Thief in law

A thief in law (Russian: вор в зако́не, tr. vor v zakone; Estonian: seaduslik varas; Ukrainian: злодій у законі, zlodiy u zakoni; Belarusian: злодзей у законе, zlodzey u zakone; Georgian: კანონიერი ქურდი, kanonieri kurdi; Armenian: օրենքով գող, orenk'ov goğ; Azerbaijani: Qanuni oğru) in the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet states and respective diasporas abroad is a specifically granted formal status of a professional criminal who enjoys an elite position within the organized crime environment and employs informal authority over its lower-status members. Each new Vor is vetted (literally "crowned", with respective rituals and tattoos) by consensus of several Vors. Vor culture is inseparable from prison organized crime: only repeatedly jailed convicts are eligible for Vor status. Thieves in law are drawn from many nationalities from a number of post-Soviet states.

Although Armenia, Chechnya, Estonia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan have long had criminals and bandits, during the disorder of the Russian Revolution of 1917, armed gangs proliferated until they became a very significant factor which controlled society. The criminal culture with its own slang, culture and laws became known as Vorovskoy Mir (Russian: воровской мир) or "Criminal/ Thieves World".

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