Alena Lochmannová:
Konstrukce, deklarace a manifestace kriminální identity v reflexi druhého života odsouzených: příklad ruskojazyčné kriminální subkultury
[Construction, Declaration and Manifestation of Criminal Identity in the Reflection of the Second Life of Convicts: an Example of the Russian-speaking Criminal Subculture]
Lochmannová, A. 2020. „Konstrukce, deklarace a manifestace kriminální identity v reflexi druhého života odsouzených: příklad ruskojazyčné kriminální subkultury.“ Acta Fakulty filozofické Západočeské univerzity v Plzni / West Bohemian Review of Social Sciences & Humanities 12 (1): 36–60.
Abstract
This study focuses on the presentation of the specifics of Russian-speaking criminal groups in Czech men's prisons, especially in relation to the formation of their subcultural identity, the hierarchization process and use of bodily modifications, specifically tattoos, as an important tool in identity construction. Based on an ethnographic analysis, the aim of this study is to describe the identity and essence of Russian-speaking criminal groups and the Russian-speaking subculture operating within Czech men's prisons. During the period, a total of 205 controlled interviews were conducted with convicts serving prison sentences, 77 of which were interviews with prison staff and 128 were interviews with convicted men. During the guided interviews, the main topic was to explore the so-called “second life” of convicts, especially the hierarchy of convicts and the rules of its formation, as well as the projection of the second life of convicts into their physical modifications. The study provides an insight into the life of Russian-speaking criminal groups as an independent subcultural entity built on simple rules, which forms not only the basic “building block” of the community, but also the essence of collective identity. An important tool of construction, reconstruction, or confirmation of identity are, among other things, in the case of Russian-speaking convicts, body modifications, especially tattoos, which have fixed rules not only in terms of symbolism, but also in the process of obtaining the tattoo, as the act of tattooing is not merely the decision of one individual, as this decision must be agreed upon hierarchically by higher individuals.
Key words
body modifications, collective identity, identity, Russian-speaking criminal groups, self, subculture, tattoos
