There are various types of institutions for serving sentences by lawbreakers. However, one general definition has been adopted for them - "penitentiary institution". This is a pre-trial detention center, and a colony of settlers, and, in fact, the prison itself. This definition means both institutions intended for convicts and places of detention for those under investigation.
History of Butyrka Prison
There are many prisons in the territory of the post-Soviet space . But what penitentiary institutions in Russia have gained the greatest fame? Firstly, this is the famous Butyrka prison. Incidentally, archers were enclosed in it, organizing a rebellion back in the time of Peter I. Under Empress Catherine II, Emelyan Pugachev was imprisoned here.
Butyrka prison is also known for its prisoners in the Soviet period - it contained Mayakovsky, Solzhenitsyn, Mandelstam. As expected, prisons in pre-revolutionary Russia were a place for rebels against imperial power. When the Bolsheviks came to rule, those who dared to oppose the new regime were imprisoned here.
The prison consists of twenty buildings, and in total there are 434 cameras in Butyrka.
The most famous correctional institution in St. Petersburg
The next place is the famous St. Petersburg prison called “Crosses”. The building was built of red brick, and next to it is a church with three shining domes. The prison received its name in the architectural form in which this prison was built.
This place, despite its gloomy surroundings, is famous for certain exceptions. They concern only those whom in prison it is customary to call "authorities." For them, in “Crosses” concessions could reach the point that one, for example, kept an iguana, and some managed to arrange banquets right in prison.
The place of detention of the worst criminals
One of the worst prisons in Russia is called the Black Dolphin. From there, they almost never go free - those who received a life sentence serve their sentences here.
All types of prisons have certain internal rules, but the Black Dolphin prison is not without reason called a cemetery for bandits. This place has a special history. The prison prototype was built during the time of Catherine II and it was located in the Orenburg region, in the city of Sol-Iletsk.
The institution was named so because of the statuettes of dolphins located in its courtyard. But by the way, prisoners never saw them. As soon as they arrived at the prison, a canvas bag was immediately thrown over their heads. This was done for a reason, because the most terrible criminals were sent to the "Black Dolphin". These were cannibals, rapists, terrorists. In an ordinary prison, such convicts could be torn to shreds.
The most mysterious prison
One of the most mysterious prison institutions in Russia, Lefortovo Prison, also gained gloomy fame. It was built at the end of the XIX century. and at first it was intended for petty thieves and other unlucky lawbreakers. But already from the beginning of the 30s of the last century, much more serious prisoners began to be placed there.
Now the prison is under the jurisdiction of the FSB of Russia. This institution is one of the most stringent throughout Russia - any purchases and sales between prisoners are prohibited here, and it is almost impossible for an ordinary person to get there. Even if the guest is a member of the press or television.
Vladimir Central is another institution built by the empress
Catherine II also built the Vladimir Central Prison. Vladimir Krug sang about her in his famous song. But actually in this place there is no romantic mood. In the last century, the head of Hitler’s guard, Hans Rattenhuber, was also kept here, as well as singer Lidia Ruslanova, actress Zoya Fedorova.
Now the Vladimir Central is the only prison in the whole of Russia, from which none of the prisoners escaped. The history of penitentiary institutions in Russia totals thousands of cases of attempts to undermine, sawing off bars or intentions to bribe security guards. But here all these actions were disclosed even before the prisoner managed to make an attempt to escape.
Prison "White Swan"
The White Swan Prison is an analogue prison of the Black Dolphin. It is located in the city of Solikamsk, Perm Territory, and the most dangerous criminals also arrive here to serve their sentences. The prison can accommodate 510 prisoners. It was built in 1938, and at first it was intended for political prisoners and for ministers of the church. But since 1980, about 130 “thieves in law” were kept and re-educated on the territory of the “White Swan”.
She got her name not only because of the statuettes, as is the case with the Black Dolphin. The reason for such a poetic, at first glance, name was the pose in which prisoners can move around the prison territory - bending over and with their hands behind them. But at the same time, statues of white swans of various sizes can be seen throughout the prison. And both of these theories are not mutually exclusive.
Prison Target History
Previously, those who committed the crime had two options for punishment — penal servitude or exile. But the prison concept itself appeared about 200 years ago. Prison is a concept introduced by John Howard. He is one of the first who proposed not to exile criminals to other territories, but to subject them to re-education. However, despite the attempts of the reformers, it cannot be said that there are fewer repeat offenders. Correctional facilities do not always fulfill their function. The main goal in prisons - re-education and correction - is sometimes replaced by a complete collapse of personality.
This happens especially often in Russian prisons. For example, the Vladimir Central Prison is a twin sister prison in the German town of Bochum. German prisoners even came to a Russian correctional facility with humanitarian aid. The fact that they complained about prisoners in Germany who are of Russian origin, is interested in ways to pacify them. The system of penitentiary institutions of the Russian Federation is one of the most cruel.
A little bit about European prisons
The role of the prison before the correctional institutions were invented was played by the floating ship-prisons referred to by the prisoners and the remote quarries.
For example, until the 18th century, violators of the law in Spain went to galleys. According to the recollections of one of the prisoners of that time, James Fox, the conditions of detention here were almost hell on earth. Fox was imprisoned on the Retribution ship, where there were about 600 people in shackles, there was terrible dirt and parasites.
Almost a third of all prisoners here died for various reasons. Sometimes this happened simply from starvation, because the criminals had to pay supervisors for food from their own pockets. Those who finally lost their strength and could no longer work, or who had no friends or relatives on the shore, were doomed to death.
Thomas Beaver Prison - Income-generating Correctional Facility
But over the course of history, many began to think about converting punishments for crimes. Many educated people understood that a prison is not a place where a person must meet his death. First of all, in such an institution, he must correct himself and embark on the true path.
So, for example, in 1875, an aristocrat from England Thomas Beaver created a prison in the city of Norfolk. On his orders, the convicts were in different conditions, depending on the crime that they had committed. Also separately in this prison were men and women. Prisoners at Beaver Prison, dubbed Wimondham, were required to work six days a week. The profit from their labor should have been twice as high as the expenses incurred by the correctional institution for their maintenance.
Differences between European and Russian Prisons
Modern European prisons are very different from domestic ones. The structure of the penitentiary institutions in the Russian Federation is in many ways inconsistent with the pressures placed on correctional institutions. For example, in a prison that is designed for 9 thousand people, they may contain 12 thousand. Some officials believe that the issue can be resolved through alternative measures. For example, you can use house arrest instead of imprisonment when it comes to petty crimes.
In European prisons, the conditions of detention cannot be compared with Russian ones. A lawyer has the right to come to prisoners at any time. On the territory of these institutions are free hairdressers, laundries, as well as small shops. Prisoners in Europe have the opportunity to engage in creativity or master computer literacy. Also, in Western prisons, prisoners can contact the outside world at any time - there are pay phones on the territory of correctional institutions. All cells in Europe are equipped with a clean toilet. Unlike Russian, where a hole in the floor still plays this role.