Colony "Polar Owl" is special regime correctional facility. Serial killers, state criminals, and dangerous repeat offenders are serving their sentences here. The colony is designed for 1014 places, including a settlement site for 100 places and a strict regime zone for 450 people. The correctional institution is considered one of the most remote places of deprivation of freedom, it is surrounded by countless hills and the river Sob.
Colony "Polar Owl"
Where is the correctional facility located? The colony is located in the village of Kharp, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The correctional facility is located beyond the Arctic Circle on the border of the Northern Urals and the tundra, surrounded by hills, on the banks of the Sob river. The city closest to the colony is 1920 kilometers from
Moscow; it is Labytnangi.
The village of Harp was formed in 1961. Initially, there was a prison camp. Convicts were involved in the construction of the railway. Later, the camp was transformed into a strict regime colony for especially dangerous repeat offenders. Starting from the 70s of the twentieth century, it received the code name YaTs-34/18. Since 1981, the institution was renamed and from that time began to function as Correctional Colony No. 18. Convicts for serious crimes still came here. Since 2005, the institution has been called "PKU IK-18 Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District. Now this is a special regime penal colony for life-sentenced prisoners. "Polar owl" is an unofficial name that was assigned in honor of the bird monument located on the territory.
How to get to the correctional facility
Prisoners from Moscow are transported in two ways - by train and by plane. The first long, takes two days. By plane you need to fly only three hours to the airport in Salekhard. Then by passing vehicles you need to get to the crossing across the Ob River. The ferry will transport you to the town of Labytnangi, from where you can get by transport to the village of Kharp.
Life within the walls of the institution
The colony "Polar Owl" is a unit that can operate autonomously due to its own municipal facilities. The correctional facility has a boiler room, a bakery, a diesel power station, a canteen, a car workshop, and production departments for the
production of cinder blocks and crushed stone. There are also marble, sewing, turning, carpentry workshops, a workshop for tailoring boots. Prisoners working at these facilities not only provide themselves with the necessary items, but also fulfill the orders of the population and enterprises. The institution bred birds and pigs. There is a chapel on the territory, which was consecrated by the archbishop of the Tobolsk-Tyumen diocese Dimitri.
Convicts are allowed to receive a parcel once a year. You can go for a walk once a day for 1.5 hours. The prisoners walk in a small cell. A visit to the bath is limited to ten minutes of showering once a week. During the day, the radio operates in the colony. In the cells there is a bed, a table, a bedside table, a closed shelf where food is stored, a shelf for toiletries, as well as a water tank and a hanger for outerwear, a toilet.
Rules of stay in the institution
The colony of the special regime "Polar Owl" includes single and double cameras. Relatives of prisoners write that they are not allowed to go to bed during the day, you can only talk with cellmates in a whisper. When leaving the cell, convicts are searched. Prisoners should answer to all teams of employees: “Yes, citizen is the boss.” All movements around the institution are carried out only in handcuffs, in a bent position. Convicts are not allowed to communicate while walking, while visiting the bathhouse and toilet. Meetings with relatives are allowed (no longer than 2 hours), but the possibility of personal meetings is excluded. Sporting events, watching movies are prohibited, as well as the opportunity to improve your education.
General information about the institution
The Polar Owl colony accepts prisoners who have committed particularly serious crimes. Pichushkin Alexander (Bitsevsky maniac), Denis Evsyukov (former police major), guilty of mass execution Sergei Pomazun, are serving time at this institution. There are many convicted Muslims in the IR who have been accused of terrorism. Thus, the Polar Owl colony received Nikolai Korolev, the head of the neo-Nazi terrorist organization Spas, and former terrorist Kulaev Nur-Pasha.
The correctional facility is located beyond the Arctic Circle, where the climate is harsh, a full summer lasts only one month. The Polar Owl colony, a photo of which is rarely found in the media, is an inaccessible place of detention. The curator is the Federal Security Service of Russia. FSB officers often come to a correctional institution, carry out inspections, and study the life of prisoners. Prisoners may write complaints about employee misconduct and requests to reduce the sentence.