This collection, Inkcyclopaedia, reveals the importance of playing cards and tattooing in Russian criminal culture. Prohibited by prison authorities, the hand-made decks were constructed from materials procured from every routine of prison life. The respect commanded by criminals was directly related to his ability to win at cards. Similarly, inmates maintained a culture of using tattoos to indicate members’ criminal career and ranking. These illustrations are tattoos worn by Russian inmates. The motifs depicted represent the uncensored lives of criminal classes, ranging from violence, pornography to politics and alcohol. A medieval knight is surrounded by the severed heads of his enemies, angels drinking vodka with God, a naked woman services a man and two dwarfs. The meaning behind these images are artful, distasteful and sometimes just strange, reflecting as they do the lives and traditions of Russian convicts. Using the colourful symbols of the hand-made Russian playing cards as a page reference for the illustrated tattoos, the book aims to unveil the tales of this closed society.