Mass of women: dystopia. Low castes in a Russian women's prison: features Girls who are in prison

« The most heavy V prison was weight women. That, What You you are V four walls And nothing Not can do - at you hands connected. You Not can implement their plans. All goes down, All redeemed, intelligence And reason are lost»

The reality is that the living space of prisoners in the Russian Federation is always limited. For example, according to one of the prisoners, almost the entire space of the colony is a restricted area; there is only a bench right next to the door of the barracks and a small area for smoking.

The lack of private space in our penal colonies is exacerbated by the hyper-public nature of public space itself. On the construction site, in production, in the bedroom, prisoners are always in a crowd; they do not even have the relative privilege of having the door of a prison cell closed behind them and, at least for a short time, being under the supervision of only the prison guards.

Twenty of our young respondents named a rather strange set of places in the colony where they can be alone: the most popular of them in winter is a clothes and shoe dryer, then a psychologist’s room, a bench in the walking area, a place “behind the church” and a library .

While some adapt to the lack of privacy, for others it can be the most difficult challenge of confinement. It’s interesting how differently girls and adult women responded to questions about living in crowded barracks. In one of the teenage colonies, we asked girls to evaluate where and in what places in the colony they were most comfortable. Almost all of our twenty 14–18-year-old interlocutors indicated bedrooms (barracks) as such, rating them 4 or 5 points, while they gave lower ratings to the kitchen, production area, administrative block and classrooms. Conversely, women in adult colonies complained more about the lack of personal space in shared bedrooms. They also complained of constant activity, noise and trespass in other areas, causing stress, disorder, violence and self-harm.

Any attempts to “privatize” at least part of the public space are suppressed by the colony administration. For example, women are not allowed to decorate their bed and bedside table with photographs or any pictures. Even the often necessary drying of underwear on the headboard of the bed during the day can lead to punishment not only for the offender herself, but also for the entire squad. There cannot be any personal items in the showers or toilets, and there are simply no doors in the showers.

« IN what- That colonies There is organized amateur performance, But V my this were engaged themselves convicts. If We we'll decide to cheer up our weekend, We let's figure it out Which- That concert. Specifically administration this Not was studying. U us Not was conditions conduct such Events: neither equipment, neither hall. I herself was choreographer. Places For rehearsals Not was, us they let me in V SUS - room with strict conditions content, Bye it Not Start fill up violators. Equipment Same Not was, That's why All dull. Boombox We asked at police. If They will count necessary us his issue - Fine, If No, That No. There every gopher - agronomist».

Prisoners are allowed one day off per week and two weeks off per year. During the day, everyone is required to follow the general routine of getting up, eating, and going to sleep, and spend “free” time in common places for collective recreation or sports, participating in some kind of common activity. You are not allowed to be in the bedrooms between the morning and evening formations. And if a characteristic feature of prisons in the UK is a lack of employment, then the Russian correctional system, on the contrary, tries to keep the prisoner always busy with something. “Free” time is clearly limited and very often structured.

How to escape from everyone

« Certainly, permanent presence of people annoying. TO psychologist V cabinet go - Same problem. Not Always To him succeeds get in. Yes convicts more psychologists, how sama psychologist! Current more Nothing, A before her were such, which everyone view showed: We better, at us the most the best outfits, the most the best brooches- earrings, A You here nobody. AND Not only showed, But And discussed This on his language. The colony Kabardino- Balkar, containedhuddle there And Russians, And Kabardians, And Balkars, And Chechen women, But V administration work Kabardians. Necessarily must be present Russian language, Right? They same Not have rights discuss What- or on his language. A all of a sudden she What- That about me speaks or is plotting? But When We demanded speak By- Russians, us answered: “ Where You poking around?”»

To survive in a colony, female prisoners need their own private space. In search of at least some privacy after work or on weekends, they may briefly use not very reliable and dangerous shelters for this, or look for secluded places on the territory.

This could be a drying room, a library, a psychologist's room, a church, an infirmary: those prisoners who are completely desperate can try to convince the psychologist to give them the opportunity to lie down for a while in the infirmary or just sit in his office for a couple of hours - there is usually sound equipment there, imitating the splash of a sea wave or the voices of birds, guitar strumming can also sound, and sometimes this is all accompanied by visual images. In IK-14 in Mordovia (the same one in which Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Evgenia Khasis are serving their sentences, and previously held YUKOS lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina), the psychological room in the rehabilitation center is decorated with a fresco depicting in real scale the road crossing the river and leading to the temple.

« Convict arrives V colony - to her issue trousers, blazer And shirt. Their it's supposed to change every year, What Not done. IN one And that same form Can pass And three of the year. AND Always Necessarily handkerchief. IN workshop his Can take off - around the clock V him be unreal. AND more hard in winter: uniform shirt - wooden. That There is You on naked body you put it on shirt, which stake costs, A under her Nothing put on it is forbidden. If under shirt warm sweater, on work Not let in: change your clothes. A cold beenut different, on naked body this shirt - unreal Cold. By holidays Can enjoy cosmetics. Sometimes. Maybe, to especially Not stood out among their women. Mascara, dim lipstick Can, A Here ” combat coloring“ No. Women, which got used to it So walk on will, have to unlearn».

Prison clothing is usually a gray or blue twill skirt or trousers (depending on the colony), a blouse, a quilted jacket for the street and a scarf, which women must wear at all times until they return to the barracks or cells to spend the night. It is these scarves that especially irritate women. The explanation we received from staff when asked why headscarves were necessary was that prisoners might have the misconception that they and their warders were equal.

« Were convicts, which hurt That, What administration getting dressed noticeably better their. But I I think: employees There is employees, They must dress By form. Us same They force put on form! So And They must wear uniform shoes, uniform clothes, But this Not was done, They could come V civil. What same They from us require?»

From an interview with the head of the educational department of one of the women’s colonies: “As teachers, we studied that the teacher should be dressed somehow pleasantly, so that the students would look at him, not be distracted, and so on. If you don't look like that, you won't have a good lesson. So it is here.”

« You come With work, Want wash yourself, But need to wait, When will include hot water. Happens, V boiler room at all forget call. Happens, girls leaving work V Butwhose, come V dust, V mud, A hot water No. Remains wash cold, All are sick, medicines No. On All illnesses issue analgin. Doesn't matter, how You got sick, at you one means - analgin. Eat bathhouse, But she once V a week. Soul No, on 200 Human two faucet. U each convicted There is their basins. From them wash yourself, you're watering ladle or Which- someday jar. AND This V indoors without doors And without Sveta. in winter - How want to, So And wash yourself. Toilet on street on 8–10 places. Well How toilet… Punched holes V Bylu, iso everyone cracks blowing. There unbearable».

The point of all these hygienic restrictions is to make habitual actions risky, hazardous to health, and to force a person to accept new rules of everyday behavior. All of them are maximally regulated. Our respondents said that, for example, from 10 to 25 minutes were allotted for morning hygiene procedures for all prisoners in the barracks, regardless of the number of places in the toilets.

Through discipline, the power of the norm is manifested: to fit everyone into one mold, to force them to subordination, obedience, and strict compliance with all points of the rules of the routine. As a result, a person is deprived of the right to privacy even for the most intimate toilet, and his body is exposed to public display.

Life in a barracks forces you to always be visible. Deprived of privacy, a person loses the ability to control his actions, loses the habit of acting independently, and gets used to total supervision at the external and intragroup level and subordination. Deprivation of the opportunity to maintain cleanliness is also a mechanism for tightening control, not only from the administration, but also from prisoners over prisoners, control over each other. Internal group hygiene rules and norms are learned: the lowest position in the group hierarchy is occupied by the “dirty,” that is, those who do not keep their linen and body clean. At the same time, difficulties always arise in observing basic hygiene standards.

Water and toilet - all the women talked about problems with them, almost repeating each other word for word. “Toilet collectivism” is perhaps one of the most amazing discoveries of the Soviet penitentiary system, a reliably guarded additional tool for the humiliation of human dignity and a method for the complete and final destruction of private space.

What are the dangers of problems with the administration?

"CO sides administration, Certainly, All It happens: And conflicts, And assault. Us could for weeks Not give hot water For washing, A woman without this no way. I had to talk With administration - This Not helphalo. We wrote explanatory, explained their rights on paper. None measures Not was undertaken. When We walked To police, They us closed mouth: “ Us Same There is What to you say, We to you a lot of concessions we give”, - Although no concessions Not was. Warned: more once mouth open it here or at Which- someday commissions - We you we'll tear it up. Could hit: This Kabardino- Balkaria, All women- collaborationprostrate temperamental, men those more. IN mostly RUku raised men. Hot Caucasian temperament manifested itself: woman Not Maybe say neither words, You must lower sight And listen. Our Russians women fought With this - Not each such will transfer».

Another aspect of the violation of human dignity is the moral and physical humiliation that women are subjected to by the guards. The colony administration does not consider humiliation as a problem at all. And what seems humiliation to any external observers is regarded as an integral part of the punishment or educational process.

The very idea of a prison sentence implies the deprivation of one fundamental right - the right to freedom of movement. In fact, it turns out that this whole system not only restricts freedom, but also does everything to show prisoners that they are “not people”: through a special organization of space, daily routine, the introduction of many additional rules that are not spelled out in official documents, but are supported both formally and informally. Including through the complication of everyday life, maintaining hygiene, personal search procedures, etc.

The creation of artificial difficulties, restrictions and the refusal of everything that constitutes natural needs - showering, washing, provision of hygiene items, including pads - causes complete deprivation. In different colonies, the situation, of course, develops differently, and recently they have been trying to change it, but the principle of deprivation and demonstrating to prisoners their “subhumanity” remains.

« Here earlier, at commies, I knew: If I I do That- That, This costs 10 days SCHIZO, I I do This - This to me it will cost V 15 days SCHIZO, All was strictly regulated. That There is If You What- That violated, You knew, What You behind This you will reply, get ready. A sat hard. Punishment cell! Well, Not punishment cell, A SCHIZO, This V prison punishment cell, A V zone SCHIZO called. But essence one And that same. A Now at all amazing thing is happening. U them same There is test on drugs. At all, By PEC This malicious violation - use drugs. Here, For example, test shows, What Yes, Can her V SCHIZO plant. But This same minus points, That's why write report: behind violation forms clothes. This Same violation, which You through three months you're filming And calmly you're coming By parole».

The key legal sanction that colonies can resort to to punish “permanent regime violators” is placing them in a punishment cell (punishment cell) or in a punishment cell (cell-type room). In the isolation ward, as the name suggests, prisoners are deprived of contact with the outside world. Usually they are locked up 23 hours a day, and one hour is allocated for a walk on the site.

When a prisoner enters a punishment cell, he must hand over everything he is wearing and with, including his clothes, and theoretically receives the same, but, according to prisoners, it is still thinner than an ordinary robe. Women prisoners say that the punishment cell is the most damned place and you constantly feel fear there. Under current laws, a prisoner can be sent to isolation for a maximum of 15 days and no more than two months in a year.

Cell-type premises exist for prisoners whom the prison administration wants to separate from the detachment for a longer period. They are somewhat similar to cells designed for several people. As a rule, prisoners are kept there for three to six months with the opportunity to walk for an hour and a half a day. Typically, women sentenced to PCT are automatically subject to the rules imposed in maximum security colonies: they are allowed a limited number of visits and no more than three parcels per year.

Particularly persistent violators of the internal rules of the colony do not always return to their units. When their period of stay in the punishment cell ends, they can be transferred to a special detachment with very strict conditions of detention. According to the official FSIN prison census for 2009, the proportion of women subject to such sanctions fell from 45.5% of all female prisoners in 1989 to 21.0% (the proportion of men in this category in 2009 was 33.7 %).

How to preserve your humanity

« Administration fed prisoners, to They on her worked, And often. Man from administration causes To to myself one: Here, they say, this woman wants Very a lot of know, With her necessary talk. In return prisoner promise encouragement: money, diploma. Well, she coming To his underswearing And decides With them question. They're starting above girl fromget away, humiliate her, beat. This fraught consequences: can deprive promotions. That's why All are silent.

They take you to the parade ground no matter what: rain, snow, and you stand on the parade ground until the administration decides that the detachment can be brought into the housing zone. No one is pushing the guilty one: she is not guilty of anything, the administration is inciting her. Everyone understands this. But if a person has done something wrong and realizes it, he simply asks for forgiveness from the entire squad.”

A squad is a group of prisoners gathered in one place. In women's colonies, prisoners convicted of a variety of crimes, from serious to minor, are grouped into units, all sharing a common barrack space, and they are treated with a uniform approach in terms of education, rehabilitation, entertainment and division into work teams. According to the Ministry of Justice, there can be from 50 to 100 women in one detachment (maximum 120 for a youth colony), but usually there are from 100 to 150 women in a detachment, and sometimes more.

A woman remains a member of one detachment for the entire duration of her imprisonment, except in cases where this poses a threat to her or someone else's safety, in which case she can be transferred to another detachment or even to another colony. Even from a punishment cell, hospital or mother and child room, the prisoner returns to her unit.

In today's colonies, one of the main “authorities” is the senior orderly, or supply manager. It would seem that the bird is small, but in fact it is the “main headman,” which more accurately conveys the meaning of her duties and power. The staff and prisoners we interviewed described the caretaker as the squad leader's right hand and the most important link in negotiations between prisoners and management.

Her role is to “maintain peace and harmony” in the squad, redistributing work and responsibilities, instructing how work should be done, assigning bunks and transmitting orders from the administration. She is also a source of information about other prisoners, although how she handles this role depends largely on her own involvement in the work. The main reward for a woman holding this post is that she has her own room.

Of course, what seems to be a completely normal instruction to the caretaker, for example, to remake the bed because the squad will lose points in the competition for cleanliness, for the prisoner who has just made the bed, it is yet another nagging and violence. But the staff we spoke to insisted that the unit commander's lapses warranted attacks from management that could affect other prisoners.

“I still communicate with some of the prisoners. Wednesday There are wonderful people among those convicted, they are not nonentities, they are just people who find themselves in such a situation. There are, of course, those who consider prison their home: they have nowhere to go, they don’t want to realize themselves. Freedom for them is a temporary place residence. And then, women are women: of course, thisconstant gossip, intrigue, you can’t live without it. But if you want to spend your time decently, you won't express yourself, conflict, but you will behave the same way as in will."

An important form of manifestation of “humanity” in the colony is friendship, love, sex and mutual support. Stories about romance, tragedy, empathy and betrayal (not only in love, but also in friendship) are so popular in the colony not only because it is an inexhaustible source of plots and emotions, but also because it is one of the forms of support and confirmation in oneself. human, which contrasts so much with the general background. The desire and realization of intimacy, physical or emotional, is a form of protest and overcoming the power and control of the regime.

« If required, I I say, What served my time. A Where get away? Let's start check - find out. Not need to this afraid. Yes, wouldlo. But This With everyone Maybe happen. Yes to me People And Not believe. I Very Fine I look, at me No Zonovsky slang, I ordinary Human. They think, I kidding, laughing necessary me».

The very fact of conviction, and especially imprisonment, often, like a stigma, turns a person in the eyes of others into “immoral” and “abnormal.” When telling their story, women either divide life into “before”, “during” and “after”, demonstrating, as it were, two different selves, or so dissolve the “undesirable” in the story about themselves that they separate the “normal” from the “ abnormal" becomes impossible. But the line between “before” and “after” is not always so obvious; in some cases, time spent in a colony becomes just one episode in a series of life’s ups and downs.

There are women in Russian settlements...

57.2 thousand women are held in institutions of the criminal correctional system.
47.2 thousand women are serving sentences in correctional colonies, medical correctional institutions, and medical and preventive institutions.
9.6 thousand women were chosen as a preventive measure in the form of detention, that is, they are kept in a pre-trial detention center.
13 children's homes were opened at women's colonies, 796 children live in them

Bullying and torture of a sexual nature in the prison department of the Russian Federation are systemic in nature. Women prisoners can be humiliated, beaten (and hit in the genitals), and subjected to sophisticated sexual acts.

These types of people are usually backed by employees or leaders of the colony. Sometimes torture is filmed on a phone and then sent to loved ones for the purpose of obtaining a bribe. Today, the number of rapes has decreased, indicating an overhaul of the system.

The topic of sexual abuse in women's colonies is taboo for the media. Human rights activists are reluctant to share facts, and the Internet contains only a small percentage of detailed information.

How do they live in places of detention?

Women prisoners have no shame in complaining and writing denunciations against their fellow inmates if they are being bullied (on days when operatives are received by the colony staff, queues form). The rules and regulations of residence are established by the administration of the institution; jailers also independently appoint elders.

In women's cells there is no common cash desk (common fund). The psychological characteristics of a woman’s character are distinguished by a more vivid manifestation of feelings - conflicts between them are always deeper and longer, and during a fight, nails and teeth are used.

Cell status is determined based on past life. If a woman has practiced anal sex, she automatically falls into the “lowered” caste (you can read about the “lowered” caste in the men’s area). Due to a long absence of contact with men, prisoners begin to look for a surrogate - to practice lesbian love.

Types of violence and torture

The list of possible physical violence includes beating on the heels with rubber truncheons (so that no traces are left). The systemic punishment for misconduct is a punishment cell with a cold floor and no mattresses.

Sexual abuse was welcomed by guards or prison administration employees. The fact of rape in a women's colony can rarely be proven, and even more rarely can it be taken outside the zone. Such humiliations are aimed at destroying the individual and causing psychological trauma.

Common sexual tortures include:

“flight of the swallow” - hands and feet were handcuffed to the bed;
hanging and tying hands behind the back (anal contact);
deliberate strangulation (BDSM element).

Previously, prisoners were raped in punishment cells, and if they became pregnant, they had an abortion on their own. Group orgies were also common; today the arbitrariness of the guards is gradually ending.

Orders in the colonies

Among female prisoners, almost there is no category that will be purposefully spread rot and pressure. Attitude depends only on personal qualities and strength of character. Outcasts in the women's area are simply shunned. Most often they despise heroin addicts - drug addicts with extensive experience. Child killers also pay for their crimes - they are initially outcasts who are subjected to regular beatings.

Also on the list of despised:

prisoners diagnosed with HIV;
women with sexually transmitted or oncological pathologies.

In the cells of the settlement, women try to live in “families” - make friends in misfortune and form their own group. This is not a prerequisite for lesbianism - it is easier for a “family” to survive in the conditions of the zone.

If a woman does not fulfill the production plan (she does not know how to sew, does not have time to fulfill the quota), at the end of the working day she will be beaten by her cellmates and the convoy.

The administration of the colonies does not interfere in the affairs of prisoners and does not take any measures to prevent fights between prisoners. And women who have committed economic crimes often try to cheat the employees themselves out of money.

How to behave for the first time?

The basic rule of behavior is behave naturally, “don’t be bullish” and don’t run into trouble. In the women's colony, fortitude, perseverance, and the ability to communicate and build relationships are especially valued.

If you don’t know where to sit, be sure to ask. Moving or touching other people's things is strictly prohibited. You shouldn’t withdraw into yourself and isolate yourself from the team – this can lead to fights.

You can’t open your soul and share your problems with everyone. The golden rule of the zone is to talk less, listen more. It is better not to touch on sexual topics (oral sex can become a reason for expulsion from the team). It is important not to forget about hygiene: soap in a women’s prison is valued more than tea and cigarettes in a men’s prison (a newcomer was told about the peculiarities of survival in a men’s prison).

How is the inspection carried out?

An inspection (or search) involves the identification by jailers of prohibited items and their further confiscation. In women's colonies, this procedure occurs with a significant degree of humiliation: the prisoner may be forced to strip naked and search her mouth and hair. Each shock of clothing is felt by the slicker. The inspection is divided into:

easy(passing through the frame, checking pockets);
deep(complete undressing);
planned(2-3 times a month);
unscheduled(any time).

Most often, a search is carried out upon arrival from a walk (or from a shift), before a meeting with an investigator or lawyer.

Conditions in the cells

Prisoners live in permanent cells - this is a kind of “home” for the entire period of serving their sentence. How it looks inside depends on the management and its intention to create minimal comfortable conditions. The following camera is suitable and meets the standards:

sleeping places for each living prisoner;
separate place for eating;
working bathroom (toilet, washing area).

The number of people living in 1 cell varies from 10 to 40 people (4 sq.m. per person). Women's cells for 40 or more prisoners have a separate shower and kitchen. Duty and cleaning are carried out 2 times a day (those who have been in prison for more than a year do not take part).

Women's prison is a special place where the laws and rules of free life lose meaning and appear in a different context. Beatings and sexual abuse – Girls are more likely to be tortured by camp staff during prison life in Russia. More often than not, sexual abuse goes unpunished.

The life of women prisoners in Russian camps has always been very different from the laws of existence of male prisoners. The biggest differences can be observed in terms of interpersonal communication. In the men's zone, "low-down" or passive homosexuals become pariahs that no one even dares to touch.

In women's prisons, "pickers", or lesbians, are a common sight. Adherents of same-sex love are quite respected members of the prison community. The women's zone also has its own special expressions, which are not used in prisons where only men are kept.

"Parasha". She's an "old lady"

A latrine in any prison is never called a “toilet.” Even in pre-revolutionary Russia, prisoners of both sexes used slang expressions to replace this concept. Even political prisoners - mostly highly educated ladies, and sometimes heirs of aristocratic families - used them. The bucket for collecting sewage was called a “bowl” or “old woman”. These jargons are also used in men's prisons.

"Rubles"

In a women's prison there is a category of prisoners who fall into sexual slavery to guards and other representatives of the camp administration (“godfathers”). The prisoners call them “ruble money.” This concept comes from the Stalinist Gulag. For their services, sex slaves receive certain privileges: they may not perform general work, receive additional food, etc.

Not all rubles are the same. In the 20-50s, there was a whole classification of privileged prisoners on Solovki: “half-ruble”, “15-kopeck” (or “five-altyn”) and “ruble” proper. Depending on her rank, a woman received different benefits and “bonuses.” If a prisoner refused to have sexual contact with her godfather, she was doomed to constant cruel oppression.

"Mothers"

“Mothers” in women’s prisons were women who were either already pregnant from the outside, or who conceived while in prison. In the second case, prisoners became pregnant with benefit: the conditions of detention for women with bellies were much easier than for the rest of the prisoners.

"Elder"

Any convict newly admitted to the zone first of all encounters the “elder”. This is the name given to the main prisoner in a squad (or cell), who is responsible for order. A lot depends on the “elders”. They can “snitch” the administration on unreliable or excessively conflicting friends, and sometimes restore order on their own. The prison authorities usually turn a blind eye to the arbitrariness of the “seniors”, because they help keep prisoners under a tight rein.

"Family Girls"

In women's colonies, so-called “families” are very common. They are small groups of women who jointly run a simple household and provide each other with all kinds of support. A “family” can consist of two or more people. Moreover, sexual relations do not always exist between them. A “family” is formed in order to make the existence of its members easier. Life in prison is harsh, but surviving together is much easier.

"Kobly" and "pickers"

In some cases, “families” are formed by lesbian couples: “cobles” (active) and “pickers” (passive lesbians). The latter are also called “chickens”. It is generally accepted that lesbian relationships are the norm in women's prisons. This is not entirely true. Most often, women who have been serving a long term and have already had lesbian experience before imprisonment get a partner.

“Collective farmers” and “bull suckers”

The lowest category of prisoners are “collective farmers” - downtrodden and stupid prisoners. This also includes the “bull sucker”. This is the name given to weak-willed, dejected nurses who do not hesitate to pick up cigarette butts from others.

Despite all the coarseness of the vocabulary and the rigidity of the gradation of prisoners, life in women's colonies is simpler and more bearable than in men's colonies. Women have less aggression, violent conflicts with self-harm are less likely to occur, and there is often even a ban on the use of prison “give a damn” in conversations. The senior officer in the squad monitors compliance with this rule.

Every year in our country the number of crimes committed by women increases. At the same time, the number is growing. Next, we offer a look at how the life of prisoners in women’s prisons works.

The daily routine is the main document in all correctional institutions
Here is a standard day for prisoners using the example of the Mozhaisk women's colony (IK-5 - Moscow region).

Women's colonies are not divided by type of regime into general, "strict" or special. Everyone sits here together - murderers and petty thieves, drug addicts and major dealers, former law enforcement officers and women who have been hiding from justice for decades.

Most of the convicts work in the clothing industry. They sew into uniforms for the Federal Penitentiary Service and the police. Sometimes, in an effort to escape the everyday routine, they sew women’s dresses

These women will definitely not disappear in the wild!

And this is footage from a women’s colony in Atyrau (Kazakhstan)

Prisoners are participating in the 28 Loops project, in which they knit clothes for premature babies from perinatal centers. Women know that something knitted by their hands can save the life of a small child. Many prisoners say they see it as atonement for past sins.

As for leisure, women’s colonies host both sporting events and concerts with discos.

The heads of the colonies believe that women should remain women in the zone. Then they go out into the world, and the task of the correctional institution is to teach them to be full members of society. Therefore, all appropriate conditions are created for them, and women are punished for sloppiness.

There are even beauty contests held in women's colonies.

Another feature of women’s colonies is that some of them contain children born in captivity.

Special conditions are created for prisoners with children, and the regime is also relaxed. At three years old, children are transferred either to relatives or to an orphanage.

Prison is a scary place. Just look how much suffering is in those eyes...
Ekaterina, 28 years old. Crime related to drug trafficking, sentence 4 years 6 months, served 4 years.

Tatyana, 54 years old, was convicted of a crime related to drug trafficking. Of the total sentence of 4 years and 3 months, she served 2 years and is in a rehabilitation center in a colony.