A thief in law (Russian: вор в зако́не, romanized: vor v zakone), in the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet states, and respective diasporas abroad is a specifically granted formal and special status of "criminal authority" (Russian: криминальный авторитет, romanized: kriminalny avtoritet), a professional criminal who enjoys an elite position among other notified mobsters within the organized crime and correctional facility environments and employs informal authority over its lower-status members.