Soviet-era tattoo researcher Oskar Poll: a cat was the symbol of theft

Researcher Oskar Poll has shed light on the hidden language of Soviet-era tattoos, revealing that prisoners, sailors, and soldiers were the most common wearers. Popular motifs included anchors, skulls, demons, and cats — each carrying specific social meaning.

Tattoo researcher Oskar Poll has revealed fascinating details about the symbolic world of Soviet-era body art in an appearance on the Estonian culture programme "Prillitoos". According to Poll, the practice was most widespread among three distinct social groups: prison inmates, sailors, and military personnel.

Poll explained that specific symbols carried precise meanings within these communities. Anchors were common among seafarers, while skulls and demons appeared frequently in criminal and prison cultures. Perhaps most surprisingly, the image of a cat served as a recognized symbol of theft — a mark of identity among those who lived by stealing.

According to Poll, tattoos in the Soviet era functioned primarily as markers of group belonging. Rather than purely decorative choices, they communicated a person's background, status, and social affiliations to those who knew how to read them. This made body art a kind of coded visual language operating beneath the surface of Soviet society.

The research highlights how subcultures in the USSR developed sophisticated systems of nonverbal communication, particularly in closed or restricted environments such as prisons and military units. Poll's work documents a visual history that might otherwise be lost as the generation that wore these symbols ages.