Who are the Zhigans? Zhigan meaning of the word Zhigan what does it mean

What does the word "zhigan" mean? and got the best answer

Answer from UncleVov[guru]
Zhigan - Experienced thief (obsolete). ZHIGAN - Leader of a criminal group; a daring, desperate thief; living off punks; knowing the law of thieves; fugitive criminal. (a thief in law)
This is the original meaning of this word. Currently, the word is almost never used in this context.

Answer from Yona[newbie]


Synonyms: sly
fraer

- You're freaking out, bitch!

Answer from Alexey Poluboyartsev[guru]
Dahl's explanatory dictionary:
Zhigan M. Worker at a distillery and a beet sugar factory. | perm.
dry, skinny, lean person. | Zhigan, zhiganka, scoundrel, rogue, crawler,
an experienced rogue; in the prisons there is an experienced, old, seasoned prison guard. | Zhigan Perm.
a rowing hand vessel, a type of small barge, sails along the Kama, Kolva, and Pechora.
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program for computer reading texts aloud -
genealogic.narod.ru/soft/govorilka/govorilka.htm

Answer from |Rina|[guru]
Zhigan is a person who combines the qualities of a cunning trader, a braggart, and an aggressor. As a rule, it is used in relation to proud braggarts and cunning types who bear the characteristics of a given psychotype even in facial expression.
Accordingly, you can use the same principle to form a verb - zhigan, which will imply actions corresponding to the image of zhigan (spitting, drinking beer, husking seeds, cracking light bulbs, banging on sockets, etc.)
Synonyms: sly
fraer
Examples of use: - Vasya, you are such a zhigan.
- You're freaking out, bitch!
- Giganisty fellow, this is your Vasya.
- He may have been to the conservatory, but that doesn’t stop him from being a zhigan.

Answer from 3 answers[guru]

Author BeautifuLMonsteR asked a question in the section Society, Politics, Media

Who is this zhigan? and got the best answer

Answer from Valerius Agatiev[guru]
Desperate thief, "Rip off your head." Lyonka Panteleev is a vivid example of this. These are usually thieves who stop at nothing. IN in this case- I mean difficulties, not concepts...
To call someone Zhigan is to praise them for their valor and courage. But this is according to old concepts. Now, this will not surprise anyone. And Zhigan did not always become a lawyer. Because it is a loner in its essence, and denied all laws. It’s not for nothing that most of them were exterminated in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. The twisted ones survived...
And the concept of “Thieves in Law” appeared after the 37-50s, thanks to the efforts of the security officers. At the same time, the “Bitch Wars” began. Well that's another story...

Answer from Tobi[guru]
smelled

Answer from Yeburshavchik[guru]
And this is a bandit.

Answer from Evil Lelik[guru]
This is what “thieves in law” were called before the revolution.

Answer from Yotas[guru]
I don’t know how they interpret it now - but before it was a godfather, a thief in law, or an authority figure in prison

Answer from Alexander Antonov[guru]
Zhigan is a person who combines the qualities of a cunning trader, a braggart, and an aggressor. As a rule, it is used in relation to proud braggarts and cunning types who bear the characteristics of a given psychotype even in facial expression.
Accordingly, you can use the same principle to form a verb - zhigan, which will imply actions corresponding to the image of zhigan (spitting, drinking beer, husking seeds, cracking light bulbs, banging on sockets, etc.)
Synonyms: sly, fraer

Answer from Saddukei[guru]
According to Ushakov’s dictionary, this is: a swindler, a mischief maker, a scoundrel.... And in life, this is a young man who lives by the “thieves’ laws”, striving in the future to become a “thief in law”, in fact carrying out their sentences against others. This is how it was before in Stalin's times. Now all this has a completely different meaning.

Answer from Reader[newbie]
Youngsters have Zhygan Stashe Hansa.

Answer from Daniil Bessonov))[active]
The rapper is like that.

Chanson performers often use words in their songs whose meaning is not clear to everyone. The word “zhigan” is used quite often in works of this genre, as well as in the speech of representatives of certain segments of the population. People who do not have prison experience associate it primarily with the criminal world. Without knowing who a zhigan is, law-abiding citizens also resort to using this word.

Today there are several versions of the origin of this term. In this article we will look at the meaning of this concept, the history of its origin, thereby answering the question: “Who is Zhigan?”

Options for interpretation

There are different opinions regarding the meaning of this term. Therefore, it is impossible to give a definite answer to the question: “Who is Zhigan?” According to one version, this was the name given to stokers or people stained with soot. This category included all those whose activities were somehow related to fire.

According to the second version, in tsarist Russia “zhigans” were the poorest convicts and prisoners. This name was also applied to free people who lost at cards. Today given word applicable to those who strive to live “according to concepts.”

Who are the Zhigans? The history of the emergence of a new caste

IN post-revolutionary years From political prisoners and former White Guards in forced labor camps, a new caste of convicts was formed, of which the most successful and desperate inmates later became known as “zhigans.” Unlike the bulk of those convicted of criminal offenses, the White Guards had their own ideology, were literate, more organized and sought to take leading positions in the criminal world. According to historians, this category is for new government posed a very serious danger because it did not want to accept communist ideology. This “suit” was headed by its leader, who was called “zhigan”. Thus, with the advent of Soviet power, the meaning of the word “zhigan” in the criminal world was enriched with a new meaning: they began to call it especially desperate and experienced people who took the path of crime. Synonyms have appeared for it: “jigs”, “hot”, “lighters”. This was the name given to all those who were capable of “burning,” that is, inflicting painful blows.

Some researchers involved in the history of Russian crime believe that the word form “thief in law” appeared after the concept “zhigan.” It was in the 1920s that the prisoners were divided into the old thieves' formation (urki) and the new one - the zhigans.

Becoming

In the camps, the Zhigans quickly adapted to the customs of the criminal world. Since the new wave consisted primarily of military personnel, they interpersonal relationships a strict hierarchical gradation was built. When free, they led gangs of tramps and street children, engaging in robbery and theft. Feeling hatred for the Soviet regime, which deprived them of their former benefits, they did not even stop at murder. Unlike the lesson, representatives of the new formation carefully planned their crimes and acted very boldly. High level organizations, harsh discipline and special cruelty became characteristic features criminal activities of the Zhigans.

Behavior rules

In places of deprivation of liberty they developed the following rules, which were subsequently followed by thieves in law:

• Do not work for the government or participate in public events.
• Don't start a family.
• Do not use government issued weapons to defend the country.
• Do not cooperate with government agencies either as a witness or as a victim.
• Regularly contribute money to the general treasury.
• Live “according to concepts.”

Confrontation

According to researchers, once in prison, the Zhigans sought to subjugate the thieves of the old formation. In turn, the NKVD decided to deal with the White Guards with the help of criminal prisoners. According to some historians, it was the security officers who contributed to the emergence of thieves in law. In bloody battles, the latter, with the support of the camp administrations, defeated the Zhigans. Later, when the problem with the White Guard officers was finally resolved, the NKVD began to deal with the thieves in law themselves using similar methods. Who the Zhigans are is now forgotten. However, the set of rules and laws they created is still in effect today.

The meaning of the word "zhigan"

It has several interpretations. This is what they call:

• A desperate thief who stops at nothing. According to established thieves' concepts, a thief has the right to take the life of another person only by defending his own. Some lovers of prison romance attach a special meaning to the expression “nothing”, which consists in the readiness and ability to overcome serious difficulties and obstacles. Calling someone a zhigan means praising them for their dexterity and courage. A striking example of such a trickster is the famous St. Petersburg bandit Lenka Panteleev.

• A successful thief, mostly acting alone and defying all concepts. Some researchers of the history of Russian crime explain this interpretation by the fact that, as a “suit,” the Zhigans were exterminated, and only those who accepted the idea of ​​communism survived.
• A cunning and boastful huckster or hooligan who leads a broken lifestyle. In accordance with this definition, a new concept has appeared - “banging”, that is, hooliganism, breaking light bulbs, cracking seeds, spitting and behaving aggressively.
• A person who is honest with people, but who despises the state and its laws. This type is capable of any hooligan act.
• A successful swindler, mischief maker and rascal. In this case, the words “fartovik” or “fartovy” were also used. The etymology of these concepts goes back to the term “fart”, which means successful, lucky.
• A young man who lives “by rules” and strives to become a thief in law in the future.
• An arrogant and very daring person.

One of the widely famous examples The use of the word “zhigan” is the famous song by Mikhail Krug “Zhigan-lemon”, the hero of which is a clever, cunning and very successful representative of the criminal world.

The origins of the problem arose after the well-known political events of 1917 and the subsequent civil war. Certain part professional military personnel of the former Russian imperial army was left without a livelihood and was forced to look for new ways to earn money. Since the former military men did not want to work with their hands, and there was not enough space in the new army for everyone, they began to join the criminal sphere.

Power organs of the new Soviet power They began to clean up the criminal environment, and many tsarist officers ended up in prison. In the difficult camp and prison life, their entire previous way of life helped them. This part of the criminal world is called zhigany.

Where did thieves in law and Zhigans come from?

Modern researchers of the domestic criminal environment have proposed several mutually exclusive hypotheses for the emergence of “thieves in law.” One argued that the leadership of the NKVD took direct influence and leadership of the process. The phenomenon generated by the system was supposed to help the Soviet government get rid of the remnants of the influence of the former royal officers in prisons and camps. The version is interesting, but has not yet received actual confirmation from documents.

Another hypothesis claims that it was the former Russian military that became the founders of the “thieves in law.” The system had a clear hierarchical structure and was very reminiscent of relations in the army. Modern researchers prefer this hypothesis, because the code of honor of thieves is so similar to that of an officer. Indirect confirmation of the correctness of the version is the fact that before 1917, such a structure did not exist in the criminal world of Russia.

Before the revolutionary events in the country, “zhigans” were the name given to the most disadvantaged prisoners and convicts who had nothing to their name. Soviet power changed a lot in the structure of the state and the ideology of the masses. The term “zhigan” also changed its meaning. Now this is what they call the leaders of the criminal environment who have great authority and power.

Battle for leadership

This topic has been studied by various specialists in the criminal environment. However, many questions still remain unknown. After the final victory of Soviet power, many homeless children, teenagers and adults appeared. To obtain a livelihood, they grouped together to commit violent acts: robbery and theft. Leading positions in such gangs were quickly occupied by the Zhigans. Embittered and dissatisfied with their position, criminal authorities often participated in crimes, wanting to “annoy” the new authorities.

The law enforcement agencies also did not sit still and were actively learning. In the twenties, many gang members were moved to prison, where they met with criminal authorities. The latter received tacit support from the leadership of the prisons, which played a decisive role in the victory of the “lessons” over the “Zhigans”. The state chose the side of ordinary criminals, rather than ideological opponents of the government.