Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia

Written by Lee King

Every so often a book comes out that reveals everything about a subculture that you never even knew existed. Very rarely, this book then goes on to become a phenomenon all of its own. First published in 2004, the Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopedia ($23) was one such phenomenon, going on to spawn a further 2 volumes and alerting fascinated readers across the globe to the hermetic and altogether extraordinary existence of criminal tattoos in Russia. This is a reprint of the original book, with drawings, texts and photographs which are part of a collection of 3,000 tattoos is total. Mind blowing.