Thieves by Law

Thieves by Law, or Ganavim Ba Hok is a documentary film charting the rise of Russian organized crime in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union. In the film several noted crime figures are interviewed, a number of which are currently wanted by Interpol.

The term “thieves by law,” which refers to the uppermost echelon of the Russian criminal world, was born in the 30s. Some people say it might have something to do with “Chekists,” or the early Soviet secret service (what later became the KGB). At first, thieves by law followed a strict code: a thief by law had to serve time in jail, and had no right to have a family, a registered address, or belongings, surviving only by criminal means.

This is a look "inside" the Russian mafia at the men who call themselves "thieves by law". In theory those that call themselves "thieves by law" are to have no home, no property of their own, no wife, no family. They are to have nothing that will tie them down and divert their attention from the brotherhood or give them pause. The film focuses on three men who have survived the prisons, the wars and the other nastiness to become "respected" men of means, with money and families.

Watch the trailer below and the documentary on YouTube source one or two.

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The Art of Russia

Series in which art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the incredible story of Russian art – its mystery and magnificence – and until now a story untold on British television.

He explores the origins of the Russian icon from its roots in Byzantium and the first great Russian icon, Our Lady of Vladimir to the masterpieces of the country’s most famous icon painter, Andrei Rublev.

Both epic and awe-inspiring, and producing brilliant art, nevertheless medieval Russia could be a terrifying place.

Out of the Forest. Criss-crossing the epic landscape, Andrew visits the monastery founded by Ivan the Terrible, where his favorite forms of torture found inspiration in religious art. One man would shine a light into Russia’s dark ages – Peter the Great who, surprisingly, took as his inspiration Deptford in South London.

Roads to Revolution. He explores how Russia changed from a feudal nation of aristocratic excess to a hotbed of revolution at the beginning of the 20th century and how art moved from being a servant of the state to an agent of its destruction.

Smashing the Mould. The final part examines political revolution and how art was at the forefront of throwing out 1,000 years of royal rule, from its earliest revolutionary days of enthusiasm and optimism when painting died, the poster was king and the machine-made triumphed over the handmade to the dead hand of Socialist Realism.

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The Trap

The Trap

Whatever happened to our Dream of Freedom

Another brilliant Adam Curtis documentary originally produced for the BBC. The Trap talks about the modern political realities, where the policies came from and the massive failures of those ideals and how they have ended up exactly where they did not want to be.

1 - F*k You Buddy

This episode starts in the Cold War and shows the seeds that were sown to produce the modern political reality.

2 - The Lonely Robot

This episode focuses on the 1990's and how the politicians decided to apply the model of a free market economy to the rest of society and consequences of these actions being felt all over the world in western democracies.

3 - We Will Force U 2 Be Free

In this episode we discuss the alternative idea to freedom that currently exists and traps the western societies in which we live.

Watch this series directly from thoughtmaybe or directly from The Internet Archive below



Parts 2 and 3 can be viewed directly from The Internet Archive page here.

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