UFSIN is the Federal Penitentiary Service . This body belongs to the executive branch and is controlled by the Ministry of Justice. The institutions of this system that directly carry out punishment include correctional and educational colonies and pre-trial detention centers.
Work in the Federal Penitentiary Service is a public service . In our country, service to the state is considered honorable and prestigious. In order to get a job in an institution of the penal system, you must go through a serious selection process. To do this, you need to have no criminal record, perform many psychological tests, and pass physical standards. To be able to find employment in a colony or pre-trial detention center, men must serve in the army. Is it worth going through such a difficult path and getting a job at the Federal Penitentiary Service? Let's look at the pros and cons of the service.
Who is a prison guard?
It would seem that, given such complexity, work as a supervisor should not attract anyone. However, a competition is held for each vacant position, since there are not so few applicants.
There are 2 positions of guards in prison - corps and exit . Outside guards are required to perform their duties in all weather conditions, such as standing on a guard tower and monitoring the movement of prisoners in the courtyard. Some guards conduct surveillance using security cameras and electronic security equipment. It is worth noting that a trained employee of the penal system, who worked with people every day and dealt with practical situations, is highly valued.
- control over prisoners;
- preventing legal violations among them;
- riot prevention;
- recording of committed violations.
How to get to the FSIN
A strong psyche is important in order to remain calm in any situation. Provocations from prisoners are not uncommon, and in this case you need to react calmly. For the first three shifts, you are an intern. It’s just called differently – uncertified. You are not put on a shift alone, but with a mentor who tells and shows everything in detail. How to get on a short date in a colony settlement? On the first day of work, the head of the OK issues a temporary pass to a closed area and takes them to meet the boss and deputy. This is a mandatory procedure for starting work. Subsequently, over many years of work, you will see these people only briefly, provided that you do not pull out some stunning trick and do not end up “on the carpet”. Minor offenses are dealt with by the shift supervisor, and more serious offenses are dealt with by the shift supervisor.
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- Service: Security
- Place of duty: pre-trial detention center
- Gender: Man
You can get a job without special education. You can find out about the availability of vacancies in the personnel department of the institution where you want to go to serve. You can study part-time.
The work of a prison guard: bonuses, prospects and fears
In addition, there are our own free departmental hospitals, children’s health camps, sanatoriums, a guaranteed place in a kindergarten or school at the place of residence on preferential terms. A prison guard's vacation is also longer than the rest - at least 30 days, and as he gains experience it increases to 45.
Personnel for correctional institutions are trained by specialized educational institutions - universities in Ryazan, Vologda, Vladimir, Samara, Novokuznetsk, Pskov, Perm and Voronezh. Each of them has their own specialization: graduates of the Voronezh Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia become engineers, and in Ryazan and Vladimir they graduate from operational units; they often work with special forces in colonies.
Salary data is open; the officer’s salary is about 36 thousand rubles.
But in fact, the salary can be much higher due to an increase in rank, for length of service, special working conditions, for example, in the north, for working with information constituting state secrets, as well as for special achievements in service and impeccable work. Whether the standards are met depends on the employee of the penitentiary system. But I will say this: if you act according to the law, then the special contingent will respect you and fulfill your requirements. Of course, there are different employees and they all work differently. After all, the penal system has about a thousand institutions throughout Russia.
Someone might be rude. But in most cases they address you as “you”, respectfully. The standards for relations between prison staff and prisoners are established by order of the Federal Penitentiary Service and the internal regulations of the correctional institution or pre-trial detention center itself. How can a girl get a job in a correctional colony? This is a code of ethics and professional behavior that must be followed, even if someone is trying to deliberately piss off.
At 23 she went to work in prison: a girl dog handler openly talks about serving in the Federal Penitentiary Service
On February 23, the editors of the news agency UssurMedia publish an interview with a girl who chose a profession that is not entirely feminine. Fragile, blue-eyed Anastasia came 5 years ago to the penal system, to a women's colony. My mother supported her daughter’s choice, but some friends seriously dissuaded me: “There’s a special contingent there.” But Anastasia did not even think about changing her decision. She came to the service together with her four-legged partner Boyar and realized that being a dog handler in prison is not scary.
Anastasia Solovyova spoke about stereotypes, the first caches and her faithful partner Boyar. Photo: IA UssurMedia
Anastasia Solovyova’s service in the Primorye penitentiary system began in 2022. Then the young girl decided to try herself as a dog handler and got a job at IK-10, a women’s colony in the village of Gornoye.
“It was there that I began to learn our craft. From IK-10 I went to competitions for the first time, I didn’t take any places, at that time I was just getting used to it. And soon she was able to transfer to the Ussuriysk correctional colony to be closer to home. The funny thing is that I really wasn't scared. I took this step consciously, despite my young age. I was more attracted to the fact that I would be doing what I loved, working with dogs. True, it was not possible without persuasion to abandon this idea. There were people in my circle who, not knowing the specifics of our work, misjudged it.
Oddly enough, only her acquaintances tried to dissuade Anastasia, but her own mother supported her.
“She believed in me because she knew I couldn’t live without dogs.
And indeed, a love for animals has been ripening in Anastasia since childhood. She brought the kittens and puppies she found home, and her mother tried to explain to her daughter that you can’t shelter everyone.
“As long as I can remember, I always looked at dog handlers, patrols, and the police and dreamed of being like them. The idea of what I really wanted came when I bought myself a German Shepherd. I saved up, chose and started raising her. The breed is serious, and we lived in an apartment building. This is society, these are children, these are elderly people, it was important that Boyar, as I called him, did not evoke negative emotions. So I started working with him so that he could adapt and make friends. And so it happened, in the end both children and adults fell in love with him.
Anastasia came to work at the colony with her four-legged partner. At that time, the boyar already owned the team base; he only underwent special training at the institution.
— Now Boyar is 6 years old. This is a wonderful age, so he is no longer so active, more conscious. He lives, of course, at home with me, I love Boyar too much to leave him in the nursery. The most important thing in cynology is the dog’s obedience; without it nothing will work. And they achieve it from childhood during the game, so that teams are not something strange for the pet.
In his service, Boyar keeps criminals in his “reliable fangs”; in December 2022, Anastasia, together with her four-legged partner, managed to prevent the transfer of prohibited substances to the territory of a secure institution. They tried to throw an arrow with a bundle of drugs into the colony.
— In fact, in my short work experience, such finds don’t happen often, but they do exist. And at such moments I am very proud of Boyar.
Anastasia works on guard. The girl performs the duties of an assistant chief of guard for the canine service, which primarily includes guarding the facility and preventing escape. Despite the fact that Anastasia has a slightly different profile, the girl notes that even if she had to go into the prisoners’ cell, she would not be afraid. And all thanks to the confidence in your partner.
Anastasia Solovyova spoke about stereotypes, the first caches and her faithful partner Boyar. Photo: provided by Anastasia
— When I worked in a women’s colony, we had a duty to patrol at night. We also had to go into the punishment cell, where the worst offenders are. Inside, the behavior of the convicts was different, but I was so confident in my dog that it wasn’t scary.
Work is work, but dates and beauty are on schedule, Anastasia believes. But at work she does not welcome help.
“No one and nothing will stop a girl from remaining a girl.” In the penal service we work equally with men, and sometimes they really help us. But I personally do not welcome any kind of leniency towards myself. I want to be treated as an equal.
In addition to work, Anastasia managed to achieve high results as a dog handler-athlete. The girl already has the third category in winter all-around.
— Boyar is not my only four-legged friend. Two years ago, Yorana, also a German Shepherd, joined us. I bought it when I realized that serving in the GUFSIN is one thing, but studying and training in sports is a little different. In order not to break the stereotypes of Boyar, who already has one method, I decided to start Yorana. Now we constantly participate in competitions with them, and every year we take part in the well-known “Race of Heroes”. With Boyar and Yorana, I try to participate equally everywhere so that there is no jealousy. Like a mother with children, for example, if one is punished, both are punished.
When Anastasia first came to work in the colony, she did not have any professional canine training.
— I was self-taught. Before working at the penitentiary system, Boyar and I attended seminars and competitions, where I learned the basics of cynology. We only went to advanced training from the colony in 2022. We worked to search for explosives, weapons and ammunition. In 2022, I also plan to enroll at the Perm Institute for the correspondence course to become a zootechnologist.
“I don’t really work, I have fun.” There is an expression “going to work is like going to a holiday”, it’s about me. In our profession, the main thing is not to be afraid, you need to try. If you love dogs, everything can work out.
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Work of girls in pre-trial detention centers
Anna, tell me who else can I get a job besides a young inspector, and a schedule of 5 through 2 is possible
and I’m there working freely with two towers. one of which is legal and is not certified!
I really like working in the pre-trial detention center and the salary is excellent and they immediately gave me a lieutenant. You can work anywhere and in anything, the devil is not as terrible as he is painted. it all depends on how you behave, and people speak swear words on the street, but that doesn’t mean that you need to speak it either. Yes, they fuck all of them there! That's where they run! Only women work there!
Regarding working as a security guard
If you visit any forum dedicated to thieves, you will see that the attitude towards this or that specialization in the wild is discussed here. For the most part, civilian professions are considered “legitimate” among thieves in law, but they do not deserve respect. If, for example, a person worked outside as a security guard or a waiter, then in prison he can count on the status of a “hard worker” or a “man.” It is thanks to their work, but not their authority, that the zone exists.
Prisoners who in ordinary life worked in the service sector are not respected by criminals. They are called "Chaldeans", "shnyryas" or "sixes". But in captivity they will be treated leniently. If a former taxi driver or doorman was engaged in “ratting” or “informing” at his previous place of employment, then he can be demoted to a “rooster” or “sniff”. Much depends on how serious the offense was.
It is difficult to hide information about actions in freedom that are not respected in captivity. It quickly reaches the prisoners, and some criminals, who are excellent psychologists, can even learn it from a person, gaining confidence in him.
Questions are often asked on forums regarding serving as a security guard. Conservatives and radicals of the thieves' world believe that they are a waste of work. After all, a thief must steal, but under no circumstances protect someone else’s property. Liberals believe that a security guard has no place in the criminal world, but they cannot charge him with anything for such work.
The situation is a little different with people who completed military service in the internal troops. They are referred to as “Red Pogonnikov”. In some zones the attitude towards such convicts is extremely negative. In others, the “local administration” does not touch them. It is believed that the “Red Pogonnik” did not join the army of his own free will, but was sent there forcibly.
Often people who have completed military service are defined in the zone as “men.” But, this is only possible if the newly minted prisoner puts himself in a position and does not allow himself to be lowered down the hierarchical ladder to the rooster.
As for lawyers, it is quite difficult to say unambiguously what awaits them in the zone. On the one hand, they protect criminals and even thieves in law. But the lawyer could be a former “cop” or a prosecutor, and then he won’t have to count on respect. If a lawyer helps the gang in the zone, for example, by filing lawsuits and writing complaints, then he will sit “evenly” and can even count on some patronage from the world of thieves. A striking example of a lawyer who feels at ease in the zone is Dmitry Yakubovsky.
The fate of a person who went to prison and was involved in professions that promote non-traditional sexual orientation cannot be called enviable. The same can be said about former models, dancers and strippers. The prisoners treat them with disdain.
How to get a job in prison, what is needed for this
And after going through all the procedures and checks, you should be patient and wait for the verdict: they will accept or refuse.
no criminal record, higher, vocational or secondary education, certificates from a narcologist and psychologist, good physical fitness and absence of chronic diseases. That is, you must be one hundred percent healthy.
But those entering the service should be prepared to undergo a military medical commission, including psychological tests (possibly a polygraph test) - the work is specific and may not be suitable for everyone: All advertisements for “prison positions are posted on the federal website of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia, as well as on the websites of territorial authorities in each region of the country. Or contact the HR department in person, where you will find out whether you meet the criteria required when applying for a job at this institution. When it comes to employment, options are possible: after all, FSIN institutions not only employ employees (those in uniform), but also civil servants (specialists).
The latter will have slightly fewer requirements for employment.
At the thief's stage - at the cook's zone
There is such an offensive prison saying: “In the thief’s stage, in the cook’s zone . It implies that kitchen staff are forced to cooperate with the administration of the institution.
Unlike the men who work in the industrial area, cooks, balancers, bakers, bread cutters and other kitchen employees are a household team. They live separately, of course they eat better, and have a number of other concessions, including such a valuable one as the opportunity to go to a separate, warm shower every day.
The most executed position in the canteen is the orderly. Cooperation with the administration is his direct job responsibility. He simply has to report what is happening to the head of the canteen, the head of the chemical security department and the deputy head of the institution for logistics support.
Of course, it’s one thing to report that lunch and dinner are ready and no violations have been found. And it’s quite another thing to “leak” your comrades to the authorities. But for the majority of convicts this line does not exist - it is too thin for their harsh worldview, which almost does not tolerate half measures.
The attitude towards kitchen workers in a colony depends on too many things. Somewhere they are loved and respected - for delicious food, an extra glass of milk, hard and daily (as opposed to the “wet days”, where there are days off) work from morning to night. Somewhere they openly despise you.
They really work a lot in the kitchen. They get up first - prepare and serve breakfast, feed the quarantine department. Accordingly, they go to bed later than everyone else - they need to wash the dishes and clean the dining room after dinner. Bakers, dough mixers and bread cutters work at night - imagine how much bread needs to be baked for a male colony.
Despite the different attitudes on the part of convicts, jobs in the canteen are considered warm, and sometimes downright criminal. Not only because it is closer to food, but also for greater opportunities for receiving incentives, much better prospects for parole.
Work in a colony: disadvantages and advantages of compulsory labor in captivity
Refusal to work is clearly regarded by the authorities as a malicious violation, which leads to the placement of the convicted person in a punishment cell and thereby makes it almost impossible for him to be released on parole. However, there are colonies in which employment is a privilege, since there are not enough vacancies for convicts and the administration has the opportunity to choose who to appoint to what positions.
Theoretically, wages should have been a good help for the convicted person, especially if the relatives are not rich, but there are dependents left, and even more so if there is material damage from the crime recognized by the court that must be compensated. However, very rarely the salary is enough for anything other than buying food and basic necessities in the store at the colony (more details about the store in the RS card)
Working in a correctional institution is the responsibility of the prisoner, which directly follows from Article 103 of the Penal Code, according to which every convicted person is obliged to work in places and jobs determined by the administration.
The responsibility of the administration, in turn, is to attract convicts to work “taking into account their gender, age, ability to work, state of health and, if possible, specialty, as well as based on the availability of jobs.” There is a fairly common practice when convicted persons are employed in accordance with Art. 106 of the Penal Code, i.e., in fact, on a voluntary basis: as a general rule, every prisoner is obliged to work for free on work on the improvement of the colony and the surrounding territory for no more than two hours a week, but “upon a written statement from the convict or “on the decision of the authorities on the need for urgent work duration may be increased. The management of the institution, as a rule, is strongly interested in ensuring that as many prisoners as possible work. First of all, everyone employed in production brings a good profit to the colony, and in addition it is believed that the less free time the special contingent has, the easier it is to control it.
Untouchables in the prison hierarchy
We are publishing a text by our comrade, former political prisoner Mykola Dedok (fb.com/happymikola) about what the caste system is in places of detention, and in particular regarding the so-called. “roosters” and how thieves’ concepts are used by cops to break prisoners.
Untouchables in the prison hierarchy
The topic of the prison caste system is constantly raised in the media, especially those that write about political prisoners. However, almost everyone who writes on this topic knows about the subject, at best, from the stories of former prisoners, at worst, from stereotypes widespread in society. As a result, there are often many gross errors and misleading readers. That is why I decided to write this article, the purpose of which is to shed light on some aspects of such a complex and multi-component phenomenon as the informal hierarchy in prisons in Belarus.
Not only articles , but even entire scientific works have been written on this topic. And, of course, I do not strive to consider the entire phenomenon in its diversity within the framework of this one article. We will talk mainly about one prison caste, the existence of which very much characterizes the system as a whole, and knowledge about which is critically important for anyone who ends up in a Belarusian prison, especially a political prisoner. These are the so-called “roosters” (“offended”, “lowered”, “combs”, etc.) Consider this topic in isolation from the topic of the entire prison system, without going into details of the organization of the punitive apparatus and the social roles of each of the prison castes , quite hard. But I'll try anyway.
So, from this text you will learn:
— How did the caste of the “lowered” appear in prisons?
- How do they get into it?
— What is the situation of these people in prison and zone (correctional colony)
— What functions do these people perform in places of detention?
— Why is the existence of this caste vitally important to employees of the administration of correctional institutions (PI)
I will end with some advice from the male readership, because for any man living in Belarus, knowledge about prison will not be superfluous, especially if he is involved in protest activity.
How did the “rooster” caste appear?
Let's start with an excursion into history. Caste so-called "roosters" is traditionally associated with homosexuality. And if we approach it from this point of view, then everything is simple: homosexuality has always existed in places of deprivation of liberty: both in tsarist prisons and in the Gulag. In view of the extremely machismo and homophobic nature of prison concepts and the prison subculture, it becomes clear why a homosexual in prison is automatically included in the lower caste of the “lowered” - machismo is characterized by contempt for everything feminine, reducing women to the level of subhumans, creatures who have no right to their own will. This attitude carries over to homosexuals. However, the caste of the “offended” consists only in a smaller part of homosexuals themselves; a much larger part consists of people who have committed offenses against the informal prison law - “concepts”. And here it stands about how a caste with strict laws of entry into and exit from it (more precisely, the impossibility of exiting) appeared not so long ago. For example, it was not typical for Tsarist prisons and Gulag prisons. Judging by the sources that I read, the emergence of the caste of prison untouchables (which includes homosexuals) dates back to the late Soviet period. A number of researchers believe that the emergence of a caste of prisoners who cannot be touched with hands is a kind of reaction of the thieves’ world to the “bitch war” - in order to save themselves, the thieves had to come up with an alternative to murder for punishing the guilty. Others write that this was a reaction to the overcrowding of pre-trial detention centers: in an environment of overcrowding and being in full view of fellow inmates 24/7, the most effective and harsh type of punishment will be general contempt and ostracism, an extreme form of ignoring.
About “suits” - a small educational program
Historically, in the criminal world there are only three suits (or “ways of life”): thief, man, rooster. You can go down these steps, from the highest (thief) to the lowest (rooster). You can't go up. In the modern criminal subculture in Belarus, prisoners are divided into slightly different castes, namely: blatnoy (tramp, “decent”), muzhik, goat, “rooster.”
Blatnye are professional criminals who make a living out of crime. Their task is to promote the “thieves’ idea”, wherever they are, to establish a “back door” (to promote corruption of administration employees, to transfer the lives of prisoners from the mainstream of official rules and guidelines to the mainstream of thieves’ concepts), etc. According to the concepts, only they have the right to transfer a prisoner to the “lowered” caste. However, due to the fact that not all Belarusian colonies have thieves (“the thieves’ movement in Belarus is generally in a state of extreme decline), this rule is not observed and just anyone is transferred to “roosters”: an operative, a “goat”, or even just men after a collective decision.
Men are the main population of the prison. The guy doesn’t bother anywhere, goes to work, is not interested in anything except how to get parole. It is under the “cross-command” of several forces at once: thieves (if there are any), goats and the administration of the correctional institution.
Kozol (activist) is a prisoner who openly cooperates with the administration. This is a prisoner, usually with a long sentence, whom the administration puts in a position and gives some power over other prisoners. How great this power is depends on the degree of laziness of the PS employees. I know of cases when the goats drew up acts of violations against other prisoners, while administration employees only signed them. Often goats are allowed to beat other prisoners to maintain subordination. And, of course, it is quite officially the responsibility of the assholes to inform on other prisoners. In IK-17 (Shklov), for example, one asshole directly admitted to me: “I was told by the rubbish to look after you.” At least two more did not admit it, but they did their “work” very actively. In my disciplinary file about being sent to prison ("closed") there is a written testimony from my roommate, which records in detail how I was brought to the barracks, how I behaved, with whom I communicated, with whom I argued, what topics I spoke out on. and so on.
There is a nuance
Speaking about the caste of “roosters”, it must be said that in addition to it there is one adjacent “podcast” - the so-called “separated until clarification”, those who are “on the circle”. I’ll explain what the point is: let’s say a suspicion has been brought against a person that, for example, he had homosexual contacts in the wild. But there is no significant evidence for this suspicion, there are only rumors. In this case, until confirmation or refutation of this accusation is found, the person is “on the mug”: he eats separately from the others and only from his own dishes (hence the phrase: “put on the mug”). A person can remain in this position for years, until a thug (a goat, or even an operative - depending on the institution) confirms the accusation - that is, transfers him completely to the caste of "roosters", or refutes it (i.e. . will officially be transferred to the caste of men). The position of such a person “on the circle” is very close to the position of a rooster, but not equal
to him. He cannot drink tea with other prisoners and has no right to vote, but no one has the right to call him a “rooster.”
And this is the ONLY CASE when you can transfer from a lower caste to a higher one. The prisoner “in the circle” is, as it were, in “quarantine” - in order to avoid physical contacts with other convicts - what if he is a “rooster” and with these contacts he will “grind” the others? After all, someone who, for example, drank tea with a “separated” person, automatically becomes like that.
In other cases, “seated” or a person “on the circle” is equal to the concept of “rooster” and getting into this category is as easy as shelling pears.
How do they become “roosters”?
Let's move on. Here is an exhaustive list of cases in which a person is transferred to the caste of the “offended” (“to the cockerel”, “to the harem”):
— Passive homosexuality. A person who admits to homosexual contacts forever receives the label “cock”, “fag”, etc. Active homosexuality is considered the norm and is not considered homosexuality at all - it seems like normal behavior. Although it is worth noting that in the last 10 years this concept has begun to change - those who have sexual contact with “roosters” in the zone are treated with caution. I myself have repeatedly heard the opinion that “what difference does it make, “who is who” - both are fagots.” However, of course, no one has the right to call an active homosexual a “rooster.”
- Any non-traditional sexual contact with a woman. If a prisoner admits that he performed cunnilingus on a girl, or that she gave him a blowjob and then he kissed her/ate/drank from the same dish, he is a “rooster.” Naturally, it is almost impossible to find out about this against the will of the person himself, so in most cases people end up in the “cock house” after their revelations. You need to understand: no one has the right to ask you about your sex life, either through threats or cunning. About this, by the way, in the 1990s there was a special “run” (a little thing containing a legal innovation) from thieves in law, who in this way tried to fight the excessive number of “roosters” in the zones. To some extent, correctional officers are also trying to deal with similar problems. For example, in the Zhodino prison, before leading a person into a cell, an operative talks to him and instructs him: “remember, I didn’t suck dick, I didn’t lick pussy!”
(pictured - pre-trial detention center No. 8 in Zhodino)
This also includes communicating with homosexuals by choice. If someone suddenly mentions that his friend is gay, then this person himself will instantly be classified as a “rooster.”
— Any contact with feces/urine and the contents of trash cans. A person drenched in urine, or one who has put his hands in the toilet, automatically becomes a “rooster.” Therefore, for example, plumbers in most zones are considered “separated”. An example is one fairly well-known case in IK-5 (Ivatsevichi). In one of the detachments there was a supply manager (the main goat of the detachment), who for a long time and persistently pestered one boy, mocking and bullying him in every possible way. He, in retaliation, right at the morning inspection, filled a jar of urine and poured it on him in front of the entire formation. Naturally, the guy was beaten and put in a punishment cell (punishment cell). The fate of the caretaker, in theory, was predetermined, but operatives intervened in the matter, for whom, apparently, he was a valuable personnel. They announced to the prisoners that the caretaker had been doused with... green tea. And whoever says that he is a “rooster” will be beaten. It all ended with almost no one communicating with the supply manager anyway. The guy was transferred to another zone.
I also personally knew a “rooster” who fell into his caste because he hit his head on the toilet during a fight as a child.
As for the contents of trash cans, those who excessively want to smoke and look for bulls there fall into the “rooster” caste.
This also includes cases such as unintentional touching of someone’s genitals, for example, slipping in a bathhouse.
In truth, it is worth saying that sometimes (depending on the adequacy of those who have the right to decide) exceptions are made for people with illness. For example, if a person has urinary incontinence, he will not be transferred to the “roosters”.
— Performing any “rooster” work. Strictly “rooster” types of work are considered to be cleaning toilets (this applies to a colony; in a pre-trial detention center in a “covered” prison, any convict can clean the toilet in his cell), in some areas also cleaning washbasins, as well as taking out garbage. Performing these actions automatically redirects a person to the “rooster” caste.
Here is an example that happened in IK-15 (Mogilev) when I was there. The man was standing for inspection. Suddenly he was, as they say, “pinned” - he really wanted to go to the toilet. He ran as fast as he could, but didn’t make it - he shit himself before reaching the toilet. Being, apparently, a shy and conscientious person, he decided to clean up after himself. He took a mop, a rag... One of the prisoners saw this and called the supply manager, as they say, as a witness. The caretaker came and witnessed the man’s transition to “roosters.”
The informal rule about the inadmissibility of cleaning toilets is very convenient for employees of correctional institutions when they need to put some prisoner in a punishment cell (punishment cell). Each unit has an official cleaning schedule, which, of course, does not take into account the caste system. At the same time, everyone knows that only “roosters” clean the toilet. Political prisoner Igor Alinevich was put in a punishment cell many times for refusing to clean the toilets. Naturally, any prisoner in his right mind would agree to serve as many days as he wants in a tiny cold closet and without personal belongings, rather than become a “rooster.” The correctional officers know this very well and are happy to use such a convenient tool to put pressure on those they don’t like.
A similar incident happened to me in IK-9 in Gorki. When I once again served time in a punishment cell, the head of the detachment soon came up to me and said that today I was on schedule to clean the washbasin and take out the trash. I made inquiries in advance and found out that only “roosters” can clean the washbasins in this area. Apparently, the head of the detachment thought that I didn’t know this and would now go clean the washbasin, so in a solemn atmosphere, having gathered half the administration of the colony and local assholes as witnesses, he pointed to a mop and a rag, offering me to perform “duty on schedule.” Naturally, I refused, after which he said in an equally solemn tone that “a document will be drawn up against you regarding refusal to perform duty,” and soon I once again went to warm the boards with my body in such a familiar punishment cell.
— Pedophiles almost always end up in the “harem.” They say that rapists are raped in the zones, but this is not true. At most, with some rapists, one of the prisoners may refuse to drink tea, but nothing more. As for pedophiles, they have a more unenviable fate. Literally until recently, they were forcibly transferred to the “rooster” caste while still in pre-trial detention, without even waiting for a verdict. However, the spirit of the times and the trend of “everything is according to the law” played a role here too. Personally, I met at least two pedophiles who were not “imprisoned” and lived almost equally with the rest. Of course, they behaved more quietly than water, below the grass, and not every prisoner would allow such a person to sit on his bunk or even talk to him. However, the trend is present, especially in zones where “first movers” (persons who have not previously served sentences in colonies) are imprisoned.
— Anyone who spends some time in a cell with “roosters” ends up in a “harem.” The specific time period varies here. Some people talk about an hour, others about a day. According to the concepts, when you get into such a cell, you need to make sure that the “roosters” burst out of it themselves, leaving the man in it. However, it is clear that it is almost impossible to physically do this.
— Any person who has had physical (other than sexual) contact with a rooster or used his personal belongings is transferred to “roosters.” In practice, it looks like this: you mistakenly picked up the “rooster’s” utensils or ate from them, used the “rooster’s” personal hygiene products, hugged or shook hands with the “rooster,” put on his clothes (on purpose or unintentionally), or drank tea with the person, and he turned out to be a “rooster” - and you are automatically assigned to this caste.
You can give anything to the “rooster”. Taking something from him means becoming a “rooster” yourself.
However, there are some relaxations in these rules, especially in high security areas. For example, “roosters” wash men’s clothes in exchange for cigarettes, a “rooster” may be allowed to sit on a man’s bunk, and so on.
They often write or say that they can be designated as roosters for some unseemly actions against prison etiquette. This used to happen, but not now. At least I have not observed a single such case. Someone who steals from his own people can be called a “rat” and slandered in every possible way, someone who betrayed his accomplices in court can be called a “bitch” behind his back, and so on, but “lowering” for misconduct is a relic of those times when In the zones of Belarus, the concept of thieves was still strong.
Thus, the concept of “finished” is somewhat akin to ritual impurity among Jews, Muslims and Parsis. In both cases, the characteristic features of the custom are irrationality and superstitious fear of “uncleanness.” Only if, according to the Torah, a person who touches, for example, carrion will be “unclean until evening,” then according to the concepts, a person doused with urine will be a “rooster” for the rest of his life, even if he is released and goes back to prison after 30 years.
Such tattoos and a number of others were forcibly given to “roosters” in camps in the recent past.
Position of "roosters" in the PS
What is life like for a “rooster” in the zone? In short, it's complete and utter hell. According to the concepts, the rooster has no rights. He has no right to argue, respond to insults, or defend his dignity, because it is believed that he has no dignity. He can be beaten, humiliated, ridiculed. When an ordinary prisoner and a “rooster” walk along the corridor of a barracks, the latter is obliged to lean against the wall so that God forbid he does not hit the man, otherwise he may be beaten. Roosters do all the dirty work: cleaning toilets (and you can imagine what 8-10 “pushes” are for a squad of 100 people), taking out garbage, and the like. Some “roosters” provide sexual services to other prisoners, thus earning tea and cigarettes for themselves (however, it must be said that in the zones where I was, correctional officers are fighting this and if they find a “rooster” and his client indulging “same-sex love”, both will be put in a punishment cell). Roosters are given female names, they are called “she” or “small”. I admit, it’s quite wild and sickening to watch how young neighing prisoners address, for example, their 60-year-old toothless grandfather as “Alenka” or “Marina.”
The Roosters are not allowed to forget for a second who they are. They are the last to enter the dining room and the last to wash in the bathhouse. In the club and Lenkomnat (the room where they watch TV) there is a separate bench for them in the most inconvenient place. The address “get the fuck out of here” addressed to them is a completely familiar and ordinary thing. One criminal persistently proved to me that “roosters are not people.”
However, even worse than the prisoners, the administration employees treat the “roosters”. The controllers, and often the officers, bully them in every possible way, publicly insult them, threaten them, and if something happens, they can even beat them. Being powerless people with a broken will, they are even less likely than ordinary prisoners to defend their rights. As a result, much more than half of the suicides that occurred in my time in prisons and zones were committed by “roosters,” although in proportion they constitute no more than 3-5% of the zone’s population. Typically, the situation is no better in the pre-trial detention center, where the “roosters” are kept in separate cells. On “Volodarka” such a “rooster” camera was the 70th. As the guys who lived next door to it for a long time said, its inhabitants cut their wrists almost every day.
(In the photo - pre-trial detention center-1 "Volodarka")
What are they doing?
Life “at the bottom”, constant hatred and humiliation can hardly make a highly moral creature out of someone. According to my personal observations, most “roosters” are completely unprincipled, vile people, ready to do anything for their own benefit. Although, of course, these qualities are not rare among prisoners in general, among “roosters” they are, perhaps, much more common. The vast majority of the “roosters” work for the administration: they knock, carry out “operational tasks”, provocations, etc. The need to somehow survive in the hyper-aggressive and hostile environment of the camp pushes them to an alliance with the most powerful party - the employees of the correctional facility. Therefore, most of the functions that the “roosters” perform are one way or another imposed on them by operatives. The official duties of the “roosters” include cleaning the toilets (no one else will undertake this except them) and taking out the garbage. Many of them earn their living by cleaning rooms. Roosters are divided into “working” and “non-working”. The first are those who provide sexual services to other prisoners (tea, cigarettes, sweets) for a fee. The second are those who do not do this, and therefore cannot be forced. Many people believe that they get into the “roosters” through rape in prison or in the zone. 15-20 years ago this was the case. Today, this practically never occurs in prisons in Belarus. At least I don’t know of a single such case, and none of those who sat with me told anything like that. Also, there were no cases of rape of “roosters” against their will. Today's zones are much more under the control of the administration than before, and a “rooster” who has been raped can simply write a statement against the rapist, and he will be sentenced.
What is the benefit of the administration?
Surely, while you were reading this article, you had a question: why does the state, and, in particular, the administration of penal institutions allow a savage medieval caste system with its untouchables, servants and prostitutes to exist in places of deprivation of liberty? After all, this is inhumane, cruel, and, in the end, not according to the law, because according to the Internal Regulations of Correctional Institutions (Internal Regulations of Correctional Institutions), all prisoners must obey the same requirements and there can be no talk of any division into castes. Can’t the correctional officers really stop this and restore, albeit strict and tough, but still discipline?
The answer is simple: they don't need it.
Over a fairly long period of time spent in punitive institutions, I managed to visit a lot of places and see a lot of people. I spent time in four prisons and three colonies, communicated with ordinary men and “thieves”, bandits, drug addicts, “commercialists” and “policemen”, swindlers and murderers, goats and even “roosters”, and, of course, talked a lot with PS employees. Having thought a lot about how the punitive system of Belarus is structured, I came to a clear conclusion: the criminal and police systems of management of punitive institutions are two pillars that support each other. The informal system of concepts invented by thieves and the Internal Regulations today are more likely to be mutually integrated than to be in a state of war and contradiction. Yes, undoubtedly, the employees of the correctional institution forcibly cleaned up the practice of concepts that interferes with controllability and creates inconvenience for them. Otherwise, the world of professional criminals and the world of the Ministry of Internal Affairs get along well. They get from each other what they need: correctional officers - peace in the institution, absence of emergencies and controllability (why manage hundreds of prisoners if you can manage one thieves/goats who keeps the rest at bay?), and thieves/goats receive privileges and power. Everyone is happy. Except, of course, for the men who, as usual, find themselves caught between two fires and are, de facto, in double subordination. Many old prisoners, who have been in prison for more than 10 years and watched how, from approximately 2005 to 2010, all Belarusian zones from “black” became “red”, openly told me something like the following: “And now it’s the same as earlier. Only instead of thieves there are goats. If earlier “tramps” had vodka and cell phones, now activists have them. If earlier thieves beat men for their “jambs,” now they beat them as goats.”
What is characteristic is that even the faces of such informal leaders are often the same. When the active “breaking up” of the zones and their redrawing began, where do you think the operatives got loyal and devoted activists - supply managers and orderlies, ready to carry out any order? They were recruited from yesterday’s thieves, who very quickly betrayed their thieves’ idea if they were threatened, for example, with being sent to a “closed” prison, or deprived of privileges, or simply put in their punishment cell several times. As a result, today the Belarusian zones, together with the administration, are managed by prisoners who are “firmly on the path of correction” - at the same time, they are covered from head to toe with thieves’ tattoos, with their fists pumped with Vaseline.
Despite the external contradiction in functions, the merger of the criminal world and correctional officers is noticeable not only at the institutional, but also at the linguistic level. It’s no secret to any of the inmates that administration employees use prison jargon no less actively than prisoners. As I already wrote, they spread rot and humiliate the same “roosters” worse than criminals. What can I say: among the correctional institution employees themselves, there are their own “dismissed” ones, who are outcasts among their colleagues. When I was at IK-15, a “detached” controller worked there. Colleagues did not drink tea with him; he was the only one who could “moon around” (search) the “roosters”. And such cases are not isolated: at IK-14 (Novosady), according to the stories of one of my cellmates, there was even a suspended officer whose colleagues found out that he had “incorrectly” had sex with his wife. As a result, they stopped drinking tea with him and began to defiantly despise him; moreover, even the prisoners spread rot about this officer with complete impunity. And there are many such examples.
It is interesting that many prisoners, in the wake of the tightening of the regime and the relative improvement in the situation of the “roosters” (about 20 years ago they were beaten much more often, they could also be raped) expressed to me the opinion that soon “there will be no roosters, because everyone will be forced to stop pushing.” At the same time, they often add that, supposedly, the authorities need to “look decent in front of Europe” (yes, there have been such political analysts). However, it seems to me that this will not happen in the near future. The reason is still the same - the existence of the “rooster” caste significantly facilitates the controllability of the zone.
Without any doubt, the administrations of the Belarusian zones could force all prisoners to clean toilets and eat food at the same tables, regardless of their color.
There will be no riots or uprisings about this: the maximum consequences that such an innovation is fraught with are several dozen particularly stubborn supporters of the concepts, who will have to be transferred to the “covered” one. The majority of prisoners in Belarus are such a downtrodden and dumb mass that it will not be difficult to force them to do anything. And if you also promise parole for cleaning the toilets, they will race to clean them.
However, as we see, the administration is in no hurry to do this.
Another important point: the existence of this caste provides penitentiary staff with invaluable assistance in putting pressure on prisoners who refuse to obey. In any zone or prison there are always certain people who refuse to play by the rules established by the police. Either these are asocial individuals who are “gasping” (i.e., trying to live strictly according to thieves’ concepts), or prisoners trying to defend their rights, for example, by complaining to various authorities, or those who, only by virtue of their status, will be subject to persecution in prison, for example, political prisoners. So, many of the listed categories of people can no longer be intimidated by the deprivation of parcels and visits, or the punishment cell, or the PKT (cell-type room), or the “covered”, or Article 411 of the Criminal Code. The question is - what to do with them? And here the last argument comes to the rescue - the “rooster” caste. And here even those who are not afraid of either the detention center or the batons will certainly think about it. After all, life in this caste is the worst thing that can happen to a prisoner. It becomes almost impossible for a person with self-esteem to be in a team with such a status. And there is no way out of this caste.
I had to communicate with a former prisoner of IK-2 (Bobruisk), to whom the head of the colony, in response to demands to comply with the law and not violate his rights, replied: “Have you forgotten where the harem is?” And this is far from an isolated example. There is no need to talk about the use of this weapon against political prisoners. Personally, I know of at least three cases when political prisoners were driven into the “rooster” caste simply for the fact that they were political prisoners. In all three cases, the operational combination was very similar: upon the arrival of a political prisoner in the zone, an authoritative prisoner (thieves or goats) is located, who brings charges against him for a “jamb”: he had previously sat in the same cell with the “lowered” one, or drank from a “cockerel” mugs, or communicated with the “rooster” in the wild. Naturally, this accusation has nothing to do with reality. But, as if by magic, one or more witnesses emerge from the ground, confirming: “yes, I drank, I saw it myself!”, or “Yes, yes, I rinsed with the fagot at will, I saw it myself!” , although the “accused” does not even know these people. And now - you can make a decision, everything according to concepts! Result: the political prisoner is sent to the “rooster” caste, the executor (thieves or goats) receives a handout in the form of a date or transfer, and the cunning operative who developed the entire plan receives encouragement from his superiors.
Fortunately, this fate passed me by, although there were attempts, as I wrote above. However, obviously, the administration did not have a clear intention to drive me into a “harem”, otherwise they would certainly have done it.
This unanimity between the informal prison elites and the administration regarding political prisoners again allows me to say that the hierarchical punitive system always acts in a single direction when it is necessary to suppress and squeeze out alien elements - potential rebels who can think independently and defend their rights. And, of course, analogies with the 30s and 40s, when criminals took an active part in the liquidation of the “Trotskyists”, “traitors to the motherland” and other “58th” (see V. Shalamov “ Fraudulent Blood”, E. Eppbaum “GULAG”, A. Solzhenitsyn “GULAG Archipelago, book 3)
Yes, these two heads of the punitive hydra can sometimes squabble among themselves, but nevertheless they need each other, and at the moment when it becomes necessary to destroy our kind, they will certainly be together.
Is there a way out?
Here, I think, it would be appropriate to give some advice on what to do if, while in prison, you see that you are insubordination or for the fact that they are trying to define you as “political” (which is most often) or have already been defined as a “rooster” caste.
The first and most important thing is to change your attitude to what is happening. All of us men were taught that being a “faggot” is offensive and disgusting, that being such a shameful person. And here - a group of adults and seemingly sane men tells you that you are exactly like that. You first need to understand that your current situation is nothing shameful or something for which you should blame yourself. You are not a pedophile, not a rapist, or even gay. It’s just that the brutal caste norms that prevail in prison were used against you in order to break your will and lower your status in the eyes of others.
What to do?
If the process has not yet reached an irreversible stage, for example, you were thrown into a “cock” cell, or prisoners publicly provoke you by asking tricky questions, it makes sense to resist to the last - fight, commit acts of self-harm, provoke any conflicts, just to get out of this situation, to show your determination to go to the end. If the moment is missed and you are already in this caste, then all you have to do is demand from the administration your legal right to ensure personal safety (Article 11 of the Criminal Executive Code of the Republic of Belarus) - transfer you to a safe place (usually to solitary confinement). According to this article, “ if a threat to the personal safety of a convicted person arises, he has the right to apply to ensure personal safety to any official of the institution executing the sentence. In this case, the official is obliged to immediately take measures to ensure the personal safety of the convicted person .” Mn
There is not a single case known where such a request was refused to a convicted person.
However, anything can happen, and it is possible that, for greater effect, a person declared “separated” and demanded to be taken away from the general barracks may be left there on purpose - for the night, for example, so that he can experience all the delights of a “rooster’s” life. In this case, you need to be prepared for humiliation, and a fight, and anything. Again, this is exactly the situation when it is worth going to extreme measures in the form of self-harm or self-defense by all available means. It is worth remembering that the more problems you create for the administration, the faster they will ensure your safety, because so far
the administration of correctional institutions does not have the goal of physically destroying political prisoners - we are only talking about breaking them morally. They don’t need an extra corpse or disabled person in the zone.
Of course, it is necessary to understand that turning to the administration with a statement to close you alone is also a “jamb” from a conceptual point of view. These are called “broken”, “closed”, etc. According to the concepts, if you think that you have been “imprisoned” “out of lawlessness” (i.e. unfairly), you must find a criminal higher in the hierarchy (“supervisor” or thief in law) and appeal to him, and then There is no way to demand from the administration to put you in a safe place. It's up to you to do it one way or another. However, my opinion is this: appealing to concepts that in themselves are a tool for breaking down those who disagree is, at the very least, short-sighted. And operatives will always find an approach - “good” or “bad” - to any criminal who makes decisions. And between saving your fate and his own well-being, he will absolutely choose the second. By the way, there was a similar incident with me when I was in Prison No. 4 (Mogilev “covered”), where thieves ruled the roost. True, this story deserves a separate story.
The very first thing to do in such cases is to make public what happened to you, informing your lawyer and family, so that the information gets into the media. They are still some kind of shield for political prisoners from outright tyranny, so it is necessary to speak directly and openly about everything that happened to you: without being ashamed to talk about castes, and about “concepts,” and about the provocations of operatives. After all, the administration, by pressing prisoners in this way, is precisely playing on their male feelings and feelings of shame for the fact that “now I’m like a homosexual.” Thanks to this, the vast majority of such stories, which, I note, happen not only with political ones, never come to light. People are simply ashamed to talk about them, thereby reproducing the vicious circle of silence and allowing correctional officers to continue to use informal prison rules to put pressure on those they don’t want. You can stop this only by starting to talk about the problem out loud, overcoming completely unreasonable shame and fear.
As I already said, I have never been in such a situation, but I constantly considered the possibility that, on KGB orders, I would be driven “into a harem.” And through much thought, observation and analysis of other people’s experience, I came to the conclusion that if something happened I would behave exactly as described above.
To summarize, I would like to end this essay with something optimistic and life-affirming. But reality dictates slightly different tones. The number of people imprisoned for their beliefs is gradually growing, and along with them, the pressure in prisons is also growing. An important part of this pressure is precisely the system of castes and informal hierarchy that I described above.
It is no longer an individual, but a mass system of “working out” special categories of prisoners that is being tested on drug addict prisoners. An innovation was introduced in the zones: preventive registration for “extremists” - they are forced to wear yellow tags (https://abc-belarus.org/?p=6821). It is logical to assume that in light of the radical deterioration of the socio-economic situation in the country, the next people after drug addicts for whom separate zones will be created will be the “political” ones.
In general, I think that all of us, those who today stand for change and the overthrow of the dictator, should give up illusions and understand that it will not get easier - it will only get harder. Of course, penitentiary administrations will continue to use pressure against political prisoners using thieves’ concepts - this tool is convenient and has proven its effectiveness more than once. The situation can only be changed for the better by breaking the archaic caste system, and first by breaking the silence and taboo on discussing this topic in society.
Work in a correctional colony
Is it possible to get a job in a pre-trial detention center if the husband is in a correctional colony for former employees (red zone), the spouses are relatives, or it is necessary to get a divorce?
Please tell me, if you work in a correctional colony and your son is given an administrative fine and given a day off, can I be fired because of this?
I work in the criminal executive system in a correctional colony as a junior inspector of the security department, I have a higher education, I wanted to transfer to another colony to a higher position, they refused me, they said that look for a replacement because there are not enough people, I wanted to find out from you about the law have the right to interfere, refuse?
Thanks in advance! They can! You are not a certified employee of the Federal Penitentiary Service and the crime was unintentional. The criminal record has already been expunged. My cousin is now in a penal colony, he doesn’t have a passport, he can’t work, but the thing is that he can’t get one, in 1992 he was also in prison and at that time his house with all the documents burned down, now he’s not can prove that he was registered there, they require Russian citizenship, the house register burned down where the registration was, there is a certificate of birth, a certificate from the clinic, a certificate from neighbors, tell me what to do, how can I get a passport.
Bogdan, former employees of the FSIN, FSB, Police and other departments in uniform are serving their sentences not in the general population, but in special zones for people like them. Kirill, no, not administrative arrest, but measures applied to a person already imprisoned in a colony, as part of punishment/prevention, lol. There are quite common torture practices there. Not needles under your nails, of course, but it’s also not very pleasant.
Theoretically, wages should have been a good help for the convicted person, especially if the relatives are not rich, but there are dependents left, and even more so if there is material damage from the crime recognized by the court that must be compensated. However, very rarely the salary is enough for anything other than buying food and basic necessities in the store at the colony (more details about the store in the RS card)
Refusal to work is clearly regarded by the authorities as a malicious violation, which leads to the placement of the convicted person in a punishment cell and thereby makes it almost impossible for him to be released on parole. However, there are colonies in which employment is a privilege, since there are not enough vacancies for convicts and the administration has the opportunity to choose who to appoint to what positions.
The management of the institution, as a rule, is strongly interested in ensuring that as many prisoners as possible work. First of all, everyone employed in production brings a good profit to the colony, and in addition it is believed that the less free time the special contingent has, the easier it is to control it. Working in a correctional institution is the responsibility of the prisoner, which directly follows from Article 103 of the Penal Code, according to which every convicted person is obliged to work in places and jobs determined by the administration.
The responsibility of the administration, in turn, is to attract convicts to work “taking into account their gender, age, ability to work, state of health and, if possible, specialty, as well as based on the availability of jobs.” There is a fairly common practice when convicted persons are employed in accordance with Art. 106 of the Penal Code, i.e., in fact, on a voluntary basis: as a general rule, every prisoner is obliged to work for free on work on the improvement of the colony and the surrounding territory for no more than two hours a week, but “upon a written statement from the convict or “on the decision of the authorities on the need for urgent work duration may be increased. The main principles of working with prisoners For the first three shifts, you are an intern. It’s just called differently – uncertified.
You are not put on a shift alone, but with a mentor who tells and shows everything in detail. This applies to the location of buildings and cells on the territory of the detention center. After this, a referral is issued to your local clinic, where you undergo a general medical examination.
General presentation of positions
A warden is a prison officer whose main job is to supervise prisoners. The warden ensures that the prisoners are in the designated place and that all activities (wake-up, roll call, meals, etc.) take place in accordance with the daily routine. In addition, guards must monitor the behavior of prisoners and notify prison management of any violation and other unusual situations in the area of their supervision. The prison also has guards working at the gate, guarding the perimeter of the prison, dispatching prisoners or arranging visits. The Senior Warden both serves as a warden and supervises other wardens. Generally, there are up to ten guards working under the senior warden.
Contact person is the prison official with whom the prisoner has the most contact during the prison term. Each prisoner is assigned a contact person who resolves the prisoner's problems or organizes their resolution with other prison officials.
The contact person's job is to guide the prisoner toward law-abiding behavior. To do this, the contact person, using a clear methodology, assesses the risks based on his previous life and actions and decides what the prisoner should do during the period of imprisonment (for example, participate in a social program, get an education, etc.). The contact person must also monitor the implementation of the planned activities and motivate the prisoner to participate in the activities. The contact person will also organize other social security assistance required by the prisoner.
As part of early release proceedings, the contact person assesses the prisoner's risks and draws up a profile based on this, which, together with other materials relating to the prisoner, is sent to the court, where a decision is made on the prisoner's early release.
If a prisoner commits a disciplinary violation, the contact person will organize an investigation, decide on the punishment and complete the necessary paperwork.
The main task of a criminal supervision officer is to implement the punishment that the court or prosecutor's office has imposed on a person under criminal supervision. The criminal supervision officer also prepares a pre-trial report at the request of the prosecutor or the court. This is a description of the social state of the accused or defendant, which also assesses the likelihood of committing a new crime. In preparation for early release, the probation officer provides the prison with data on how the prisoner is coping while free.
A person is placed under the supervision of a criminal supervision officer in the following cases:
- it is released from punishment conditionally and is subject to behavioral control;
- he is released from prison on parole;
- criminal proceedings have been terminated and he is required to perform community service;
- the court replaced the imprisonment with community service with behavior control;
- the court ordered him to monitor his behavior after serving his sentence;
- criminal proceedings against the minor were terminated, and behavioral control was applied to him as a measure.
The criminal supervision officer also organizes electronic surveillance of the following persons:
- who are released early and placed under electronic monitoring;
- in which short-term imprisonment is replaced by electronic monitoring;
- in respect of which the court replaced the arrest with electronic surveillance.
The criminal supervision officer monitors compliance with the supervisory requirements of criminal supervision and additional obligations imposed by the court, advising and assisting the person under criminal supervision in fulfilling these obligations. In addition, he organizes the actions of the person under criminal supervision in accordance with punishment and risks. For example, he prepares social programs and implements them in the form of both group and individual work.
The duty officer is the leader of the day-to-day supervisory work of the prison. He supervises the work of all guards on the same shift with him. Outside normal working hours, the duty officer is the highest ranking official in the prison.
The duty officer ensures that the prison daily routine is carried out. He must ensure that such important activities of the daily routine as getting up, going out, roll calls, eating, walking, studying and working, take place at the prescribed time and in the designated place.
In addition, the duty officer resolves smaller or more serious non-standard situations. If an event occurs in the prison that requires rapid resolution by several officials, the officer on duty is notified, who leads the resolution of the situation. If we are talking about a complex event, the duty officer manages its resolution until the prison director or another higher-ranking official takes action from the duty officer to resolve the situation.
An employee of the information and investigation department organizes and conducts misdemeanor and criminal proceedings in accordance with the area of work, including, within the scope of his competence, carries out investigative actions and organizes undercover work in prison.
He assesses the danger level of prisoners based on documents and databases related to prison security, compiles an analysis and makes proposals to departments regarding the placement of prisoners.
Placing prisoners in prison is a responsible and important task, since it is necessary to take into account many factors: whether he is serving his first sentence or a second one, what crime the prisoner was punished for, whether he had problems with drugs while free, whether he smokes, what is his state of health whether he is prone to violence and aggression, i.e. how dangerous he is for other prisoners, for the safety of the prison, etc. In addition, regarding repeated imprisonments, it should be taken into account that a prisoner cannot be placed in the same cell with prisoners with whom he previously had conflicts or with whom he had problems in freedom . The role of the information and investigation department worker is to receive all this information and make decisions based on this information.
Employment for people with previous convictions
Try offering the employer to work for a probationary period for less money, maybe someone will agree.
All you have to do is “adjust” your job search tactics to the circumstances that take place. And they are such that the majority are in no hurry to hire people with criminal records, and this is quite understandable.
Then keep quiet about the murder, come up with an “easier” article, but not related to theft. How to write an application for a job in the police? For example, that both times you were sentenced for fighting. If the conviction is not for theft, it is probably easier than if it is for such. For many people, those who have been convicted are lepers; they are immediately “dismissed” without even understanding what’s what. And if at an interview they hear the word “convicted”, the matter will not even come to clarifying the question of the reasons. And if they hear that it’s “for MURDER.”
And the fact that he killed in a fight was accidental, and the instigator of the fight was the one who was killed - this will be of least interest to the employer.
— Where can “men” work in the zone, in what specialties?
— Work can be different. And there is discord between zones. I can’t say anything about urban areas, but I can tell you about forest business trips and what kind of work there might be. There are “reds” and “men” in the zone. So, initially I got a job just as a woodcutter, or a firewood preparer, in a different way. Who was I? I was a "man". We had a boiler room shift supervisor, he was a fireman. Who is he? He was considered a foreman. So what happens? He was "red". Further. There is such a profession - driver. But, there is a driver of a timber truck and a driver of the owner. Who is who? Of course, the driver of the timber truck is a “man,” and the owner’s driver, it turns out, is already “red.”
The caretaker who was in the zone at the medical unit, the caretaker “helped” - who are they? They are, of course, “red”. But they are also on staff, they are also officially working. There is a contractor. He's also at stake. He will knock on his chest with his heel that he is a “man.” Of course, “man”, only in a red banner. Let's go from the other side. A team of five people is sent into the forest. Pilova and four “helped”, two by two. Who's the saw? One of them says that he knows who the sawman is and what needs to be done. And he is 18 years old. Well, let me be 35-38 years old. There is a difference. Who was he in life then if he shouted that he was a saw? And there's an automatic machine. If you took the saw, then you are the foreman. What can an 18-19-year-old foreman say to a 35-year-old? Practically nothing. Because the forest and taiga are the bear’s master.
Further. Here is a “jawbreaker”, in other words, a tractor that picks up timber and loads it onto a timber truck. Who is this tractor driver? Of course, "man".
And here's another one. Each forest has a common canteen. Who is this cook? That's right, "red". The signalman in the forest, who is he? Also “red”. And so on. Foreman, foremen, they all stand at their posts. Even the barracks manager. He's already automatically going to the Reds. And those who work for themselves are “men”. So my partner comes up to me and says: “Khokhol, today you are going to so-and-so’s brigade, doing such-and-such.” I immediately ask him who will pay me what. I'm not a huckster, I charge smoke or tea for my work. Yes, I had such a need, and I took it. And don't consider me a huckster. I'm not a huckster. I also value my work. How else? Imagine, today you are woken up at five o’clock in the morning to do chores in the winter. You run up to me and ask me to work for you. Of course, I will send this one. Because such things need to be agreed upon in the evening. Otherwise they wake me up at five in the morning. What am I, some kind of “snatch”? Of course not. I’ll turn around and continue to sleep, there’s still a whole hour before I get up. What if he approached me in the evening and agreed that I would work a few hours for him in exchange for what I needed, according to my needs. Now this is a different topic. Who will I be in life? I’m not “red”, I’m a “man”, just like everyone else, “bull”, they earn money.
Work in IR
do you mean, employees - to the head of the colony (at each other), prisoners - to operatives? And thanks everyone for the answers. By the way, is the psychologist responsible for incidents with the contingent (for example, someone opened a vein)? well, like, “why didn’t you detect suicidal tendencies in a timely manner??”
quote: Originally posted by SIFFT: From a moral point of view, everything depends on how you yourself look at your work, otherwise, as one of my friends said, no matter from what point of view you look at it, they are behind bars, that I am behind bars.
The question is that you will have to work as a psychologist. Accordingly, with whom - with the special contingent or with the administration employees. But I know from experience that working in a colony is dangerous because, constantly moving among prisoners, you adopt (often unwittingly) many habits. You need to constantly control yourself.
Although today the contingent is not the same as in the late 80s. First of all, work in the IC will depend on what kind of leadership there is. It depends on the manager how the team is selected, and accordingly how work is carried out with the special contingent. From a moral point of view, everything depends on how you yourself look at your work, otherwise, as one of my friends said, no matter from what point of view you look, they are behind bars, that I am behind bars. Why not a prisoner, a swindler for example? After all, everyone knows that scammers are good psychologists)))) Many guys who graduated from civilian universities or transferred from the Russian Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Internal Affairs worked with me in the colony. But due to layoffs and the economic crisis, people from outside are practically not hired. And so they have enough experienced workers. Education at universities is financed from the federal budget, but getting into them is not so easy.
First, you will need to take a referral from the territorial office of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia at your place of residence.
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Dear colleagues, I wish each of us to hold high the title of lawyer, unswervingly adhering to the principles of impartiality and objectivity!
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“It’s impossible not to work there.” There's simply nothing to do there. When I arrived at the colony, I was already a pensioner, but I immediately said that I couldn’t sit in the detachment all the time, and asked to give me some kind of work.
Elena was in the Kaluga correctional colony for 2 years. By law, pensioners do not work in the colony. Non-working prisoners, as a rule, are constantly in the detachment, doing cleaning. And the squad often carries out inspections, and this means that they also need to clean often. And Elena said that the colony staff could count on her, that she wanted to work.
— The head of the zone said: “Yes, your work experience (Elena has an economic education) is very interesting and we really need it.” And another phrase was: “Keep in mind, our institution is closed, the information will not go anywhere.” The subtext is this: if you are not satisfied with something and you want to complain, your complaint will definitely not go anywhere, and we will find a way to influence you.
Remember yourself, tell others that honest work is the road to home
Women in the colony are not indignant, they rarely openly insist on observing their rights and filing complaints, and sending a letter with a request to relatives is also a big problem, because of censorship. All letters are re-read by colony employees, and everything that, in the opinion of the FSIN officers, is unnecessary in the letter is “erased out,” telephone conversations are monitored. In many zones, even correspondence with a lawyer is monitored - despite the direct prohibition and the law on attorney-client privilege. Therefore, filing a complaint is usually very difficult, and the colony administration has many methods of influencing female prisoners.
In the zone there is always a lack of everything from that ordinary life - not only such familiar household items, familiar music, films, favorite books that you won’t pick up in the near future, there is a lack of relatives, the usual social circle, warm clothes, food. There is a store on the territory of the colony, but the assortment in it looks something like this: Troika cigarettes - sometimes they bring in LD, and this is a whole event - terrible, inedible canned food, instant noodles and mashed potatoes, candy, sometimes dry goods. There is nothing fresh, no fruits or vegetables. That is, losing your stomach, eating only prison food, and losing your teeth due to lack of vitamins is not just a possible, but a very likely outcome. At the same time, the prices for these products are greatly inflated, and it is better not to think about keeping the shelf life at all.
Normal food can only be obtained from gifts from relatives. And what of the transfer and in what form will reach the prisoner depends on the will of the administration, that is, on his relationship with the colony staff.
- They give you apples, oranges, cucumbers, tomatoes. And the employees, checking the transmission, take these products and cut them finely. And that’s all,” says Elena. — Vegetables and fruits cannot be stored in this form. And if you complain and conflict, so be it. You sit quietly - they cut one apple, and that’s it. So there is no one to rebel there.
Kaluga IK-7 was exemplary (until 2015), and Elena readily explains why. In this colony, as in other colonies in Russia, relatives of prisoners constantly bought materials for the repair of units and the club, plumbing and other things. And the administration of the colony, naturally, always formalizes it as if the colony was buying it: the colony employees purchased it, organized it, and repaired it. In principle, you cannot argue with this - it was the colony employees who collected money and materials from relatives. They didn’t pay anything, it’s true, but these are trifles that are of no interest to anyone. The money allocated for repairs from the federal budget ends up in the pocket of the head of the zone and the prosecutor for supervision of institutions of the penal system.
In general, colony employees do not always do their work - sometimes they don’t want to, and sometimes they physically cannot - there is not enough knowledge. Many do not even know the basic law - the Criminal Executive Code.
There is a lot of work for prisoners in the colony. The most common (in both women's and men's colonies) is “sewing”. The garment factory in the zone is a large hangar. Sewing machines stand in it one after another, forming a conveyor belt. And in this conveyor belt, each prisoner has his own operation, each is part of the system, each must sew his own line. If one person cannot cope with his function, the whole work slows down. In this case, this person needs to be unloaded, but there is no one to unload, because everyone makes money from their own operation. And then they start yelling at this one person. Everyone is yelling - both the jailers and the inmates. Surprisingly, everyone seems to think that this method of influence helps production.
“If a person wants to fit into this system, live in peace, so that no one will bother him, he will learn to sew right there.” Many girls told me: “I came, and I very quickly realized that either I was sewing, or all the punches were flying at me.” Those who fail become outcasts; even the convicted themselves can file a report on them, says one of the former prisoners.
It’s a completely different matter to work at production facilities (points). They are directly related to the maintenance of the zone: this is the quality control department at the factory (the technical control department - work between prisoners and the administration of the colony, here products sewn at the factory are inspected for defects), librarians, carpenters, mechanics, supply managers, foremen. And usually prisoners try very hard to get from seamstress to these positions, because the monotonous work of seamstress drives them crazy.
There are positions in which only prisoners with higher education and economic qualifications are placed. Some are appointed as foremen and caretakers, others are assigned directly to the social security department. In the latter, employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service should actually work, but no.
“For example, there were women working there, colony employees, whose ignorance of labor legislation was horrifying,” Elena recalls. “And the conversation with them went something like this:
— How long have you been working here?
- Two years.
— And you don’t know how vacation is calculated?
- No.
This trend is also typical for men’s colonies - there the staff are just as incapable of doing anything, and the work is done for them by the prisoners.
“The zone employees are the laziest creatures in these institutions,” laughs Mikhail (name changed), a man with a higher education and extensive experience in the housing and communal services sector. He served about three years in one of the maximum security colonies of the Volga Federal District. Almost immediately, as soon as he arrived in the zone, Mikhail began to serve as the deputy head of the colony for security and operational work. Officially, of course, the man was registered as a simple laborer, but unofficially he did everything that the colony staff could not do competently (for example, he corresponded with the leadership of other FSIN institutions, law enforcement agencies, and state and local government bodies).
The FSIN is a system in which everyone or almost everyone is interested in something - or rather, in money or in promotion - which, however, is the same thing here
Some prisoners work as sellers in prison stores - not in those located inside the camp, but in those nearby, for relatives - so that they can come and buy something on the spot and hand it over. There are prisoners who are in charge of the warehouse - accounting for materials, receipts, expenses. They do the work of pre-trial detention center employees because they know how to do this work and understand it, they know how to work normally in Excel, they know how to draw up documents correctly, but the FSIN officers do not. Therefore, there are always convicts - usually with a good education, often from Moscow - who sit and do most of the work of FSIN employees, although they should not do this. They are registered as part-time workers somewhere, but in reality they work for the administration, receive a meager salary (1,600 rubles a month, for example), and FSIN officers receive a salary of 25 thousand rubles a month for “their” work.
And Elena was one of those smart, educated, home-seeking prisoners who worked in “prestigious” positions.
— Is no one indignant at such a system? “They survive there, and don’t fight for money.” There, a woman, more or less adequate, has only one main task - to survive.
“What kind of parole do you need?”
If a woman in a colony was able to achieve some kind of “indulgence” (at least an uncut apple), if she is promised parole, then either her relatives make repairs in the entire colony and transport building materials by truck, or she closely cooperates with the administration of the colony - and in the factory give easy operations, for example.
All the rest are mere mortals, no one cares about them - let them adapt as they want.
The FSIN is families, clans, labor dynasties. Colony employees are mostly relatives - because there is nowhere else to work, because there are good benefits and a pension, because they don’t know how to do anything else, because “my whole family works here, and I will.” The FSIN is a system in which everyone or almost everyone is interested in something - or rather, in money or in promotion - which, however, is the same thing here. So corruption is highly developed, and each prisoner is a golden antelope, which brings benefits not even to one specific employee, but to the entire system. The FSIN has per capita funding.
No one there hints that the colony needs repairs or that something needs to be bought. They speak directly there. Thus, there is an opinion that women who are imprisoned on economic grounds are definitely millionaires.
“That is, it doesn’t occur to anyone that my mother, with her pension, works part-time as a concierge to bring me packages.” No. If my mother is lucky for me, it means I have a treasure buried. And the head of the detachment asks me: “Can you make repairs for us?” I tell her: “Are you out of your mind? I had a hard time renovating my apartment.”
Prisoners, of course, do not have a lot of money (salaries are small), but prisoners have relatives who, even if they are not wealthy people, will somehow find money to improve the living conditions of their loved one.
Elena talks a lot about her friend who wanted to be released on parole, and she had every chance. That is, of course, there was no chance, but formally there were. The colony administration also understood this. Therefore, when the woman began to write applications for parole, the administration began to put pressure on her relatives - buy, pay. The relatives refused.
- After this, the simplest option is applied. She is transferred to another detachment, and there is something inconvenient for her: the sleeping place is inconveniently located, the bedside table is inconveniently placed - in the kitchen, not by the bed, etc.. And she can also receive punishment for any trifle. Penalties are recorded in a personal file. Well, what kind of parole do you need?
Elena’s relatives were told in plain text: pay 100 thousand rubles, and your Elena will be released on parole. Of course, you should not pay in an envelope - this is dangerous. You need to transfer money through an individual entrepreneur: they say he buys a crazy amount of bed linen sewn by prisoners. Elena, of course, was against it, but her relatives paid for her parole and bought much needed bed linen for 100 thousand rubles. That is, they, of course, did not receive any linen - they simply paid 100 thousand rubles and signed the invoice - they say that everything was received.
Parole did not happen for Elena. But after some time she was released under an amnesty. And after her relatives paid 100 thousand rubles, Elena was transferred from a regular detachment to a detachment with light conditions of detention, and then they simply planned to transfer to a colony settlement.
Not only those who conflict with the administration or do not like something are not released on parole. Those who have a sentence of less than two years are not released on parole either, because the FSIN officers do not like such people. So they say: “Your year/one and a half/two is nonsense. Close your eyes and sit it out. We're not interested in you. Forget about parole altogether.” This is what they told Ekaterina, who arrived at IK-2 in Nizhny Novgorod. Ahead of her was a year and a half of wind, gray walls, gray faces.
FSIN officers love people who have sentences of ten years or more - because the colony employees can live, work, get used to each other, and try to cooperate with such convicts.
But even more, FSIN employees love people who have and/or know how to do something. And it’s not just about relatives who pay, buy, transport, transport, transport. The FSIN does not always need money from you - there is still a great many things that a prisoner can do: for example, raise the image of the colony, tell naive admitted correspondents and commissions how good it is here - so that, among other things, the bonuses of the colony employees increase. Prisoners may simply be smart - for example, those who work for or for the administration - may be good at sewing or simply do something that others cannot - be good at organizing events, drawing or understanding electricity and being able to solder. These are all just people needed by the colony. She doesn’t just let people like that go, let alone on parole. If you're useful, you won't leave before the bell rings.
It became better, more fun - the neck is thinner and longer
“When I arrived at the colony, I immediately said that I would not sing and dance. And these words came back to haunt me very quickly.
Tatyana straightens her shock of red hair and puts out her cigarette. Tatyana spent about six years in IK-5 in Mozhaisk. The woman says that she was lucky - her relatives did not abandon her, they came, called, and worried. And she was also worried about her family, how they were there alone at home, without her. I was worried and really wanted to see them. Tatyana is also a lawyer by training and knew her rights very well, and she was able to use it. First time.
— The Criminal Executive Code has the following wording: “lighter conditions of detention.” According to the law, “lite” gives you additional dates, additional transfers, but, in fact, this is all formal. In reality, everything is the same for everyone, it’s just a “lite” checkbox – a chance for parole. As long as you don’t get relief, you won’t get parole. From time to time, commissions are held in the colony: the heads of the detachments, the entire educational staff, and the head of the colony gather there. The time has come for me to get relief; I went to this so-called commission. The head of the detachment, a young girl, she was 23 years old at the time, says: “Tatiana *****, smart, educated, we thought she would be a good assistant for us, but she took the position of an observer and doesn’t want to do anything.” The head of the colony says: “Do you want to do nothing and get easier conditions of detention? It doesn't happen that way. Sit and think."
But it’s scary not to serve time in prison, it’s scary to be left alone with her
It has already happened historically that in Russia both the guilty and the innocent go to prison, and those who are guilty of something other than what they were imprisoned for. Prison breaks the weak, but makes the strong stronger, better, kinder, more sincere, more honest. Prison is like a very difficult little life in your big life, leaving behind a mark that later stings, itches, annoyingly painfully reminds you of yourself - both the strong and the weak. Some more, some less. But no matter how strong or weak you are, guilty or innocent, you are still scared, you are afraid of this prison, which takes away from you your family, loved ones, air, beautiful sky, sunsets, fishing, relaxation by the sea, and any vacation in general, and in general all your previous life, and you from your previous life into the unknown. You're scared. But it’s scary not to serve time in prison, it’s scary to be left alone with her. This is how children are afraid when they are left alone in the hospital, this is how old people are afraid - not of death, but of loneliness. The prisoners are so afraid - that they cannot help their families, that they cause many problems in an already difficult life, that the children will not understand and will look at them reproachfully; They are afraid that they will not fight for them, that they will come out, and no one is waiting for them. Everyone is afraid to be free and see that his film is over, and the audience and even the creators have already gone about their business while he was there, surviving there, while the sky pressed down from above with the same color in any weather - gray.
That’s why everyone wants to get out faster, be less afraid, want the sky to stop being the same, for the days to stop being the same, for this endless barbed wire to end. Tatyana sat, thought and really missed her family.
“In the end, I went to sing and dance,” Tatyana seems to sum up. - I want to go home. I came up with and staged concerts myself. And there are a lot of them at Mozhaika: in a quarter you need to stage a literary and musical composition, put on a concert and a performance. That is, you need to write scripts, find participants, give them roles, make sure they learn them, and constantly rehearse.
Six months later, Tatyana became the chairman of the leisure section - she staged plays and concerts for the entire colony. This did not at all negate the fact that she worked in a factory. Tatyana slept little - she worked during the day, and wrote scripts again at night. When I heard that an inspection was going on, I went to bed and pretended to be asleep. Because if the check catches you not in bed during curfew, you will be put in a punishment cell or given a reprimand. And this means no parole. And everything goes in circles. In the morning Tatyana got up and went to the factory. Tatyana worked in the quality control department - between a rock and a hard place. Tatyana says that it is very important to choose the right position here.
“I just really want to go home.” And for this you will sing, and dance, and work in the OTK. This is all for the sake of parole. Better you than you. I did my job, I had clashes with the foreman because I did not accept defective products. I understood that we would return to the detachments, that their detachment was located on the floor above ours, and there were no guarantees that nothing would happen to me. At the same time, I said: “Don’t fight me, I’m just like you, and just like you, I want to go home. And my family is much more valuable to me than yours. I want to go to my child, to my mother, so I will do this work, I must do it by law. It is written that I must work, I will work. If you now churn out defective products, I won’t go home.”
Because Tatyana literally dragged herself through “leisure activities,” the colony staff turned a blind eye to some of her actions. So, Tatyana did not wear a padded jacket like everyone else, but a jacket made of black fabric that didn’t even look like a padded jacket. It was a light jacket made from fabric stolen from the wet market and padding polyester stolen from the same place. And this was forbidden to everyone. But Tatyana staged concerts for all the commissions, and the commissions liked these concerts.
Tatyana sang, danced, worked in the Department of Quality Control, and really counted on parole. But she didn’t get out on parole. Because at the commission, Tatyana was suddenly reminded of the reprimand she received back in the pre-trial detention center. I was going to court for the first time, I didn’t know anything yet, I thought that prison brotherhood was supposed to be necessary - I agreed to give a note (“baby”) from one man in a paddy wagon to the woman with whom I was sitting in the same cell. And when I returned to the pre-trial detention center, there was another search, they found a note and reprimanded me. I thought it was oral. Tatyana learned about the existence of this reprimand in her personal file only during the parole commission in the colony.
“If I had known what they were writing to each other in that damn note, I certainly wouldn’t have taken it.” It’s just that at the beginning you still don’t understand anything, you don’t know - it seems like it’s supposed to be there, maybe there’s something needed there, but in the end, “I love it, I’ll buy it.”
And also at this commission it turned out that someone allegedly saw a lighter in Tatiana’s hands - and this is a strict prohibition. As a result, they said that it was too early for Tatyana to be released on parole. In fact, she was simply a very necessary person in the colony.
Tatyana calmly, with a smile and even with pride, recalls that when she was engaged in the leisure section, it benefited not only the FSIN who drew strength and blood. Tatyana chose topics for performances and concerts that could be interesting and useful for women prisoners.
— For example, many people do not know what the difference is between ethics and etiquette. We also had a day in memory of Anna German, and one of the performances was dedicated to the work of Hemingway - for some this man was a discovery, some did not know who he was. And I am very pleased that women learned something new. Maybe after such a performance they will become interested and will go and get a book.
But to organize a concert, it is not enough to be a resourceful person and a creative person. You need other prisoners to support you and want to participate.
It seems that there were performances and concerts in the life of almost every prisoner. And such events in women’s colonies are held with a regularity enviable for any schools and children’s camps - they’ve just held one concert, and they already have to prepare for the next one.
You will not get parole by participating in songs and dances. But you will definitely help someone nearby. Because this person who is nearby, who was appointed responsible for these “fun” events, cries and asks to participate, to play such and such a role, because it’s really necessary. Because the squad leaders come to evaluate it and give some points.
- Well, who will participate? People are lazy. Moreover, in the colony these holidays occur too often. And there it already reaches the point of absurdity, tears and snot, because sometimes it’s very difficult to force people to participate. For example, one day I just had to play a half-kan,” recalls Ekaterina. – Because my friend was responsible for these events. And she sat and just cried: “Nobody wants to play for him. What should I do?". And I said, “Well, let me be a regiment, what now.” And we staged a fairy tale about the Magic Carpet. They didn’t come up with anything smarter, because in a closed space there is no TV or newspapers. And in order to come up with something, you need some new information, and when there is nothing, you are already sucking out some lights, New Year's Eve, etc. out of thin air. In fact, this is terrible. But we got tired of it, everything is fine.
There are practically no concerts or performances in men's colonies. Once every six months, a person who has held a musical instrument in his hands at least once in his life takes this musical instrument and plays his entire repertoire, slightly stylizing it to suit the setting or theme of the holiday. Concerts in men's colonies, unlike women's ones, are rare, and there is no need to talk about the leisure section.
— It’s all about the specifics of the contingent. Women are not sent to do heavy work, and men work in steel production, processing wood and plastics. “I worked with plastic,” says Stepan Zimin, a defendant in the Bolotnaya case. He served three years in prison in IK-6 in the Tula region. “And it’s really hard.” After six months of work, this plastic was already starting to come out of us.
Katya the welder
Friendship with the administration of the colony will not save you or grant you parole, but just friendship, from the heart, can do something.
Katya Kolosova spent about three years in IK-6 in Shakhovo (Oryol region). And she sat there well - because Katya had a good job. Katya was helped to get a good job by the caretaker, with whom they accidentally became friends. Therefore, when the colony staff came to the detachment and said that they needed two people, the caretaker said: “Kolosova will go.” And Kolosova went.
“I didn’t know where I was going.” She said that if I have to, then I’ll go. But she knew where she was sending me, she wanted the best for me just like that. One might say, out of personal sympathy.
Katya is a small girl with short hair, a small pointed nose and a soft smile. And in the colony, women paid special attention to her.
— Probably, my orientation is immediately visible to me, right? I've always been like this. There are people who become like this in the zone out of despair. And I have already arrived. And it enjoyed some popularity. My appearance is the explanation for my luck. This is the explanation. It's banal and rude. But that's how it is.
But it’s not about orientation or not only about it. Katya never refused to help - neither the prisoners nor the colony staff. During our conversation, she repeats more than once: “People are the same everywhere - there are good and bad. But everyone has two legs, two arms, and everyone has their own problems. But if you turn to face them, respond to their requests, they will definitely turn to face you. It works everywhere."
According to her work book and all documents, Katya was an ordinary laborer. But in fact, he was a mechanic, a welder. Everything related to plumbing and heating is her part. Everyone knew Katya, everyone always needed her. Therefore, she, like Tatyana, was allowed more than the others - the same uniform altered to suit herself. Katya's things were never touched during the search. All the bags were gutted, everything that was found in excess was taken away. But when they saw Kolosov’s signature, they didn’t even touch the package. Therefore, female prisoners put some of their things in Katya’s bags - they knew that they would not find them there.
— I became friends with the head of the security department (security department). And she always had to do something, fix something somewhere, paint something somewhere, Katya recalls. “And if you ask someone to do something outside of work, everyone has the same answer: “What about me?” But the head of the OB knew that she would go and ask Kolosova. Kolosova will go and do it. I simply needed this - to make time pass faster.
Katya didn’t pay for anything, all she had to do was ask. After all, Katya often helped and rarely asked. Therefore, her requests were always fulfilled. But in order to transfer to the settlement colony, Katya had to cheat.
Katya’s friend, with whom she was in the same unit, had a young man who was a lawyer. And he agreed for 5 thousand rubles to draw up and submit to the court all the necessary documents. Katya’s friends transferred the money to him, Katya only had to send her documents to the lawyer - the most difficult thing. And then Katya collected the documents and approached the woman who worked as a postman in the zone and read all the correspondence. Katya explained to her where and why she wanted to send the documents, that she wanted to leave.
— She was a civilian, not a cop. And I always helped her unload the parcels,” recalls Katya. “And she looked at me like that and said: “Bring it.” I’ll send everything.” And she sent it. And then, when the trial was scheduled, everyone went nuts, but they couldn’t do anything. I understood that there was no point in submitting applications through the administration, they wouldn’t let me go, they would immediately draw up some kind of report, as is usually done. Where am I going with the report? And then everyone started telling me: “Where are you going? What did you forget there? Well, what do you think, that we won’t release you on parole?” And I immediately told them: “I don’t believe that I will leave here on parole. You won't let me go anywhere. But I need to go home.” So I left.
Any colony is divided into two parts - an industrial zone (industrial zone) and a residential zone (vein). Women work in the industrial zone; there are production premises there. In the residential area there is a dining room, a library, a medical unit, barracks, and a club. But both of these parts merge into one big gray lack of freedom. And she is not pleased by the good attitude of the colony staff or the love of the female prisoners who are nearby. Hope comes from calls, dates, memories and the belief that you will get out of here and everything will be fine. Although it is when you get out that the hardest part begins. But for now you have to believe and live, experience gray snow, gray grass, gray sky, gray clouds that either press from above or fly too fast, which, unlike you, as in the song of Alexander Galich, “do not need a lawyer, and amnesty to nothing".
And then people go out and learn to live again. Now here, in such prosperous freedom, next to successful people and large companies that do not hire people with a criminal record. And here no one is interested in why you were in prison - they framed you, or you made a repost, or you wanted to dig a tunnel from Bombay to London, or you planted poisoned corn. You sat, your relatives cried, delivered packages and came on dates. Or they didn't. Or they didn't come. Or neither. Just a man sitting.
This is how they look at it, this is how they evaluate it, this is how they don’t accept it anywhere, they give up on it.
Text: Svetlana Osipova Photo: Elena Anosova
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