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A "thief in law" (or thief with code, Russian: вор в зако́не, romanized: vor v zakone) in the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet states, and their respective diasporas is a formal and special status of "criminal authority", a professional criminal who follows certain criminal traditions and enjoys an elite position among other members within organized crime and correctional facility environments and who has informal authority over lower-status members.
The phrase "thief in law" is a calque of the Russian slang phrase vor v zakone, literally translated as 'thief in [opposition of] the law'. The phrase has two distinct meanings in Russian: 'legalized thief' and 'thief who is the Law'. Vor (вор) came to mean 'thief' no earlier than the 18th century, before which it meant 'criminal'. The word retains this meaning in the professional criminal argot.[1]
Each new thief is made and vetted, literally a "crowned" male, with respective rituals and tattoos, by the consensus of several Vory (воры). Vor culture is inseparable from prison organized crime: only repeatedly jailed convicts are eligible for Vor status.[1] Thieves in law are drawn from many nationalities from a number of post-Soviet states.[1][2]
^ abcSchwirtz, Michael (29 July 2008). "Vory v Zakone has a hollowed place in Russian criminal lore". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
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