An odd question

[post-patriarchy.livejournal.com]

Hi All,
I am new to this community and really enjoy all of the resources it provides.  Around a year ago I discovered a family secret, that my father was mostly Russian.  Finding out this was very interesting, considering that I had wanted to learn Russian and also loved Russian Realism.  This leads me to a more serious translation question..

Growing up I knew my family had past involvement in the Irish mafia.  This was decades ago, of course.  As a child we had a distant family relative who would visit and he had a tattoo of two cats that looks similar to this:
 
This was long before I knew part of my family was Russian, but I remembered this specific tattoo because I loved cats.  I know these tattoos have a hidden meaning and are associated with criminals?  It was on his arm, amoung other tattoos.  Does anyone have an idea of what this means?  I saw this picture randomly and was seriously shocked.  I've been trying to research information about these tattoos, but just know it's a thieves tatto of husband and wife...which doesn't help much.  I'm not sure if the text was the same, but ANY help would be greatly appreciated.  I apologize, though, if this is offensive in any way..I do not know the meaning of the image if it is indeed so.  I am also sorry if this is off topic or inappropriate, but I am desperately seeking information.  THANKS MUCH!
 

Comments

[edik-lukoyanov.livejournal.com]

Sorry for my english.
This tatoo means:
I'm just a poor boy from Siberia. I was fool, and i loved to drink vodka and wine. I had a lady, but... It was my mistacke. Now I'm a preasoner.
That's all.

[gordin.livejournal.com]

Do you read tattoos that well or is it an interpretation?..

Just for the record - the words are "Tomsk*-Wine-Slough". It can be, of course, interpreted as the gentleman above stated, or a bit less dramatic (if he's not sure).

*Tomsk is a siberian city - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomsk

[edik-lukoyanov.livejournal.com]

I know it. It's a famous picture and text, such as "Не забуду мать родную и папашу алкаша".

[gordin.livejournal.com]

Ah, ok.
But I thought it would be nice to provide the exact translation anyway. :)

[konstkaras.livejournal.com]

It's an acrostic:)
http://www.gvardei.ru/letters.htm?http://www.gvardei.ru/text_109.htm

[post-patriarchy.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! This is pretty interesting. I don't know if the lettering was exactly the same, because I was so young..but it is a possibility.

[konstkaras.livejournal.com]

Oh my... I found a mention of this tattoo here:
http://www.gvardei.ru/letters.htm?http://www.gvardei.ru/text_109.htm

(is it the book you photographed?)

[post-patriarchy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I will have to get one of my Russian friends to read that to me. It isn't my photograph, I actually found it on flickr and was really surpirsed because I recalled the image from my childhood. It is from the Rusian Criminal Tattoos Vol. 2, though. I know this book has the meaning of it as well, but I the girl who had the book never told me what it meant when I asked her online. The book is out of print, though, and goes for 100-200$

[gordin.livejournal.com]

I can translate the important part. ))

The idea is that each letter stands for a word:

ты - you
один - one
моего - mine
серца - heart
коснулся - touched

вернись - come back
и - and
навсегда - forever
останься - stay

от - from
меня - me
уйти - leave
трудно - hard

In normal English that would be "Only you have touched my heart, come back and stay forever, it is hard to leave me".

But note that according to this interpretation it's a girl's tattoo, addressing her man.

[post-patriarchy.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yes, it is weird that it was on a man. His I know didn't have flowers, but it was almost the exact tattoo, how strange!

[gordin.livejournal.com]

As any tattoo, this could have different meanings in different regions (or, um, prisons). So the one that was provided first (about Siberia) can also be true.

[edik-lukoyanov.livejournal.com]

Oh! I found it! I found it!
ТОМСК - ты один моего сердца коснулся.
ВИНО - вернись и навсегда останься.
ОМУТ - одно мое утешение.

http://tatoo.h1.ru/sleng/yarmo.htm

But it's imbossible. I've offen saw this tatoo when i was a child, and my father told me what it means.

[gordin.livejournal.com]

Guys, when you qoute a Russian phrase - translate it.

2 post_patriarchy: This version implies the same as the one above, but here it decodes ОМУТ as "you are my only consolation".

[post-patriarchy.livejournal.com]

Do you think it might have your previously mentioned meaning if on a man? I would assume that since it's a typical woman's tattoo in that context, it might have been making a mockery of that? From what I know, he didn't even have a wife or companion. My family is so odd.

[edik-lukoyanov.livejournal.com]

Russian зек's are very sentimantionaly (i'm not sure that I wrote this word right))

[edik-lukoyanov.livejournal.com]

And they likes cats. Black cat is a symbol of the theft.

[edik-lukoyanov.livejournal.com]

sorry. i mean they LIKE cat.

[edik-lukoyanov.livejournal.com]

This is an interview in russian with Danzig Baldaev about preasoner's tatoo.

http://www.tyurem.net/books/tatoo/rutatoo.htm

I gess it will be interesting for you.

(Elena Fanailova is a famous russian poet and journalist I advice you to read her poetries). Good luck!

[post-patriarchy.livejournal.com]

Thank you!