What does it mean to live by concepts? Thieves' ideas. Prison slang

Over the past few years, prison slang has become a part of many people's everyday speech. This happened partly due to the popularization of such a category of people as “gopniks”, partly due to the harsh conditions of the current reality, where ordinary laws often no longer work, but thieves are quite capable of instilling morality and hard work in a person. What does it mean to live according to concepts and is it really bad as it seems? A lot of people are familiar with thieves' ideas, and often support them too. What are these people right about and what are they not?

When thieves laws appeared

“Thieves” concepts have been formed for quite some time, starting from the 30s of the last century, when the authorities began actively fighting thieves and criminals, one after the other putting them in jail even for the slightest fault. In response to such aggressive actions of the state, criminals rallied into more organized groups, where there was a certain order and set of rules, in violation of which, a person became a traitor. It was that period of time that influenced the formation of the basic laws of the criminal world. All were mainly hunted by theft, for which they went to the zone where the "brothers in mind" taught people to live by concepts.

The so-called elite of the criminal world has appeared - thieves in law, “their own” people at law enforcement posts, who, if necessary, “roofed” their comrades, because they had great privileges and some connections in the higher circles, since thieves’s ideas do not allow working with any government structures.

The criminal world underwent many changes during World War II, when many prisoners went to the front to defend their homeland, for which they were nicknamed "bitches" and forever branded as traitors, so after the Great Patriotic War in Russia there was another war, already between prisoners. One side explained to those who went to the front what it means to live according to concepts, while the other, the so-called “bitches,” embarked on the path of correction and collaborated with the administration. This order is preserved in the zone to this day.

The main provisions of thieves in law

Everyone who has at least once encountered representatives of the criminal world is familiar with thieves' concepts, since they underlie the behavior of any criminal. What does it mean to live according to thieves? This means observing a number of rules, being an honest and decent person. Naturally in their circles.

Among the many laws, 7 main points can be distinguished, from which many others follow:

1. Support "thieves' ideas." Stand behind your own mountain.
2. Never, under any circumstances, cooperate with government agencies or law enforcement agencies. Do not testify, do not testify against yourself or anyone else, do not admit guilt when convicted.
3. Relate to each other to be honest. All criminals are brothers, and betrayal in the family is unacceptable, otherwise the person will simply be rumored or killed.
4. It is important to constantly attract new members. Young people are desirable, as they are more capable and understanding.
5. It is forbidden to engage in political activities. Do not be a member. Do not deal with documents, do not register at the place of residence, do not work.
6. Observe subordination, establish the power of thieves in the law in zones, in pre-trial detention centers and IUT. The authority in the criminal circle is won by those who have more life experience, who do not “wind the time” for the first time, periodically “sit out” in the zone for crimes and do not work alone, actively interact with those who are free.
7. You must be able to play cards. Do not cheat in the game for money, for this you can get.

From these concepts, many others follow, for example, such as maintaining order in the zone, settling conflicts, collecting tributes from those sitting, and so on. What does it mean to live according to concepts? Follow these rules if you have managed to get into a similar circle of friends.

What people do in prison

Once in the zone, a person, one way or another, is influenced by generally accepted concepts that he must observe, but at the same time he is allowed some freedom of action regarding his hobbies, until it hurts others. In prison, many authors wrote their books, composed poems, most “convicts” have a hobby, and as a rule, nobody gets into someone else’s affairs, but if they say something against someone else, they will get what they deserve because "you need to answer for the bazaar." In general, most thieves' phrases have a deeper meaning than it might seem initially. I am familiar with criminal concepts, including the administration of the prison, and “leaving” due to the legislation will not work. Since the concepts exist in parallel with the laws, and sometimes even are placed above the laws, therefore, in order to survive in this environment, it is necessary to feel the boundaries beyond which it is impossible to cross.

There are also two types of colonies. Some do not work, are on unpaid leave, the other part of the prisoners prefers to do some work. On the territory of the prison there may be whole workshops for sewing clothes, baking bread and much more. In general, it is “black” and ungrateful work.

How concepts work

It should be borne in mind that in everyday life and in prison jargon, the concepts often radically differ from what the mean guys on the street mean. Society is actively borrowing some words from prison jargon, eroding the whole original meaning of coined terms. People serving their sentences, in fact, have a completely different language, they speak mostly in jargon, and they remember what they mean by living in the zone in the first months of their stay in the colony.

Why is there such a word "concept"? What is the original meaning of it? The concept - because it should be clear to everyone. If a person begins to “push” a long philosophy and try to convince someone of his wrongness, in terms of concepts and turning the facts upside down, roughly saying “pouring water” and “powdering brains”, then the matter is unclean. Long rants are not characteristic of people living according to concepts, the simpler the explanation - the better.

These laws work in prison, as there is a need, but according to what concepts live "gopniks" who have never sat in the zone in their life? The answer is very simple: human. To act humanly means not to expose loved ones, not to steal and respect your family and mother. Some "gopniks" for some reason still prefer not to work under any circumstances, and not at all because they are so struggling with the system and the state, but because there is such a concept. Or they remotely heard about this.

How to communicate with such people

The so-called “gopniks” are people who live according to concepts. Basically, these are young people who are close to the criminal world, or who are directly related to it. But most often, criminal behavior is in no way connected with the attitude of these people to the thieves' world, in other words, they borrow someone else's jargon and use it as it suits them. If you ask them what it means to live by concepts, then in response you can get slurred mumble and a weak explanation of their views. The fact is that thieves' ideas are different and are interpreted by people in their own way, which creates certain disagreements, and each person can have his own concepts. So in what terms do Gopniks end up living? Their vague idea of ​​peace and discipline often has nothing to do with organized crime and the hierarchy that is going on in the criminal world.

Conducting a dialogue with representatives of this social stratum, one should be careful in expressions, and, in principle, do not talk much. To the question: “by what concepts do you live?”, How to answer is pretty obvious: in human terms, like all people. Any extra word can provoke a conflict.

Another rather favorite question: who are you in life? The main thing here is not to begin to mumble and clearly answer, to make it clear that you can stand up for yourself. The more uncertain a person behaves with representatives of this group, the easier it is to make a victim of him.

Why it became popular to be a bandit

In principle, little was known about the criminal world to people distant, at least in the pre-war era no one went into the details of how a hierarchy is built in the society of those who know how to live by concepts. The rules of the criminal world were publicized after many decades, and already in the 90s the laws on which the criminal world was built were most clearly formulated.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, films with criminal themes were released, where the realities of the underground world were shown in all their glory. The serial film "The Brigade", which has become a cult in Russia and talks about authorities in the criminal world, has made a strong impression on young people. Then came the film "Boomer", which also did not go unnoticed. In domestic cinema, in principle, quite often the topic of confrontation between the police and the criminal world is raised, which is reflected in the views of the population as a whole, because it is there that it is shown in more detail what it means to live according to concepts.

Many people believe that the criminal world of mafiosi and the criminal world of thieves are intertwined, since both people have, in principle, similar views on life, but there is a huge difference between them in their actions and methods of survival. A good example of this is the criminal saga "The Godfather".

Contradictions in laws

Criminal groups for the most part do not behave aggressively towards ordinary citizens, but if it happens that someone decided to rob someone in a dark corner due to a lack of money, then by no laws and references to their own moral rules by which they live , persuade will not succeed. For many who are aware of what it means to live according to concepts, as a rule, there are only their own principles, which, if desired and at any opportunity, the criminal will interpret in a way that is beneficial to him, but not to his victim.

Therefore, although there are some vague notions that thieves' ideas are actually honest and noble, this does not negate the fact that people who have been in prison give themselves the right to behave as they like. “Gopniks” differ from really sitting people in that they are mostly poor young people who see some kind of coolness in all this behavior and the set of rules and try to apply it in everyday life. In real circles, this behavior is not respected at all. This is called posturing. A person who has not been to the zone is not considered “his”.

Hearing their jargon, many questions arise, the answers to which sometimes can not be found even in the explanatory dictionary. For example, who is a "fraer" in thieves' jargon? This is a favorite appeal to their “victims”, which emphasizes the enormous difference between people from the zone and those who simply try to live an ordinary life.

Compliance with laws

But what does it mean to live according to the thieves concepts, if you do not engage in any crime? In the pursuit of authority, fame and the dream of getting the coveted title of “thief in law”, to rise, so to speak, through the criminal social ladder, many go to commit serious crimes. And if in the 30s and 90s of the last century such behavior was relevant for the most part because of poverty and inflation, the question remains: is it true now?

The expression "thief in law" suggests the idea that all their deeds get away with criminals due to the presence of any law. In the true sense, the expression in the "law" does not imply the jurisprudence of the country, but it is precisely the thieves' concepts, the laws of the second, hidden world. A world where there are people of four "colors", divided among themselves according to a certain kind of activity.

Due to the fact that new social groups have formed, the so-called "gopniks", which push thieves' ideas to the masses, prison slang has long penetrated the usual vocabulary of many. A dictionary-translator with many words may not be familiar partly from the fact that every day this variety of the Russian language is replenished with new dialects.

Dictionary of slang terms used in everyday life

The jargon is varied and great . The dictionary-translator of slang phrases, if there was one at all, would certainly not be inferior in its volume to the Soviet Encyclopedia. As mentioned earlier, in the zone, the jargon is replenished daily with new words, in addition, knowledge of slang expressions is transmitted from generation to generation, and many words are used even in everyday life. Below is a list of the most used expressions and their meaning. The most basic thing that an ordinary person needs to understand if he is faced with gopniks:

• Authority - a person with power in criminal circles.
• Openwork, or "all in openwork" - means that everything is in order.
• Grandmas, balabans - money.
• Bazaar - talking or screaming, “to be responsible for the bazaar” means to clarify your words, your point of view, to be responsible for what has been said.
• Roll cylinders / crumble loaves - criticize someone more authoritative.
• Huckster - a speculator trader, a collector of stolen junk, a seller of prohibited substances.
• Blat in the city - police bribes, thieves - having connections with the underworld.
• Fell - either run away or kill / beat.
• To cut / not to cut into something - to understand or not to understand, is the same as to catch up.
• Quietly, quietly - secretly do something, stealthily.
• Lousy is a bad person.
• Rooster / lowered - a person who is guilty of something, who is spread rot, he is not authoritative.
• Reptile - violating thieves laws.
• Nits / wings - a man who has come meanly, not according to concepts.
• The jamb is a violation of the rules by which all representatives of the criminal world live.
• Cop / garbage - an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
• Predyava - an accusation of something, a claim.
• Disassembly - showdown, open conflict.
• Shkonka - sleeping place in prison, bed.
• Point - place of work or place of gathering.

It is these expressions that can most often be heard on the street when people from the criminal world communicate with each other. When it comes to strangers, they also have their own nicknames. For example, not everyone understands who the framer is in criminal slang, although such treatment is quite common.

Frayer is a person who has absolutely nothing to do with the criminal world. In other words, a law-abiding citizen. The reference "fraer" or "fraerok" means a hidden mockery of a person who devotes his whole life to "serving" the state. There is simply nothing to respect such a person in criminal circles.

The role of the criminal world in society

It is not worth mentioning that the justice system is not always perfect and does not particularly suit people who go against it. There are situations in life when there is no choice but to commit a crime. At least to people who are used to living according to the concepts of thieves, the commission of a crime seems to be the right thing to do.

However, the court, although aware of how the thieves live according to concepts, nevertheless, does not take this into account and considers any proceedings only from the point of view of the law. It is impossible to prove anything in court only in terms of concepts and invented dogmas formulated by the fuzzy language of the criminal world. Consequently, the legislative level does not even raise the question of the concepts of the criminal world and a different worldview. Any jurisdiction based on existing human rights laws can protect an ordinary citizen from attacks in his direction.

As for how to understand “live by concepts” - a phrase that many say, but put their own meaning into it? To really understand and feel this, you need to spin in a circle of criminal authorities, occupying certain steps in their own hierarchical ladder, and live "in good conscience." The days when people could rob and cheat with impunity a long time ago, theft became a bad manners, not a way to survive. Indeed, it is necessary to explain the concepts in a prison, where everyone has their own place, but in freedom of people, the constitution and the law still protect that is not adamant to any gangster.