Argentine presidential advisor makes GRAVE error in his ‘Russian’ tattoo

Santiago Caputo has the following phrase inscribed on his arm: "An apartment, a dacha and a savings book, a boat, a ride and a garage would satisfy my craving” («Хата, дача и сберкнижка, катер, тачка и гараж успокоит мою блаж»).

It is stated that he took this tattoo from the ‘Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia’, which contains many photographs of Soviet tattooed prisoners.

There are, in fact, two spelling mistakes in the Russian text of the tattoo. But, a much more serious mistake can be found in the star under the text.

In the Russian thieves' world, only convicted criminals have the right to wear such stars. The shape of the star comes from a popular tattoo commonly known as ’Compass rose’, which sailors and pirates often inked. The star, the rays of which are divided into equal black and white sections (this is the one tattooed on Caputo's arm), meant that their bearer was an authority in both worlds – in the world of "thieves" (black) and "humans" (white).

Only ‘thieves-in-law’, the highest caste of criminal authorities, wear thieves' stars on their shoulders. They are worn under the collarbones by those members of the criminal underworld who deny the prison order imposed by the administration. Putting these stars on their knees, their owner implies he will never humiliate himself before anyone – neither before the prison administration nor before his cellmates.

Wearing this star on the wrist (like Caputo does) is nonsensical. The only place on the arm where it is allowed to be applied is the back of a hand. In any case, according to the rules of the Russian criminal world, it cannot be worn by a person who has not been in a Russian prison. A representative of the criminal world is allowed to inquire about the status of the bearer of such a tattoo. If he has no prison experience, he should be deprived of the tattoo by force. That is, if confronted with real Russian ‘thieves-in-law’, Caputo would be in danger of losing his arm!

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