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:
“In relation to God, we are like a thief who has burgled the house of a kindly householder and been allowed to keep some of the gold. From the point of view of the lawful owner this gold is a gift; From the point of view of the burglar it is a theft. He must go and give it back. It is the same with our existence. We have stolen a little of God’s being to make it ours. God has made us a gift of it. But we have stolen it. We must return it.”
—Simone Weil (1909–1943)
“They who say that women do not desire the right of suffrage, that they prefer masculine domination to self-government, falsify every page of history, every fact in human experience. It has taken the whole power of the civil and canon law to hold woman in the subordinate position which it is said she willingly accepts.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)