'Surrounded by Criminals': The photographer capturing the hidden language of Soviet prison tattoos | Euronews Newsletter Events Loader Newsletter Events Loader Loader Search

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ADVERTISEMENT Black-and-white faces. Eyes that have witnessed decades of prison life and streets ruled by shadow codes. Bodies inked with stars, spiders, cats and cathedrals - symbols of rank, loyalty and defiance. A new city-wide exhibition exhibition in Brussels, Surrounded by Criminals, invites visitors into the hidden underworld of the Vory v Zakone, the post-Soviet “thieves in law” brotherhood who once controlled the criminal networks of Stalin-era gulags. Behind the lens is Belgian artist