I knew a man with stars on his knees. He said that this tattoo was the greatest honor he had received in his life. And that he was proud to wear it. I think that everyone has their own worldview, and some people really like this drawing.
You can often meet a person with a tattoo on the street. Their meanings can be very different, and a simple amateur cannot understand what this or that tattoo means. Sometimes such information helps to navigate in society, namely, it provides a kind of “dossier” on a person.
In the prison world, drawings on the body are called tattoos, and each of them usually means the degree of crime. One of these is a star tattoo on the knees. Mostly such tattoos have a negative meaning, such as a serious crime, robbery or rape. Understanding the meaning of the tattoo, prisoners can easily navigate and decide who should obey and who can be subjugated.
The "stars on knees" tattoo in question in the prison world has two and "denied". The first sign, as a rule, evokes respect and understanding, but “denied” is simply not tolerated. Therefore, the meaning of drawings on the body should be taken very seriously. Ordinary tattoo lovers are not recommended to make such a design, since they can get into a lot of trouble if this picture is noticed by a person “with ideas”.
Stars on knees in prison mean the will and audacity of a person. It’s as if he’s telling everyone that under no circumstances will he kneel before anyone, will he not submit to anyone. But not everything is so simple; getting a tattoo does not mean that the matter is resolved. It is important to confirm your intentions and prove to everyone that a person is responsible for the image that he reflected on his body. Most often, those who get star tattoos on their knees are tested for strength and fortitude. People who do not belong to the world of crime are not recommended to get such tattoos, as well as a church, ring or epaulettes.
By getting such a tattoo on your own, without having specific “merits” in the criminal world, a person risks going against the will of the most important thing. Not everyone will survive all the tests that follow. In this case, the stars on their knees are a principle, a sign of insubordination, an attempt to undermine the authority of the “chief”. Also, the meaning of the tattoo depends on the design itself. There are hexagonal stars or small images with a large month next to them, as well as an octagonal star and other signs.
Nowadays, you can meet ordinary people who have never been to prison, but proudly wear a “stars on their knees” tattoo. In this case, a person wants to express his contempt and dissatisfaction with the authorities, the government of the country, and does not want to obey and reconcile with the existing injustice. Of course, no one means that in real life the authorities will bring people to their knees. Everything is at the level of human psychology and thought.
In addition to the knees, similar tattoos are made on the shoulders and collarbones. In turn, this means that the person does not want to work for this or that person, and also will not change his point of view and ideas. can also be different: blue, red or black. Particular attention is paid to the stars on the shoulders (wind rose): this means that in front of you is a real thief in law.
Today I propose to talk about such an odious and controversial personality as Alexander Emelianenko. Alexander is a mixed martial arts fighter, multiple champion of Russia in combat sambo, a native of the city of Stary Oskol, the middle brother of Fedor
But, unfortunately, recently Emelianenko Jr. (actually middle) is better known for his scandalous antics and problems with the law. The athlete's body is filled with tattoos, most of which resemble prison tattoos. Not much is known about Alexander’s criminal life; he himself rarely spoke of himself as a thieves’ authority, so the general public knows very little about this. Despite the dubious reputation, in my opinion, A.E. deserves unconditional respect for his sporting achievements.
In order not to speculate on rumors and speculation about his criminal record and possible criminal activities, we will look at the classic meanings of the tattoos present on Emelianenko’s body.
So, let's start with the earliest thieves' tattoos of Alexander Emelianenko.
Star tattoos on knees and shoulders.
You've probably heard that thieves' authorities have tattoos in the form of eight-pointed stars. We wrote about this in. So, A.E. has exactly the same ones. As you remember, the eight-pointed stars under the knees literally stand for I won’t kneel
, and that in prisons such prisoners are beaten to test this. A swastika is stamped inside the stars, which is a sign of denial.
The stars on the shoulders have approximately the same meaning. Traditionally, it is said about the owners of such tattoos that only their own principles are important to them, and they do not care about laws and regulations. In the world of thieves, stars on the collarbones are a sign of denial. Later, Alexander covered them with a new tattoo, also symmetrical on both sides. Apparently, the new paintings depict clouds.
Classification of tattoos
Conventionally, they are divided into:
- authoritative;
- thieves;
- tattoos for the lower strata (applied forcibly).
One of the rarest places on the body where an image is embossed is the area of the head and legs. It is unlikely that you will meet a person who has tattoos in such a place. There are reasons for this.
The knees are the most difficult place to tattoo because the skin in these places is very rough, mobile and unruly. Drawings with a lot of detail can look very sloppy and distorted.
Secondly, the procedure is accompanied by severe pain.
And the most important thing is that the drawings embossed on the knees are significant. In the prison world, a privileged caste of people, which has a special status and position, has the right to wear them. What do the stars on your knees mean? This will be discussed further.
Tattoos of Alexander Emelianenko on his back
On the back there is an inscription in German Gott mit uns
- God is with us. The phrase was once associated with SS. And in the 90s, criminals stamped it with a swastika, thereby showing hatred of the regime and commitment to “concepts”.
In addition to Emelianenko, several more stories can be seen. The largest of them: a baby in a crown and the Mother of God. In fact, both tattoos are done in the traditional criminal style. A baby signifies time in a juvenile correctional facility. The Mother of God is depicted as a skull with a hood.
Why is the knee rarely chosen for tattooing?
Getting a tattoo on the knee is not a good idea. The pain in this place is felt more strongly due to the fact that the kneecap is located close to the skin and there is no fat layer. The rough skin of the knee moves all the time. It holds pigment worse, so when choosing a sketch it is better to avoid images with small details. A round or oval pattern in the style, for example, Dotwork or Old School, would look good in this place.
We recommend reading: Tattoo with a sprig of lavender: meaning, design options
Ornament on the lower abdomen
Finally, I would like to mention the ornament located at the bottom of Alexander’s stomach. From the photograph you can see that today these fancy horns, but in fact, cover an older tattoo.
Well, to summarize, I would like to say that Alexander is one of the most ardent public fans of the art of body painting. Almost all parts of the fighter’s body are covered with tattoos. He himself does not really like to talk about their origin, but it is clear that almost all of them were made in different places, by different people. I hope this article was able to bring clarity regarding the meanings of all Emelianenko’s 2015 tattoos. What do you think about this person? Write in the comments!
What kind of tattoos are done on the knees?
In places of deprivation of liberty, only stars are knocked out in the knee area. What do the stars on your knees mean? Each tattoo symbolizes a certain degree of “status”. A star can be depicted with a different number of rays - from five to twelve. As a rule, this does not play a significant role.
Among people of the past era (they are also commonly called “old Katarzhans”) you can find the image of the “Polar Star”. The meaning of the drawing is clear to everyone - this indicates that the person served his sentence in the harsh climatic conditions of the Arctic Circle. As a rule, these are Kolyma, Komi, the city of Solikamsk, the famous White Swan prison and many other correctional colonies in the northern regions.
What do the stars on your knees mean? Symbols such as stars have the right to emboss and wear only “thieves in law”, “denied” or “positors”. All these categories of convicts are imprisoned for crimes that are classified as serious. Robberies of collectors, murders (and maniacs and rapists have no right to wear such insignia).
What does an eight-pointed star on the shoulders mean: seven-, five- and nine-pointed stars: meaning
Now tattoos have become quite popular, widespread and have acquired many meanings and meanings. Accordingly, you can choose the appropriate option from the master in the tattoo parlor. Most often they use the Star of David or five-pointed stars. Thieves' stars are not tattooed in tattoo parlors because the artists explain their meaning. Now stars have many different meanings. It all depends on where it is located and how many rays it consists of.
Decoration
The main meanings of a star tattoo:
- If it is a starfish, then most often it is used as a special talisman or amulet to protect against the harmful forces of the water element. They were filled with sailors or tourists who loved to travel. The seven-pointed star represents the mystical part of the human personality, it is a kind of symbol of good luck, as well as leadership.
- The 8-pointed star represents abundance. Most often used among pagans in Ancient Egypt.
- A star consisting of 9 rays is a symbol of stability . Derived from Norse mythology. Such a star meant nine worlds. In Ireland, this kind of tattoo represents a symbol of good health.
- Often people depict a shooting star. It is used when a person has experienced an important event that completely changed his life. This is a kind of reflection of changes in life. If a star is depicted together with a crescent, this means the fulfillment of desires. Such stars are most often used in Islam and Turkey.
- Most often, stars for women are simply decoration or an accessory and have no meaning. Some girls get tattoos on their wrists. This means that the girl prefers a representative of the fair sex as a sexual partner, that is, she is a lesbian.
Tattoo decoration
There are a huge number of interpretations of the meanings of star tattoos. Before tattooing such a star, consult a tattoo artist and carefully search the Internet for the meaning.
What does a star tattoo mean: for men, girls, prison meaning
It is worth noting that now there are a huge number of varieties of stars, the meanings of which differ significantly. People often get tattoos of the Star of David. This is a six-pointed star. You need to be very careful, because this tattoo is related to religious and special thematic ones. Therefore, if you do not believe in the decoding of this star, then you should not stuff it.
The symbol belongs to Judaism. Quite often, Jews depicted them on various objects that they used in everyday life. The star of David means the perfection of God. Moreover, the 6 angles point to several directions, that is, sky, north, south, earth, east and west.
Stars
Quite often the Star of David is identified with the eastern symbol of Yin-Yang. In religion, a star also means the union of two opposite principles: male and female. Essentially, these are two triangles connected together. One of which represents the male part, more mobile, active, corresponding to fire and earth.
The second triangle is calmer, more inert, this is the feminine principle. Often this tattoo is tattooed for protective purposes. It is believed that a person who has protected himself with such a tattoo is protected before God. In addition to the star of David, other stars are often stuffed.
Girls get star tattoos much more often than guys. Moreover, young people prefer one large star, which is placed on the back, neck, or shoulder. Girls prefer a scattering of small stars. Most often, such a tattoo means the number of loved ones in life. Or the number of the most essential items. Often girls get such tattoos on their shoulders, feet, or in the area just below the neck.
Star of David
Mostly guys prefer eight-pointed stars. Seven-pointed ones are also stuffed; they represent the cycle of days, that is, from Monday to Sunday. The five-pointed star means a pentagram, which combines the four elements, as well as a tree, which is a symbol of life in Buddhism. The six-pointed star is a hexagram. It represents a symbol of life and combines 6 core values. That is, these are children, peace, prosperity, health, family and life.
Is it worth getting a tattoo like this?
The society that is on the other side of the bars is completely different from the ordinary everyday life we are used to. There are their own unwritten laws that everyone follows. Therefore, it is difficult for a person who finds himself in this place at first, and in order not to stand out from the general crowd, he can get a tattoo that will symbolize his criminal record. Of course, following the laws and rules of the criminal world, a person himself does not notice how he joins this society. Sometimes the authority of the people with whom this person shares a prison cell plays a role. There are people who, without hesitation or a twinge of conscience, emphasize their offenses by painting such images on their bodies.
Tattoo art behind barbed wire
Tattoos associated with anti-legal, illegal societies appeared quite a long time ago. In France, a secret sign of belonging to a criminal group was an image of a handshake with the inscription “Union” in the areola of flowers. German groups tattooed the letters “T” and “L” on their members.
According to researchers, the first tattoos, independently applied to the body by Russian convicts, were of a primitive and imitative nature, without carrying any semantic meaning. Such designs were most likely printed for the sake of the application process itself.
Over time, those criminals who had drawings on their skin were more likely to receive respect from cellmates and other convicts, had greater authority and occupied leading positions.
However, at that time tattoos as such did not yet exist in Russia; it was very exotic, and a person who decided to take a strong-willed step to depict something on his body naturally attracted attention. And the risk of getting blood poisoning or amputation of a part of the body (after all, tattooing in the zone was never hygienic) indicated the fearlessness and strength of character of the criminal.
The next step in the development of the prison tattoo was its transformation into a special secret language, allowing convicts to recognize each other and communicate not only behind barbed wire, but also in the wild.
The development of symbolism occurred gradually, some meanings were fixed, others were lost, there were fairly free forms of drawings (for example, a mess), and there are, on the contrary, strict symbols: rings on the fingers or a star tattoo on the knees, the photo of which you see in the article.
Examples of stars on the chest and knees
Researchers identify several main reasons why tattoos have become so popular in prisons and maintain their status to this day:
- Tradition, an unwritten law that all people entering the zone obey.
- Self-affirmation among convicts.
- Romanticization of places of restriction of freedom.
- Copying, the desire to imitate authorities and criminals who occupy a higher status.
- Vanity, the desire to emphasize one’s superiority, status and uniqueness.
- The desire to classify oneself as a brotherhood, to identify, to connect with the criminal world.
Bright stars on the prisoner's lap
Attitude towards people who wear star tattoos
There was respect and full understanding for the “deniers” who had every right to knock out the stars on their knees. This indicated that the convict would never come to terms with the existing law, complete disobedience to the authorities, this regime and, most importantly, that he could not be brought to his knees.
Experts do not advise lovers of body designs to emboss “star” tattoos on their knees, since they can get into a lot of trouble if, God forbid, a person with “concepts” notices it.
But not everything is as simple as it might seem at first glance. Just because you got a tattoo does not mean that everyone lower in prison rank will begin to obey you unquestioningly. The main thing is to fully confirm and prove that your image fully matches the symbol displayed on your knees.
Having made such a tattoo but not having certain merits in the criminal world, the convict runs a very high risk of going against the will of the “authority” or “supervisor”. Not everyone can withstand the tests to which they will be subjected.
What does it mean to wear stars on your knees for those who have not been to the “zone”? If today you meet a person who has never been imprisoned, but proudly wears embossed stars on his knees, this indicates that the owner of the tattoo expresses deep contempt and dissatisfaction with the existing government and does not want to obey the government regime.
It is clear that in real conditions no one will bring this individual to his knees. All a person’s perceptions are at the subconscious level, and to some extent he is proud of himself.
Understanding the meaning of any embossed “suits” (as tattoos are called in prisons), each prisoner easily reads them and decides who needs to obey and who can be subjugated.
