Bitch Wars
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The Bitch Wars or Suka Wars occurred within the Soviet prison system between 1945 and around the death of Joseph Stalin. The Russian word suka (literally, "bitch") has a general negative connotation, somewhat different from the meaning in the English language. In Russian criminal argot, it specifically refers to a person from the criminal world who has cooperated with law enforcement or the government, or "went bitch" ("ссучился"); the American counterpart is the "snitch" or "rat". Known sukas would have a miserable life in prisons.
Within the Russian prison system, there was a history and social structure that had existed since the tsarist Russian era. One of the important tenets of the system was that members would not serve or collaborate with the Tsarist and later Soviet government.
As World War II progressed, Joseph Stalin made an offer to many prisoners such that in exchange for their service within the Soviet military they would be granted a pardon at the end of the war. At the end of World War II, Stalin reneged on his promise and promptly sent those prisoners who had served in the military back to prison. The veterans returned to prison were declared sukas and placed on the bottom of the prisoner hierarchy. As a result they sought to survive through collaboration with prison officials and in return got some of the better jobs within the prison.
This, along with the sukas involvement in the Soviet military, started an internal prison war between the military veterans and the leaders of the Russian criminal underground, or "Thieves in Law". Many prisoners were killed in the Bitch Wars. Prison authorities turned a blind eye, since prisoner deaths would serve to reduce the overall prison population.
These wars are said to have transformed the old criminal organizations. As the wars ended the old criminal ethic of non-collaboration with government officials is said to have ended.
With the prison reforms that occurred after Stalin, most notably under Leonid Brezhnev, the reformed criminal organization would break historic traditions and seek to be involved with government. This new interworking among the changed criminal organization and Soviet government officials would deepen corruption within the Soviet Union and, upon its collapse, helped create conditions for a new wealthy criminal upper class.
