Russia has experienced a huge number of shocks over the past hundred years. Revolution, war, “hungry years”, years of stagnation, perestroika, redistribution of property, gangster 90s ... During the time of Stalin's repressions, millions of people sat in camps; after the war, all who were captured were recognized as enemies of the Soviet state and set off for a new stage; in the 90s, people tried to survive as best they could, many went to racketeering, and with the advent of the law went to the zones. As a result, by the beginning of the 21st century, prison life touched almost every family - if the person himself was not sitting, then among his relatives or friends there was always someone who had visited places not so distant. Finding now a family that does not have such a skeleton in the closet - among brothers, uncles, distant relatives or friends - is extremely difficult.
What is the red zone?
Many have heard about the division of zones into “red” and “black”. Moreover, there are two classifications, and they differ from each other. What is the "red" zone, which is called the "black"? What are these classifications? Let's consider in more detail.
The first option for classifying zones
The first classification gives us the following definition of what the red zone is. According to this classification, the zones differ in their contingent. The Red Zone is a penal colony for former law enforcement officials. The black zone is a colony where civilians are serving their sentences. According to this classification, the red zones in Russia are intended not only for former police officers, but also for prosecutors, military, employees of the Investigative Committee, bailiffs, jailers. Putting them in the same cell with the contingent that they themselves have brought to justice means only increasing crime in the colonies.
What zones in Russia are “red” according to this classification? Former employees of the authorities serve sentences in the following places:
- G. Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk Region, IK-13.
- G. Bor, Nizhny Novgorod region, Bor district, IK-11.
- G. Skopin, microdistrict. October, Ryazan region, IK-3.
- G. Engels, Industrial Zone, Saratov Region, IK-13.
- G. Pechora, the village of Misha-Yag, the Republic of Komi, IK-49.
- The Republic of Mordovia, Zubovo-Polyansky district, the village of Lepley, IK-5.
- G. Irkutsk, IK-3.
Second Zone Classification Example
Nowadays, one more value is often used when dividing colonies by color. What is the red zone in this classification? This is a colony where the administration and the asset rule. It encourages the interaction of prisoners with the administration of the zone. Thief traditions are strong in the “black” zone; in parallel with the administration, there is a strong “institute of watchers”; life is built on prison laws.
What is the difference between the red zone and the black one? Features:
- Power lies with the “asset” and the administration.
- There is no free circulation of alcohol and drugs.
- Prisoners are busy, do not stick around.
- It is customary to greet each employee.
Colony Types
The conditions of detention of convicts in correctional institutions depend on the particular type of colony. So, institutions can be of two directions: educational and correctional. Let us consider the correctional colony in more detail.
Correctional Colonies:
- Colonies-settlements.
- General regime colonies.
- High security colonies.
- Special regime colonies.
Prison Conditions
The mildest type of punishment associated with imprisonment. It contains prisoners sentenced to a term not exceeding 5 years for crimes committed through negligence. Also here are transferred those prisoners who have established themselves well in the colonies of general and strict regime.
In the colony-settlement there is no strict protection, the notion of “under supervision” is more used here. Convicted persons have the right to move without restrictions within the territory of the colony from lifting to lights out. They are allowed to wear civilian clothes, receive parcels, use pocket money without restrictions, and receive dates. They do not live in cells, but in dormitories. Moreover, if the convicted person has a family who would like to live with him, then this is not prohibited by the administration of the colony. Families are allowed to live in rented housing in the colony. But we must understand that this is still not a resort, the colony-settlement administration has the right to check such housing at any time of the day.
The labor of such convicted persons is paid in accordance with the provisions on labor. And if there is a desire, then you can even get an education, but only in absentia and within the administrative-territorial formation.
Prison Conditions
Here are convicted of serious crimes, if this crime was committed for the first time. The second category - those convicted of crimes of minor and medium gravity, if the court found it impossible to correct in a colony settlement. And one more category - convicts who have reached the age of 18, who were serving their sentences in an educational colony until they came of age. General regime colonies are both female and male.
The conditions here are harsher than in the settlements. Less freedom, more restrictions. They live in locked rooms. There are working days: 8 hours, an hour - a lunch break, according to the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The number of visits is limited - 6 short-term and 4 long-term per year. The number of parcels is also limited - only six pieces for the same period.
In the colonies of the general regime there is also the opportunity to get an education, to participate in cultural and sports events. Management, as a rule, creates all the conditions for this.
Prison Conditions
It contains persons whom the court considers to be the most dangerous for society, and, accordingly, in need of strict isolation. These are those who committed, for example, the intentional killing of two or more people or contract killings. Also in such a colony fall for relapse.
Convicts are in locked cells. Beds in two or three tiers, an area of ​​no more than 7 m² is allocated to the prisoner. 4 parcels and 4 parcels per year are allowed; three long and three short dates. For products in stores at the colony, you can not spend more than 2 minimum wages.
And, of course, the main difference is the contingent. In a strict regime colony, the “first mover” is a rarity. Most of the convicts are those who have chosen a criminal life as their life credo.
Prison Conditions
They don’t get here by accident, "out of stupidity" or "out of recklessness." It contains those criminal elements that were clearly recognized as dangerous to society and which should not be among free people. Colonies of a special regime are colonies for life-sentenced prisoners, those sentenced to death, but who have received the replacement of death with life imprisonment, and for those sentenced to 25 years, in practice, few of them survive to the end of their sentence.
Why can you get into a special regime colony? These are the crimes from which the ordinary law-abiding citizen stands on end. These are serial killings, serial rape, terrorist acts. There are cannibals and maniacs, sadists and savages. And also a prisoner who has committed a particularly serious crime, while serving time in another colony, can get here.
In the colonies marked "special regime" there is no place for minors, women and men over the age of 65 - too strict conditions for serving a term.
There are seven such colonies in Russia. Each has its own unofficial name: "Black Golden Eagle", "White Swan", "Vologda Pyatak", "Torbeevsky Central", "Polar Owl", "Mordovian Colony" and "Black Dolphin". More living conditions can be considered on a specific example of the colony "Black Dolphin".
Black Dolphin: Prison for Life Sentenced
Correctional colony No. 6 of the Office of the Federal Penitentiary Service in the Orenburg Region (official name) owes its poetic name to a fountain with a black dolphin sculpture located in the courtyard of the institution. There can be 1,600 prisoners in this prison. At the moment, 863 people are serving sentences there. The number of prison staff is even higher - 900 people. The administration of the colony strictly safeguards security. Such precautions are bearing fruit - no one has ever escaped from this place.
The Black Dolphin Prison for Life Sentences is famous for its strict daily routine and the strict rules for keeping prisoners. Random people do not get there - this prison is intended for the most avid criminals. So, for example, Vladimir Nikolaev, a well-known Russian cannibal, is serving his term there, in the 90s he killed two of his drinking buddies and used their meat as food. Nikolai Astanov will sit there until the end of his days - he killed a whole family and burned their bodies in the forest. The life of these criminals and other nonhumans is built according to a single algorithm, every day, from year to year:
- Rise at 6 in the morning. From this moment until the end of the retirement, prisoners are forbidden to sit or lie on the bunks.
- The size of the cameras is 4 x 5 square meters. m. In such a “cell” - one or two prisoners. "Neighbors" is selected by a psychologist.
- Inability to stay alone: ​​they monitor prisoners 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is forbidden to cover with a blanket with the head. Once every 15 minutes the attendant passes.
- When transferred from the cell to other rooms, the prisoners are blindfolded for disorientation. They move bent to eliminate the likelihood of escape.
- There is no dining room. Food pops into the holes in the doors. The menu is not the most varied - cereals, soup, bread.
- Every day and a half hours - a walk in the fresh air, in any weather. At this time, the administration checks the cameras for prohibited items.
The "black dolphin" is not the prison where people fall "just like that", having gone astray, out of stupidity or by misunderstanding. The conscience of these convicts is truly a huge number of crimes. The number of lives that these 800-odd people claimed was more than 3,500. There are 4 lives for each criminal. Scary numbers.
Finally
At present, over half a million people are deprived of their liberty as a punishment in Russia. 708 colonies function. We have 394 prisoners per 100,000 people. In the world ranking, this corresponds to seventeenth place.