Born in the mining town of Tkibuli in the former Georgian SSR, Oniani's father died working in a mine and he turned to a life of crime. At the age of 17 he was convicted of armed robbery and served time in prison. It was here that he was initiated as a 'vor v zakone', or thief-in-law. By the 1980s he was one of the most prominent thieves in law of Moscow.[2]