The Rules

• Do not have emotions• Forsake his relatives: father, mother, brothers, sisters.• Do not have a family of his own: no marriage, no children; this does not however, preclude him from having an unlimited number of women
• Never, under any circumstances, have a legitimate job or significant property (i.e. a house), no matter how much difficulty this brings; live only on money obtained through gambling or theft (the word \'theft\' as used here describes any criminal activity considered \'legitimate\' by the Vory), and rely on lower-level criminals for accommodation. For example, harming or molesting children is strongly frowned upon and may endanger a vor\'s status and could provoke a more brutal retaliation from one\'s comrades than from the police. A \'thief in law\' is a leadership position (equivalent of General in the army) so direct participation in Arms smuggling and drug trafficking is incompatible with their high status since those crimes are a form of commerce. However receiving tribute from smugglers and drug-dealers or robbing and extorting them is a legitimate activity for a \'thief in law\'.
• Help other thieves: both by moral and material support, utilizing the commune of thieves.
• Rule and arbitrate the criminal world and protect basic needs of criminals' and prisoners according to the extents and priorities set by the thieves' commune
• Keep secret information about the whereabouts of accomplices (i.e. dens, districts, hideouts, safe apartments, etc.).
• In unavoidable situations (if a thief is under investigation or is arrested) to take the blame for someone else's crime; this buys the other person time to escape and remain free.
• Demand an inquiry and judgement by a council of thieves to resolve disputes in the event of a conflict between oneself and other thieves, or between thieves.
• If necessary, participate in such inquiries if called upon.• Punish any offending thief as decided by the judgement of the thieves council.• Do not resist carrying out the decision of punishing the offending thief who is found guilty, with punishment determined by the thieves council.• Have good command of the thieves\' slang called (\"Fenya\"), a distinct language spoken by hardcore criminals in Russia and understood by few outsiders.• Never gamble without being able to cover losses.• Be good at playing card games for money.• Teach the criminal way of life to youth with potential.• Have, if possible, informants from the rank and file of thieves.• Not to lose your reasoning abilities when drunk.• Have nothing to do with the authorities (particularly with the ITU, Correctional Labor Authority), not participate in public activities, nor join any community organizations.• Not to serve in the military or accept any weapons from the government or prison authority (police baton).
• Make good on promises given to other thieves.
• Never deny his Vor status directly. To the questions like 'Are you a Vor?' or 'Who are you in this life?', Vor should always answer : "Yes (Vor)", even if it is asked by police and videotaped. The latter question phrase is ritual and video footage containing the answer commonly used by the Russian militsiya to illustrate vors arrests in the media.