Tagan prison, or "Taganka" - this name has long been a household name and has left a significant mark in contemporary art. Many ordinary people today do not even know where this correctional institution was located and what it was officially called. Especially for you, the complete and true history of Taganka, as well as the unique facts and historical evidence of contemporaries in our article.
The beginning of the history of the Moscow Provincial Criminal Prison
Deprivation of liberty as a punishment for committed criminal acts in Russia began to be used even under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. The peak of activity in the construction and organization of correctional sentences occurred during the reign of Catherine II. In 1804, Emperor Alexander I issued a decree on the construction of the Moscow Provincial Criminal Prison. The outskirts of Moscow were chosen as a place for arranging such an institution. Today it is Malye Masons Street. Very close is Novospassky Monastery and
Taganskaya Square. It is by its name that the people got their prison "Taganka". Initially, the institution was classified as a “prison workhouse”; prisoners were constantly living and working here.
Who was kept and re-educated in the legendary prison?
Initially, the "Taganka" was intended for criminals. However, already in the XX century it received the status of "transit", and in the XXI century. political prisoners were also placed here. The explanation for these changes is the simplest. Other prisons in Moscow - Butyrka and Sailor Silence - did not always have enough places for new prisoners. Since its founding, the Moscow Provincial Criminal Prison has had a huge number of workshops. None of the prisoners was left without work, and if the convict did not have any profession, he was also trained while serving his sentence. Directly on its territory, the Taganskaya Prison had locksmith-forging-mechanical, tailor's, turning, printing and bookbinding workshops. Already in 1921, the Pravda newspaper praised the competent organization of re-education of convicts by labor and praised the importance of the work of prisoners for society and the country. Meanwhile, in 1920, the “Taganka” contained only about 1,200 convicts, and a little less than 200 people were employed.
Prison conditions
Even today, many Russian prisons cannot boast of good prison conditions and the humane organization of their labor. In past centuries, things were no better. Overcrowded cells and
common areas, meager and monotonous food, and hard labor in the literal sense of the word. If you believe the testimonies of contemporaries, the prison itself made a depressing impression - dull yellow walls, bars on the windows. But at the same time, international standards were always observed nominally here. In the 1920s, the Tagansk prison even received foreign delegations, sometimes parcels from the Red Cross came here.
Legends and facts
Many broken destinies and people convicted unjustly have been seen by Tagan prison. The history of this correctional institution is full of various legends and facts, which are not easy to believe in. At one time, the director of the prison was Menzhinsky’s brother, and surprisingly, the prisoners liked him very much. They say that when he was informed of the planned arrest of Patriarch Tikhon, he personally came to His Holiness and, asking for blessings, announced his detention. However, maybe all this is just a beautiful myth. And yet, someone in Tagansk prison lived very well. After the revolution, V.F. Dzhunkovsky - the former governor of the Moscow region and the head of the police, found himself in Taganka already as a prisoner. The attitude towards this prisoner was very condescending. The thing is that Dzhunkovsky was a well-educated and intelligent man, as an exception he was allowed to educate minors, as well as raise rabbits, and soon, however, he was completely released. The life story of Maxim Zhizhilenko, the son of a prosecutor who worked in a correctional facility as a head physician, is interesting. The Tagan prison really became his home for him. After the death of his wife, he led the life of an ordinary prisoner - he lived in a simple cell and ate food prepared for prisoners.
"Taganka" in the XX century
After the 1917 revolution, all Russian prisons were filled with a “new” type of criminals - political prisoners. The next wave of arrests affected religious figures. Interestingly, a church was built in Taganka (1894), but already in 1922 it was closed. Then believing prisoners received the premises of a communist school for their meetings. It was supposed to pray in front of the portraits of Trotsky and Lenin, since there were volunteers from the staff who agreed to protect prisoners during this event. Another interesting fact: in 1940 the Taganka prison was a place of detention for 4,120 prisoners, while there were less than 800 personnel. In 1946, an unusual execution took place right in the courtyard of the legendary correctional institution. General Vlasov and his followers were hanged by death, there is evidence that the condemned themselves asked to be shot traditionally, "like a soldier."
Prison jargon and thieves romance
An interesting fact: the first Russian dictionary of prison slang was compiled precisely in the Taganka. V. Trakhtenberg did a tremendous job, the result of which was a unique collection of “translation” of thieves' slang into the Russian literary language with explanations and comments. A popular version is that the word "balanda" also appeared in this prison. Legend has it that once in the local kitchen a cook worked with the surname Balandin, who was able to cook almost inedible foods for prisoners. As a result of his creation, he was nicknamed the “Baland”, and the culinary cook himself was convicted in a saucepan with another inedible soup.
Famous Prisoners
Over the one and a half century history of this correctional institution, a huge number of famous and simply outstanding people have visited it. At different times there were: N. Bauman (a Bolshevik revolutionary), V.F. Trakhtenberg, Savva Mamontov, Porfiry Ivanov (a famous healer), Osip Shor (prototype of Ostap Bender), T. Kravets (academician) and many others . In fact, the list goes on and on. It is worth noting that life in prison was often the same for everyone. Intellectuals, politicians and religious figures lived in conditions created for criminals, often involved in hard work.
End of story: demolition of Tagan prison
In 1938, the NKVD carried out a reform, as a result of which Prison No. 1 of the OMZ of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the Moscow Region became the Tagansk prison of the GUGB. Accordingly, the correctional institution transfers from the department of the NKVD Directorate to the subordination to the Main Directorate of State Security of the NKVD. In 1939, Taganka officially changed its status and became a transit prison. In 1946, the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs was formed. Accordingly, after several reforms to merge and distribute powers between this ministry and the KGB, the correctional institution becomes subordinate to the
Ministry of Internal Affairs. The last official name of "Taganka" is the Central Tagan transit prison of the Eighth Directorate of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. The history of this correctional institution ends in 1958. The legendary prison was demolished by order of Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev.
What is today on the Taganka site?
Most of the prison buildings were quickly demolished. Soon, a kindergarten was erected at the place where the Taganskaya Prison was located. It was intended for the children of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and several residential five-story houses — typical “Khrushchevs”. From the correctional institution to the present day, only one administrative building and laundry room have been preserved. In the first building today there are a variety of offices, and where the laundry was once actively carried out, housing department is located. The base of the prison wall has also been preserved - this is a parapet with a height of about one and a half meters, stretching along the modern Novospassky lane. However, perhaps this is another legend. But everyone can look at the administrative building, which once had Taganskaya prison. The address of this house is 16 Malye Kamenschiki Street.
Legends from the surroundings of Taganka
If you find yourself in the former territory of the correctional institution, not knowing the history of this place, it is impossible to even assume that it was once here. Few Moscow prisons are as famous as Taganskaya, but despite this fact, today this area resembles a typical
sleeping area. A riot of greenery, ordinary houses, but people still live here who personally remember government buildings behind high fences. Among the inhabitants of the districts there are legends about prison dungeons and tunnels dug by convicts. Some claim that they personally saw how human bones were removed from trenches to the surface of the earth during excavation work. Particularly impressionable citizens talk about strange visions and not very pleasant dreams in which they see life in prison or its prisoners.
Mentions in art and popular culture
This prison is not in vain called legendary, even today, when more than half a century has passed since the demolition, a truly folk song “Taganka” can be heard on the radio or found in collections of popular hits. What is noteworthy, the poet and composer of this work is not installed. However, the composition has already been performed and recorded by many popular artists of various years, and, interestingly, they continue to re-sing it today. Sang about the Taganskaya prison and V. Vysotsky, just listen carefully to the lines of the song: “Hey, driver, take me to the Butyrsky farm”. In addition, the prison is mentioned in the memoirs of its prisoners and various encyclopedic-historical collections. Filmed about "Taganka" several documentaries and information television programs. Although the prison itself was demolished in 1958, it entered the history of Russia forever. Interestingly, many ordinary people regret that the historical correctional institution was demolished, it would be much more interesting to visit the museum, open within its walls.