A thief in law (Russian: вор в законе vor v zakonye; Ukrainian: злодій у законі zlodiy u zakoni; Belarusian: злодзей у законе zlodzey v zakone; Georgian: კანონიერი ქურდი kanonieri kurdi; Armenian: օրենքով գող orenk'ov goğ; Azerbaijani: Qanuni oğru) is a criminal who is respected, has authority and a high ranking status within the criminal underworld in the old Soviet Union and its successor states. Thieves in law are the elite of the Post-Soviet world of organized crime. According to various Russian news sources there exist hundreds of organized units which retain independence in their actions. Estimates concerning the number of "Vory" throughout the world range from several hundred to over 10,000. Thieves in law are drawn from many nationalities from a number of post-Soviet states.
Read more about Thief In Law: Name, History, The Thieves' Code, Tattoos, The Notions, "Petukhi" ("the Roosters"), Notable Thieves in Law, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words thief and/or law:
“None can re-enter there—
No thief so politic,
No Satan with a royal trick
Steal in by window, chink, or hole,
To bind or unbind, add what lacked,
Insert a leaf, or forge a name,
New-face or finish what is packed,
Alter or mend eternal fact.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The very existence of government at all, infers inequality. The citizen who is preferred to office becomes the superior to those who are not, so long as he is the repository of power, and the child inherits the wealth of the parent as a controlling law of society.”
—James Fenimore Cooper (1789–1851)