The punishment in the form of imprisonment is displayed in Russian folk tales. Evil must be punished, and Koshchei chained in a stone cellar. In the Judicial Code of 1550, the prison was first mentioned as a place of serving the main and additional punishment. In tsarist Russia, they contained criminals who refused to admit their guilt. They later set up prisons for life imprisonment, as an alternative to the death penalty. Modern Russian penitentiary institutions have different conditions of detention, and in our short review - the most cruel prisons in Russia.
Types of prisons in Russia
To begin with, let's look at the definitions. There are prisons, colonies and pre-trial detention centers in Russia, but the “zone” is absent in the procedural code. The concept of a zone has a purely colloquial, national character.
Jail - more general concept for all institutions in which criminals are held. Prisons have a more severe regime of detention, as they contain repeat offenders, whose chances of correction are minimal. In prisons, the movement of prisoners is limited, and it is usually a separate building, well guarded around the perimeter.
Colonies - This is a kind of settlement, where there are residential barracks, industrial zone, administrative buildings. In the colonies, the regime of detention is a little freer, but there are those where a strict regime is established.
Pre-trial detention center - The temporary detention center, which ensure the maintenance of criminals awaiting a court verdict, those under investigation, as well as those convicted who are awaiting transfer or extradition.
1
White Swan
A strict-regime correctional colony is located in the city of Solikamsk, Perm Territory, and leads its history in 1938. Among all the correctional colonies of Russia, the White Swan is distinguished by a particularly strict regime for keeping prisoners.
Criminals sentenced to life imprisonment are sent here. The cameras are designed for one, two and three people. There is a library, and since the colony is correctional, a psychologist works with every prisoner.
There are many versions of the origin of the unofficial name, but the most believable of them is the way prisoners travel. The criminals move through the colony, bending forward at 90 degrees, with their hands turned back. A peculiar pose "swan". Despite the severity, the White Swan colony meets international standards for the maintenance of criminals.
2
Black Dolphin
One of the oldest colonies in Russia, founded back in 1773 near the town of Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg Region. It contains life-sentenced prisoners, and a special regime operates within the prison. It is believed that this is the most terrible prison in Russian open spaces.
On the map of the Orenburg region, the first life-long prisons began to appear even in the reign of Catherine II. The first to test their cameras were participants in the Pugachev uprising. Received its national name by the fountain, which operates in the courtyard of the institution.
The daily routine is strictly regulated, and the radio works almost constantly. The prisoners walk in a special cell, not in the yard. She is a little larger than those cells in which prisoners are kept.
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru you can find out which places are in the TOP 10 most luxurious prisons in the world in this interesting article.
3
Polar owl
Located in the village of Kharp, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug on the picturesque bank of the Sob River. A colony was opened for the maintenance of life prisoners in 1961, and its first prisoners worked on the laying of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
In those days, there were worse conditions of detention, since the buildings of the institution were poorly adapted for people to live. In 2004, she received the status of a colony in which especially dangerous criminals are serving their life sentences.
The institution is associated with high-profile scandals. The last ones, 2012-2013, are connected with the fact that the colony officers falsified confessions, exerted physical and psychological pressure to get evidence.
4
Butyrka prison
Perhaps one of the most famous Russian prisons, founded in 1771. The largest prison in the Russian capital, and the building itself is included in the list of architectural monuments.
After the Bolsheviks came to power, it was transformed into a transit prison, and during the period of Stalin's repressions, up to 170 people were in the same cell. Of the celebrities here were Varlam Shalamov, designer Sergey Korolev, Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
History also recorded the famous shoots from Butyrka. In 1996, the first female escape was committed when 26-year-old Natalia Sorokozherdeva managed to go beyond the perimeter of the guard.
5
Lefortovo prison
There are special prisons in Russia, and the Lefortovo prison is one of the most closed institutions of this type. In fact, now it is a pre-trial detention center in which dangerous criminals are awaiting sentence.
It was formed in 1881, and the lower ranks of the Russian army who committed crimes of varying severity served their sentences. In the 20s of the twentieth century, she was transformed into a prison, where they kept criminals, who were replaced by imprisonment for 10 years.
The content in Lefortovo is rather harsh. Relatives are refused visits, and until 2017 there was no hot water in it. What is happening at Lefortovo is almost impossible to find out, since journalists are not allowed to go around the perimeter.
6
Sailor silence
The penitentiary institution, as it seems, got its name from the name of the street, Sailor's silence, on which it is located.
This place of Moscow has a long history. The Straitjacket was founded here in 1775, and literally a year later it was transformed into a prison. In the first years of the Soviet regime, minors were kept in the building, and then the institution served as the custodian of especially dangerous criminals. In 1956, she began to perform the functions of a pre-trial detention center.
It became famous in the 90s, when it contained the leaders of gangs. Served here punishment for financial fraud Sergey Mavrodi.
7
Crosses
Strict content stand out and St. Petersburg "Crosses". They were founded in 1892, and in 2017, prisoners were transferred to new buildings located in Kolpino. The uniqueness is that here, between the buildings with cameras, covered passages are made.
Looking at the Old Crosses, it is hard to imagine that this is the place where prisoners are kept. A beautiful red brick building is more like an architectural monument. The cameras remember their famous sitters, among whom were Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, actor Mikhail Zhzhenov, and the poetess Anna Akhmatova stood for many hours to see her son.
Throughout history, survived three famous escape. The most resonant was the escape of Lenka Panteleev in 1922.
8
Vladimir Central
They knew about the famous Russian prison before, but after the song of Mikhail Krug, it became even more popular. They built a prison by order of Empress Catherine II for the maintenance of state criminals, and in 1906 they began to call it the "central".
Now in the historical building there is a pre-trial detention center No. 1 of the city of Vladimir. After the overthrow of tsarism, she continued to perform the functions of special camps and prisons for especially dangerous state criminals. Strict containment rules were established within the central.
In 1996, on the initiative of the director of the Vladimir-Suzdal Reserve, a museum began to operate on the territory, which contains valuable exhibits of famous prisoners.
9
Vologda nickel
The list continues to the special regime colony, which was located within the ancient monastery, and began to function in 1953. After 1917, the Bolsheviks expropriated the monastery building, and created a prison in it, where "enemies of the revolution" were kept.
The Vologda Penny is located in Belozersky District, among the picturesque landscapes of the Vologda Region. It differs in harsh conditions of detention of especially dangerous criminals. A special section has been equipped in the colony where recidivists are kept, as well as those sentenced to life imprisonment.
In total, the colony is designed for 505 places. In the film by Vasily Shukshin “Kalina red”, the main character leaves the gate of IK-5 “Vologda Penny”. The colony is also mentioned in the cult television series "Gangster Petersburg".
Historical facts
- The oldest Russian prison IZ-21/1 is located in the historical part of Cheboksary, and the windows of its cells overlook the Vvedensky Cathedral. They built a prison in 1648, and now a project is being developed to make a historical monument out of it so that it does not go into the category of terrible abandoned prisons in Russia.
- If we consider the new prisons in Russia, then the Oryol Central became the first domestic institution where prisoners are placed according to the American version.
- Under the pseudonym Vasily Pavlovich Vasiliev served time in the "Vladimir Central" Vasily Stalin. The son of the leader of the peoples worked in the yard as a mechanic, and in 1960 he was practically disabled.
- The famous “Crosses” went down in history as the first Russian prison in which electricity was conducted, at that time it was considered the best, although with a strict regime.
- In 1942, in the colony "Black Dolphin" died the German actress Carolla Neer, convicted in the USSR for anti-Soviet activities. She was rehabilitated 15 years after death.
- In 1992, 7 people tried to escape from the “Crosses”. This was the biggest event in the history of such institutions. To neutralize the criminals, the building was stormed by special forces.
- After the abolition of the death penalty, the maximum prison term in Russia, according to article 56 of the Criminal Code, is 20 years. With the addition of sentences, it can be 25 years, and in the aggregate of crimes it should not exceed 30 years. In Russia, a criminal for committing a serious crime can be sentenced to life imprisonment, and such criminals are kept in special regime prisons.
Posted by Valery Skiba