The resort town of Sol-Iletsk, near Orenburg, is known not only for its saline healing lakes, but also a colony for prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment. The Black Dolphin Prison, where almost half of all Russian pardoned suicide bombers are currently located: serial killers, terrorists, maniacs, is the largest specialized regime institution in the Russian Federation.
Since 2000 , the colony has officially been called the PKU IK No. 6. The history of its formation goes far into the past - in the 18th century. In 1756, the tsarist government signed a decree on sending exiled convicts to work. Detainees began to arrive at the Iletsk Defense to carry out salt mining. In 1824, a castle prison was built on the site of the fortress to keep prisoners. Then there was a prison department (since 1894), later it became a transit prison (since 1905). Even later (in 1917) a
concentration camp was formed
, which existed until 1942. Then the Sol-Iletsk prison was subordinate to the UNKVD (since 1942), the Ministry of Internal Affairs (since 1953). In 1965, she was reassigned to a colony for the maintenance of criminals with tuberculosis. The reassignment of the institution to the Ministry of Justice of Russia in 1998 was marked by the assignment of a new name - YUK-25/6.
In 2000, the special contingent and the type of regime were changed - the colony began to be intended for the maintenance of "life-time prisoners". For this, a large-scale reconstruction was carried out: they equipped new cameras, installed tracking systems, and built additional roadblocks. Now the protection of prisoners is perfected.
Why is the unofficial name for the colony “Black Dolphin”? The prison (photos are presented in the article) became so called thanks to the sculpture of a black dolphin in the courtyard. However, the prisoners did not see her - along the street they move only in blindfolds. There are only two reasons for withdrawing from the regime building - for an hour's walk or work. All movements outside the camera are handcuffed. In the prayer room, the left hand of the prisoners is fastened, and the right hand is allowed to be baptized. Handcuffs are removed only during washing in the shower, but convicts wash themselves behind bars.
Prison "Black Dolphin" has its own production - prisoners work in shoe and sewing shops.
Thieves' laws do not work here - a former representative of law enforcement agencies is sitting in the same cell with a member of a criminal gang, and a rapist with a terrorist. The cameras are cleaned by themselves, those who boycott the requirements are placed in the isolation ward. During the day it is forbidden to sleep and lie on the bed. You can sit on a stool or walk back and forth. You can’t talk loudly, sing, make noise, but half an hour a day is allowed to listen to the radio.
The Black Dolphin Prison is literally training prisoners. But the prison staff honestly warned that they might not return home, because no one knows what the prisoners have in mind - they have nothing to lose. Many are psycho-registered. Doctors say that during their stay in a correctional institution of this regime, prisoners go through several stages of getting used to the conditions. First, they learn the laws and orders of the prison world, then the psychological state stabilizes, and they become “robots” that adhere to any instructions implicitly. In the future, either humility and complete detachment from what is happening, or physical and mental extinction due to internal resistance.
It can be said that the Black Dolphin Prison is a one-way trip; there are no way-backs for lifelong prisoners. Of course, they all dream that, after serving 25 years, they will be able to get out on parole. Theoretically, this is possible, but in practice no one has succeeded. The strictest regime of detention, infectious diseases, poor nutrition - to hold out for a quarter of a century in such conditions is simply unrealistic. Therefore, prisoners quickly free up their places for new inhabitants. The Black Dolphin Prison does not give a chance to survive, and those who are within its walls now have also been deleted from the lists of the living.