>>272660"Roosters" (петухи) represent the lowest, most stigmatized caste in the informal prison hierarchy that developed in the Soviet Gulag system and has persisted — with modifications — in post-Soviet Russian (and many other ex-Soviet) prisons.
This hierarchy, governed by unwritten rules called понятия ("understandings" or "concepts"), divides inmates into rigid "масти" (castes or "suits/colors") based on perceived moral status, criminal history, adherence to the thief's code, and — crucially — sexual/masculinity norms. Descent in the hierarchy is possible (and often permanent); ascent is virtually impossible.
Main Castes in the Classic Soviet/Post-Soviet System
Highest: блатные / воры (thieves-in-law or "thieves" proper) → criminal elite, "guardians" of the code, often forbidden from working for the administration.
Middle: мужики (muzhiks / "peasants") → the majority of ordinary inmates who work, keep to themselves, follow basic rules, and try to serve their time quietly.
Lowest: опущенные / обиженные / петухи ("the lowered", "the offended", "roosters/cocks") → untouchables / outcasts.
"Roosters" is the most widespread and derogatory slang term for this bottom group (also "опущенные", "вафлёры", "пидоры", "маргаритки", etc., depending on region and era).
Origins and Historical Development
The rigid caste system with a permanent untouchable group crystallized gradually:
Pre-revolutionary / early Soviet prisons → already had stigmatized passive homosexuals and some outcasts, but not as formalized.
1930s–1950s Gulag → hierarchy strengthened around "thieves' law" (воровской закон). Homosexuals and those who broke core taboos began to be systematically "lowered".
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