The Bitch Wars, or Suka Wars (Russian: сучьи войны, romanized: suchyi voyny or in singular: Russian: сучья война, romanized: suchya voyna) were armed confrontations occurred in the Soviet Gulag labor-camp system between 1945 and 1953.
In this conflict rival sides were often identified by the system of tattoos common in Soviet prisons at the time.
In Russian criminal argot, it specifically refers to a person from the criminal world who has "made oneself a bitch" (Russian: ссучился, romanized: ssuchilsya) by cooperating in any way with law enforcement or with the government.
Within the Soviet prison system, a social structure had existed since the Imperial era; one of its most important tenets decreed that members not serve or collaborate with the Tsarist (and later, Soviet) government.
It included simple communication, seeking emergency help from any authority figures, even factory foremen.