Sailor's silence
The history of this establishment dates back to 1775. It was built as a straithouse for swindlers and thieves. After some time, several more buildings were erected to house prisoners convicted of murder and other crimes. At the same time, the strait house was named the Moscow Correctional Prison.
A correctional facility was created on the basis of an existing prison in 1918, when there were many homeless minors on the streets committing assaults and thefts. The establishment also changed its name. Now it was the Reformatory. And after some time, patients with tuberculosis were kept in separate buildings.
Matrosskaya Tishina for the detention of adult convicts was founded in 1946, almost immediately after the end of the war. At first, oligarchs were detained there for fraud, the party elite for bribes and similar crimes. Later, dangerous criminals began to be kept in prison. Personalities such as A. Solonik, a well-known killer in criminal circles, and V. Ivankov, known to the world as Yaponchik, served their punishment for what they did in Matrosskaya Tishina.
Türkiye, Diyarbakir
Since 1980, the country's most dangerous criminals have been housed here, making the facility one of the worst in the world. Harassment by sadistic guards, violence, physical and mental torture are commonplace in Diyarbakir. In overcrowded blocks there is unsanitary conditions, dirt, and dampness, which leads to outbreaks of dangerous diseases and death. The main motto of the colony is sadistic cruelty. It is not surprising that prisoners often cannot withstand this hell: they go on hunger strikes, commit suicide and public self-immolation.
Yelets prison
The institution was built in 1592 and from its very foundation served as a prison. But there were no cameras in the building. Convicts were placed in special pits, which were covered with boards on top. The pits were cold and damp, as a result of which prisoners suffered from pneumonia, pneumonia and other diseases, and often died from complications.
The Yelets prison with cells appeared around 1763 and was built of wood. Stone buildings were erected only in the 19th century. The correctional facility was repeatedly mentioned in Bunin’s books, which is not surprising. Well-known politicians, for example, Chigirinsky, Druzhinin and others, were kept in prison before exile.
The Yeletsk prison is on the list of the most terrible, since just the sight of the cells and corridors makes the blood run cold.
Even for minor offenses, prisoners are placed in solitary confinement. It is a small room without windows or heating. Instead of a bunk, a board is attached to the wall, on which you can only sleep at night. The guilty prisoner is left without food and water for some time. You cannot lie on a concrete floor.
Yeletsk prison is known for its harsh treatment of prisoners. This is not surprising, since most of those held there are convicted of rape and capital murder. There are also known cases in history of prisoners committing suicide as a result of constant torture and abuse by guards.
Venezuela, La Sabaneta
Hugo Chavez once aptly called La Sabaneta “the gateway to the fifth circle of hell.” Inhuman cruelty, complete unsanitary conditions and “overpopulation” - these are the main features of the colony. Instead of the required 15,000 people, there are almost 25,000 prisoners here who are not allowed out for walks. In addition, prisoners do not have the opportunity to wash themselves, which leads to frequent epidemics of cholera and other infectious diseases. The situation is aggravated by the presence of wealthier lawbreakers who have the opportunity to live in slightly more comfortable conditions - this leads to constant hostility and bloodshed. So, in 1994, during the next conflict, more than 100 people died.
Butyrka prison
The correctional facility is known not only in Russia. It is the largest prison. The establishment dates back to the reign of Catherine II. Initially, the institution was a kind of transit point where convicts waited to be sent to Siberia. From 1937 to 1938, more than 20,000 people were held there. Many of them were shot by court verdict.
Butyrka Prison has earned its fame not only because of its rich history and the number of convicts who served their sentences there. The fame of the institution is also associated with the prisoners themselves. E. Pugachev, A. Solzhenitsyn, S. Korolev served their sentences there. Butyrka prison is often mentioned both in literary works and songs.
The correctional facility was included in the list of the most terrible prisons due to its conditions of detention. The cells are practically not ventilated. There is always stuffiness and an unpleasant smell there. The cells themselves are small, and the number of prisoners in them is such that people sleep in 2-4 shifts.
Cells in new pre-trial detention centers
The new pre-trial detention centers do not have large common rooms - prisoners are placed in cells of a maximum of 9 people. In the mentioned new “Kresty-2” on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, the conditions are completely European. Each prisoner here has 7 m2 of living space (in old Russian pre-trial detention centers the standard is 4 m2), the cells are only single, double (16 m2) and four-bed (30 m2). The beds are single-tier, with a nightstand next to each one.
Large barred windows provide ample sunlight. The problem of stuffiness, inherited from previous “Crosses,” remains, but the administration of the pre-trial detention center is working on the issue of installing air conditioners. Many "rooms" have radios and televisions. But the main advantage of the cells of the new pre-trial detention center is a separate, lockable bathroom with an area of 2 m2.
Of course, during the construction of Russia’s newest pre-trial detention center, not only the conditions of detention of prisoners were optimized, but also security measures. You will have to forget about the former romance of tapping on batteries and communicating with the outside world through the windows in the new pre-trial detention centers. It is impossible to stick a hand with a note through the elongated narrow windows of Krestov-2, mobile communications are effectively jammed, and all batteries are in soundproof casings.
Vologda nickel
One of the most terrible prisons in Russia. Previously, after construction, the building was known as a monastery. During the revolution, “enemies of the revolution” were kept there. But today it is a special regime correctional facility where pedophiles and serial maniacs serve life sentences. The Vologda Pyatak is the last place of residence of convicts. There is no way out of this prison.
The cells are searched daily. After waking up and making the bed, prisoners are prohibited from even sitting on it for the entire day.
Many prisoners say that this place is cursed. Periodically, the souls of the people they killed and angels appear to them. Experts attribute this to the fact that this place was once the house of the Lord.
The zone where people recognize by their eyes
Security at Snezhinka is at the proper level. Photo: Website www.mzk1.ru
“Snezhinka” is distinguished from other special regime zones by the fact that there are few service dogs on its territory - Rottweilers, shepherd dogs and golden retrievers trained for drugs. There is simply no point in keeping a lot of them in Elban: along the perimeter of IK-6 there are ultra-sensitive motion sensors and numerous video surveillance cameras - there are more than a thousand of them in Snezhinka. Moreover, the camera lenses capture not only the territory of the zone, but also the village in which it is located. Data from surveillance devices is fed to monitors that are constantly monitored by prison guards.
There is an additional cage inside each Snezhinka cell, and guards in IK-6 are on duty on all floors without exception. It is virtually impossible to escape from there: to leave the territory of the zone, an electronic pass is not enough - the entrances and exits to the colonies are equipped with special equipment that scans the retinas of the jailers’ eyes. In addition, “Snowflake” is the most illuminated object in Elban, and the bright light makes every nook and cranny visible.
By the way, by prison standards, service in Snezhinka is quite prestigious: the salaries are high, and a year of work is counted as two. In addition, employees of IK-6 have the right to further training at the Kuzbass Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) in Novokuznetsk. People often come to work for the zone in Elban from other settlements of the Far East, for which there is a dormitory on the territory of Snezhinka.
Due to the very high level of security in IK-6, prisoners are driven around the colony without handcuffs. However, such humane conditions are not appreciated by all “wads” - that’s what people sentenced to life are called in prison jargon. Some are dissatisfied with the remoteness of the colony: this makes it difficult for relatives to come for visits, and letters sometimes take a month or a month and a half to reach the addressee. By the way, all mail must be censored by jailers, because the likelihood that the letters will contain something forbidden is very high. Only letters from lawyers are not opened in IK-6.
And some prisoners in Snezhinka are not satisfied with the strict rule of this zone: all convicts are required to work, regardless of their desire. The colony has workplaces where prisoners do sewing and woodworking.
Lefortovo prison
Built at the same time as Butyrskaya. For several years it served as a place for serving sentences for people who had committed minor sins and were sentenced to short terms.
Then the NKVD used Lefortovo as an interrogation room, where torture was carried out. From 1954 to 1991, the building served as a pre-trial detention center for the KGB.
Lefortovo is the only prison where there is no museum, and journalists are not allowed entry. The institution still serves as a temporary detention center where defendants await trial.
Lefortovo prison today is practically the only place where there is no internal hierarchy. This became possible when the arrested began to be placed in separate cells. Throughout their imprisonment they have no contact with each other.
"Black Dolphin"
This colony with a beautiful name scares even hardened criminals. Serial killers, cannibals, and pedophiles serve their sentences there. The size of the chamber does not exceed 4.5 square meters. There are two prisoners in it (for criminals with unstable personality types, there are solitary confinement cells). Convicts live in constant light. Even at night the lights are not turned off. At the same time, video surveillance is carried out in each cell, so every minute of the prisoners’ lives passes under the close control of the administration.
Movement around the territory of this terrible prison occurs only under escort with the participation of dogs. Prisoners are blindfolded, their hands are handcuffed behind their backs, and they are forced to move in a bent position with their arms pulled back.
Such measures are designed to prevent escape. There was not a single attempt to escape from the Black Dolphin.
White Swan
Not a single prisoner left this prison alive. The institution houses life-sentenced prisoners. "White Swan" is not the official name of the prison. It is believed that the institution earned it as a result of the fact that convicts are led along the corridor in a certain position. The prisoner should lean forward at a right angle and place his arms back.
The prison is known for its strict regime. Prisoners can even receive letters only once every 10 years.
North Korea, Camp 22 (Hereyong)
Hereyong is completely isolated from the outside world. Innocent people often end up in this terrible camp for political prisoners: according to Korean law, all members of a dissident’s family up to the third generation, including women and children, must serve their sentences. In total, more than 50,000 people languish in dungeons, daily subjected to forced labor, terrible torture and monstrous medical experiments. True, it is possible that many of the data about the horrors of the Korean camps are still exaggerated for propaganda purposes. At least we know for sure that North Korea made a Godzilla movie!
Unfortunately (or fortunately) there are very few photographs from the North Korean camps; we can only be content with satellite images of the barracks.
Black golden eagle
The prison is located in the Urals. Until 2022, prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment or a long term served their sentences there.
“Black Golden Eagle” was included in the list of the most terrible ones, since as a result of the harsh conditions, many convicts went crazy after 10-12 years of imprisonment.
But in 2022 the prison ceased to exist. It was closed due to unprofitability and poor sanitary conditions. But the future of the building itself has not yet been decided. On the one hand, people living in the surrounding area lost their jobs. BUT on the other hand, there are fewer such creepy places in Russia.
Rumor has it that the prison will be turned into a tourist attraction, which will attract tourists who love extreme recreation.
France, La Santé
Very terrible conditions await those caught in Santa. First of all, the carriers of dangerous diseases are rats, parasitic insects, and a complete lack of sanitary and hygienic conditions. If we add to this the cruelty and torture of the authorities, arbitrariness and violence on the part of the guards, the picture will turn out to be completely gloomy. It is not for nothing that Sante leads in the number of suicides committed within its walls: for example, in 2002, more than 120 prisoners committed suicide. By the way, the name of this creepy place looks like a cruel joke: translated from French it means “health.”
Vladimir Central
“Vladimir Central, north wind...” words from the famous song by M. Krug. The institution was included in the list of the most terrible prisons due to the conditions of detention of prisoners. In its entire history there has not been a single escape.
The prison houses criminals convicted of various crimes. For especially dangerous people sentenced to life, they are kept in a special block. They move along the corridors only under reinforced escort. All doors open in front of them only in the presence of the assistant warden and a dog handler with a dog.
"Crosses"
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Perhaps the most famous prison in the Northern capital, built in 1884-1892. If you look at the “Crosses” from the opposite bank of the Neva, it is difficult to recognize what is in front of your eyes - a complex of elegant red brick buildings, a church with three domes, a low fence and a high chimney going into the sky - a place from the series “abandon hope, all who enter here.” " Nevertheless, this very bright place at first glance is one of the most tragic in St. Petersburg. It was here that endless queues led, in which the great Anna Akhmatova waited for a second meeting with her son; in different years, the poet Zabolotsky and the actor Georgy Zhzhenov, the future Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky and many others looked from behind the bars of the “Cross”; Daniil Kharms died here - and for Throughout the long history of this place, there have been practically no escapes from here.
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Infrastructure: “Crosses” got its name because of the classic layout of prison buildings for those times. Initially, the prison had 960 cells, designed for 1,150 people.
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Interesting fact: there is an opinion that, for all its coldness and gloom, “Kresty” is one of the most comfortable prisons in Russia - and the greater the authority - I mean purely prison authority - of the prisoner, the more comfortable the conditions of his life in “ Crosses." For example, one of the Krestov prisoners was allowed to keep his favorite iguana in his cell, and the most respected authorities even managed to throw banquets here from time to time.
polar owl
The prison is located in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The institution opened its doors to prisoners in 1961. The first convicts who served their sentences there laid the Trans-Siberian Railway. The working conditions were terrible. People worked in any weather, and were severely punished for not fulfilling plans.
Since 2004, life-sentenced prisoners have been serving their sentences in Polar Owl. These are murderers, pedophiles and maniacs. Not much is known about what happens behind the walls of the building. The prison is closed to outsiders, including journalists.
This place gained fame due to the fact that Yuri Sandrykin is kept there. He is an officer of the Federal Penitentiary Service who extracted confessions in such high-profile cases as the murder of Chechen President Kadyrov and journalist A. Politkovskaya. They say that those who refuse to confess and take the blame are subjected to not only physical, but also moral and sexual violence.
"A comfortable place for a person to live"
Prison "Snowflake". Photo: Website www.mzk1.ru
The name of the village of Elban in the Khabarovsk Territory in the language of the Ulchi, a small people living in the Lower Amur basin, means “a convenient place for a person to live.” Ironically, it is there that the first and only zone for life prisoners in the Far East is located - correctional colony No. 6 (IK-6). Elban was founded in the mid-30s of the 20th century, during the construction of the Volochaevka - Komsomolsk-on-Amur railway line. Construction work, as often happened at that time, was carried out by convicts from one of the Gulag units.
However, the first zone in Elban - maximum security correctional colony No. 17 (IK-17) - appeared only in 1972. In the early 90s, they decided to convert IK-17 into a pre-trial detention center for 800 people and build a new complex of buildings for this purpose. The isolator design, which meets European standards and all safety requirements, was developed in Sweden in 1992, construction began four years later. Residents of Elban took the news of the opening of a pre-trial detention center in their village calmly: the new detention center promised additional jobs.
True, the construction of the insulator lasted almost 16 years - due to lack of funding, the work was repeatedly frozen. The total amount spent on the pre-trial detention center, according to some sources, was close to 900 million rubles, according to others, it exceeded a billion. An integrated security system was created in the detention center, similar to that at the capital's Domodedovo Airport. In addition, a fire reservoir, its own boiler room and three diesel engines for autonomous power supply in case of power outages were created on the territory of the pre-trial detention center.
Metropolitan (Manhattan) Correctional Center, New York
This Manhattan prison has housed some very famous people over the years, including John Gotti, Bernie Madoff and El Chapo.
Here in 2022, under mysterious circumstances, the sexual maniac, billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, was found dead in his cell.
Prisoners are kept isolated in a 12-story building and can only leave their cell for training in a locked cage. The 9th South Wing houses an isolation ward which is said to have plumbing leaks and rats and cockroaches running around.
The Manhattan prison is home to notorious criminals such as drug lord El Chapo.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the prison is often referred to as the "Guantanamo Bay of New York," although one former inmate who served time at both facilities claims that "Guy.
David Patton, one of El Chapo's lawyers, once said this is corrective.
photo: REUTERS
Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his cell in 2022 in this prison
Pskov Prison Castle
Modern name: FKU SIZO-1 Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Pskov Region - SIZO-1 Pskov
Capacity: 377 seats
From the history:
Built in 1805. From the very beginning, the rules of detention here were established. It was forbidden to have writing materials. Letters were not sent or received under any circumstances. There was no library either. It was not allowed to read one's own books without first viewing them by the priest and the prison warden, and one was not allowed to play musical instruments. In addition, one could forget about smoking, gambling, checkers, cards, swearing, loud laughter, and drinking alcohol were prohibited. Dating was very limited. Transmissions were not accepted.
Interesting things:
Nowadays there is a pre-trial detention center, on the territory of which the Church of St. Anastasia the Pattern Maker was built in 2000. Services in the church are held almost every week, and in April 2015 a church marriage was registered here.
