure inmate inmates status human rights rehab rehabilitation sentence convicts brutality brutal culture punishment punish daily lives overcrowded overcrowding communists communism democracy democrats rank ranking history change tortured criminals justice violation violations illegal
Youtube Comments: 826
Robert43139 Says:
May 21, 2012 - the prisons in russia dont seem any worse than the ones in the usa
wutangclan49 Says:
May 21, 2012 - lol are you kidding me? american prisons are actually pretty nice compared to these shitholes
inhaledyou Says:
May 21, 2012 - I wonder what the kitties did to get there.
RealLifeOmen Says:
May 22, 2012 - Why are Russian prison tattoo's better then most American shop tattoo's?
Bander1 Says:
May 22, 2012 - Russia(and most of the former USSR), the third world of Europe.
HHHPPP8 Says:
May 22, 2012 - And Europe - the mediator of the Empire of Evil.
mac24seven Says:
May 24, 2012 - They are all so pleasant to listen to. So soft spoken. Such a contradiction to many of the crimes they have committed.
GmcDiesel420 Says:
May 25, 2012 - What's that tat say at 2:29?? or rather mean..??
BDFdaTnT Says:
May 25, 2012 - I wonder... how come with such awful and skimpy food do they manage to maintain any sort of muscle, yet alone fat?
HHHPPP8 Says:
May 26, 2012 - I do not know what this tattoo means, but the inscription is translated as "Remember the death!"
NordikFilm Says:
May 26, 2012 - Russia is a violent and rough society. Swedish penitentiaries are health resorts in comparison. But have in mind that this documentary is a bit outdated, probably from the mid 90's.
HHHPPP8 Says:
May 26, 2012 - It's 2001.
kadafi5150 Says:
May 26, 2012 - Many comments about the Russian tattoos being nice, really? In my opinion they all suck.
kadafi5150 Says:
May 26, 2012 - For those talking about my country, we would take your countries all at the same time and still win. We are like rome in ancient times and you bitches are the scum of villagers about to be beat down to accept our golden eagle.
appel123 Says:
May 26, 2012 - its not because its not because it has no flavour or they always eat the same that its not nutricious
matrixca1 Says:
May 26, 2012 - fuk this kined of life
HHHPPP8 Says:
May 26, 2012 - Because these tattoos are not made in an elite tattoo salon, and with the help of available tools. Moreover, each tattoo has appropriative designation.
MorganMortimerGraff Says:
May 27, 2012 - 24:40 Blake Griffin
AnastasiaRebkovskaya Says:
May 29, 2012 - I am afraid of my country : S
mvickers03 Says:
May 29, 2012 - You inject Krokodil for breakfast
TrollkarlenPeter Says:
May 29, 2012 - Не жди меня, мама, хорошего сына - Dina Vierny That's the song at start.
Erdinc Celebi Says:
May 29, 2012 - @sandino27 I have found the song after a lot of hard work and the song is from Vladimir Ivanoff and the songname is "miserere"
Erdinc Celebi Says:
May 29, 2012 - @sandino27 I have found the link for the songtype Allegri - Miserere on youtube and you will find it
llTomlll Says:
May 20, 2012 - Hi - I found the song from the beginning -Diena Vierny - Don't Wait For Me MamaYou can listen to it here... /watch?v=_xIU0qRVntgIf you can't get the link working, just let me know and I will message you the video.