A Russian photographer spent decades documenting prisoner tattoos—now, his archive has been turned into a book.
Tattoos occupy myriad places in our culture, whether as works of art, the future of wearable tech, reality-show fodder, or just reminders of our terrible decisions. But for Arkady Bronnikov—a criminologist with an expertise in tattoo iconography—tattoos are the secret language of Russia’s criminal underbelly.
