Aleksanders 4 star tats (2 on the shoulders, 2 on the knees) are the markings of the vor v zakone, or "thieves in law." They mark him as a ranking member of the Russian mob, which he was at one point. He also has a tat that denotes his 5 years in prison, and many more with very specific meanings. Here's a Russian mob boss with the same shoulder marking as an example: http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/430000/images/_434691_yaponchik150.jpg
The spiders web on his shoulder also denotes former drug use. The church with 5 steples symbolises how long he was in jail for. One other sign of the 'vor v zakone' is the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, I wonder if his grim reaper holding a baby is a modified Virgin Mary and baby Jesus :think Either that or it symbolises something he did that was alot worse than we've been told. And I have a few guesses to what a grim reaper might denote... What I find so cool about his tats over nearly every one elses in MMA is that nearly every one symbolises something unique to him and it means something. -Right arm: Cathedral with five domes: symbolizes five years of imprisonment. -Shoulders: Stars: Symbolize a "career criminal" or Vor v Zakone in Russian (english translation: thief in law). -Right shoulder: cobweb: Aleksander did not explain its meaning other than saying that contrary to what has been suggested by some, it does not have anything to do with the mafia. In Russian prisons, tattoos using this symbol typically denote drug addiction. -Left shoulder: Russian script. -Left forearm: Half cat’s head, half skull: “Homo homini lupus est.” Translated: Man is a wolf to his fellow-man. -Back: Grim Reaper holding a baby -Back: "Gott Mit Uns", meaning “God is with us” in German: for Aleksander, it’s a symbol of revival. This tattoo caused a significant controversy, since this slogan was written on belt buckles of German soldiers in the Second and Third Reich. -Knees: Stars: symbolize that the owner will never be brought to his knees. -Pirate tattoo: stands for article 167 of Russian Criminal Code: “armed robbery”. “Fortune favors the bold” in German: self-explanatory. A name on his lower abs (Maybe 'Marina'). Later covered by a tribal tattoo. Heres a huge list of what Russian tattoo's mean: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_tattoo
I always find it interesting that Fedor has no tattoos, and thus, no history in Russian crime. Then his brother, who is still in his 20s, has a laundry list of criminal activities spelled out in tattoos on his body. Funny how two brothers from the same upbringing took such different paths, and all Fedor can say about his brother is that he was involved in some "bad stuff."
I bet Aleks has bludgeoned a few dudes to death in a back alley somewhere back in the day..... Fedor went to the army so he came out good.
Oh, I'm sure the Aleksander has killed a few people in his day. The scary thing to me is that he's only about a year older than me, yet he's been in prison for five years. Not to mention, he's about twice my size. That is one scary dude with some blood on his hands.
Yeah, he had his first fight at 23? He was in 5 years, so he must have went to jail at 18, maybe 17. Thats pretty crazy, he must have done some bad **** to get those tattoos, having false or unearned tattoos is punishable by death from crime organizations if you try and be a 'poser'.
He probably shanked a few people in prison. And once you're in the mob, you're always kind of a part of it. I imagine they let him leave the criminal life enough that he could get into MMA, as long as he sent a cut of his money back to them. The Russian mob loves its money. That's why they extort all their athletes. Half the Russian hockey players in the NHL pay mob fees. And yeah, Aleksander certainly is no poser. I love the fight with him and James Thompson. Thompson goes nuts, and Aleksander looks bored. That's when I knew he was a cold blooded killer.
Really? Hmm......I bet Red Devil Sports Club is full of mob members, Vadim is probably a mobster himself, he loves the money, trying to control Fedor like that.
Alot of russians are right wing facists etc its a big problem in russia, probaly made a few bad choices in their life, done stuff they aint proud off, but people should get a second chance By the way how many emelianenkos are their???? and does both alexsander and ivan have racist and mafia tatts???
