In Russia, as in any other country, there is a long-established system of punishments. Convicts are sentenced to real sentences in penal colonies, which in our state, according to the Criminal Executive Code, have several types. There are colonies of general, strict and special treatment, settlement colonies, medical correctional institutions, and educational colonies for minors.
The bulk of the convicts ends up in maximum security colonies, as such institutions contain adult citizens who have relapsed crimes and have previously been punished with a real term, as well as persons who have committed a particularly serious crime for the first time.
The colonies of the strict regime of Russia are legally defined in the PEC of the Russian Federation, which describes the features of serving the sentence. In particular, in each colony there are different conditions of detention: lightweight, ordinary, strict and special (Article 123 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation).
Normal conditions
Upon arrival at the correctional facility, the convict is quarantined for 2 weeks while he is being issued, identifying his character, possible illnesses, etc. After that, the person sentenced to deprivation of liberty shall be transferred to the usual conditions on which he may remain until the end of the term. They can transfer to such a regime from strict conditions (if there are no penalties and violations) and from facilitated ones (if there are violations of the regime). Serving a sentence in such a regime usually implies the following:
- long visits with relatives (up to 3 days) and short visits (up to 4 hours) - 3 times a year;
- transfers and parcels (up to 20 kg) and parcels (up to 2 kg) - 4 times a year.
Lightweight conditions
In the event that the prisoner does not violate the regime of a strict regime colony, by order of the head of the colony he may be transferred to lighter conditions. They suggest a more comfortable, compared with the previous regime, residence in the colony when the convicts are in the hostel.
For dates and programs under light conditions, the following order is assumed:
- long dates, short-term dates - 4 times a year;
- transfers and parcels, parcels - 6 times a year.
Strict conditions
There are also strict conditions to which a convicted person can be transferred by order of the head of the colony if the regime of the colony is strictly violated. The criminals are in closed premises with the possibility of a daily walk of about two hours in a separate area.
For such violators of the law, the following procedure for visits and broadcasts is provided:
- long dates - 1 time per year;
- short-term dates, transfers and parcels, parcels - 2 times a year.
As can be seen from the above, the stricter the conditions of detention, the less the convict is supposed to meet and transfer, that is, he is significantly limited in constant communication with close people and relatives, as well as in obtaining basic necessities and food “out of his will”.
Special conditions
In case of a significant violation of the regime of detention, management may decide to create special conditions of detention. This type of serving a sentence implies, as a rule, placement in a cell-type room where the prisoner is held in the most severe conditions that are possible. The convicted person has the right to receive two transfers or parcels per year, once a half-year short-term dates are laid. These are general rules for serving sentences in a cell. They may vary in each colony.
Special regime colonies
It is necessary to say about such a correctional institution as a maximum security colony. In fact, the correct name for such objects is a special regime colony. In IR data, the conditions of detention are much different. This is due to the fact that they contain dangerous criminals, repeat offenders or sentenced to life imprisonment. Women cannot be transferred to a special regime.
Thus, this type of colony is inhabited by especially dangerous criminal elements. The male penal colony of strict regime (as well as special and general), contains in its walls prisoners who have different tendencies: to escape, suicide, malicious violation of the regime and assault on employees (and cellmates). In the “camp” of the special regime there are “watchers” who look after the observance of their own criminal regime of relations between convicts, which, as a rule, contradicts the rules of the penal system.
In defense of the convicted
But you should not think that absolutely all convicts only think about maliciously violating the regime of a strict regime colony or attacking someone. There are citizens who commit crimes because of life circumstances, simply because they have not learned to exist differently. A lot of words were said about this, in particular, that the entire penitentiary system of Russia is not suitable for the true correction of convicts, and the public rejection of former prisoners does not even give an attempt to a stumbled person to start a new life from scratch.
Society itself, complaining about the behavior of criminals who have been convicted and have already been released, is pushing them to commit new illegal acts, considering such citizens to be “scum of society”.
Convicted labor
In colonies, convicts, as a rule, engage in socially useful work, that is, they work and receive wages for this. The regime of a strict regime colony provides for any activities that are permitted by law and provided for in this IC. The money earned is credited to the convicted person’s account, minus the amount claimed by the victims, if any. Prisoners can also receive at the location of pensions and other social benefits, if they are provided for convicts. Products manufactured in the IC are sold on general business conditions. The entire working period is credited to the prisoner's total length of service and is taken into account when calculating the pension.
Settlements
In colony settlements, prisoners can also work and study, only in a more free mode. The legislation provides for convicts to stay on the territory of the settlement with the right to travel to the city (since these institutions are far from settlements), if this is related to work and study. In addition, those serving their sentences have a vacation and an unlimited number of visits with relatives and other people in the territory occupied by the penal colony.
Strict regime settlements in the PECs of the Russian Federation are not defined as a category of colonies, however, they take place in the sense of the conditions in which prisoners are found. In these institutions, the decisions of the chief are essential, which sets the rules for the maintenance of convicts. Most often, a strict regime does not occur in the settlement as a whole, but in a particular category of citizens who are in the institution. As in all organizations of this type, in a colony of this type there are conditions of stay, which are mentioned above.
Convicts from other colonies may be transferred to the settlement in connection with the replacement of the judicial regime.
Colony Location
Often, relatives of convicts have questions not only about the conditions of detention in any correctional institution, but also about its location. The list of strict regime colonies is quite extensive. In each federal district of Russia there are at least 30 such institutions, not counting the colonies of other regimes, pre-trial detention centers and settlements. In some cases, these objects combine two modes: strict and settlement, general and special, etc.
Addresses of the strict regime colonies (some of them):
1. PKU IK-5 - pos. Sosnovka, st. Litvinova, 104c, Belgorod.
2. PKU IK-3 - st. Polina Osipenko, 49, Vladimir.
3. PKU IK-2 - st. Eletskaya, 2, Livny.
4. PKU IK-6 - Women's High Security Prison (1300 places) Shakhovo, Kromsky district.
5. PKU IK-10 “Vaskin Mokh” - pos. Metallistov, p / o Mikhailovskoye, Kalinin district.
6. PKU IK-19 - r.p. Markovo, Irkutsk region, Irkutsk region.
7. PKU IK-43 - st. Bach, 3a, p. Yagunovsky, Kemerovo.
8. PKU IK-2 - st. Tselinnaya, 50, Rybinsk, Yaroslavl region and many others.
Most often these are remote areas of the city or settlements. As a rule, a pre-trial detention center (pre-trial detention center), where the accused are kept during the investigation until the verdict is passed, are located in the city. By the way, the conditions of detention in the detention center are much worse than in the colonies of strict and other regimes, therefore the following rule for calculating the term of punishment is legally recognized: 1 day in a pre-trial detention center is equivalent to 1.5 days in a colony. This is due to the fact that before a convicted person enters the "zone", he may be under investigation from several months to several years.
Special colonies and prisons
In Russia, in addition to the strict regime colony regime, which provides for slightly different general conditions of detention, these institutions also have a special reputation. In this regard, there are peculiar legends about correctional institutions. The most famous are the colonies of the special regime where suicide bombers are placed - those to whom the death penalty has been replaced by life imprisonment, as well as pre-trial detention centers in different cities of Russia, which have their own special history.
One can name among such institutions the famous Vladimir Central,
Lefortovo Prison, Sailor Silence, Butyrka Prison, the White Swan, the Black Dolphin, and Crosses. The stories told both within the walls of prisons, and in freedom, amaze even the most seasoned people with their content.
The regime of some Russian colonies
Unfortunately, some of the few remaining remaining security colonies continue to administer their own justice. At the moment, there are fewer such institutions, but they exist in every region of Russia. For example, relatives of convicts in IK-19 of the Irkutsk Region respond extremely negatively to the conditions of stay of their loved ones within the walls of this organization. The Irkutsk colony of strict regime does not differ from the others, but the order of communication with prisoners leaves much to be desired.
In the Kemerovo region in 2007, a scandal erupted over the attitude of LIU-16 employees towards sick prisoners, when prisoners who miraculously escaped from the "death zone" talked about the horrors that were happening within the walls of the institution with the permission of the administration.
At the same time, in the colony of the special regime of IK-29 in Kemerovo, convicts can insure their life and health, thereby protecting themselves from the encroachments of PKU employees.
In Rybinsk, the strict-regime colony IK-2 "thundered" throughout the country with the events of mass suicides of first-movers (those who first entered the colony) in 2013.
At the same time, they began to take measures against employees committing illegal acts. According to the GUFSIN, in March 2014, two employees of a correctional institution were detained while trying to commit a crime. Unfortunately, the data has been removed from the public domain, only the header remains.
Drawing conclusions about the system of punishment, regardless of the regime of the colony, we can say that significant changes are necessary. And it is not the PEC of the Russian Federation that needs to be changed, but the people who implement it. The health and life of people who, albeit due to their own indiscretion, have ended up in a colony depend on this.