Black dolphin as they sit in the harshest Russian colony

In the Orenburg region, not far from the border with Kazakhstan, the city of Sol-Iletsk is located. It was founded in 1744 as a salt mining village. In 1756, by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, a fortress was erected, the village was named Iletskaya Zashchita, and convicts began to be exiled to these places to work in the salt mines.

In 1774, Emelyan Pugachev’s comrade-in-arms, Ataman Khlopusha (in the world Afanasy Sokolov), himself an experienced convict, plundered the settlement, and recruited the freed prisoners and Cossacks into his detachment. When Pugachev's uprising was suppressed in 1775, the flow of exiles and convicts to the Iletsk Defense only increased.

In 1824, the wooden fort was demolished, and a stone fortress was erected in its place. From then until the October Revolution there was a transit prison here. The article gives a description and history of the prison, which is called “Black Dolphin”, tells where this institution is located, why it is called that, which of the prisoners served or are currently serving a sentence and for what exactly.

Vladimir Central

The city of Vladimir
“Russian Alcatraz” is the name given to this largest prison in Europe (1 kilometer around the perimeter). Previously, political prisoners were thrown there, but today they hold especially dangerous criminals: every second is a rapist, every third is a drug dealer. And so that murderers, maniacs, “authorities”, repeat offenders and instigators of prison riots cannot influence each other, they are carefully isolated from each other, placed in different conditions.

The most dangerous prisoners are kept in a special unit under extremely strict control, where cell doors are unlocked only in the presence of a representative of the prison management and a dog handler with a dog. They are also escorted along the prison corridors.

The four buildings of the prison are connected to each other by passages located at a height. They are the only means by which prisoners are transferred – this is called “by air”. The prisoners “walk” there. However, there are also walking wells with a barred “ceiling” - it is believed that this is where the expression “checkered sky” came from.

Women and minors are not kept here - the conditions are too harsh. However, they are much more humane than in “Black Dolphin,” and in the last couple of years they have been trying to bring the local regime closer to “international standards.” The new type of cells are quite spacious, with air conditioning and, most importantly, with an isolated toilet.

However, when the new cells were shown on TV in 2013, they were not yet inhabited. The prisoners lived in ordinary cells 4 by 6 or 6 by 6 meters, mostly 4-6 people, but with televisions and even refrigerators.

Broadcasts and visits are allowed here, almost any literature is available, you can subscribe to the press, even listen to music (although the same “Vladimir Central” by Mikhail Krug and other “thieves” are prohibited).

But there is no common dining room - as in the “Black Dolphin”, food is carried to the cells. At the same time, there is its own bakery, where the so-called household team is involved in auxiliary work.

Getting into it is a kind of “privilege”: people convicted of the most serious crimes and drug addicts are not accepted there. They say that it is the household servants, taking advantage of their relative freedom, who most often plot escape, but no one has ever succeeded.

Most of the convicts in the central work, and for money. They mainly produce sports equipment - football and volleyballs, sports equipment. Salary, according to various sources, can range from 3 to 10 thousand rubles per month.

It is said that after World War II, prisoners at the Vladimir Central were forced to wear the uniforms of prisoners of Nazi death camps, which were taken from liberated Poland, and the local prison uniform is supposedly based on that “design” to this day.

By the way, the Vladimir Central is open for excursions: there is a special museum on its territory. Of course, they won’t be allowed into the buildings of an active prison, but just being inside these walls is creepy.

Visitors are overcome with a depressing feeling: “Grey asphalt, barbed wire, dusty walls, not a single leaf breaks through the concrete and stone. There is no place for life, joy and laughter - only survival. Silence, a musty smell and a kind of hopelessness hanging in the air.”

No. 1. Tariel Oniani (Tarot)

A “thief in law” who adheres to old principles. His authority manifested itself back in Soviet times - even then he was a prominent figure in the criminal community. Leader of the Kutaisi group, entrepreneur, head of his own criminal clan. At one time he waged a brutal war against the clan of “Ded Hasan,” which united Slavic groups. He started, like many authorities, with thefts. He was crowned in the 70s.

The main activities are racketeering, kidnapping, smuggling. In July 2010 he was sentenced to ten years in prison. Currently, investigators are working to bring charges against him under a new “anti-theft” article. He was brought to the Black Dolphin twice, for short periods - in 2014 and 2022.

How one of the harshest prisons in Russia works, Black Dolphin

All over the world, Russian prisons are considered almost the most severe. And one prison is especially famous for its strict regime and the prisoners who are kept there.

The special regime colony for life prisoners “Black Dolphin” is located on the border with Kazakhstan, in the city of Sol-Iletsk. According to a National Geographic documentary, the prison houses the country's most dangerous criminals - serial killers, cannibals and terrorists. One of the guards told the crew that the only way to escape was to die.

The prison got its unofficial name “Black Dolphin” thanks to a statue in front of the entrance made by prisoners. In fact, the colony is called “FKU IK-6 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Orenburg Region.”

There are 700 prisoners in the prison, including cannibals, serial killers and maniacs, and terrorists.

In total, these criminals killed about 3,500 people. That's an average of five murders per prisoner.

The Black Dolphin houses life-sentenced prisoners. In the photo: Vladimir Nikolaev is imprisoned for cannibalism.

Nikolaev killed a man during a drunken brawl, then dragged him to the bathroom, where he chopped the body into pieces.

He ate some of it and gave the rest to a friend, whose wife cooked the meat and served it to the family for dinner. Nikolaev is one of the most famous murderers in Russia.

Criminals are under 24-hour video surveillance.

The prisoners are separated from doors and windows by massive steel bars, the cell is a cage within a cage.

Two prisoners share a 5 square meter cell.

Every 15 minutes the guards make their rounds.

When convicts leave their cell, they must walk bending over with their hands behind their backs.

When moving to another building or going out for a walk, prisoners are blindfolded so that they cannot remember the layout of the prison.

Physical exercise - wandering from one corner to another. There is no prison yard for walking in the Black Dolphin.

While the prisoners are out for a walk, the cells are searched - looking for contraband or evidence of preparations for an escape.

There is no canteen in the prison either.

Convicts eat directly in their cells.

They feed you soup and bread.

No one managed to escape from the Black Dolphin prison.

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Beginning of the 21st century

The official name of the colony is “PKU IK-6 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Orenburg Region (YUK-25/6)”, but it is best known by another name – “Black Dolphin”.

Why was the prison called that? It got its name thanks to two sculptures of black dolphins installed in the courtyard in front of the entrance to the administrative building of the colony. They were installed back in 1996, 4 years before the colony was given a new, special status, and they never carried a “high”, poetic meaning.

However, the prisoners held here can only see these statues on TV . The fact is that they enter the territory of the institution in a closed paddy wagon, and move between buildings in a bent position with their hands behind their backs.

In addition, he was also accompanied by at least three guards and with a thick black bag on his head.

At the same time, the whole procedure is not fiction, but real facts, and this is not done just like that. Let's look at the reasons.

• Firstly , this is done so that the prisoner cannot remember the location of the colony buildings, towers and fence.
• Secondly , the administration of the colony is very careful to ensure that prisoners do not maintain any contact with each other, including that it is strictly forbidden for them to know who exactly was brought and who “lives” with them in the same walls. This is done, among other things, and for humane reasons, because in the “Black Dolphin” there is, for example, Oleg Rylkov, convicted in 1998 by the Samara Regional Court for the murder of four and rape of 37 minor girls. Or Sergei Shipilov, who came here in 2000 by a court verdict for 14 murders and 9 rape. One can easily imagine what neighbors might do to such citizens if they found out who exactly they were sharing the same walls with.
• Thirdly , the colony is located within the city limits, and the courtyard is clearly visible from the windows of neighboring buildings and residential buildings. Therefore, concealing the identity of the one who is currently being led through the territory helps to avoid banal blood feud.

“Black Dolphin” has an exemplary and extremely harsh regime of detention. Prisoners are kept in cells of two to four people. The most dangerous are kept in solitary confinement. One of these houses the murderer and cannibal Vladimir Nikolaev, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1997.

Another such “lucky guy” is the notorious Vladimir Mukhankin, a serial killer and robber who terrorized the Rostov region for two months in 1995, killing eight and wounding four people. In 1996, the Rostov Regional Court handed down the death penalty to him, but thanks to the moratorium introduced in the same year, the preventive measure was replaced with life imprisonment and Mukhankin went to the Black Dolphin.

No “thieves’ laws” or criminal “concepts” apply on the territory of the colony . All violators of the regime are placed in isolation, deprived of any entertainment, including short-term (half an hour a day) listening to the radio, and the permitted limit for receiving letters and broadcasts is reduced.

And there is no one to comply with all these “concepts”. If you ask who is in the colony and for what, we can say that the contingent there consists mainly of:

• serial and mass killers;
• leaders of organized crime groups;
• terrorists;
• Caucasian field commanders.

However, among them there are also professional criminals of the old school. For example, Valery Skoptsov (1951-2004). Having started his criminal activities in his youth, he specialized in thefts and car thefts for a long time. While serving a seven-year sentence for theft of church items, Skoptsov mastered the skills of an engraver, and subsequently achieved serious success in forging documents.

Between 1995 and 1998, he committed several murders, including the group murder of several members of one criminal group, which “dumped” Skoptsov when he worked for them as an engraver. In 1998, he was sentenced to capital punishment by the Oryol Regional Court, but the preventive measure was replaced with life imprisonment. Skoptsov served his sentence in the Black Dolphin , where he died on Cosmonautics Day, April 12, 2004.

Or Sergei Maduev, nicknamed “Chervonets” (1956-2000). He received his first term back in 1974. Upon his release in 1980, he immediately took up robbery and robberies, and a year later he went to jail again, this time for 15 years. In 1988, he escaped from the colony-settlement and returned to his usual craft.

Very soon Maduev began killing people. In total, he accounted for 10 human lives. In 1990, he was detained in Tashkent and transferred to Leningrad, to the famous Kresty detention center.

It was at this time that he gained the greatest fame when he tried to escape from the “Crosses”. Maduev was then detained, but a detention center employee was seriously wounded. The story of this escape formed the basis of the plot of the film “Prison Romance” with A. Abdulov in the title role.

Later, Maduev tried to escape twice more, but in 1995 the St. Petersburg City Court sentenced him to capital punishment, which was commuted to life imprisonment. At first he was in Kresty, then in Novocherkassk, and in November 2000 he was transferred to Black Dolphin, where he died a month later.

It cannot be said that the “thief's suit” avoided acquaintance with these walls . They were most often sent here for “re-education.” The first “thieves in law” who were destined (and awarded) to become acquainted with the order in the colony were the “thieves” known by the nicknames Shurik Ustinovsky and Karzuby. This happened back in the first half of the 1980s and at the moment both are no longer alive.

But he is quite alive, but not to say that another thief in law is alive - Sergei Volkov (Kommunyai), who is serving a five-year sentence within the walls of the Black Dolphin for possession of large quantities of drugs. It should not be surprising that a person who was not sentenced to life imprisonment ended up here.

• Firstly, Volkov himself is a very authoritative person in the criminal environment. According to rumors, it was he who “uncoronated” another famous thief in law of the North. And keeping him here is only a measure of isolation from his accomplices and “colleagues” in the workshop.
• Secondly, structurally, IK-6 is a fairly large institution, which includes not only special regime buildings, but also strict ones and even a colony-settlement, where prisoners with different terms are kept.

It was from the colony-settlement that the escape was made in 2016. It was arranged by a certain Alexander Alexandrov, who was sentenced to 5.5 years for robbery. However, he was caught quickly enough. Despite the fact that he legally fled from the same institution, in fact this man had nothing to do with the “Black Dolphin”.

However, it should be noted that in the history of the prison in Sol-Iletsk, this was not the only escape. Thus, in the first 8 months of 1935 alone, 38 escapes were made from the colony, and in 1967, several prisoners made a group escape by digging under the wall. But still, all these episodes happened at a time when the colony was not under a special regime.

From the articles of our experts you can learn about other terrible prisons of the Russian Federation, including the Polar Owl, Snowflake, White Swan, Black Golden Eagle, Vologda Pyatak, Vladimir Central, Matrosskaya Tishina, Butyrka and Lefortovo.

Approximate daily routine in the Black Dolphin

• 6:00 - getting up, making beds, washing, cleaning the cell.
• 6:30 - breakfast, turn on the radio.
• 7:15 - turn on electrical outlets. Prisoners can use electric shavers. You can boil water, drink tea if you have tea leaves, or just boiling water.
• 8:00 - start of the morning check, turn off the radio.
• 9:00 - examination of prisoners by a doctor.
• 10:00 - morning walk in a special chamber several meters long. At the same time, patients are taken to the medical unit.
• 13:00 - lunch.
• 13:50 - cleaning of cells.
• 14:00-17:00 - the radio turns on again.
• 18:00 - dinner (40 minutes).
• 20:00 - evening check.
• 20:30 - again switched on sockets and radio are available to prisoners.
• 22:00 - lights out.

Prison "Black Dolphin"

Around Sol-Iletsk there are the Orenburg steppes and numerous salt lakes with healing water. From time immemorial, residents earned their living by doing only two things: extracting salt and guarding criminals. Even in the years of Catherine, in the Iletsk prison there were robbers caught in the Ural forests and sent to hard labor on chains. The Orenburg province was the remote outskirts of the great empire. To the south of its borders lie the deserted Kazakh steppes, from where hordes of nomads could emerge. The Yaik Cossack army guarded the borders of the state from external enemies, building a chain of fortresses and forts, and at the same time containing internal enemies - state criminals.

The vast distances to the center of Russia and the harsh steppe nature were more reliable protection from convicts than chains and shackles. Their number in Sol-Iletsk increased sharply after the Pugachev riot of 1773, which broke out in those parts. This year is considered the founding date of the prison. After the prison in Sol-Iletsk there was a transit prison, then in Soviet times, from 1965, a “hospital” where prisoners who fell ill with the “prison scourge” - tuberculosis - were sent to die. Today, the “pride” of the city has become the “indoor” maximum security prison “Black Dolphin”, specially designed to hold criminals sentenced to life imprisonment.

Prison Black Dolphin

In 2007, the Black Dolphin changed its official name from YUK-25/6 to IK-6. In Russia, prison is considered the largest specialized institution for such a contingent of criminals. The maximum capacity of the prison is 1600 prisoners. Today there are about 900 prisoners in its cells. On average, there are 4-5 corpses for each of them, but this is like the average temperature in a hospital. “Black Dolphin” has its own “record holders.” Approximately the same number of people guard prisoners, forming a 1:1 ratio. Naturally, not all prisoners received a “wad” from the court. It has a place for repeat offenders on a standard strict regime, as well as those sentenced to a general regime.

Content Features

The rise of prisoners always begins at 6 a.m., regardless of holidays or weekends. After this, time is given to make the bed, wash and check in the morning. You cannot use the bed until lights out. Inmates spend their 16-hour day either standing or taking turns sitting on the only stool in the cell. Here you cannot make noise, talk loudly, sing songs, or smoke. Convicts can listen to the radio for half an hour a day. A TV is a reward for good behavior, but it can only be provided after 10 years of imprisonment.

Every 15 minutes, a round is carried out, during which prisoners are required to stand facing the wall and raise their hands up, palms facing out. The cell duty officer reads out information about each convict. The list includes: last name, first name, patronymic, article and term.

In cells ranging in size from 5 to 10 square meters, 2-4 people sit, who are selected according to their psychotype. If incompatible, inmates are immediately resettled. There are also solitary confinement cells for maniacs and cannibals. Particularly dangerous ones sit in “glasses” - a cage inside the cell. There are 161 prisoners registered with a psychiatrist. Exacerbations of mental illness are not uncommon here. The quiet ones sing songs and cry. Violent people can rush at a shepherd dog - there was such a case.

There is no dining room in the Black Dolphin - food is served into the cell through a small window. The diet mainly consists of soup and bread. Every minute of life is recorded by a video camera. An operator watches the prisoners around the clock, even when the prisoner relieves himself.

Bright lights are on in the cells all night. At the same time, convicts are prohibited from covering their faces with anything. Lighting promotes better recording quality and prevents unforeseen situations, such as suicide attempts or murder.

“Black Dolphin” is a colony with a special regime and strict discipline. Thieves' laws do not apply here, and any violations are excluded. Prisoners are instilled with the idea almost from the doorstep that their lives are worthless and that in case of disobedience, the most severe measures await them. The prison administration explains: the harsh regime is caused by the contingent of inmates. In some institutions, convicts carry out buckets of slop without handcuffs. Here, such negligence can have disastrous consequences for the criminal himself or the colony staff.

Convicts of the "Black Dolphin"

All the listed features of the contents and precautions can hardly be called in vain, given the contingent imprisoned in the “Black Dolphin”. People who have committed terrible crimes are sent to the Sol-Iletsk prison, about which several documentaries have been filmed. For every 900 “guests” of the colony, there are on average about 3,000 victims - maniacs, terrorists, murderers and robbers live here, most of whose acts can surprise with inhuman cruelty.

Murderer and cannibal Vladimir Nikolaev / frame from National Geographic Channel

Thus, among the prisoners in correctional colony No. 6 is the murderer and cannibal Vladimir Nikolaev , who took the lives of two people and was sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment. Another cannibal serving time in the Black Dolphin prison, Alexander Maslich , dealt with four victims, among whom was the criminal’s former cellmate in the Rubtsovskaya colony, where the convict had previously lived.

Alisultan Salikhov and Isa Zainutdinov are two terrorists imprisoned for organizing a terrorist attack in Buynaksk, which killed more than 60 people.

Vadim Ersho is a rapist and serial killer who attacked women in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and killed 19 people. Only chance helped to carry out his arrest: a resident of the house, who ran out to the screams of a girl who had been attacked in the entrance, stunned the maniac with a fire extinguisher that came to hand.

Sergei Vinogradov is a man who once served as an investigator in Yekaterinburg, serving a sentence for the murder of a mother and daughter and another 9-year-old girl.

Maniac Vladimir Mukhankin considered Chikatilo his idol / frame from YouTube

This is not a complete list of names - behind each of the doors in the Black Dolphin colony there are people whose crimes can make the most persistent person turn pale. And at each cell hangs a sign reminding the correctional facility staff of who is imprisoned here for what crimes, not allowing them to relax for a moment.

In what conditions are criminals kept?

Prisoners spend most of their time in cells. There is no division based on the number of crimes committed or the time the sentence was served in other prisons (a representative of law enforcement agencies and a rapist may be in the same cell).

Prisoners can leave the secure building for only two reasons - for work or for a walk. The colony has its own production. Prisoners are employed in the sewing or shoe shops.

Features of conditions of detention for convicts:

1. Prisoners clean their cells themselves.
2. Daytime sleep is prohibited (you can’t even lie on the bed during the daytime).
3. The prisoners in the cell are protected from doors and windows by additional bars.
4. You can listen to the radio for thirty minutes a day.
5. The main diet consists of soup and bread.
6. There is no canteen in the prison (convicts eat food in their cells).
7. For making noise or ignoring prison rules, a prisoner can be placed in isolation.
8. A cell can hold up to four prisoners, but particularly dangerous ones can be placed in isolated cells.
9. Smoking is strictly prohibited on prison grounds.
10. Contact between prisoners is prevented.
11. Prisoners sleep with the lights on.
12. If it is necessary to transfer a prisoner to another building, he is blindfolded (so that the criminal cannot remember the layout of the prison).

No. 4. Hayk Sargsyan (“Haiko Astrakhan”)

The Astrakhan authority began with thefts, for which he was, of course, convicted. In prison, he met thieves in law, becoming their man. In 2014 he was crowned in Yerevan. In 2015, he was detained while under the influence of drugs with a “stash” of heroin in his pocket. The court sent him to prison for three and a half years. Currently lives in Yerevan.

While serving a sentence for drug possession from the Butyrka pre-trial detention center, Sargsyan went straight to the Black Dolphin, where he was kept for about six months.

How prisoners work and rest

Approximately 400 prisoners work in the sewing and shoe shops, where there is a real massacre for places. Work is almost the only way to occupy time and get distracted. Prisoners make slippers and other shoes, as well as bed linen. Black Dolphin products are in quite high demand among local enterprises.

In the cells, prisoners are prohibited from talking loudly, singing songs, making noise and smoking. Once a day they are allowed to listen to the radio, but only for half an hour. Some cells have televisions that were bought and brought to the prisoners by their relatives. In this case, convicts can watch some channels, for example, “First” and “Match-TV,” but strictly for four hours.

The Black Dolphin also has a fairly extensive library, it contains more than 12,000 different books. There are both classics and modern literature. In the same library, prisoners can only play checkers (dominoes and chess are prohibited due to the risk of injury) or write a letter to family or the prosecutor. Special regime prisoners are allowed to meet with relatives or friends four times a year, and those who work in sewing workshops can even count on a twelve-day vacation in a neighboring, more comfortable building.

Tatyana Taranova10/11/2018

There are giant black bees

No. 5. Miron Gorgidze (“Miriko of Kutaisi”)

Repeatedly convicted, Miron Gorgidze was crowned in the mid-90s by respected Georgian thieves in law. However, his criminal career did not work out, due to his addiction to drugs. They literally “ate” his conscience and commitment to “thieves’ concepts.” Gorgidze moved to Novosibirsk. In 2001, at the funeral of a Kutaisi kingpin, he was beaten, therefore, he lost his status.e

In June 2014, while serving a sentence for extortion, he arrived at the Black Dolphin, from where he was sent to Samara in December.

Women's colony in Krasnoyarsk IK-22

(Hereinafter photo Reuters)

This does not include women who have broken the law for the first time - only repeat offenders who have been convicted more than once. There are three types of detention conditions for them: strict, ordinary and light. The strict ones contain the “most inveterate” ones, as well as those who violate internal regulations. You can get into the lighter ones for “exemplary behavior and a conscientious attitude to work.”

A convict and a convict in a prison greenhouse, which at the time of filming (2007) was used not for growing vegetables, but for storing potatoes:

According to 2015 data, of the 837 convicted, the majority (682) are serving their sentences under ordinary conditions, 134 under light conditions and 21 under strict conditions. But everyone’s main occupation in prison is work – mainly in the sewing industry.

Women are also employed in sanitation and construction. On the forums of former inmates, there are complaints that “they were forced to dig a trench and lift concrete slabs.”

The main feature of Krasnoyarsk IK-22 is the opportunity for prisoners to serve their sentences while raising their children, for whom there is a children’s home on the territory. True, we are talking only about children under 3 years old. While mothers are busy with work and other prison duties, the children are under the supervision of qualified caregivers and teachers “from the outside.”

Convicted mothers take their children for a walk:

After 3 years, children are either given to relatives or sent to a regular orphanage. But if the mother has less than a year left to sit at the time of his third birthday, the child is left to her.

In addition to reminders of family, incarcerated women are given experimental therapy designed to return them to normal life. For example, in this photo they are drawing pictures from sand under the supervision of a prison psychologist.

There is also a psychological relaxation room.

The Russian prison system is just beginning to be changed to meet global “humane standards,” and many doubt that the improvements that are shown to journalists and television reporters are actually then used in everyday prison life. And a significant part of society does not understand at all why “brighten the lives” of ordinary criminals and murderers. Here, by the way, is an example of maximum humanity: look, .

No. 3. Dombaev Akhmed Vis-Khazhievich (“Akhmed Shalinsky”)

Chechen crime boss, a fairly well-known person in narrow circles. Ambitious, does not recognize laws. From his youth he was engaged in robbery, for which he was repeatedly imprisoned. In 2011, Dombaev was sentenced to ten years for robbery with a weapon. The first coronation as a “thieves in law” took place in 2012 at the instigation of the “thieves in law” members of the “Taro” clan. However, Ahmed abruptly renounced the title, citing "valid reasons." A couple of months later, he was crowned again by “thieves in law” on the part of “Ded Hassan.” In prison, Dombayev constantly violated the rules and received penalties.

While serving his long sentence, in November 2013, “Akhmed Shalinsky” was sent to the “Black Dolphin”, where he spent several months, showing the character of a “denier”.

Colony history

The first life-long prisons in the Orenburg region appeared in Catherine’s times:

The history of the “Black Dolphin” dates back to Catherine’s time. After the suppression of the Pugachev rebellion in 1773, a need arose in these parts for a prison for exiled robbers. Centuries have passed, but the purpose of the institution has never changed. Strong walls in the Orenburg steppes served all Russian Sovereigns equally faithfully. There was transfer here, a prison, and tuberculosis “specialization,” but the prison always remained a prison[2].

The famous German actress Carola Neher died in this prison in 1942.

It received the status of a colony for life prisoners in the early 2000s; previously there was a special hospital for prisoners here.

No. 2. Sergei Volkov (“Commie”, “Volchok”)

The Tver thief in law is known mainly for his confrontation with Sasha Sever for the position of “overseeing” Tver. At one time he achieved the decoronation of Severov. He was convicted several times for theft, robbery, and hooliganism. He received his “thieves' crown” in 1993. Strictly observed the “thieves’ concepts.” He killed the crime boss Laevsky for insults and a blow to the cheek - a real thief in law cannot tolerate this. For this he received six years in prison. In 2015, he was jailed for five years for drug possession.

Serving his final sentence in the Black Dolphin. A prison with harsh conditions is a real test for the already middle-aged thief in law.

Reception schedule for citizens

Reception of citizens occurs daily strictly according to the schedule:

• from 9 to 10 o'clock applications from relatives of the prisoner are accepted;
• from 10 to 11 a.m., paperwork and applications are processed;
• from 9 o'clock they begin to receive broadcasts;
• from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., long-term or short-term visits with relatives or loved ones of the imprisoned person are permitted;
• from 14 to 16 hours, parcels, parcels and letters from prisoners are issued (correspondence is subject to strict censorship - for example, swearing in letters is strictly prohibited);
• From 15 to 18 hours, citizens are received individually.

Disabled people of the first and second groups, veterans and participants of the Great Patriotic War are accepted without a queue.

Black Dolphin - a prison for lifers

The prison got its name from a figurine of a dolphin installed on the lawn of the courtyard. There is no particular meaning in a small sculptural composition. It was installed just for beauty. It was installed in 1996, and four years later the prison received its special status. The Sol-Iletsk “covered” prison fully meets all modern requirements for keeping prisoners. Each prisoner has 4.5 m² of living space. They sit in 2 or 4 local cells.

Fountain with a black dolphin

For particularly unpredictable “guests” there are “loners”. The lights are on in the cells day and night. All residents are filmed around the clock by video cameras that transmit images to the security post. They don't skimp on safety at the Black Dolphin. Every 15 minutes there is a walk through the corridors with a mandatory look at the tails. The cells themselves are a “cage within a cage.” Along the inner perimeter of all walls and ceiling, strong gratings made of massive steel rods are welded. The prisoner is escorted by a detachment of 3 inspectors and a dog handler with a dog.

Black Dolphin - a prison for lifers

The guards pay special attention to the issue of suppressing any contact between prisoners and their disorientation on the territory of the prison. Prisoners walk in closed boxes ─ “cups”, and when moving between prison buildings ─ a thick fabric bag must be put on their heads. The history of the prison did not record any escapes or even attempts at them until 2016, although it was committed by a prisoner of a different category for which the institution exists. A certain Alexander Alexandrov, sentenced to 5.5 years for robbery, escaped from a colony-settlement, structurally attached to the “krytka”. He was quickly caught in the wild. The features of the “Black Dolphin”, which make an already unsweetened life more bitter, include a complete ban on smoking on its territory.

Prison Black Dolphin

A criminal sentenced to life imprisonment spends his first 10 years in Sol-Iletsk in special conditions. The number of “dachas” released for them is reduced to a minimum and only 2 short-term visits with relatives are allowed. After the first decade spent without notice, the number of transfers from the outside increases and long visits are allowed. After a quarter of a century spent without the slightest violation of discipline, they can be transferred to a strict regime and theoretically become eligible for parole. But this is a “naked” theory. In addition, it does not apply to maniacal murderers and pedophiles.

Prison Black Dolphin

A prison is not a resort. It is necessary to acquire truly “iron” health in order to withstand it for several decades. The psychological compatibility of cellmates is specially checked by a prison psychologist. Her requirements are approximately the same as those of astronauts. Every day spent in the “Black Dolphin” can be perceived as a kind of torture. After rising at 6 a.m., the prisoner must spend the remaining 16 hours before lights out on his feet. Sitting down, let alone lying down on the bed, is strictly prohibited. This is a violation of the regime, which will certainly affect the easing of the severity of the regime in the future. About four hundred prisoners happily while away their time in the prison production area. “Black Dolphin” has a sewing workshop and a shoe workshop. For their work, prisoners receive a salary and are given vacations.

Colony history

The facility was erected in 1756 by decree of Elizabeth Petrovna, which read: “Kolodniks subject to exile to Orenburg should not be kept in prison for a long time, but sent away immediately, those fit for recruits and any work should be selected.” Convicts were sent to Iletskaya Zashchita to work in the salt mines. In 1824, the fortress was destroyed, and in its place a prison was erected to hold prisoners. Before the October Revolution, it served first as a transit prison, then as a concentration camp, and at the end of the war it received the status of the Sol-Iletsk prison of the NKVD for holding persons under investigation.

Then in 1965, the institution was transformed into a special regime correctional colony for prisoners with open tuberculosis. And only in the early 2000s was its current status determined - a correctional colony for convicts sentenced to life imprisonment. During the same period, a global reconstruction of the building and a major overhaul of all buildings and structures were carried out in a short time. In connection with the change in the type of regime and the contingent of inmates, new video surveillance cameras, tracking and access systems to the territory were installed, new checkpoints were built and the number of service dogs was increased. And in 2006, a new security building was opened.

In its current state, “Black Dolphin” is the largest specialized penitentiary institution in Russia, which many experts call exemplary. Exceptional discipline and order are maintained here; the colony fully complies with all international norms and standards.

The story of the "Black Dolphin"

Correctional Colony No. 6, which owes its unofficial name to the sculpture of a black dolphin decorating the fountain located on the territory of the institution, dates back to the era of Catherine the Great. The turbulent times, marked by an uprising of rebels led by the Don Cossack Emelyan Pugachev, required the creation of a prison by 1773-1775, where it was possible to send captured robbers after the suppression of the unrest.

In order to eliminate problems with transporting criminals, the territory that became the hotbed of the Pugachev uprising in those troubled years was chosen for organizing hard labor. Now it belongs to the Orenburg region. The prison, which hundreds of years later would be called one of the most terrible in Russia, was organized in the Iletskaya Zashchita fortress. Here the prisoners were doomed to work in the mines, extracting salt with pickles, until death interrupted their earthly path. Later, on the site of the fortification turned into a prison for butchers, the city of Sol-Iletsk arose, where the Black Dolphin correctional facility is now located.

The prison symbol “Black Dolphin” was created by prisoner Vladimir Krishtopa / historicaltime.ru

During its existence, the prison, located in Iletskaya Zashchita, was repeatedly transformed. So, at the end of the 19th century, the prison was converted into a prison department designed for 400 people. The prisoners no longer worked in the salt mines, but made shoes and clothes, burned alabaster for plaster, and when the weather warmed up, they worked on farmsteads. Although at that time in the institution those sentenced to imprisonment were kept separately, distributed according to their professed religion and classes, the punishments for everyone were equally severe - both peasants and former landowners were flogged with rods.

From 1905 to 1917, until the revolution, the Iletsk prison department worked as a transit prison. After which, in its place, a concentration camp was organized for deserters, White Guards and their sympathizers, which existed in this form until the start of the Second World War. Then the institution was transferred to the jurisdiction of the 2nd Directorate of the NKVD and converted into a detention center for holding those under investigation.

In the 50s, the prison was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and in 1965, after another transformation, it became a place of detention for criminals suffering from an open form of tuberculosis. The colony operated as a tuberculosis isolation prison for the next 3.5 decades.

Prison Black Dolphin

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Prisoners of the Black Dolphin. 18+

There are five correctional colonies in Russia for people sentenced to life.
But even among them, “Black Dolphin” stands apart, because it inspires fear even in seasoned criminals. It is located in the city of Sol-Iletsk near Orenburg, and the most terrible criminals are kept here. Diletant.media about three prisoners of the “Black Dolphin”
.

Vladimir Nikolaev

Murderer and cannibal

This person is one of those who sits all the time. Even before getting into the Black Dolphin, Nikolaev served two rather long sentences. He was not free for long and during this time he mostly drank. But he only became a killer in the late 90s, when he accidentally killed his drinking companion. And here the worst thing happened.

Having killed his drinking companion, Nikolaev, out of curiosity, tasted the victim’s meat

Nikolaev wanted to hide the body and decided to dismember it. And then, in his own words, out of curiosity, he tasted the victim’s meat. So Nikolaev became a cannibal. He already killed the second person quite deliberately and precisely for this purpose. Moreover, Nikolaev sold part of the meat on the market, passing it off as saiga tenderloin. One of the buyers found the meat suspicious and showed it to doctors. At the trial, Nikolaev said that he did not regret anything. He talks about his crimes completely calmly, as if he doesn’t understand how terrible what he did is. In "The Black Dolphin" there is a special attitude towards the cannibal. He is the only prisoner in the colony who does not have a cellmate. The administration does not dare to move anyone to Nikolaev, because no one can vouch for the consequences.

Vladimir Nikolaev

Radik Galiakberov

Leader of the organized crime group "Hadi Takash"

This Kazan organized crime group existed for 20 years. Its heyday came in the 90s, when the organized crime group was headed by Radik Galiakberov, known in criminal circles under the nickname Raja. “Hadi Takash” did not disdain any crimes to strengthen its influence. Murders, robberies, raids, racketeering, blackmail. Galiakberov first of all eliminated all “dissenters,” that is, those members of the gang who could question his authority. After this, “Hadi Takash” in a fairly short time took control of almost half of Kazan.

"Hadi Takash" in a short time took control of almost half of Kazan

The main source of income was prostitution, drugs and gambling. In addition, “Hadi Takash” captured several large factories, about forty small firms and even the largest cemetery in the city. In 1997, Takash destroyed almost all competitors, becoming the most powerful group in Kazan. They started arresting its members only in 1999. Galiakberov was detained in December. The trial lasted more than two years. As a result, Galiakberov was sentenced to life imprisonment and went to the Black Dolphin.

Evgeny Nagorny

Murderer and extortionist

This was one of the most notorious crimes of the 90s. In different parts of Moscow, 10 motorists disappeared for unknown reasons. It was not possible to find them; the police closed the cases for lack of evidence of a crime. Later it turned out that the motorists were dealing with the same car service center. It was owned by Evgeny Nagorny. He provided inexpensive services for repairing and fine-tuning cars, but clients, instead of help, received a knife in the back.

Nagorny, his accomplices killed motorists, hiding the corpses in a hatch under the garage. They were found only after the killer himself showed the place to investigators.

Among Nagorny's victims were two members of the Solntsevskaya organized crime group

Nagorny killed for expensive foreign cars, which he then sold. Among his victims were two members of the Solntsevskaya organized crime group. Representatives of this gang came to the trial and threatened Nagorny with violence right in the courtroom. But the owner of the car service center will definitely not be released. In 1999, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and sent to Black Dolphin.

Black Dolphin

The city of Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg region

It is called “death prison”, “a prisoner’s worst dream” and “a cemetery for bandits”: the majority of the inhabitants of this maximum security colony are the most severe criminals, sentenced for life. For example, the cannibal Vladimir Nikolaev, who butchered his drinking companions into minced meat for dumplings, Oleg Rylkov, who raped 37 little girls, or Sergei Shipilov, who killed 12 women.

In total, about 700 people are detained here, over 160 of whom have mental disabilities. According to the jailers, local prisoners are responsible for at least 4,000 innocent people killed.

The colony got its unofficial name from the sculpture of a black dolphin that adorns the pretty lawn in front of the administrative building.

Some sources claim that it was once made by the prisoners themselves. Whether this is true or not, none of the modern inhabitants of the area have ever seen the sculpture with their own eyes: upon arrival here, everyone is put a canvas bag on their head. Firstly, for the safety of the convicts themselves, and secondly, so that they would not have the slightest idea of ​​the layout of the area.

Indeed, no one has escaped from this prison since 1967. There is a dark joke in circulation here: “The only way to escape is death.” And the conditions of detention are such that most prisoners would prefer execution instead of a life sentence.

Prisoners generally live in groups of two, in a cell measuring 4.5 square meters. meter, where there is an iron bunk bed (the beds must be made immaculately), a washbasin, a toilet, a narrow table and an iron stool. Everything is firmly screwed to the floor, and from the moment you get up at 6 a.m. until 16 hours before bedtime, it is strictly forbidden to even sit on the bed - the violator will be punished with a rubber truncheon and sent to a punishment cell.

The cells are under video surveillance around the clock; the lights are never turned off, even at night. Only a narrow strip of light is visible from the barred window. It is impossible to see anything else: the cell is a “cage within a cage”, which is separated from both the window and the door. The food - a bowl of soup and a piece of bread - is served directly to the cell (there is no canteen in the prison).

The convict makes any movements along the corridors of the prison outside his cell, accompanied by three guards and a dog handler with a dog. At the same time, he is kept in a half-bent position, and, if necessary, blindfolded.

The Black Dolphin doesn't even have a prison yard for exercise - the prisoners "walk" (that is, step back and forth) in the same four walls with bars on top, and only dim daylight penetrates here through the canopy on the roof.

During the “walks,” security carefully checks and searches the cells.

The rest of the time, a round is made every 15 minutes. Moreover, as soon as you ring the key or the window for serving food, everyone in the cell is obliged to freeze in place, spread their arms and legs and spread their fingers. At the command “Report!” The cell officer on duty quickly lists who is in prison for what crimes - full name, start date and article.

If the security notices the slightest violation, the command “Return to the starting line!” is sounded. The prisoners instantly take the so-called “KU pose” - although in fact it is too far from the one in the comedy film “Kin-dza-dza”: facing the wall, bending towards the knees, with eyes closed and mouth open, with eyes raised up hands and fingers spread out.

Unlike other prisons, in the Black Dolphin, prisoners are allowed to work only after serving 10 years, and only if they behaved “exactly,” so work for them is the main reward and entertainment. Such “lucky” people sew shoes in specialized chambers.

However, the strictest regime, constant stress, poor nutrition and tuberculosis even earlier lead to degradation - mental and physical. At best, prisoners simply turn into robots.

IK No. 6

The institution received its current status as a special regime colony, intended to house prisoners sentenced to long terms of service, including life sentences, only in 2000, after a thorough renovation and equipping with the latest surveillance equipment. The perimeter was also strengthened by adding checkpoints. Special attention was paid to the safety of prison staff by installing additional bars at the entrance to the cells.

Scheduled

According to the new requirements, there is strict isolation of prisoners in the correctional facility, which does not allow mutual contacts, except for cases provided for by the regulations. Convicts are kept in separate cells of 2–4 people. Moreover, inmates are selected by the prison management based on the recommendation of a psychologist, which minimizes the likelihood of conflict situations arising. Those criminals whose psychological profile does not allow cohabitation are placed in separate “apartments”.

Camera in “Black Dolphin” / Andrey Babushkin’s blog

Also, a mandatory requirement for keeping convicts in the “Black Dolphin” is continuous video surveillance, which allows timely monitoring of possible violations of the established routine or facts of mutual aggression on the part of prisoners. Other methods of monitoring criminals are also provided, as well as measures to restrict freedom of movement.

Thus, light in cells whose area does not exceed 5 square meters. m, is constantly on - even at night, and when those serving sentences go for a walk, a dog handler with a service dog is always present as part of the escort group. After getting up at 6:00 am, it is forbidden to lie down or sit down on the made beds until lights out. Thanks to the installed bars, even through the windows you can hardly see the sky - only a narrow strip. And the walks that prisoners are taken to every day take place in a special room, and not at all on the street.

Cell in the Black Dolphin prison / , Yuri Snegirev

Of course, there are no televisions in the cells. An exception is made for those who have spent more than 10 years in a colony, unless relatives agree to purchase equipment. Cards, chess and communication devices such as mobile phones are strictly prohibited - in one of the most terrible prisons in Russia, even electricity is provided to the sockets so that prisoners can use electric shavers or boil water if necessary, only for a couple of hours a day. Moreover, they turn on the radio in the morning, afternoon and evening.

Life on the territory of the colony is subject to a strict schedule, repeated day after day. Only those who are sick are taken to the medical unit instead of going for a walk - a small change in the incessant monotonous routine of those serving their sentences.

Way in the bag

Another distinctive feature of the colony are the black bags that are placed on the heads of prisoners when they are transferred from one building to another. This is done to make it difficult for convicts to navigate the territory of the complex. Even the famous sculpture of a black dolphin, which gave the name to the correctional institution and was created by Vladimir Krishtopa, sentenced to life imprisonment, never catches the eye of the prisoners, although the path from the gate to the prison buildings lies past it. Black bags on their heads and hands handcuffed behind their backs remain unchanged attributes for convicts during any movements outside their cells and exercise boxes.

Convict of the Black Dolphin colony / , Yuri Snegirev

However, it is worth noting that the bags are also a measure designed to protect those in custody from possible revenge from the relatives of the victims or the bullet of a hired killer sent by the accomplices of the convicted person who “knows too much.” There are quite a few high-rise buildings around the colony, suitable for organizing a sniper firing point.

No frills

The cuisine offered to prisoners in the “Black Dolphin” does not provide for any specialties, as does local leisure. Liquid stew and bread are delivered directly to the cells. Here prisoners are not taken to the canteen for lunch to avoid causing unrest. Moreover, the kitchen staff transfers the next ration directly through a special opening in the cell door using a shovel with a long handle - approaching when the dispensing window is open is strictly prohibited.

Related articleThe largest prison in Russia

Story

The history of life-long prisons in general and the “Black Dolphin” in particular began under Catherine the Great - after Pugachev’s uprising, the need arose for the exile and imprisonment of robbers related to the rebellion.

By the middle of the 18th century, the prison became a place of exile for especially dangerous robbers and political criminals - prisoners here performed hard hard labor associated with the extraction and primary processing of salt. Few could withstand such conditions, so the prison always had a high mortality rate among prisoners.

At the beginning of the 20th century, “Black Dolphin” was a transit prison and a place for exile for prisoners suffering from tuberculosis.

During the Soviet Union, this place turned into a concentration camp. At the end of the 20th century, the Black Dolphin building housed a hospital for convicted criminals suffering from advanced tuberculosis.

And only at the beginning of the 21st century “Black Dolphin” turned into the institution that it still is - a place of detention for citizens sentenced to life.

In addition to the so-called “death row” prisoners, who are destined to spend the rest of their lives within these walls, the institution houses criminals sentenced to a long period with the right to apply for consideration of release after 25 years of imprisonment.

It is worth noting that not a single person has ever been released from the Black Dolphin.

“Vladimir Central” - what is it: a prison or a museum? Read about it here.

Maniacs from "Black Dolphin"

On the way to the goal of our business trip, we saw an unusual tree, all its branches were tied with multi-colored shreds. Many drivers stop here to draw healing water from the spring and, leaving their patch on this tree, make wishes. We also collected water and tied a ribbon on the tree and wished ourselves good luck, because not the most pleasant encounters awaited us ahead. Those we were about to meet were hated and despised even in the colony. These are not those who are engaged in telephone scams, these are rapists, pedophiles, four life prisoners. These are the ones we will talk about.

This time we wanted to make a generalized portrait, to show what those who are called maniacs really are. Everyone we selected while studying criminal cases will be brought to us for conversation.

Sinkin Sergey Borisovich , born in 1957 Art. 15-117, 117, 102, 40. Under the pretext of going for a ride, he took 3 young girls out of town, raped them one by one, and killed one of them in front of the others.

Mukhankin Vladimir Anatolyevich , born in 1960 Art. 102, 15-102, 148, 103, 206. In the period from January to May 1995, over the course of four months, he committed 22 crimes, thefts, assaults on citizens, killed 8 people, including 3 young children with particular cruelty.

Rylkov Oleg Viktorovich , born in 1966 Art. 135, 102. Raped 37 young girls, killing 4 of them in a brutal manner.

Shipilov Sergey Alexandrovich , born in 1959 Art. 102, 131, 222, 223, 132, 105, 158. Committed violence and murder of 12 women with particular cruelty.

It is no coincidence that such criminals are accompanied by several people with dogs when moving from cell to cell.

Each of these prisoners is especially dangerous, each prone to escape. It is unbearable to listen to what they say, it is impossible to imagine that these four maniacs sophisticatedly raped 52 people, 40 of whom were minors, and killed 25 of whom 7 were children under 9 years old.

Shipilov: “I’ve been in this institution for 9 years, the hardest years are the very first, about a year and a half. Came in from general security, without escort. Previously he worked as a master of industrial training at a lyceum. How did my first crime happen? It’s just that a man wanted to make money from me, that’s all... It’s 96, there’s no money anywhere. I just met a girl, we went, relaxed, and I took her home. I compensated her for her daily earnings, she worked at the bazaar, she saw the money from me and decided to earn more money, wrote a statement against me about the fact of rape and gave it to the police. So they accepted me and that’s it, but the application is no longer taken back. There was no rape, everything was fine there, we had a good rest the whole day in nature. This is the result, I’m sitting here now. He was placed under general regime because of this crime, for alleged rape. She said exactly that - “let him talk - I’ll take the application back,” she was told that the application would not be taken back now, there was no going back. As a result, I got 8 years.”

What Shipilov told us is most likely a legend invented by himself to justify himself. Because the sentence handed down to him on January 16, 1997 will again refer to acts of a sexual nature with the use of violence. Only now rape will be accompanied by murder. This sentence will be passed on him in Arkhangelsk. Shipilov will commit all crimes on the territory of the region, while already in a colony settlement. He looked out and tracked down his victims with manic passion. And precisely those who easily agreed to enter into sexual relations with him. He thought about this in summer and winter, day and night... Young girls were the main secret passion of the maniac Shipilov.

- But you were in a colony, how did you manage to commit crimes while free?

Shipilov : “I worked in a car without an escort, I had free access to the city. I met her in the city, hooked me up in the same way, had a rest in the same way, and then she, while intoxicated, began to threaten that she would write a statement of rape. She saw the badge stating that I was a prisoner and said that she would go to the institution. She herself has been convicted twice. Well, after that I began to purposefully kill those who were going with me to drink wine in the forest, and stayed there.”

But not every woman will get into a sewage truck, not every woman will go with a driver wearing a prison badge. Therefore, Shipilov looked for suitable candidates.

— Did you commit these crimes out of revenge against women?

“Well, let’s say not everyone is a woman. It happens that you sit a woman down and talk, if the woman is normal, why kill her? I drove her to the place, dropped her off, and helped if necessary. And if the one who goes with me to the forest to drink or do something else there, she stayed there. I was no longer afraid, I did it purely purposefully, there was already such an attitude: If I’m a prostitute, then I’ll go to the forest.”

Mikhail Vinogradov (psychiatrist - criminologist) : “A maniac in the criminal sense, in the criminal sense, is a person obsessed with the desire to kill and, as a rule, with a sexual component, with sexual overtones. And even if a maniac does not perform sexual acts with a corpse, he mocks the body in one way or another, which gives him sexual satisfaction.”

It's hard to hear these confessions of horrific atrocities. A person of sound mind, with a normal psyche, cannot do anything like this, but the fact of the matter is that this is not always true. In the materials of each such criminal case, there is an act on the conduct of a forensic psychiatric examination, and each maniac in the “Black Dolphin” was declared sane by the examination.

Even someone like Mukhankin, who took the lives of eight people during his short period of freedom, was not recognized by doctors as mentally ill. Yes, Mukhankin himself claims that he is not a maniac, but a completely sane person.

Mukhankin : “There are such abominations here that are much worse than crimes, they simply did not come into your field of vision. And here they just sit and tell me “maniacal”, in addition to the fact that I endure, that I’m already uncomfortable and not good and hurt inside, and also when the convicts tell me this, who have committed 19 and 20 terrible crimes as if Chikatilo himself was a chicken compared to me. They concluded: since he has eight corpses in two months, it means that I have surpassed Chikatilo.”

Every pedophile undergoes a forensic medical examination; it is difficult to believe that a healthy person is capable of committing something like this. But even such a fanatic as Rylkov was declared sane, but behind him was an almost endless chain of crimes, one more terrible than the other.

- When did you start killing? What's happened?

Rylkov : “This was already in 96, after that I went on the run, for a year I was wanted, after the first murder. I lured the girl into the forest, to the outskirts of the city, raped her there and killed her. The motive that played here was that the girl knew me, they lived in the yard with our friends, my daughter played with her in this yard, so she knew me. I knew in advance that I would kill her.”

We often hear that some girl jumped out of a window, another hanged herself. It is well known that those who have been raped become suicidal. And let it not seem strange to anyone that Sinkin, convicted of one murder, ended up in the “Black Dolphin”; he not only raped a six-year-old girl, but also killed her in front of her friends in order to intimidate them. After that, he raped other girls.

Sinkin : “When I was put in prison, I was naturally put with those who have the same articles. They also planned to rape me there. People who are imprisoned for the same reason that I am imprisoned are not loved and hated in the zone, so to speak. Because the one who kills me will only be deprived of the bathhouse, and they understand this, that nothing will happen to them for me.”

Nowadays, there are more and more people who, although not mentally ill, are guided not by reason, but by instincts. Apparently something happened in our lives that allowed these instincts to get free.

Shipilov : “It’s now, when so much time has passed, I’ve already realized everything, but then no, it’s a drug. A person who has crossed this line will not stop, it is useless. Sometimes you control yourself, but sooner or later you still break down. In medicine it is called mania, in criminal law it is called a serial crime. But maniacs don’t sit here, those convicted of a crime sit here. Maniacs are in a madhouse. If he’s a maniac, he’s a sick person, and if he’s sitting here, it means he’s recognized as a healthy person.”

There are many of them in the Black Dolphin, those convicted of violent murder, those who are despised even by other prisoners. Their names have long become synonymous with evil, showered with a curse on millions of people; maniac, serial killer from Rostov-on-Don Chikatilo, by some terrible irony of fate, a school teacher; a veterinarian from the Moscow region, a child hunter, who not only killed, but also tortured children before death - Golovkin. They will both be shot, but this will not stop the emergence of new maniacs.

Chikatilo

Golovkin

Mikhail Vinogradov (psychiatrist and criminologist) : “If we talk about numbers, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the prosecutor’s office, regarding pedophiles, announced a 25-fold increase in crimes. There has been a 25-fold increase in violent crimes, sexually violent crimes against children.”

Not so long ago in Russia, following the example of the United States, Internet sites began to appear about pedophiles who had already been detained or were wanted. This is a warning about danger, but unfortunately, it is far from complete, because those who pose a real threat to our children are much greater.

— For yourself, can you answer sincerely, if you were free, you could stop, you could not do what you did before?

Rylkov : “Yes, of course I could, but I can’t give myself a crystal clear guarantee...”

HE CANNOT GIVE GUARANTEE...

Another Bitsa maniac is Alexander Pechushkin, who killed 61 people with a hammer. This is what he said at the trial after the verdict: “My hand remembers the hammer well, I will return to Bitsa Park.”

In our memory they will all remain monsters.

Black dolphin - convicts

The “Black Dolphin” contains the cannibal Nikolaev, who killed and consumed 2 people. Psychologists never found his neighbors. He whiles away the years alone. The terrorist Akhmed Ismailov is responsible for the most human souls. He blew up the Government House in Grozny, under the ruins of which 83 people died. Compared to him, terrorist Oleg Kostarev, who also received a life sentence, looks like a child. In August 2006, he planted an explosive device in the crowded Moscow Cherkizon. Now the Chechen separatist and the Russian nationalist are doomed to live for the rest of their lives, albeit under constant surveillance, but under the same roof.

Oleg Kostarev blew up the Cherkizovsky market

Oleg Rylkov has only 4 victims, but they are all underage girls. The maniac, in addition to these murders, committed 37 rapes. The Chechen militant Salaudin Timirbulatov, nicknamed “Tractor Driver,” fits into the category of maniacs. During the Chechen war, an ordinary collective farmer took up arms, but he gained sad fame as the executioner of captured Russian soldiers. He chopped off their heads, filmed the execution and willingly posed for the cameraman.

Oleg Rylkov

The “thief suit” has long been acquainted with the delights of the “Black Dolphin”. Life imprisonment is rarely imposed on real “thieves in law”, but they were usually specially sent to the harsh conditions of Sol-Iletsk for re-education. The first to explore a new point on the map of the USSR colonies were Shurik Marimukha Ustinovsky (Alyatin) and Karzuby (Berdyshev), who ended up in “The Black Dolphin” in 1983. The “pioneers” are long dead. One is from liver cirrhosis, the other is from overdose.

Thief in law Alexander Alyatin - Shurik Marimukha Ustinovsky

The only former prisoner of the “Black Dolphin”-thief in law who is still at large is Miriko Kutaissky (Gorgidze). Soon the eminent Georgian thief, claiming the All-Russian championship, Taro (Oniani), will be added to his company. He was briefly brought to Sol-Iletsk twice in 2014 and 2022. The rival of the famous thief Sasha Sever (Severov) and his former fellow countryman Kommunyai (Kommunyaev) spent only 3 months in a “covered” prison. He saw a dolphin in the prison yard in 2016.

Thief in law Tariel Oniani - Tarot

Of the modern thieves in law, Aiko Astrakhansky (Sarkisyan) and Akhmed Shalinsky (Dombayev) stayed the longest in the Black Dolphin. Now they are “serving out” their sentence in another place. There is no news that the Black Dolphin broke them. Despite the harsh conditions of detention, it does not have the reputation of a “breaking factory”.

Regime, contingent, conditions

The Black Dolphin colony, where the most terrible maniacs and murderers live, is located in the small provincial town of Sol-Iletsk, lost in the sleepy steppes near the border with Kazakhstan.

IK-6 received its unofficial name thanks to a small figurine of a dolphin, painted black, located at the entrance to the administrative building of the colony. This sculpture was made in 1996 by one of the prisoners of the colony, Vladimir Krishtopa, who was serving a 25-year sentence in Sol-Iletsk for murder and rape. Since then, this graceful dolphin has been an unofficial symbol of one of the darkest places in the world.

The main purpose of the “Black Dolphin” zone is the detention of persons sentenced to life imprisonment, which leaves a special imprint on the regime of the colony

So, unlike most Russian colonies, in the Black Dolphin there is no prison yard for exercise. For these purposes, special boxes are used.

There is no dining room here either. Prisoners eat food directly in their cells, which are stone bags measuring 3-4 square meters, while the cell has additional bars that separate the prisoner’s living space from the outer door and from the window. The window opening is designed in such a way that the convict cannot see anything through it except a piece of the sky.

The food is extremely monotonous; prisoners mainly eat soup and bread. Life-sentenced prisoners are prohibited from smoking.

The Black Dolphin contingent is under constant video surveillance. The lights in their cells are never turned off, even at night. There are sockets in the room, however, electricity is supplied to them only for a short time twice a day.

Throughout the day, convicts must remain on their feet and are not allowed to sit down on their beds until lights out. Violation is punishable by severe disciplinary measures, including placement in a punishment cell.

All furniture in the cell is metal and welded to the floor and walls. The shower in which prisoners wash is equipped in a special metal cage.

A control walk through the cells is carried out every 15 minutes. During any communication with colony staff, prisoners must take a special position, resting their heads against the wall, with their arms and legs apart. Each time, the prisoner must briefly report to the warden his full name, the start date of the term and the articles under which he is serving the sentence.

Any movement of prisoners around the territory of the colony is carried out with a bag over their heads or blindfolded. This is done in order to disorient the convict in space, so that he does not remember the location of the prison corridors. All movements within the territory of the penal colony are carried out in a bent position and in handcuffs.

After lunch, the “lifers” clean their cells, then they are given time to listen to the prison radio. Dinner begins at 6 p.m., followed by evening inspection. At 22:00 the “Black Dolphin” announces curfew. The night sleep of murderers and maniacs is also strictly regulated: you can only sleep with your head towards the door, and it is forbidden to completely cover yourself with a blanket.

The daily routine in prison is scheduled minute by minute and does not change for years. Every day they live for life-sentenced prisoners is no different from the previous one, as a result of which their whole life turns into hopeless languor in a cramped stone bag.

Apart from reading books, the only distraction from the dull and gray everyday life for the inhabitants of the “Black Dolphin” can be work. Most often, the local contingent is attracted to sewing shoes. However, the right to work can be earned no earlier than after 10 years of serving and not every prisoner can count on this.

The total capacity limit for the colony is 1,031 places, of which approximately 85% are reserved for keeping “lifers.” In addition, the colony has a high-security section for 100 places and a section of the colony-settlement for 100 places, where those convicted of less severe crimes serve their sentences.

“Black Dolphin” is one of the most protected institutions in the country. In the entire history of this prison, not a single escape has been recorded here. In order to exclude any attempts to escape from the colony, unprecedented security measures are being taken here, since most of the local inhabitants, by and large, have nothing to lose.