Tattooed Stalin - The World and Art of Bandits in the Soviet Union

Before getting deeper insight with this study and its dangerous world, we consider some information is necessary on the source of photographs, drawings and documentation, nonetheless the circumstances of the birth of this study.

While our "Tattooed People and Tattoo Makers" album was being released in 1987, we got acquainted with Dancig Baldajev by almost a chance, who is an Investigator in St. Petersburg and have done hundreds of drawings and notes on condemned ordinary criminals' tattoos in different prisons and work camps. As he got to know our earlier studies, worrying for his collection would be destroyed, he asked us to work it up and we accepted his request. (more in the Introduction)