The Russian Criminal Tattoo Archive presents highlights from FUEL's singular collection of
authentic material on this subject. Previously unpublished in its original form this work
comprises ink on paper drawings by Danzig Baldaev the photographic albums of Arkady Bronnikov
and prisoner portraits by Sergei Vasiliev. The selection is contextualised with insights from
Mark Vincent PhD (author and academic specialising in the Soviet Gulag) and Alison Nordström
(photography scholar writer and curator). The meticulous depictions of tattoos by prison guard
Danzig Baldaev are reproduced in facsimile authenticated by his signature and stamp alongside
his handwritten notes on the reverse. The paper has yellowed with age giving the exquisite
drawings a visceral temporality - almost like skin. Sergei Vasiliev's photographs portray
inmates in startling intimacy. He achieves a remarkable level of trust within the closed
criminal society a strict hierarchy where outsiders are viewed with hostile suspicion. Arkady
Bronnikovs collection of photographs are shown in the albums in which they were collected. Used
exclusively to aid police in their investigations they depict a motley line-up of assorted
body parts. This unique book is the only publication of primary material on this subject
highlighting the pioneering methods of these three individuals used to document this unique
phenomenon.
