Initially, tattoos were more than just images on the body. Previously, it was possible to find out about a person’s past by tattoos, establish his belonging to a certain group of people, or even determine religious preferences. Now the situation has changed and a large number of people make tattoos for themselves just for beauty.
However, this does not mean at all that those people who pay special attention to what is shown on the body of their new acquaintance have completely disappeared. Often there are times when a seemingly innocuous tattoo made just like that without much sense became the cause of serious problems for its owner.
It's no secret that at different times different tattoos were more popular. Despite the fact that there is still a large number of “eternal” tattoos, which at all times were equally significant for people, were in great demand. This is exactly what Stalin's tattoo refers to, which was at the peak of its popularity in the middle and second half of the last century. Separately, it is worth noting that this image is quite common among current tattoo lovers.
History
In order to understand the reasons for the popularity of Stalin's tattoo, you need to be aware of the role of the Leader in Russian and world history. The thing is that this person is one of the most controversial personalities of all time.
The period of his reign was marked by both the greatest repressions and victory in the Second World War. It was he who sent hundreds of thousands of citizens of his homeland to rot in the camps, but he also lifted the country destroyed by the war from its knees. It is still impossible to find an unambiguous assessment of his personality, but this is precisely what makes the tattoo with his image very popular.
Tattoo and the underworld
Surprising is the fact that Stalin's tattoo was very popular among prisoners during his reign. It is worth noting that the meaning of that tattoo was significantly different from the modern interpretation.
In total, there were two main reasons why prisoners made Stalin's tattoos on his chest. These reasons were the planned escape and the desire to avoid being shot. The thing is, the guards might be afraid to shoot at the body of the prisoner, on which the portrait of the leader was full, even if this prisoner makes an attempt to escape. As for the second reason, the death penalty was executed by a shot in the chest. And since now the Leader was on his chest, the execution could be replaced with a long term of imprisonment.
Thus, we see that two different reasons are united by a desire to survive. It was this desire that made the prisoners make such tattoos on their bodies.
In addition, there is another opinion according to which the significance of tattoos with Lenin, Stalin and other prominent figures of the USSR was made by prisoners in order to achieve loyalty from the regime. However, it is not known for certain whether such tattoos were effective in this sense.
Value
As mentioned earlier, the significance of Stalin's tattoo these days is significantly different from what she got behind bars. Here, the main interpretation options are as follows:
- patriotism;
- respect for dictatorial practices;
- love of anarchy;
- love of history.
Now in order. The patriotism of people with such a tattoo is expressed in the fact that they consider Stalin a great leader and therefore want everyone around to see their point of view.
On the other hand, the image of the Leader can often be found among people who share his dictatorial methods of government. These people are sure that brute force and cruelty is the only opportunity to achieve something in our life. As the saying goes, the end justifies the means. It is very interesting that the image of Stalin on his body for this very reason is often stuffed with people in leadership positions.
Sometimes people make caricatures of Stalin's tattoos. Thus they try to express their rebellious nature. The comic image of a terrible dictator allows them to show the mortality of the whole world, because even the most cruel tyrants can become a subject of ridicule after some time.
Also, do not forget that many tattoo lovers see Stalin as a neutral person. It causes only research interest. Therefore, his portrait can be adjacent to images of other historical figures on one body.
Different styles
There are many options about what Stalin's tattoo means, so it is not surprising that such a tattoo can be made in different styles. The most popular options are:
- old school;
- New School
- realism;
- trash polka;
- dot-work.
Old school and realism are precisely the styles in which tattoo artists performed their work in Soviet prisons. Their distinguishing feature is the maximum similarity with the original and the presence of elements such as quotes, ribbons and even roses.
New school and trash polka are suitable for those people who like to show their creativity. Here they can ask the master to depict Stalin in an unusual setting or in a comic situation. A characteristic feature of trash polka is the predominance of red and black colors, as well as a kind of gloomy plot.
Well, the dot-work will become a very original option for a tattoo with the Leader because all the work is a combination of points of different diameters.
Popular places for tattoos
Although it was pointed out that Stalin's tattoos , the photos of which you see in this article, were stuffed with prisoners on his chest, this was and is not the only place where you can see the portrait of the Leader.
It's no secret that breasts are still the most popular place for this tattoo. The second most popular is the back, and then the shoulder and forearm go further. Thus, you can see a clear tendency to place the Leader’s tattoo on the upper body.
Most popular prisoner tattoos
Based on the fact that Stalin's tattoo got its initial popularity behind bars, it would not be out of place in conclusion to mention other popular tattoos for this layer of society. So they are:
- Grinning a tiger.
- Bear.
- Virgin with the baby.
- Rose in a barbed wire.
- Finger Rings .
- Stars on shoulders and knees.
- Domes.
Conclusion
Each tattoo has its own meaning. Sometimes, however, it also happens that the meaning of the tattoo changes with time. It was such a fate that overtook a tattoo with the image of Stalin, which was transformed from a chance of survival in prison into a now fashionable image to express one's attitude to the Leader.
Regardless of the current interpretation, you should always remember the origins of this tattoo.