Criminal World. Essays from the World of Professional Criminals

The book thoroughly investigates the methods of professional criminals: from pickpockets («marvikhers») and burglars («skokarey») to fraudsters and horse thieves. The author reveals thieving «professions», their jargon, techniques, and even a peculiar «ethics». Special attention is given to legendary figures such as Sonya Golden Hand, whose scams have entered criminal folklore.

Grigory Naumovich Breytman (1873—1949) — a writer and journalist who published under the pseudonym Gr. Nevolin. He was the publisher and editor of the Kiev newspaper «Last News». He showed a keen interest in criminal topics: studying the criminal world, thieving jargon, criminal music, and writing crime stories. In 1919, he emigrated to Germany, where from 1921 to 1924 he edited the Berlin newspaper «Time». Since 1925, he lived in the USA: he worked for the New York newspaper «Russian Voice», and from 1930 he was the editor of the Chicago newspaper «Dawn».