How women live in a Russian prison. Report from the penitentiary. Broadcast of the official blog of Maria Arbatova in Hydepark

"From the bag, but from the prison do not renounce"
"The prison does not choose, into it and honest people fall"
/Russian proverbs/.

The majority of law-abiding citizens who have never been in a pre-trial detention center, colony or prison, nevertheless, have some idea of ​​the life of prisoners. It is formed under the influence of films, TV shows, newspaper articles and stories of acquaintances who have been "there".

But to what extent do the ideas of the townsfolk coincide with reality? In what conditions are convicted women? What classes are numerous days imprisonment?
Do you want to know? see the photo report from Correctional Colony No. 2 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region.

IK-2 is a general regime colony for women. It is located in the Leningrad region, in the village of Ulyanovka, not far from the city of Tosno. This is the only female colony in St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Novgorod and Pskov regions.

Women who have been convicted of any crimes (including serious ones) for the first time come here. Since there are no strict regime colonies for women, as for men. Most of all convicted under article 228 - Illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, manufacture, processing of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances or their analogues.

Since it is a general regime colony, women live here in dormitories. One of them is in the title photo. As you can see, there are no bars on the windows. Moreover, windows of a regular size with opening sashes: you need to ventilate - no problem!

All convicts, in the absence of contraindications, are required by law to work. There are several factories in IK-2. For example, a uniform for the Ministry of Internal Affairs is sewn at a garment factory. And sometimes commercial firms open production facilities on the territory of correctional institutions. They rent premises, import equipment, provide convicts with work, and pay salaries.

Expenses for accommodation, food, etc. are deducted from the accrued salary, the rest is transferred to personal accounts. Money from personal accounts can be transferred to relatives or spent in a prison store.

Working convicts are entitled to annual paid leave - 12 working days. Vacations are granted with or without travel outside the correctional facility. But vacations with departure are granted only with the permission of the head of the colony. It happens infrequently, only in exceptional cases. As a rule, women spend their vacation right in the colony - in the vacation center.

Those sentenced to deprivation of liberty are granted short visits lasting four hours and long visits lasting three days on the territory of the correctional institution. Maybe six a year short dates and six long ones.

Also, those sentenced to deprivation of liberty are granted the right to telephone conversations. The duration of each conversation should not exceed 15 minutes. Telephone conversations are paid by convicts at the expense of own funds or at the expense of their relatives.

1. A room in a hostel with lighter conditions of detention. There is even a TV on the wall.
Those convicts who follow the daily routine, do not violate the regime of detention, work, participate in amateur activities, can be transferred from normal conditions content on lite.

2. Many cats live in hostels. Moreover, all the cats we met looked quite well-fed and well-groomed.

3. In their free time, convicts may take part in various leisure activities.

4. This room is the "entrance hall" in one of the dormitories. Convicts are given the opportunity to decorate the interior to their taste.

5. Everything is made by the hands of the women who live here.

6. Another handsome man.

7. Cats are not the only representatives of the animal world in the hostel.

8. Prison store. Here you can buy food, drinks, household chemicals. The assortment is richer than in some rural and country stores.

9. Payment is made from a personal account, no cash, of course. Debit and credit are reduced in these cards - the store can function even without electricity!

10. And this is a room in the holiday center. Wooden beds, paintings on the walls. It looks like an inexpensive resort.

11. Here is the kitchen. Here you can cook your own food, using products bought in the store.

12. The highlight of the holiday center is the sauna. Quite small, but this does not bother anyone.

13. Since the colony is female, several creative workshops are organized here.
Here, for example, carnival masks are made.

14. Participation is voluntary, in free time.

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16. In addition to making masks, women sew dolls here. The result of the work can be passed on to loved ones. Many have children left at large, and this a great opportunity give your child a gift.

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18. Paintings are being painted in the next room. The environment is very creative.

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21. And these dolls have gained popularity outside the walls of the colony. Some copies were taken to the exhibition in the Museum of Dolls of St. Petersburg to participate in the general competition.

22. The manufacturing process is quite simple. The blank is pasted over with papier mache and covered with paint. Real hair is used, as a rule, one's own, the face is drawn. The most important thing is elegant dress, here the whole fantasy of the author is manifested.

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25. Hands are molded by hand (sorry for the pun). But what are they molded from?

26. Of course, from bread.

27. If you look closely, all the dolls have different faces.

28. In the interior of the gym, they decided to use the motives of Ancient Egypt.
And again the TV on the wall.

29. And this is the chapel, which can be seen in the title photo.
Batiushka comes once a week from Tosno, conducts a service. Those who wish can take communion and confess.

30. One of the industries where convicts work. The equipment is modern, all processes are under program control.

31. And this is what is obtained at the output. You will buy a bowl for a cat in a store, and it is made here.

32. In Correctional Colony No. 2, one can not only work, but also study.
Right on the territory of the colony is a vocational school.

33. The main profession that you can get here is a seamstress.

34. There are several classrooms in the school.

35. Women here not only study, but also work.
Main products - work clothes, a form for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, medical clothing and bed linen.

36. creative works.

37. Recently, training in new profession- painter-finisher.

This photo essay was prepared as part of a joint project spbblog and the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

To be honest, in IK-2 I saw absolutely not what I expected. Starting with the absence of bars on the windows and fairly good conditions of detention, and ending with a variety of options creative pursuits. In my non-professional opinion, there are all conditions for rethinking one's actions, obtaining new professional skills and starting a new life.

There is a special galaxy in the criminal universe - women's prisons. The "concepts" by which the world of criminals lives are absent in the women's colonies.

There are unspoken rules that everyone must follow. For example, in each cell there should be a “senior” who keeps order so that there are no prohibited items and that the cellmates keep order.

Hierarchy in the chamber

Women's crimes are different from men's. Women are less likely to commit acquisitive crimes, robberies, and robberies. They are more likely to commit murders, and cause serious harm to the health of a domestic nature. This is due to the fact that women are more emotional, and the mind does not always guide the behavior of a woman, especially in moments of rage.

Husbands, lovers, husband's mistresses become victims of female violence. When arrested, women do not resist and do not run away.

Mutual relations of convicts, as a rule, are neutral. This is not a male cell where there is a struggle for leadership. The hierarchy in the cell is like a beehive - there is a uterus - the "eldest", assistants to whom the eldest delegates her unspoken duties and the rest of the girls.

Most of the cells are designed for 40-60 people, in which there are beds in two rows, which are called "bunks". There is a bed that is at the end of the chamber, without a second shelf. It is called "glade" - the "older" sleeps on it. The cell also has a kitchen and a toilet with a shower. The kitchen, toilet can be used for an unlimited time, and clothes can be washed only in certain days. The chamber is cleaned daily, three times a day.

The cleaning schedule is drawn up in advance, and it is impossible to refuse duty - the only exception is those who “sit” for a long time. Bad vigilance is punished extra days cleaning. The duty can be "sold" for two packs of cigarettes or for groceries. Girls are not allowed to enter the kitchen if there is a “senior” and her assistants. To support the camera calm atmosphere, girls are forbidden to swear and use derivative words, so there is often absolute silence in the cell.

The eldest is responsible for "training" the newcomers. The process of getting used to a new life takes a week or two. The eldest in the cell allocates places, and the newcomers get places near the entrance, the so-called "brakes".

Hierarchy on the zone

After the verdict is passed, the woman is transferred to the pre-trial detention center. For the female psyche, this is a huge stress, because it is impossible to prepare for the prison environment. "Driving in prison", women lose their sense of reality.

The operational worker is engaged in the distribution of cells. Usually they try to “pick up” a camera for a newcomer, but this is done not for the sake of a woman, but for the sake of the employees’ peace of mind - there are fewer conflicts, which means that it is easier for the administration to work. Therefore, accountants and officials are in one cell, “collective farmers” are in another. This principle is violated only if accomplices are imprisoned - always in different cells.

On the zone great importance has "who you are", your position in society before prison. For example, whether you are a Muscovite or not, how often you receive programs, how many letters they write to you, what you wear and what you eat - your own food or prison food. Thus, the attitude of the prison society is formed. Although the status is formed not only with the help of the "pre-prison" position, but also depends on the individual.

Conflicts end with raised voices, but there are practically no fights, and if they happen, then without serious damage. Murder is generally a rare case in the women's cell. If the prison administration finds out about the conflict, the guilty will be punished, and finding the instigator is easy. Therefore, they try not to conflict without a weighty reason.

There are six women's colonies in Kazakhstan, the total number of women and girls serving sentences as of August 1 this year is 2901. Women's correctional colony UG-157/11 of Atyrau opened three years ago, with a total of 234 prisoners from four regions. Vox Populi correspondents visited the women's colony to tell and show readers how they live in penal colony and who are they - the women whom the court deprived of their liberty.

1. All women's colonies in the country are of general regime, except for the colony in Karaganda, where “walkers” (prison jargon) are kept - repeatedly convicted women

2. Twice a day, convicts gather on the parade ground for inspection. Absence is considered a gross violation, for which they can be put in a punishment cell. Such a mark in personal file undesirable, as it affects parole (parole) and transfer to a colony-settlement

3. After checking, all women disperse to their jobs or squads. White scarves are a mandatory part of the uniform

4. The conditions of stay in UG-157/11 are as close as possible to a standard women's hostel. Five squads, in which approximately 50 women each, are placed in their own blocks. In each block, except for the bedrooms, there is a common teahouse, a storeroom, a guest room. There is a shared bath, laundry and ironing

5. Four women live in each room. According to the charter, they do not have the right to sit or lie down on the bed from nine in the morning until seven in the evening. It is austere and smells of bleach here.

6. Each detachment has its own foreman, an authoritative person who knows how to eliminate internal conflict situations and to maintain peaceful coexistence among several dozen women with a difficult fate and character. Brigadiers of detachments or, more simply, "bumps" are people with untouchable authority. The brigadier has a deputy, a santroika (sanitary troika), a foreman-orderly, assistants responsible for the supply room, for the kitchen, for the tea house and for the leisure and sports section (SDS)

7. In the relaxation room, convicts can be alone with themselves. Three psychologists constantly monitor the well-being of prisoners. For every convict individual approach. On the zone emotional condition women are extremely unstable

8. In the evenings, women gather in front of the TV. They watch news and TV shows, the most popular are Turkish. It should be noted that the well-established life of the colony largely depends on the attitude of the convicted women themselves. The paintings on the walls were made by the prisoners themselves.

9. Kapterka. One convict was released today. Employees escorted her to the station. The head of the zone contacted the Aktobe Center for Adaptation and Rehabilitation of Convicts and asked for help with accommodation and employment. Despite the loud laughter and joy, anxiety and notes of fear slip through the liberated woman: “how will everything turn out in the wild?”

10. The most demanded product in the zone is payphone cards. Prisoners may not see their loved ones for years, as the families of many women live in neighboring regions, and it is not always financial opportunity come to long term date. And so they keep in touch through the phone. But there is a limit to such conversations. Each convicted person is entitled to 15 minutes telephone conversation in a day

11. The convicts are fully supported by the state. In addition, they have transmissions from relatives. In the local shop once a month they can buy everything they need. Cigarettes are second in importance. Almost everyone smokes, regardless of age and position. They don't quit here, they start smoking here. There is no other way to calm down

12. Here, in the zone, there is a special atmosphere - sincerity or falsehood is immediately determined. Women are kept by "families", family members are not given offense. The head of the family is the queen, the rest are princesses

13. The bath unit works almost every day. The administration went to meet the prisoners and allowed them to equip a shower room with the detachments themselves

15. Laundry and ironing units are well equipped

16. Medical unit. Almost every second woman has serious illnesses

17. Hall of the quarantine block on the second floor. Now only one woman is undergoing adaptation. After arriving at the institution, the prisoner spends 15 days in the quarantine department. Psychologists, doctors, and the educational department immediately begin to work with her, after which she is transferred to one of the detachments on a regular regime, on which she stays for six months. It differs from the facilitated one in that dates take place every three months. There are more privileges in the light mode - permission for monthly transfers, a date of up to 3 days every two months, there are incentive meetings and transfers

18. Despite the spacious dining room, each squad enters at its own time

20. When we were filming in the dining room, one woman, leaving, shouted: “Come more often, they will feed us better,” and another added: “The food is normal, you can’t please everyone here and they bring us transfers, have you seen full refrigerators?”

21. Fresh bread smells far outside the bakery. In colony UG-157/11 they bake the best bread among all zones of the country

22. The head baker, Ira, also worked in the bakery outside. Baking bread is her calling.

23. According to the baker, the secret of delicious bread is in the good flour of the first grade of the Kostanay region and in the humane, conscientious attitude of the bakers

24. On a shift, Ira with six assistants hand over 1000 rolls, provide for their own and neighboring male colony

25. Baker is one of the most prestigious and paid jobs in the colony. The chief baker receives 23,000 tenge

26. Every second woman has a debt to the state - lawsuits, state fees, legal costs. Therefore, many people are interested in getting paid work. The administration is constantly working on the issue of employment among convicts, of all prisoners only 60 women work. Soon the colony plans to open a fish shop

27. There is a small sewing shop for 34 women, in which clothes are sewn for prisoners in male colonies. They do not refuse third-party orders here either: overalls for hospitals, for oil companies. In addition, there are detachments of household servants with a salary of 21,000 tenge - kitchen workers, janitors, foremen of detachments, workers of a bath and laundry plant, a librarian

28. At the correctional institution there is a college where they teach in such specialties as a seamstress, cutter, confectioner, cook, hairdresser. This year, diplomas were awarded to 87 convicts

29. The prison library is constantly updated, there is an agreement on this with the state library

30. Demand for books is high - almost everyone reads, mostly fiction

31. A few books on religious topics. This year, 60 women kept the orazu at first, but due to the hot summer (air conditioners and fans are not allowed), 30 fasting remained.

32. The colony has a Sports and Leisure Section (SSS), which includes a library, acrobatics courses and, of course, the organization of cultural events. This institution hosts the best and most costumed concerts of any zone.

33. The foreman of the first detachment, Bibigul, where the SDS belongs, admits that a lot of effort has been invested in order to achieve such a level of the show. The administration willingly meets halfway, gives the opportunity to train, allocates money, provides training videos

36. Prisoners make costumes and decorations with their own hands, they can sew ball gowns from ribbons and pieces

37. In the evenings they play intellectual game"Field of Dreams"

38. There are several girls in the SDS whose sports and dance data meet the requirements of the section

39. Olga - fizorg (organizer of physical education) and dance director of the SDS, age - 32 years. Article 259 - drugs.

She served over seven years. Only 2 years and 10 months left before the call. He does not like to talk about his personal life. In another institution, she was a persistent violator, so she did not pass on parole. Here, in UG - 166/11 - she right person, master - golden hands: an electrician, a carpenter and a specialist in welding and installation work. I learned all this in the zone

40. In addition, Olga successfully leads the acrobatics section

41. Katya is engaged in acrobatics and dancing in the SSD. Age 32 years. Article 259 - drugs. Term - 11 years, served 4 years 4 months.

In Aktau, where she lived, she had her own small clothing store. She and her friend often flew to Turkey for goods. Then I decided to bring ecstasy tablets, not for sale, but for personal use. Now her two daughters are in the care of a 63-year-old retired mother. IN last time she saw them two and a half years ago, mom does not have the opportunity to bring her daughters for a long-term date. Now she only sees in the photo how her daughters grow up. Katya understood for sure that not a single pleasure in life is worth exchanging it for the opportunity to raise her own children. In three years, she hopes for parole. After the term ends, she wants to devote herself to her daughters. Correspondence with convicted men is not uncommon in the colony. But Katya no longer wants to start a relationship. There, in freedom, everything is easier. A man loved you, loved you, and then stopped loving you, but this disappointment is hard to bear even in the wild. And here, in the zone, even with a howl of a she-wolf, there is nothing to close the void. Therefore, she crushed all female feelings in herself and only dreams of seeing her children more often - at least once every six months.

42. The approximate age of the staff of the prison administration is from 20 to 30 years. 90% is women's team As a rule, the majority are not married. permanent employment at work, many do not allow to engage in personal life

43. Head of the detachment Botagoz Nurkhanova, 28 years old. Works since the opening of the colony.

“When I first came here to work, I thought: “What am I doing here?” It was really scary, says Botagoz. – The turning point happened when I had to morally support one prisoner. Then you realize that they ordinary women who just need understanding

44. Prisoners address Botagoz with the word "mother", so symbolically they call all the heads of the detachments. Of all the employees of the administration, the chiefs of the detachments are closest to the convicts. Together with the foreman, he coordinates and monitors compliance with the regime. Communications between "moms" and convicts in this zone are primarily human character. Broken women's fate some prisoners are sympathetic and understanding from their guards. Over time, you practically have to live with the problems of your wards, write their characteristics, represent them in court. "Moms" - a link between convicts and senior officers

45. The administration solicits, writes positive characteristics of convicts with exemplary behavior. But nonetheless, the last word always up to the judge. Many do not go through the courts, there are enough reasons for this: outstanding debts, absence, or vice versa, a large number of incentives, a short term of imprisonment, serious convictions. The most common court reply: “How is it different from other convicts?”

46. ​​The main articles for which women fall here are: 259 - sale, possession and distribution of drugs, 177 - fraud and 96 - domestic murder, and much less often, infanticide

47. The photo shows a copy of the SMS from the partner of one of the convicts, he sent these messages to her on the day of the trial. The girl took the blame of her boyfriend on herself, at first she went as an accomplice. As a result, he is serving 5 years for apartment fraud. The convict admits her guilt, but being within the walls of the colony she is trying to get the person who pushed her to commit fraud to jail

48. Prisoners have the right to visits: short visits of two, four hours and long-term visits of three days. There is also an opportunity to see the convicts on the day open doors

49. Inspector in the screening and visiting room (KDS) Gulim Kushenova accepts documents from a man who came for a long-term visit with his wife

- Most often they visit convicts - Kazakhs, - says Gulim. - They come with children, relatives. Bring food, clothes, detergents

50. At the entrance to the women's colony there is a stand with photographs of things prohibited for transfer.

51. Hall of the meeting place - a room without a hint of gloom. All furniture - cabinets, tables, is done right there, without leaving the zone. Those who come and are convicted are provided with all the conditions for a long meeting: separate room, kitchen, living room, shower

52. Nina Petrovna, age 61. Article 259 - drugs. The term is 10 years. She served 1 year and 6 months.

Husband and granddaughter came to her for the first time in a year and a half. In the zone, she has proven herself exclusively from the good side. She underwent several heart surgeries. The living from the colony does not hope to get out. There have been suicide attempts

53. - My son is serving a sentence under the same article, - says Nina Petrovna. - After the UBN officers began to beat him during the investigation, I began to write numerous complaints-statements in order to stop the bullying. I was threatened that if I didn’t stop, I would soon find myself behind bars. I continued to write and soon the police "accidentally" found several grams of heroin on my bed ... So I ended up here. I tried to lay hands on myself, but they stopped me. No, you don’t think, the conditions here and the attitude of the administration are normal, but it’s psychologically difficult for me

54. Raima, age 40. Article 259 - drugs. Term 10 years, served 3 years and 2 months.

“My husband died nine years ago,” says Raima. - I was left with three small children, the youngest daughter was 8 months old, my parents are pensioners. I was the only breadwinner in the family. A few years later, she got involved with a man. He helped with money, with the housework - we had our own cattle. Then I decided to expand the grocery store. I sold the store and started construction, but did not receive the promised loan from the bank. So I was left without a business and income. She began to sell fruit in the yard, and in the meantime, her partner set up the sale of heroin. Roommate was given 10 years of strict regime, I was imprisoned for complicity

55. - I was able to visit my mother for the second time in three years, - says Alima, Raima's eldest daughter. - As soon as my contract with the company ended, I immediately brought the younger ones for a long-term date with my mother

56. Alima works as a marriage manager in a furniture store. With a salary of 60,000 tenge, Alima is now the family's sole breadwinner. She recently prepared younger brother and sister to school, bought clothes and stationery. She wants to return to Aktobe to be closer to her family and visit her mother more often. Alima is worried about her mother's health - her eyesight rapidly deteriorated in the zone - it became minus twenty, they also found tuberculosis. For questions about personal life answers evasively, decided not to be friends and not get married until mom is free

57. This year, the transfer to settlement colonies of those convicted of especially serious crimes was cancelled. Mothers of many children who have committed domestic murders or women who are forced to be involved in drug trafficking will serve their entire term away from their children, who are often in the care of elderly grandparents or in orphanages. So, they are most likely to be released on parole after serving 2/3 of the term

58. Vera, age 30. Article 96 - Murder. Term 6 years, served 2 years, 9 months.

She got married and had daughters. They lived happily and well, but soon her husband began to assault, for seven years she endured his difficult character. Daughters, seeing a drunken father, immediately went to bed, they were so afraid of him. The drunken husband was extremely cruel, he could grab his daughters or Vera and beat his head against the wall, hit him with any object that came to his hand. Threatened with an ax, kicked, kicked out of the house. He even beat his relatives - raised his hand to his mother. It all ended with a stab in the heart. Moreover, Vera does not remember how it happened, she wants to remember under hypnosis. The children were left in the care of a sick mother. The injured party has no claims. Faith wrote to Supreme Court, the Attorney General, filed a petition with the President - all to no avail so far

59. Hope, age 24. Article 96 - Murder. Term 11 years, served 3 years, 1 month.

She lived and worked as a nanny in Astana, studied to be an accountant. Then because of financial difficulties moved to a small village in the Aktobe region. Once we were walking with friends, decided to continue the fun and went home to a new acquaintance - a man retirement age. In the morning, when everyone fell asleep, he began to pester her and raped her. Being in the strongest drunkenness, she was very frightened, began to resist, grabbed a knife from the table and struck ten blows. She called the police herself. She frankly admitted her guilt. During the investigation, she found out that she was pregnant. She decided to leave, now her son is 2 years old. He was taken and raised unemployed mom who does not have the opportunity to come for a long-term date. On the phone, Nadezhda often talks with her son, he addresses her by name, thinks that she is his sister. She works as a seamstress in the zone. Having paid off all claims, he sends the earned money home. He repents and knows that he deserves punishment. Hopes for transfer to a colony-settlement at the place of residence

60. Mahabbat, age 22. Article 180 - accomplice in rape. The term of 6 years of strict regime, taking into account the age of the convict, she was transferred to general. She served three years.

Walked in the evening with a friend in a noisy company. After some time, in a strong alcoholic intoxication, she left, and the girlfriend remained - as a result of gang rape. In addition to her, 5 people are involved in the case. Mahabbat was accused of pandering, that she forcibly took the victim away from home. The victim then gave birth to a daughter, passed Orphanage. Mahabbat dreams of becoming a photographer

61. Marina. 41 years old Article 96 - domestic murder. Term - 6 years. She served 3 years, 3 months.

Dali short term because the injured party had no claims. She lived with her second husband for ten years. He constantly drank, did not work, beat her and the children. And during another scandal, Marina took two knives and stabbed him simultaneously in the heart and liver. Died on the spot. Marina's two children - a 17-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter - live with her brother and daughter-in-law

62. Tamara, 32 years old. Article 96 - Murder. Term - 9 years, served 7 years.

Husband drank and abused for seven years. Once a drunk came, a quarrel broke out. She stood with her one-year-old son in her arms, he hit her and hit her son in the ear. Auricle burst, blood splattered on the wall. Then Tamara grabbed a knife and plunged it into her husband's heart. Her three children - daughters 12 and 5 years old, son 3 years old - were taken care of by her parents. I have not seen children for the last two years. Works as a dishwasher in the canteen for the sake of rewards, wants to get parole

63. Zarina acrobat SSD. Age 25 years. Article 96 - Murder. Term -8 years. She served 4 years.

Pupil of Aktobe orphanage. For the first time "closed" at the age of 17. I wanted to earn money by transporting drugs to Russia. She stayed there for three years. Already on the outside, she fell in love with a guy, began to meet him. At his birthday party, he accidentally killed a neighbor while drunk in a fight. She left the bathroom, and in the room there was already a corpse in a pool of blood. The guy shouted to her to run away, but she did not do this, she decided to be with him to the end. Then the police arrived, an ambulance. She made a sincere confession. She took all the blame, her beloved asked - and told her so, they give women less term, and I'll wait for you ... But the last time she saw him was in the courtroom. In the colony, she acquired the skills of a seamstress-mechanic and a fitter. Also dances in a local club, the best acrobat. Now she has one dream left - to visit Paris and look at the Eiffel Tower.

A woman in prison: prison dates, prison sex, children born behind bars...

To the colony to meet his wife

Sergei is preparing to meet his wife Galina in the colony. He has already purchased everything needed for the 30-kilogram transmission. It remains to buy some sweets for the three-day date - berries, fruits, ice cream.

Sergey has been going to meetings in the colony for the third year already. Three years later, the term of punishment will also end. The sentence that Galina received is nine years in prison. The same amount was received by her first husband, with whom they went through the same case. To date, Galina has served six years. Her first marriage cracked even before her arrest. A couple of years later, when the spouses were already distributed according to different zones, it became clear that they even had nothing to write to each other about.

Sergei is Galinin's second husband. Managed to somehow get to know each other at the stage. The young man then received two years in prison. We started to correspond. If letters go from zone to zone, this is always problematic. But they established a connection through the will. After his release, Sergei came to Galina for short date. Soon signed. The husband tries his best to support his wife, both morally and financially. “When our loved ones behind bars feel that they are needed in freedom, then time in captivity flies much faster,” he says. In turn, Galina writes in almost every letter to her husband how happy she is, because, at last, she understood what it means to live.

For those who are far from prison realities, this short story- allegedly from the series "Santa Barbara". However, everyone who has been in prison will tell you that not so happens in prisons. Although rarely.

As a rule, their mothers come to visit convicted women, less often their fathers. More rarely - spouses, especially with children.

“Why do they need dates, why?” “If spouses most often wait for their husbands, then men are much less patient,” Sergey says sincerely. less chance save the relationship." He explains this by the fact that men cannot live without sex for a long time, and therefore, when a wife is behind bars, most often they get themselves new life partners.

Sergei is convinced that lengthy prison visits should still be much more frequent than once every six months. He also believes that the so-called bachelors should also have the right to a long meeting with loved ones.

Human rights activists refer to the experience of the Swedish penitentiary system, where prisoners, regardless of whether they are married or not, can meet with their loved ones every week in prison. ) is absolutely insufficient. There is also the opportunity to meet with their families weekly. To put it bluntly, there is the possibility of some kind of physiological discharge, which is also important. Thus, a person constantly feels a connection with his relatives. In addition, relatives should not think about how and for what to collect another parcel for the inmate. Here in Sweden, where the prisoners are provided with literally everything, there is simply no such problem.”

Such a restriction on dating, as well as a forced refusal to have sex at a fertile age, leads to hormonal cycle disorders, affects mental state creates an atmosphere of considerable sexual tension in prisons.

More than half of the seated women are covered by lesbian love

According to the research of psychologists of the Moscow Research Center mental health conducted in the institutions of the Russian prison system, a woman is in prison due to the lack of necessary tactile contacts with close and emotional ties "breaks" even much faster than a man. The psyche of women does not withstand after 2 years of forced separation from home, relatives, family, while for a man this happens after 3-5 years. Often in such conditions, instead of a real feeling, a woman who needs it begins to look for some kind of surrogate for feelings.

According to researchers, forced lesbian love in Russia covers more than half of the women in prison. A similar picture is typical for most women's correctional institutions, explains former convict Maria, who spent two years in a colony.

Maria: “Many people have this kind of connections. Especially among those who repeatedly sit for a long time. Those who have short time, can only slightly taste this kind of love. Some do without sex at all. However, among those seated long terms more than half have such connections. All such relationships arise absolutely voluntarily. Nobody is raping anyone."

According to Maria, 2 types of such partnerships are common in women's prisons.

Maria: “1 are the so-called “halves”, they identify themselves as women and look accordingly feminine. 2nd type of connection - when women perform already masculine and female role. The first of them are very similar to men. When I first saw such a woman in a pre-trial detention center, I thought that some guy was put in the cell by mistake.

Such women are called "kobles" or "pickers". Their faces are scarred, their hair is short, their voice is rough. I don't know how it turns out that a woman changes completely. "Kobly" show signs of attention to a certain girl. They have it like a real real married couple. The so-called man will protect his mistress, be jealous of her. Moreover, there are concrete scenes of jealousy, fights and disputes are not uncommon. After being released from prison, the "kobls" sometimes did everything to return back. After all, the so-called wife remained there. So strong love was. If both women are free, then very often they continue to live together in the wild. Sometimes a couple brings up the child of one of them together. It happens that even born in prison.

"Where the babies come from?"

According to Maria, the demographic problems characteristic of society have not touched women's zones at all. Zechki give birth quite often.

But where do children come from in the colony, from whom? As Maria says, women get pregnant while still free, just before the pre-trial detention center. Some become pregnant while still in the colony after long dates with spouses. There are other options.

Maria: “Sexual relationships with men also happened in our zone. For example, with civilian workers. When there was construction going on. But it's true similar cases more often thwarted. As a result, those workers were fired, women received various penalties. The very last moment: when a polyclinic was being built under my supervision, the girls were forbidden to even come close to those workers, to put on short skirts and thus provoke men. As far as I know from the girls themselves, they are trying to make contact at the factory with the so-called "chemists". Trying to arrange a call to meet in some back rooms. But in Lately very young and frightened were recruited to the factory, who literally run away from these girls. Previously, as veteran convicts told me, in a separate cell you could meet a male prisoner of $50. Now it is almost impossible - everything is under video surveillance.

Remembering breastfeeding women in prison, Maria says that not all of them are familiar with maternal feelings. The girl believes that most of these convicts give birth to a child for opportunistic reasons, for the sake of various privileges. These are walks without limits on fresh air, improved nutrition - dairy products, more fresh fruits, vegetables. Plus regular health care. This, however, can be said about the zone. It is much more difficult for pregnant women in a pre-trial detention center - they live like everyone else.

Maria: “Besides, some women, like mothers of babies, may even expect to get parole. They receive upon release a certain financial assistance- money, toys, things. Themselves, when they get out of prison, they often just take and leave their children ... More often at railway stations. This happens in the first hours after liberation.”

As Russian experts-psychologists note in their studies, very rare stories prison motherhood have a happy ending. The system itself in the former Soviet republics is built in such a way that there are no conditions for a person who has been released from prison to find at least some place in life. Therefore, usually former convicts, who have developed maternal feelings and who are not going to give their child born in prison to anyone, recall with nostalgia the time they spent with the baby in the colony. Even though it was lack of freedom, their small family had everything necessary for existence. In the conditions of the Russian penitentiary system, there are also houses for the children of convicted mothers. They are designed for kids from zero to three years. How expedient is it to keep children from their very birth in a prison "baby house", isn't it better to do it in the same institution at large until the mother comes out of prison?

A well-known journalist who visited female colony a few years ago at the Open Day, noted that the prison house resembles a private kindergarten. The walls of the rooms are painted fairy tale characters, in the rooms - wooden cribs. Eat music hall and playrooms, a children's patio with gazebos, flower beds, a playground with swings. All problem children who have inherited certain diseases from their mothers, and most of them, are under close attention neurologist, pediatrician, nurse, educator. Their state of health is slowly recovering. Then the journalist managed to talk with some mothers. One of them, convicted Alla, in a conversation with a colleague, was very worried about how painful it was for her to see her child behind the “thorn”. Alla became pregnant in the colony during a meeting with her husband. At first, he encouraged her very much, wrote, came. And then he disappeared. They say he has a new passion. Not a day, Alla said, she did not leave the thought that her daughter's life begins with the zone.

The woman, however, was sure that she would still put her daughter on her feet, give her both upbringing and education. She hoped that she would never have such an experience again in her life. However, she would not hide it from her daughter, she said.

I wonder how the fate of this mother and her daughter? And are they together now?

Maria: “Of course, it happens in different ways. There are cases when women in the colony tremble over their children, and then go out and drink all the children's things. After all, if a mother with a child is released from a colony, then they provide the child with a stroller, clothes, and food for the first weeks. There are mothers who drink it right away. However, in general, I emphasize this word, mothers love their children very much. The child is very stimulating to become responsible for his fate, because they don’t have another good one like this baby.”

However, let us return to the research of psychologists at the Center for Mental Health. According to their conclusions, after two or three years of imprisonment, many women, including mothers, undergo certain metamorphoses in their consciousness. Contrary to common sense and the innate thirst for freedom, the feeling of punishment disappears, fades - and already it seems to them that prison is the only house acceptable for their existence, from which they are afraid and there is no need to go out into this world where no one is waiting for you. Someone, realizing this, reconciles and begins to take root in this habitual ugly environment, adapts, dissembles, and someone falls into indifference, despair, longing, anger at everything and everyone ...

In the criminal universe there is a special galaxy - women's prisons. The "concepts" by which the world of criminals lives are absent in the women's colonies.

There are unspoken rules that everyone must follow. For example, in each cell there should be a “senior” who keeps order so that there are no prohibited items and that the cellmates keep order.

Hierarchy in the chamber

Women's crimes are different from men's. Women are less likely to commit acquisitive crimes, robberies, and robberies. They are more likely to commit murders, and cause serious harm to the health of a domestic nature. This is due to the fact that women are more emotional, and the mind does not always guide the behavior of a woman, especially in moments of rage.

Husbands, lovers, husband's mistresses become victims of female violence. When arrested, women do not resist and do not run away.
Mutual relations of convicts, as a rule, are neutral. This is not a male cell where there is a struggle for leadership. The hierarchy in the cell is like a beehive - there is a uterus - the "eldest", assistants to whom the eldest delegates her unspoken duties and the rest of the girls.

The cleaning schedule is drawn up in advance, and it is impossible to refuse duty - the only exception is those who “sit” for a long time. Poor duty is punished with additional cleaning days. The duty can be "sold" for two packs of cigarettes or for groceries. Girls are not allowed to enter the kitchen if there is a “senior” and her assistants. In order to maintain a calm atmosphere in the cell, girls are forbidden to swear and use derivative words, so there is often absolute silence in the cell.
The eldest is responsible for "training" the newcomers. The process of getting used to a new life takes a week or two. The eldest in the cell allocates places, and the newcomers get places near the entrance, the so-called "brakes".

Hierarchy on the zone

After the verdict is passed, the woman is transferred to the pre-trial detention center. For the female psyche, this is a huge stress, because it is impossible to prepare for the prison environment. "Driving in prison", women lose their sense of reality.
The operational worker is engaged in the distribution of cells. Usually they try to “pick up” a camera for a newcomer, but this is done not for the sake of a woman, but for the sake of the employees’ peace of mind - there are fewer conflicts, which means that it is easier for the administration to work. Therefore, accountants and officials are in one cell, “collective farmers” are in another. This principle is violated only if accomplices are imprisoned - always in different cells.
In the zone, “who you are”, your position in society before prison is of great importance. For example, whether you are a Muscovite or not, how often you receive programs, how many letters they write to you, what you wear and what you eat - your own food or prison food. Thus, the attitude of the prison society is formed. Although the status is formed not only with the help of the "pre-prison" position, but also depends on the individual.
Conflicts end with raised voices, but there are practically no fights, and if they happen, then without serious damage. Murder is generally a rare case in the women's cell. If the prison administration finds out about the conflict, the guilty will be punished, and finding the instigator is easy. Therefore, they try not to conflict without a weighty reason.
In the zone, “who you are”, your position in society before prison is of great importance. For example, whether you are a Muscovite or not, how often you receive programs, how many letters they write to you, what you wear and what you eat - your own food or prison food. Thus, the attitude of the prison society is formed. Although the status is formed not only with the help of the "pre-prison" position, but also depends on the personality of the girl.

Love in the zone

Women's love in the zone is a more discussed phenomenon. Love relationship they start mainly "second-runners". These relationships are not only physiological, also in a couple, women strongly support each other, intercede. A lesbian couple often continues their relationship outside of prison.
If the “second-timer” finds out that her love is sitting in the next cell, then she does everything to be there. In the end, the convict gets her way, and the couple is reunited. Prison morality does not condemn love, so the girls equip their "corner" for physiological needs. The prison administration treats such connections calmly.