What the life of a prisoner in a pre-trial detention center looks like from the inside modern Russia? Domestic inconveniences, crowded conditions, cellmates, bad food, everything is thickly shrouded in nervous tension, the hum of the TV, and tobacco smoke. The author spent almost a year in a provincial prison, charged with the highly popular political article 282.
Normal life is thrown out of whack in a pre-trial prison, not only because of the stress of a criminal case, but also because of the abnormality of the new order. It hits you hard on your nerves not so much with a bunch of locked doors, but with the daily routine and psychological tightness. From now on you are like a mannequin in a window, in full view of everyone, and you just want to sit a little alone and with the lights finally turned off. The senseless hubbub of cellmates, the sounds of defecation in the toilet, tobacco smoke, washing clothes as a whole procedure - all this is aggravated by the sexual tension of abstinence. Psychosis over how to sit and what the length of the sentence is is already seasoning in this difficult situation.
In the morning, I wake up in the isolation ward: there is no sight of my beloved wife’s hair scattered on a clean pillow, or whatever it may be. You'll get by, everything will be different, dear friend. After a specific night, a late rise follows, around nine or ten. If the pre-trial detention center is not run by a chief concerned about the regime, all sleep takes place under the covers. When the big lights are turned on at six in the morning, the cell residents, as if on command, cover their bunks and, curled up, continue restless sleep, freezing. After all, there are no brighter hours in prison than in the embrace of sleep - leaving for another reality.
Between nine and twelve there was a morning check - a new shift of jailers arrived, took out a bag of garbage and walked in a cement box. Breathing in the damp air under the iron-covered roof is even fresh, after the stuffy atmosphere of the cell, and you can hear a few birds. In winter, it’s a pleasure to collect snow that has miraculously flown in and roll the snowball in your palm, let it melt. Oddly enough, only a small part of the cell deigns to go out to breathe, preferring the television shrouded in tobacco smoke to the meager air.
At the same time, at the designated time, “inspection of the chamber”: they are again driven out to the length, and the guard hits the heads and pins with a wooden hammer, as if looking for undercuts and traces of sawing for sharpening. “For the sake of order,” they try to turn over some of their personal belongings.
They are having breakfast in the pre-trial detention center, half asleep. If the house lives on peredachki, they drink tea with sweets and sandwiches. The smaller the chamber, the longer the process of making tea: moving sideways between the bunks, over the legs of other people sitting. In a large cell headache— wait for boiling water: there is only one socket, a kettle is usually prohibited. We make boiling water (oh luxury and scarcity!) in a liter mayonnaise bucket or something like that: the dishes have to be hidden, the garbage is zealously shoveled away.
The cell, which does not see an abundance of transfers, in the morning stocks up with third-grade government porridge with margarine - chaff, pearl barley, pasta and, less often, peas. Early in the morning they are given the daily ration of bread and half a cup of boiled tea, but with sugar. Peas and pasta, transformed by cooking into one big substance, you quickly begin to appreciate and season with various crap - from mayonnaise to Rolton powder.
This is how the countdown of the day begins: a series of checks, searches, waiting for “gifts” from the investigation, provocations from the police, lunches, dinners, transfers and nervous tension regarding ill-tempered cellmates. Less often - visits from a librarian, transfers to a first-aid post, or relocation to another house.
The prisoner’s manic dependence on longitudinal sounds is amazing and makes its own adjustments to the life of the camera. All day long they listen to the continuation - don’t believe anyone who says otherwise, even the eyes of the person sitting occasionally shoot at the “brakes”. The steps of a passing administration employee at any second will result in being pulled into the investigation room or a notice of transfer to the unknown - an as yet unexplored cell in a pre-trial detention center. Of course, it’s nice if they invite you on a date with a lawyer or relatives, but for some reason you always expect the worst. If it’s a “shuffle,” then goodbye to the settled house, gradually established relationships with fellow inmates.
The steps differ: individual, which is often bad, and according to instructions. The mass relocation from the cells becomes public, because the jailer walks around the building for several minutes and reports - so and so, pack your things. News about the approach of the parcel also arrives well in advance: with the noise of trunks being dragged by household bandits, it makes you nervous in anticipation - is it a grocery day? More painful is the unexpected blow to iron door, which means - especially for you. The stomach shrinks from cold tension, and the mind makes guesses, each more unpleasant than the other.
When you are taken out of your cell, they always make it clear that you are a prisoner, a second-class citizen - the door is never opened wide. You're forced to squeeze in narrow gap, tearing himself out of the cell, and then squeezing his body back.
Against the backdrop of everything - receiving, preparing and eating food, accompanying physiological needs, boiling water for washing and washing - reading. Everyone leafs through books, but only clean people douse themselves with water over the toilet. No matter what they do in the cell, the hum of the TV and the conversations of those under investigation and those still on trial reign over everything. Melancholy - a feeling expressed by an untranslatable Russian word, is drowned out by the majority of the “beautiful” TV pictures. Vulgarly dressed girls from music videos and TV series about garbage are the main content of visual consumption.
They talk in the cell about a different life to which they long to return. For the sake of the myth of the future, in the chatter, the prisoner builds ingenious schemes for how he will win the trial, or get a shorter sentence. The limit of sky-high dreams is justification; according to statistics, it awaits one in five hundred. Everything is an illusion, fueled by persistent glances - what can be seen there from a small window? As a rule, there are supposedly more free convicts who have joined the household services, and trees, townspeople - less often. Because of this, by the way, many gradually begin to plan to stay to serve their sentence in a pre-trial detention center, but publicly spit in the “wool”.
The most interesting interlocutors are economic people or drug addicts, those from wealthy classes. Migrants are intolerable. It is convenient to sit with the prosperous bourgeoisie and officials who have fallen under personnel shake-ups: there are plenty of them. This category of citizens does not suffer from thieves and receives serviceable packages. It’s normal to share a cell with Russian workers who have come under criminal charges for domestic abuse or because of the arbitrariness of the authorities. In the zone, such men go to the wet room, in the cell they do not suffer from intrigues, and they do not chat about the hairdryer.
Headaches - thieves, city punks, drug addicts who are always ready to work for their uncle, residents of the titular republics of the North Caucasus and visitors with a different eye shape and skin color. The last part contains outright crime: vile articles, for example, drug trafficking and rape.
Otherwise, everyday life in the cell is reduced to chewing, appetizing, depending on the circumstances, drawing “childish” pictures, board games and writing complaints to the authorities. Once a week there is an event - a bathhouse, the whole cell is taken out, at this time the opera likes to search the room for cell phones.
The theme of food, when the whole cell is chewing and moving spoons around, intensifies during lunch and dinner. Lunch between twelve in the morning and three in the afternoon: one person comes up to the feeding trough with a stack of bowls and waits for something to be poured for him, the rest carefully pass the containers along the chain to the oak - i.e. table. Dinner is closer to six in the evening, and no later than eight. For lunch - gruel, depending on the impudence of the prison warden or kitchen bosses. It’s good if the potatoes are thickly seasoned with industrial fat with something, but always without meat; it’s bad if there’s slop with maggots. In any case, the maximum amount of seasoning flies onto the plate, from dry to mayonnaise, hello! - savory stomach reaction and obesity. For the second course they serve boiled sour cabbage, the kind that stinks terribly and makes your mouth ache. Even hungry houses cannot eat it. Dinner is simple: blue whiting fish soup, which is edible, and some kind of milk. If you negotiate with the balancer, he will pour a couple of servings: many prisoners turn their noses up at their fish soup, but in vain.
A trip to the doctors is perceived as a parody of sexual hunting. The formal dialogue with the doctor is deliberately drawn out in order to study all the lines of her body and examine the clothes hidden by the robe. The hungry gaze exceptionally accurately captures the naked parts - ankles, if she is wearing a skirt, neck, arms, face. The lips are especially detailed, and the sense of smell is inflamed and absorbs the smell of a woman. In the cell, a trip to the first aid station or medical unit will be retold, distorted, and you will spend hours making plans to see her in freedom, without a white coat. Because of the thirst to see a woman’s face, prisoners, even healthy ones, always beg for pills during their rounds, because being taken to the first aid station is still rare, and the face that they have fallen for needs to be updated in memory. Whether a lady has a husband is not interesting.
Again about the negative. The search may take place only in the morning or separately in the afternoon. Naturally, it is formal and consists of stealing, for example, prohibited things: not library books, especially - printed publications. Take away plastic dishes, they say - beyond measure. There is also inventory - a second blanket is not allowed, no matter how cold it is, more than one set of clothes is also taboo, especially shorts in the heat. The “prohibitions” that are found, in the best circumstances, such as clothing, go to the warehouse, or fly along - books, containers, periodicals. As is clear, garbage is simply mocking the people.
After six in the evening, the time of bliss begins: the operatives go home, guests from the authorities do not come at such twilight, and inter-chamber transfers are over. As well as enhanced searches. Until the ten o'clock curfew there is complete calm, of course, if it is not a press hut. Even on TV there are more or less decent films and TV series.
Lights out in prison is a formality; the big lights are simply turned off and the sockets and the TV bye-bye are de-energized. However, this is not the case everywhere in Russia, as they say—every place has its own characteristics. With the lights out he makes himself known night life prisons are a road: a network of ropes along which babies and packages run from cell to cell. Those still sitting take them out of their hiding places Cell phones, not all of them, but they are available in many places. Chatting on the phone takes up hours and deprives not only the caller of sleep, but also the listener. They call more often to women, girlfriends or those whom they want to see as such.
The road is often annoying with meaningless workloads, unnecessary correspondence that is not on business, hysterical knocking and screaming, long work, and the need to weave ropes and make “guns” out of paper. Socks and sweaters are donated to the ropes; if things get tough, a thread is woven from ordinary T-shirts. In radically red centers there are no roads, there is silence, or the muffled torture of those who do not agree to a deal with the investigation can be heard.
Photo: ITAR-TASS/ Stanislav Krasilnikov
Often, for many citizens who do not have a legal education, prison is the only definition of a place of deprivation of liberty, but this is not the case. There are many institutions with different names, now we will try to understand how a prison differs from a pre-trial detention center. Or is this still the same institution?
Deprivation and restriction of freedom are types of punishment provided for by the Criminal Executive Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Penal Code of the Russian Federation). To implement such types of punishment, a system of correctional institutions has been created. These include educational colonies, medical correctional institutions, settlement colonies, correctional colonies, prisons, but pre-trial detention centers do not belong to them. The list of such institutions is exhaustive and is established by Art. 74 Penal Code of the Russian Federation. It seems very important not to confuse all these institutions with each other and to know the characteristics of each of them. Citizens often wonder: are a prison and a pre-trial detention center the same thing or are they different institutions? We will try to give the answer as accurately and clearly as possible. First of all, it is necessary to establish separately the concepts of prison and pre-trial detention center.
Prison - in which male persons sentenced to imprisonment are placed. The term of such punishment must exceed five years, with a portion of the term to be served in prison. Convicts transferred for a term of up to 3 years for regular violation of order and discipline in a correctional colony can also be placed here. The prison is the most strict. Two regimes are established here - general and strict, the conditions in which are much more stringent and strict than in other institutions. Having people in such a place implies a serious curtailment of their rights. What distinguishes a prison from a pre-trial detention center, and indeed from other institutions, is the restriction of movement. Movement is also restricted within the prison itself. Externally, it is a separate building or a complex of them, which are united by one security line, within which there is a strict access control regime.
The law does not establish a classification of prisons; it does not exist, but there are two regimes that operate within its limits - general and strict. In accordance with Part 3 of Art. 130 of the Penal Code, all persons who arrive in prison to serve a sentence are placed in a strict regime, and convicts from general regime are also transferred to it. Exceptions are made for disabled people of the first and second groups, who cannot be placed in a strict regime under any circumstances. In this type of regime, the convicted person must serve a sentence of at least one year, while the administration is not given the obligation, but the right, to transfer the person to the general regime of serving the sentence. Therefore, a person can remain in strict regime for several years.
If he is on a general regime and commits violations of the regime, the convicted person may be transferred to a strict regime. In at least a year it can be returned back. The difference between the modes is the number of dates per year, duration and availability of walks, telephone conversations, the amount of funds allowed to be spent for personal purposes (food, photographer services, purchase of envelopes, stamps, postcards, etc.).
First, let's decipher the abbreviation SIZO - pre-trial detention center. Such an institution, as a general rule, has no relation to the penitentiary system, that is, to the execution of punishment in the form of imprisonment. Suspects and accused persons are kept in this institution, which means that the court has not passed a verdict against these persons; they are not convicted. The pre-trial detention center contains only those citizens against whom a preventive measure has been applied - detention. Until the sentence passed by the judge has entered into legal force, the person will remain in isolation and should not be transferred to another institution.
There are no regimes on the territory of such an institution, which means that all transfers are prohibited. There are also exceptions to general rule, for example, a convicted person may be involved in performing chores on the territory of a pre-trial detention center. But not only this circumstance can serve as a basis for serving a sentence in a pre-trial detention center. He also serves time in a pre-trial detention center when the sentence does not exceed 6 months.
The classification of pre-trial detention centers is not provided for by law. We have defined the concept and types of modes (photos are provided for a more complete understanding of the system), you also learned. Now we can move on to comparison. What is the difference between a prison and a pre-trial detention center, since people often equate such concepts?
Supervision in the penal system is a set of organizational, legal and technical measures, thanks to which the behavior of convicts, suspects and accused is constantly monitored. Supervision is necessary to maintain order, legality, justice and to some extent protect the convicted from each other. Thanks to this component, internal security in the institution is ensured both within the circle of convicts and the officials themselves.
We hope that by reaching this part of the article, you have already realized that the two above-mentioned institutions belong to completely different areas and cannot be identified. Nevertheless, we will structure all the information and present it briefly below:
Based on these provisions, you can easily determine the difference between a pre-trial detention center and a prison, because these are completely different institutions with different meaning and structure.
Now that we have determined how a prison differs from a pre-trial detention center, we can conclude that both of these institutions are of enormous importance not only for the penal system, but also for society as a whole. To fully understand the essence of the executive system of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to know not only its general characteristics, but also the difference between basic concepts, for example “prison” and “pre-trial detention center”. Thanks to such institutions of varying degrees of public danger, criminals are isolated from society and embark on the path of reform.
We hope that this article was interesting and informative for you, now you will be able to distinguish and understand the features of a prison and a pre-trial detention center.
Nowadays you can find reviews online about almost all places in our country, including correctional institutions. Now, based on reviews from prisoners and their relatives, you can get a picture of a particular Moscow pre-trial detention center, even if you have never been there yourself. These are the reviews that await you next.
Pre-trial detention center No. 1 “Matrosskaya Silence”
Suitable for those who love places with a long history: a strait house for the “insolent” was founded here back in 1775.
This is far from the best isolation ward in Moscow. The corridors smell of dampness and paint. Regular searches of cells can be inconvenient: guests are not allowed to have any items with them. foreign objects. This is probably why there are so few reviews and photos from cameras. But you can still settle here if you have enough hands the right place. For example, make an impromptu mailbox from a cigarette pack.
Over the entire history of the detention center, several successful escapes have been made from it. The last one was in 2013: a prisoner used a spoon to pick out vent on the ceiling and climbed out onto the roof through it.
“Pasta with gravy and gruel for 4, best chefir in town”, Grigory Patsera
“I’m passing by, and there’s Rihanna singing loudly,” mark sdvigov
“Very nice girls work here. Especially Lena, the eldest in the investigative department. But Mikhalna is having a blast))”, Sergey TraNCer
Pre-trial detention center No. 2 “Butyrka”
The oldest Moscow prison with a rich history. The first “famous” guest of Butyrka was Emelyan Pugachev, who was arrested in 1775. Until his execution, he sat in chains in the basement of one of the towers, which was later named after him.
In addition, Butyrka can be considered the most cultural Moscow prison. Tolstoy himself came here to write his “Resurrection.” IN different years Mayakovsky, Mandelstam, Shalamov and Solzhenitsyn lived here. So visiting Butyrka is the same as for a literature lover visiting Yasnaya Polyana. Even Mickey Rourke came here for his share of inspiration.
Perhaps it is precisely because of the love of history and literature that Butyrka is often overcrowded. Be prepared: it may turn out that due to a lack of beds, you and your roommates will have to take turns sleeping. But from the windows beautiful views to the patio
At Butyrka they complain about the tasteless food, the dilapidated exercise equipment, and the fact that you can’t kick a ball while walking around the yard. The cells are cold in winter and hot in summer, and guests are not allowed to open the windows on their own. Considering that they smoke in almost all cells, it is not recommended for asthmatics to come here. There may be difficulties with communication with the outside world: for example, it is impossible to send a fax to a lawyer from here, and they are not allowed to hug their wives on dates.
“Authentic interior. Constant observance of the traditions of prison cuisine. Frank heart-to-heart conversations. Warm welcome", Julia
“Talented and successful people often gather here :)”, Alessandra
“Beautiful view from the window into the courtyard”, Andrey
Pre-trial detention center No. 3 “Presnya”
The prison was founded in 1937. Ships came from all over Soviet Union. At one time, both German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus and the leader’s son Vasily Stalin visited here.
Presnya is not a place for the faint of heart. Upon arrival at the prison, newcomers are given a kind of check with shouts, batons, shepherd dogs and constant recounts. This is called "getting creepy." According to reviews from guests, this place has a special atmosphere: they say that “the air smells like a zone.” That is, if you find yourself in Presnya, you can consider that your further life path predetermined But this has its advantages: the prisoners behave according to principles, since they do not want to be responsible for their lawlessness upon arrival in the colony.
One of the freest isolation centers in Moscow, there is hot water. You can bring some of your favorite and necessary things into the cell: machines with safety blades, slippers, cockroach traps, water filters and books, provided that they are not about psychology or wrestling. Shops and transfer points operate uninterruptedly. The female employees are very polite and friendly.
“I love this place))) there is normal garbage, and there is complete waste,” Liza Lyutaya
“Don’t take anything from the floor, don’t touch waffles, don’t be frank with operas, don’t fall for setups,” Andrey Zateynikoff
“The gruel here is not sugar, of course,” Ilya Klinskih
Pre-trial detention center No. 4 “Bear”
The most comfortable and youngest pre-trial detention center on the entire list. “Bear” is called a European prison in Moscow: there are no bunk beds or stinking buckets for you here. Each guest has his own bedside table. The cells are light and fresh. On the windows - plastic profiles, there are refrigerators, televisions, radios and hot water.
The only negative is that it is located in an industrial zone and is surrounded by factories.
“The new premises are just super! Everything is new and spacious,” Vera Baryshnikova
“There are few investigation rooms, everything is slow”, Bouvier Flandr
Everything is in double bags and T-shirts, and unpacked! Don’t hold up the line, all the information is on the pre-trial detention center website) Anastasia Nikolaeva
Pre-trial detention center No. 5 “Voikovsky”
This pre-trial detention center is called “Vodnik”. It accepts minors. They can live here for several years, and if there is no urgent matter, they are taken by car to a special school. At school to students homework They don’t give it because you are not allowed to keep textbooks in the cells.
And so staying at Vodnik is like living in a children's camp. Here everyone is shod, dressed, well-fed, everyone has sleeping area, mattress, bedding, spoon and mug. Also, everyone here is offended at each other all the time.
For example, a child was offended that his tooth was not treated and refused to go on duty. The warden was also offended and put the child in a stuffy punishment cell.
If someone is able not to be sad in this place, then he automatically becomes an authority.
The cells contain refrigerators, televisions and non-working fans. It can be stuffy in the cells. They say it's here good bath. And here they dance to Madonna.
A pre-trial detention center is a pre-trial detention center that ensures isolation from society of persons in respect of whom a preventive measure in the form of detention has been chosen in accordance with the established legislative procedure.
Confinement to probation is carried out in a pre-trial detention center.The main tasks and functions of the pre-trial detention center include the following:
According to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, namely Part 2 of Art. 22, arrest:
detention and detention are permitted only by court decision. Pending a court decision, a person cannot be detained for more than 48 hours.
Therefore, it is necessary to understand that it is possible to establish a measure that significantly curtails human rights and freedoms only by a court decision, based on Article 108 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, which states that:
Detention as a preventive measure is applied by a court decision in relation to a suspect or accused of committing crimes for which the criminal law provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term exceeding three years if it is impossible to use another, milder preventive measure. When choosing a preventive measure in the form of detention, the judge's decision must indicate the specific factual circumstances on the basis of which the judge made such a decision. Such circumstances cannot include data that were not verified during the court hearing, in particular the results of operational-search activities presented in violation of the requirements of Article 89 of this Code. In exceptional cases, it can be chosen in relation to a suspect or accused of committing a crime, for which punishment is provided in the form of imprisonment for a term of up to three years, in the presence of one of the following circumstances:
- the suspect or accused does not have permanent place residence on the territory of the Russian Federation;
- his identity has not been established;
- he violated a previously chosen preventive measure;
- he hid from the preliminary investigation authorities or from the court.
Also, when making a decision, the court applies the provisions of Articles 97 and 99 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation. They look like this.
Article 97 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation:
The inquirer, investigator, as well as the court, within the powers granted to them, have the right to choose for the accused, suspect one of the preventive measures provided for by this Code, if there are sufficient grounds to believe that the accused, suspect:
- will hide from the inquiry, preliminary investigation or trial;
- may continue to engage in criminal activity;
- may threaten a witness, other participants in criminal proceedings, destroy evidence, or otherwise obstruct the proceedings in a criminal case.
Article 99 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation:
When deciding on the need to imprison a suspect or accused of committing a crime and determine its type if there are grounds provided for in Article 97 of this Code, the severity of the crime, information about the identity of the suspect or accused, his age, state of health, marital status, and occupation must also be taken into account. and other circumstances.
So, as can be seen from the described legal provisions, determining such a preventive measure is a rather complex process that involves a comprehensive consideration of the case, taking into account many factors. It is worth parsing based on real example from the judicial practice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Kalmykia, which occurred in October 2017.
Citizen Ivanov committed a crime characteristic of Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, with a maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison. The question of choosing a preventive measure was initiated by the investigator, suggesting that, while at large, Ivanov could hide from justice or help avoid punishment for yet-to-be-identified accomplices in the crime. The court considered everything provided by both the investigator and Ivanov’s lawyer, and recognized the investigator’s fears as justified, which ultimately led to the choice of detention as a preventive measure.
This decision was made even despite the fact that Ivanov turned himself in, had no previous convictions, is married, and has a dependent child, as well as everything positive characteristics, presented from the place of work. And the crime that Ivanov committed was setting fire to haystacks.
At first glance, many may think that the crime is insignificant, but according to Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation:
- Intentional destruction or damage to someone else's property, if these acts resulted in significant damage, is punishable by a fine of up to forty thousand rubles or in the amount wages or other income of the convicted person for a period of up to three months, or compulsory work for a term of up to three hundred and sixty hours, or correctional labor for a term of up to one year, or forced labor for a term of up to two years, or arrest for a term of up to three months, or imprisonment for up to two years.
- The same acts, committed out of hooligan motives, by arson, explosion or other generally dangerous method, or which through negligence resulted in the death of a person or other grave consequences, are punishable by forced labor for up to five years or imprisonment for the same term.
Therefore, to sum up the question of why one can “get” into a pre-trial detention center, it is worth saying that a committed illegal act, even if it seems insignificant, can lead to having to spend a significant amount of time in a pre-trial detention center.
The maximum and minimum quarantine limits have not been established, but it is worth considering that at this time there can be no talk of any dates, but this does not apply to receiving packages. A punishment cell is a specialized room that provides stricter isolation than confinement in which is carried out for additional educational purposes. The basis for imprisonment in a punishment cell may be repeated or gross violation of established internal rules and the routine in the pre-trial detention center.
There are punishment cells in every similar institution, and you can get an idea of what conditions are like in a punishment cell from any art or documentary film dedicated to this topic.
So, the pre-trial detention center, which is often referred to in the abbreviation pre-trial detention center, is quite complex in its structure government agency, whose work is strictly regulated by law. Few people will express a desire to “get into” this institution due to the fact that the conditions of detention are in many ways similar to prisons, and, in the opinion of many, even worse, which, by the way, is not without meaning.
They want to build a residential complex on the site of the pre-trial detention center on Nikolo-Kozinskaya Street in Kaluga. Such plans were recently announced Governor Anatoly ARTAMONOV. But while the detention center is still operating, journalists from Kaluga Crossroads visited there.
I admit, I was immediately struck by the cleanliness and the absence of strong odors of sweat and dirty laundry. After all, before going there, the editor recommended taking smelling salts - you could lose consciousness from the stale air. It turned out that ventilation system works. While looking around the premises, for a moment I forgot about where I was. A pre-trial detention center is something between a dorm and a hospital. I was quickly brought back to reality by the bars on the windows and security on every floor...
A charming girl greeted us at the entrance. It was separated by thick glass. The girl asked to show documents and also to turn off the phones. Moreover, we gave both to her. In general, there are quite a lot of women working here. Attracted by a decent salary, prospects for career growth and other social benefits.
After passing through the metal detector, we entered the territory of the pre-trial detention center.
Internal parade ground of the institution
There are only two entrances and exits to the prison,” the pre-trial detention center staff explained to us. – The entire territory is surrounded by a high fence, through which you can’t crawl or jump.
While we look around, we are told the history of the pre-trial detention center.
Prisons were built next to the river, as criminals were transported along it. There is a legend that in this old building there are still secret passages leading to the Oka.
Administrative building
The opening of each door is recorded - there are sensors everywhere, - the pre-trial detention center employees explain to us. – Video surveillance is carried out to monitor the situation in the buildings: how the special contingent moves, how the employees perform their duties, whether they make their rounds in a timely manner. All information is recorded in logs and then analyzed. The video is stored and can be viewed at any time.
Currently, a video surveillance system is being actively implemented in the pre-trial detention center. Cameras partially replace people.
Everything is moving towards having video cameras in every cell: the employee will not have to walk around and look through the peephole. There is also feedback, says head of the institution Roman KOTAREV. - We have a video conferencing system. It allows defendants to attend a court hearing without leaving the pre-trial detention center. This reduces costs - there is no need to take a person anywhere. Every day video conferences are held with the regional and supreme courts. The defendant sees the composition of the judges, and the judges see him.
In the duty room there is a stand with photos and brief information about the prison “elite”. These people are under special control, since they are either suspected of particularly serious crimes or are prone to suicide or escape.
This is preventive accounting,” explains a pre-trial detention center employee.
There is so much blood behind these people! Here is the most colorful one - Mr. R. - with these words they show us one card. – Suspected of killing three people, one of whom is a police officer.
They take out a few more cards, from which very young faces look at me: born in 93, 94.
But these are suspected of committing violent acts against minors, they explain to me. - They are also specially registered so that nothing is done to them. After all, sometimes the special contingent makes claims against them... But this grandfather is over 70, can barely walk, and is suspected of raping his granddaughter.
At every post there is an album with such an “elite”. Each employee not only knows them by sight, but also where everyone’s sleeping place is. Once every 15 minutes, what these people are doing is checked.
Short-term meeting room
It must be torture to see loved one and not be able to even touch him, take his hand. But those are the rules.
These are our assistants, electricians, seamstresses, canteen workers - people who support the functioning of the detention center. Only those who have a first criminal record are included in the economic detachment,” they explained to us. – As a rule, they have short deadlines. They are in good standing. They have a chance for parole.
Now there are 60 people in the economic team.
Their life is a little reminiscent of the army, say the pre-trial detention center staff. - There is little free time, there is a lot of work.
Seeing the maintenance unit, our photographer exclaimed: “It looks like a kindergarten!”
Canteen brewhouse
On the day of our visit, the prisoners were fed pea soup, hodgepodge with sausages and jelly for lunch.
We are going to the new building, which was built two years ago. Women and minors are held here.
There is a category of people who cannot be kept together,” says the head of the pre-trial detention center. - Women are separated from men who have previously served - from those who have not previously served. Relatively speaking, murderers are separate from thieves. Been with this before a big problem: only one isolation ward, constantly overcrowded. Now there are two of them, the second is in Lyudinovo.
Control room of security building No. 6
Among those who use drugs, many are HIV-infected,” says Alexander Zaiko. – We have our own immunolaboratory. Most people only find out here that they have AIDS. Previously, they refused to sit together with such people, it was scary. Now people are more informed.
Before entering the cell, prisoners are quarantined. They are examined by doctors and psychologists for three days. During this time, a complete diagnosis of the health condition is carried out. And only after this a decision is made in which chamber to place it.
Hardest to find mutual language with minors,” says psychologist Elena Nikolaevna.
It is the psychologist who decides whether the prisoners will get along with each other. After all, in 80 cells - varying degrees comfort: there is one for 2 people, and there is one for 11.
Those who are admitted for the first time often experience prison stress - the walls of the pre-trial detention center and cells are crushing. Many people’s psyche cannot stand it: some begin to cry, others experience increased nervousness and anxiety. Sometimes prisoners are afraid to be released. After a long stay, they do not know how to communicate, how to behave.
Sometimes newcomers on their first “date” with a psychologist feign mental disorders.
But they get caught at some points. One has only to ask questions during their “flight”, and it turns out that at the beginning they say one thing, then they forget and start telling something completely different. Some fake it so professionally that only psychiatrists can find out.
We approach the women's cell, and I notice a strange device: a pipe, not a pipe - there are such things in several places.
Key receiver
Women's camera
We enter a bright cell. There is hot water, heating, TV, toilet and even an extractor hood. To be honest, the conditions in the maternity hospital are, in some ways, worse: one toilet for the entire floor.
As the guards said, some women only begin to take care of themselves in the pre-trial detention center: wash, comb their hair. They don’t wash their clothes themselves – they have a laundry service. In winter, if necessary, prisoners are given warm clothes, but in general they wear everything they own here - homemade.
Since the pre-trial detention center houses teenagers, there is also a classroom.
IN last years teenagers are only taken into custody in extreme cases, we were told.
And finally, we visited a punishment cell - solitary confinement, where people are sent for various violations.
Camcorder
And this is how he looked in tsarist times
The furnishings have been preserved - perhaps they will turn it into a museum
Often they try to throw prohibited items from the balconies of nearby buildings. But the security and sensors work clearly. The only ones who can get into the prison territory with impunity are kittens, but they are immediately found and placed in good hands.
No matter how modern the detention center is, no matter what conditions are created for the prisoners, the walls really press on. When we were released, even breathing became easier.
The pre-trial detention center told us that the issue of moving the detention center to a new location is now being decided. To implement the project, considerable funds will be required.
Photo: Lyubov KORSHUNOVA and the press service of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Kaluga region.
