There are six women’s colonies in Kazakhstan, the total number of women and girls serving sentences as of August 1 of this year is 2901. The women’s correctional colony UG-157/11 in the city 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 the correctional colony and who they are - women whom the court deprived of their freedom.
1. All women’s colonies in the country are general regime, except for the colony in Karaganda, where “walkers” (prison jargon) are women who have been repeatedly convicted
2. Twice a day, convicts gather on the parade ground for inspection. Absence is considered a serious violation, for which you can be sent to a punishment cell. Such a note in the personal file is undesirable, as it affects parole and transfer to a settlement colony
3. After the check, all women go to their workplaces 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 dormitory. Five squads, each containing approximately 50 women, are housed in their own blocks. In each block, in addition to the bedrooms, there is a common teahouse, a storeroom, and a guest room. There is a common bathhouse, laundry and ironing room
5. Four women live in each room. According to the charter, they have no right to sit or lie down on the bed from nine in the morning to seven in the evening. It's austere here and smells of bleach
6. Each detachment has its own foreman, an authoritative person who knows how to eliminate internal conflict situations and maintain peaceful coexistence among several dozen women with a difficult fate and character. Brigadiers of detachments or, more simply put, “bugs” are people with untouchable authority. The foreman has a deputy, an orderly (sanitary troika), a foreman-orderly, assistants responsible for the storeroom, the kitchen, the teahouse and the leisure and sports section (SDS)
7. In the relaxation room, prisoners can be alone with themselves. Three psychologists constantly monitor the well-being of prisoners. Each convict receives an individual approach. In the zone, the emotional state of women is extremely unstable
8. In the evenings, women gather in front of the TV. They watch news and TV series, the most popular ones being Turkish. It should be noted that the smooth life of the colony largely depends on the attitude of the convicted women themselves. The paintings on the walls were done by the prisoners themselves.
9. Kapterka. One convict was released today. The 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 loud laughter and joy, the liberated woman feels anxiety and notes of fear: “How will everything turn out in the wild?”
10. The most popular product in the zone is payphone cards. Prisoners may not see their loved ones for years, since many women’s families live in neighboring regions, and it is not always financially possible to come for a long-term visit. And that’s why they keep in touch via phone. But there is a limit to such conversations. Every convicted person has the right to 15 minutes of telephone conversation per day
11. Convicts are completely supported by the state. In addition, they have transmissions from relatives. They can buy everything they need at a local store once a month. 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 stick together in “families”; family members are not offended. The head of the family is the queen, the rest are princesses
13. The sauna block works almost every day. The administration met the prisoners halfway and allowed them to equip a shower room in the detachments themselves
15. Washing 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 facility, the prisoner spends 15 days in the quarantine department. Psychologists, doctors, and the educational department immediately begin working with her, after which she is transferred to one of the units on a normal regime, where she remains for six months. It differs from the facilitated one in that meetings take place once every three months. In the light mode there are more privileges - permission for monthly broadcasts, a visit lasting up to 3 days every two months, there are incentive meetings and broadcasts
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 parcels, you’ve seen the full refrigerators?”
21. The smell of fresh bread goes far beyond the bakery. In colony UG-157/11 they bake the best bread among all zones of the country
22. The chief baker, Ira, also worked in a bakery when she was free. Baking bread is her calling
23. According to the baker, the secret of delicious bread is in good first-grade flour from the Kostanay region and in the humane, conscientious attitude of the bakers
24. Ira and her six assistants hand over 1,000 rolls of bread per shift, providing for their own and the neighboring men’s 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 - claims, 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. They plan to open a fish shop in the colony soon
27. There is a small sewing workshop for 34 women, in which clothes are sewn for prisoners in male colonies. They also do not refuse third-party orders: overalls for hospitals, for oil companies. In addition, there are detachments of household service workers with a salary of 21,000 tenge - kitchen workers, janitors, team leaders, bath and laundry workers, librarians
28. There is a college at the correctional facility that provides training in such specialties as seamstress-cutter, pastry chef, cook, and hairdresser. This year, 87 convicts were awarded diplomas
29. The prison library is constantly updated, there is an agreement on this with the state library
30. The demand for books is high - almost everyone reads, mostly fiction
31. A few books on religious topics. This year, 60 women initially kept the fast, but due to the hot summer (air conditioning and fans are not allowed), only 30 remained fasting
32. In the colony there is a sports and leisure section (SRL), which includes a library, acrobatics courses and, of course, the organization of cultural events. This institution hosts the best and most costumed concerts among all zones
33. The foreman of the first detachment Bibigul, which includes the SSD, admits that a lot of effort was invested 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 the intellectual game “Field of Miracles”
38. In the SSD there are several girls whose sports and dance abilities meet the requirements of the section
39. Olga - physical trainer (organizer of physical education work) and dance director of the SSD, age - 32 years. Article 259 – drugs.
She served more than seven years. There are 2 years and 10 months left until the call. He doesn’t like to talk about his personal life. In another institution she was a persistent offender, so she was not granted parole. Here, in UG - 166/11 - she is the right person, a 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 does acrobatics and dancing at 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 to buy goods. Then I decided to bring ecstasy tablets, not for sale, but for personal use. Now her two daughters are left in the care of their 63-year-old retired mother. The last time she saw them was two and a half years ago; the mother does not have the opportunity to bring her daughters on a long-term date. Now she only sees in photographs how her daughters are growing up. Katya clearly understood that not a single pleasure in life is worth exchanging for the opportunity to raise her own children. In three years she hopes to be granted parole. After her term ends, she wants to devote herself to her daughters. In the colony, correspondence with convicted men is not uncommon. But Katya no longer wants to start a relationship. There, in freedom, everything is simpler. A person loved you, loved you, and then stopped loving you, but this disappointment is difficult to bear even in freedom. And here, in the zone, no matter how a wolf howls, there is nothing to cover the emptiness. Therefore, she suppressed all feminine feelings in herself and dreams only of seeing her children more often - at least once every six months
42. The approximate age of the colony administration employees is from 20 to 30 years. The team is 90% female; as a rule, the majority are unmarried. Constantly being busy at work does not allow many people to take care of their personal lives.
43. Head of the detachment Botagoz Nurkhanova, 28 years old. It has been working since the opening of the colony.
“When I first came to work here, I thought: “What am I doing here?” It was really scary,” says Botagoz. “The turning point happened when I had to provide moral support to one prisoner. Then you realize that they are ordinary women who just need understanding
44. Prisoners address Botagoz with the word “mother”, which is how all squad leaders are symbolically called. Of all the administration employees, the detachment chiefs are closest to the prisoners. Together with the foreman, he coordinates and monitors compliance with the regime. Communication between “mothers” and prisoners in this zone is primarily of a human nature. The broken female fate of some prisoners evokes sympathy and understanding among their guards. Over time, you practically have to live with the problems of your charges, write their characteristics, and present them in court. "Moms" - a link between convicts and senior officers
45. The administration petitions and writes positive characteristics for convicts with exemplary behavior. But, nevertheless, the last word always remains with 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, short term of imprisonment, serious criminal records. The most common judicial response is: “What makes you different from other convicts?”
46. The main articles under which women end up here: 259 - sale, storage and distribution of drugs, 177 - fraud and 96 - domestic murder, and much less often, infanticide
47. In the photograph is a copy of an 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 for her boyfriend on herself, at first she acted as an accomplice. As a result, he serves 5 years for apartment fraud. The convict admits her guilt, but while inside the walls of the colony she is trying to get the person who pushed her to commit fraud to be imprisoned.
48. Prisoners have the right to visits: short-term visits for two or four hours and long-term visits for three days. There is also the opportunity to see convicts on an open day
49. The controller in the inspection and visiting room (KDS) Gulim Kushenova accepts documents from a man who came for a long-term date with his wife
“Most often they visit convicts – Kazakh women,” says Gulim. – They come with children and relatives. Bring food, clothes, cleaning supplies
50. At the entrance to the women’s colony there is a stand with photographs of things prohibited for transfer.
51. The hall of the meeting place is a room without a hint of gloom. All furniture - cabinets, tables - is made right there, without leaving the area. Visitors and convicts are provided with all the conditions for a long visit: a separate room, a kitchen, a hall, a shower.
52. Nina Petrovna, age 61 years. Article 259 – drugs. Duration - 10 years. Served 1 year and six months.
Her husband and granddaughter came to see her for the first time in a year and a half. She has proven herself to be exceptionally good in the zone. She underwent several heart surgeries. There is no hope of leaving the colony alive. There were suicide attempts
53. “My son is serving a sentence under the same article,” says Nina Petrovna. “After the DEA officers began beating him during the investigation, I began to write numerous complaints and statements to stop the bullying. They threatened me that if I didn’t stop, I would soon also end up behind bars. I continued writing and soon the police "accidentally" found several grams of heroin on my bed... That's how I ended up here. I tried to kill myself, but they stopped me. No, don’t think about it, the conditions here and the attitude of the administration are normal, but it’s psychologically difficult for me
54. Raima, age 40 years. Article 259 - drugs. Term 10 years, served 3 years and 2 months.
“Nine years ago my husband died,” says Raima. – I was left with three small children, my youngest daughter was 8 months old, her parents are retired. I was the only breadwinner in the family. A few years later I got together with a man. He helped with money and with 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 bank loan. So I was left without business and income. She began selling fruit in the yard, and meanwhile her partner started selling heroin. My roommate was given 10 years of strict regime, I was imprisoned for complicity
58. Vera, age 30 years. Article 96 – murder. Term 6 years, served 2 years, 9 months.
She got married and gave birth to daughters. They lived happily and well, but soon her husband began to abuse her, and for seven years she endured his difficult character. The daughters, seeing their drunken father, immediately went to bed, they were so afraid of him. The husband, when intoxicated, was extremely cruel, he could grab his daughters or Vera and slam his head against the wall, hit him with any object that came to hand. He threatened me with an axe, kicked me, and kicked me out of the house. He even beat his relatives - he raised his hand against his mother. It all ended with a knife to the heart. Moreover, Vera does not remember how it happened, she wants to remember under hypnosis. The children were left in the care of their sick mother. The injured party has no claims. Vera wrote to the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, filed a petition to the President - all to no avail.
59. Nadezhda, age 24 years. Article 96 – murder. Term 11 years, served 3 years, 1 month.
She lived and worked as a nanny in Astana, studying to become an accountant. Then, due to financial difficulties, she moved to a small village in the Aktobe region. One day we were walking with friends, decided to continue the fun and went home to a new acquaintance - a man of retirement age. In the morning, when everyone fell asleep, he began to pester her and raped her. Being extremely intoxicated, she became very frightened, began to resist, grabbed a knife from the table and struck ten times. She called the police herself. She admitted her guilt sincerely. During the investigation, I found out that I was pregnant. She decided to leave, now her son is 2 years old. He was taken in and raised by his unemployed mother, who does not have the opportunity to come for a long-term visit. Nadezhda often talks to her son on the phone; he addresses her by name and thinks that she is his sister. She works in the zone as a seamstress-cutter. Having paid off all claims, he sends the money he earned home. He repents and knows that he deserves punishment. Hopes to be transferred to a colony-settlement at his place of residence
61. Marina. 41 years old. Article 96 - domestic murder. Duration – 6 years. Served 3 years, 3 months.
They gave me a short term because the injured party had no complaints. We lived with our second husband for ten years. He drank constantly, did not work, and beat her and the children. And during the next scandal, Marina took two knives and stabbed him simultaneously in the heart and liver. He died on the spot. Marina’s two children, her son is 17 years old and her daughter is 11 years old, live with her brother and daughter-in-law
62. Tamara, 32 years old. Article 96 – murder. Term - 9 years, served 7 years.
The husband drank and abused for seven years. One day a drunk arrived and a quarrel broke out. She was standing with her one-year-old son in her arms, he hit her and hit her son in the ear. The shell of the ear burst, blood sprayed onto the wall. Then Tamara grabbed a knife and plunged it into her husband’s heart. Her parents received guardianship over her three children - daughters 12 and 5 years old, and a son 3 years old. I haven't seen my children for the last two years. For the sake of incentives, he works as a dishwasher in a canteen, wants to get parole
63. Zarina acrobat SSD. Age 25 years. Article 96 – murder. Duration - 8 years. Served 4 years.
A pupil of the Aktobe orphanage. I was first “closed” at the age of 17. I wanted to earn money by transporting drugs to Russia. She served there for three years. When she was free, she fell in love with a guy and started dating him. At his birthday party, he accidentally killed his neighbor in a fight while drinking alcohol. She came out of the bathroom, and in the room there was already a corpse lying in a pool of blood. The guy shouted at her to run away, but she didn’t do it, she decided to be with him to the end. Then the police and ambulance arrived. She made a sincere confession. She took all the blame upon herself, her beloved asked - so he told her, women get a shorter sentence, 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-machine operator and a mechanic/adjuster. She also dances at a local club and is the best acrobat. Now she has only one dream left - to visit Paris and look at the Eiffel Tower.
There are six women’s colonies in Kazakhstan, the total number of women and girls serving sentences as of August 1 of this year is 2901. The women’s correctional colony UG-157/11 in the city 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 the correctional colony and who they are - women whom the court deprived of their freedom.
1. All women’s colonies in the country are general regime, except for the colony in Karaganda, where “walkers” (prison slang) are kept - women who have been repeatedly convicted
2. Twice a day, convicts gather on the parade ground for inspection. Absence is considered a serious violation, for which you can be sent to a punishment cell. Such a note in the personal file is undesirable, as it affects parole and transfer to a settlement colony
3. After the check, all women go to their workplaces 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 dormitory. Five squads, each containing approximately 50 women, are housed in their own blocks. In each block, in addition to the bedrooms, there is a common teahouse, a storeroom, and a guest room. There is a common bathhouse, laundry and ironing room
5. Four women live in each room. According to the charter, they have no right to sit or lie down on the bed from nine in the morning to seven in the evening. It's austere here and smells of bleach
6. Each detachment has its own foreman, an authoritative person who knows how to eliminate internal conflict situations and maintain peaceful coexistence among several dozen women with a difficult fate and character. Brigadiers of detachments or, more simply put, “bugs” are people with untouchable authority. The foreman has a deputy, an orderly (sanitary troika), a foreman-orderly, assistants responsible for the storeroom, the kitchen, the teahouse and the leisure and sports section (SDS)
7. In the relaxation room, prisoners can be alone with themselves. Three psychologists constantly monitor the well-being of prisoners. Each convict receives an individual approach. In the zone, the emotional state of women is extremely unstable
8. In the evenings, women gather in front of the TV. They watch news and TV series, the most popular ones being Turkish. It should be noted that the smooth life of the colony largely depends on the attitude of the convicted women themselves. The paintings on the walls were done by the prisoners themselves.
9. Kapterka. One convict was released today. The 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 loud laughter and joy, the liberated woman feels anxiety and notes of fear: “How will everything turn out in the wild?”
10. The most popular product in the zone is payphone cards. Prisoners may not see their loved ones for years, since many women’s families live in neighboring regions, and it is not always financially possible to come for a long-term visit. And that’s why they keep in touch via phone. But there is a limit to such conversations. Every convicted person has the right to 15 minutes of telephone conversation per day
11. Convicts are completely supported by the state. In addition, they have transmissions from relatives. They can buy everything they need at a local store once a month. 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 stick together in “families”; family members are not offended. The head of the family is the queen, the rest are princesses
13. The sauna block works almost every day. The administration met the prisoners halfway and allowed them to equip a shower room in the detachments themselves
15. Washing 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 facility, the prisoner spends 15 days in the quarantine department. Psychologists, doctors, and the educational department immediately begin working with her, after which she is transferred to one of the units on a normal regime, where she remains for six months. It differs from the facilitated one in that meetings take place once every three months. In the light mode there are more privileges - permission for monthly broadcasts, a visit lasting up to 3 days every two months, there are incentive meetings and broadcasts
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 parcels, you’ve seen the full refrigerators?”
21. The smell of fresh bread goes far beyond the bakery. In colony UG-157/11 they bake the best bread among all zones of the country
22. The chief baker, Ira, also worked in a bakery when she was free. Baking bread is her calling
23. According to the baker, the secret of delicious bread is in good first-grade flour from the Kostanay region and in the humane, conscientious attitude of the bakers
24. Ira and her six assistants hand over 1,000 rolls of bread per shift, providing for their own and the neighboring men’s 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 - claims, 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. They plan to open a fish shop in the colony soon
27. There is a small sewing workshop for 34 women, in which clothes are sewn for prisoners in male colonies. They also do not refuse third-party orders: overalls for hospitals, for oil companies. In addition, there are detachments of household service workers with a salary of 21,000 tenge - kitchen workers, janitors, team leaders, bath and laundry workers, librarians
28. There is a college at the correctional facility that provides training in such specialties as seamstress-cutter, pastry chef, cook, and hairdresser. This year, 87 convicts were awarded diplomas
29. The prison library is constantly updated, there is an agreement on this with the state library
30. The demand for books is high - almost everyone reads, mostly fiction
31. A few books on religious topics. This year, 60 women initially kept the fast, but due to the hot summer (air conditioning and fans are not allowed), only 30 remained fasting
32. In the colony there is a sports and leisure section (SRL), which includes a library, acrobatics courses and, of course, the organization of cultural events. This institution hosts the best and most costumed concerts among all zones
33. The foreman of the first detachment Bibigul, which includes the SSD, admits that a lot of effort was invested 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 the intellectual game “Field of Miracles”
38. In the SSD there are several girls whose sports and dance abilities meet the requirements of the section
39. Olga - physical trainer (organizer of physical education work) and dance director of the SSD, age - 32 years. Article 259 – drugs.
She served more than seven years. There are 2 years and 10 months left until the call. He doesn’t like to talk about his personal life. In another institution she was a persistent offender, so she was not granted parole. Here, in UG - 166/11 - she is the right person, a 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 does acrobatics and dancing at 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 to buy goods. Then I decided to bring ecstasy tablets, not for sale, but for personal use. Now her two daughters are left in the care of their 63-year-old retired mother. The last time she saw them was two and a half years ago; the mother does not have the opportunity to bring her daughters on a long-term date. Now she only sees in photographs how her daughters are growing up. Katya clearly understood that not a single pleasure in life is worth exchanging for the opportunity to raise her own children. In three years she hopes to be granted parole. After her term ends, she wants to devote herself to her daughters. In the colony, correspondence with convicted men is not uncommon. But Katya no longer wants to start a relationship. There, in freedom, everything is simpler. A person loved you, loved you, and then stopped loving you, but this disappointment is difficult to bear even in freedom. And here, in the zone, no matter how a wolf howls, there is nothing to cover the emptiness. Therefore, she suppressed all feminine feelings in herself and dreams only of seeing her children more often - at least once every six months
42. The approximate age of the colony administration employees is from 20 to 30 years. The team is 90% female; as a rule, the majority are unmarried. Constantly being busy at work does not allow many people to take care of their personal lives.
43. Head of the detachment Botagoz Nurkhanova, 28 years old. It has been working since the opening of the colony.
“When I first came to work here, I thought: “What am I doing here?” It was really scary,” says Botagoz. “The turning point happened when I had to provide moral support to one prisoner. Then you realize that they are ordinary women who just need understanding
44. Prisoners address Botagoz with the word “mama”, which is how all squad leaders are symbolically called. Of all the administration employees, the detachment chiefs are closest to the prisoners. Together with the foreman, he coordinates and monitors compliance with the regime. Communication between “mothers” and prisoners in this zone is primarily of a human nature. The broken female fate of some prisoners evokes sympathy and understanding among their guards. Over time, you practically have to live with the problems of your charges, write their characteristics, and present them in court. “Moms” are the link between convicts and senior officers
45. The administration petitions and writes positive characteristics for convicts with exemplary behavior. But, nevertheless, the last word always remains with 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, short term of imprisonment, serious criminal records. The most common judicial response is: “How is it different from other convicts?”
46. The main articles under which women end up here: 259 - sale, storage and distribution of drugs, 177 - fraud and 96 - domestic murder, and much less often, infanticide
47. In the photograph is a copy of an 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 for her boyfriend on herself, at first she acted as an accomplice. As a result, he serves 5 years for apartment fraud. The convict admits her guilt, but while inside the walls of the colony she is trying to get the person who pushed her to commit fraud to be imprisoned.
48. Prisoners have the right to visits: short-term visits for two or four hours and long-term visits for three days. There is also the opportunity to see convicts on an open day
49. The controller in the inspection and visiting room (KDS) Gulim Kushenova accepts documents from a man who came for a long-term date with his wife
“Most often they visit convicts – Kazakh women,” says Gulim. – They come with children and relatives. Bring food, clothes, cleaning supplies
50. At the entrance to the women’s colony there is a stand with photographs of things prohibited for transfer.
51. The hall of the meeting place is a room without a hint of gloom. All furniture - cabinets, tables - is made right there, without leaving the area. Visitors and convicts are provided with all the conditions for a long visit: a separate room, a kitchen, a hall, a shower.
52. Nina Petrovna, age 61 years. Article 259 – drugs. Duration: 10 years. Served 1 year and six months.
Her husband and granddaughter came to see her for the first time in a year and a half. She has proven herself to be exceptionally good in the zone. She underwent several heart surgeries. There is no hope of leaving the colony alive. There were suicide attempts
53. “My son is serving a sentence under the same article,” says Nina Petrovna. “After the DEA officers began beating him during the investigation, I began to write numerous complaints and statements to stop the bullying. They threatened me that if I didn’t stop, I would soon also end up behind bars. I continued writing and soon the police “accidentally” found several grams of heroin on my bed... That’s how I ended up here. I tried to kill myself, but they stopped me. No, don’t think about it, the conditions here and the attitude of the administration are normal, but it’s psychologically difficult for me
54. Raima, age 40 years. Article 259 - drugs. Term 10 years, served 3 years and 2 months.
“Nine years ago my husband died,” says Raima. – I was left with three small children, my youngest daughter was 8 months old, her parents are retired. I was the only breadwinner in the family. A few years later I got together with a man. He helped with money and with 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 bank loan. So I was left without business and income. She began selling fruit in the yard, and meanwhile her partner started selling heroin. My 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 defect manager in a furniture store. With a salary of 60,000 tenge, Alima is now the only breadwinner for the family. She recently prepared her younger brother and sister for school and bought clothes and stationery. She wants to return to Aktyubinsk to be closer to her family and visit her mother more often. Alima is worried about her mother’s health - her vision rapidly deteriorated in the zone - it became minus twenty, and tuberculosis was also discovered. She answers questions about her personal life evasively; she decided not to be friends or get married until her mother is free
57. This year, the transfer of those convicted of especially serious crimes to colony settlements was cancelled. Mothers of many children who have committed domestic murder or women forced into drug trafficking will serve their entire sentence away from their children, who are often in the care of elderly grandparents or in orphanages. So they are most likely to be paroled after serving 2/3 of the term
58. Vera, age 30 years. Article 96 – murder. Term 6 years, served 2 years, 9 months.
She got married and gave birth to daughters. They lived happily and well, but soon her husband began to abuse her, and for seven years she endured his difficult character. The daughters, seeing their drunken father, immediately went to bed, they were so afraid of him. The husband, when intoxicated, was extremely cruel, he could grab his daughters or Vera and slam his head against the wall, hit him with any object that came to hand. He threatened me with an axe, kicked me, and kicked me out of the house. He even beat his relatives - he raised his hand against his mother. It all ended with a knife to the heart. Moreover, Vera does not remember how it happened, she wants to remember under hypnosis. The children were left in the care of their sick mother. The injured party has no claims. Vera wrote to the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, filed a petition to the President - all to no avail.
59. Nadezhda, age 24 years. Article 96 – murder. Term 11 years, served 3 years, 1 month.
She lived and worked as a nanny in Astana, studying to become an accountant. Then, due to financial difficulties, she moved to a small village in the Aktobe region. One day we were walking with friends, decided to continue the fun and went home to a new acquaintance - a man of retirement age. In the morning, when everyone fell asleep, he began to pester her and raped her. Being extremely intoxicated, she became very frightened, began to resist, grabbed a knife from the table and struck ten times. She called the police herself. She admitted her guilt sincerely. During the investigation, I found out that I was pregnant. She decided to leave, now her son is 2 years old. He was taken in and raised by his unemployed mother, who does not have the opportunity to come for a long-term visit. Nadezhda often talks to her son on the phone; he addresses her by name and thinks that she is his sister. She works in the zone as a seamstress-cutter. Having paid off all claims, he sends the money he earned home. He repents and knows that he deserves punishment. Hopes to be transferred to a colony-settlement at his place of residence
60. Mahabbat, age 22 years. Article 180 – accessory to rape. The term was 6 years of strict regime, given the age of the convicted person, she was transferred to general security. She served three years.
I was walking in the evening with a friend in a noisy company. After some time, heavily intoxicated, she left, but her friend remained - the result was gang rape. Besides her, 5 people are involved in the case. Mahabbat was accused of pimping for forcibly taking the victim out of the house. The victim later gave birth to a daughter and sent her to an orphanage. Mahabbat dreams of becoming a photographer
61. Marina. 41 years old. Article 96 - domestic murder. Duration – 6 years. Served 3 years, 3 months.
They gave me a short term because the injured party had no complaints. We lived with our second husband for ten years. He drank constantly, did not work, and beat her and the children. And during the next scandal, Marina took two knives and stabbed him simultaneously in the heart and liver. He died on the spot. Marina’s two children, her son is 17 years old and her daughter is 11 years old, live with her brother and daughter-in-law
62. Tamara, 32 years old. Article 96 – murder. Term - 9 years, served 7 years.
The husband drank and abused for seven years. One day a drunk arrived and a quarrel broke out. She was standing with her one-year-old son in her arms, he hit her and hit her son in the ear. The shell of the ear burst, blood sprayed onto the wall. Then Tamara grabbed a knife and plunged it into her husband’s heart. Her parents received guardianship over her three children - daughters 12 and 5 years old, and a son 3 years old. I haven't seen my children for the last two years. For the sake of incentives, he works as a dishwasher in a canteen, wants to get parole
63. Zarina acrobat SSD. Age 25 years. Article 96 – murder. Duration - 8 years. Served 4 years.
A pupil of the Aktobe orphanage. I was first “closed” at the age of 17. I wanted to earn money by transporting drugs to Russia. She served there for three years. When she was free, she fell in love with a guy and started dating him. At his birthday party, he accidentally killed his neighbor in a fight while drinking alcohol. She came out of the bathroom, and in the room there was already a corpse lying in a pool of blood. The guy shouted at her to run away, but she didn’t do it, she decided to be with him to the end. Then the police and ambulance arrived. She made a sincere confession. She took all the blame upon herself, her beloved asked - so he told her, women get a shorter sentence, 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-machine operator and a mechanic/adjuster. She also dances at a local club and is the best acrobat. Now she has only one dream left - to visit Paris and look at the Eiffel Tower.
« 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, containshuddle 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 use 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 risks 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 lured 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 living 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
The pre-trial detention center (SIZO) temporarily houses people under investigation and all those who are awaiting transfer to correctional institutions - prisons, colony settlements and others. The period of stay in a pre-trial detention center can last for several months, so a person one way or another has to adapt to the new environment. One of the most important components of life behind bars is hygiene. In addition to formalities, there are also unwritten rules that the detainee must strictly adhere to.
The total period of stay of a defendant in a temporary detention center before transferring the case to court can last up to 18 months. The pre-trial detention center has both single and general cells. The second option is more common. In crowded conditions, hygiene in rooms with several people becomes almost of paramount importance.
What does a prisoner have to do?
Before being assigned directly to the cell of the pre-trial detention center, the defendant is given cutlery, a towel and a set of bedding, which includes a blanket, pillow and mattress. As a rule, prisoners have their own clothes, but, if necessary, they can be provided with them on the spot.
Based on the number of people in the cell, prisoners are given laundry soap (200 g per month per prisoner), toilet soap (50 g per month for men and 100 g for women) and toilet paper for general use. They don’t forget about the things necessary to keep the cell clean: brooms, dustpans, rags and other household supplies.
The prisoner must bring his own toothpaste and brush. However, in the event of their absence and the impossibility of acquiring them with their own funds, the person under investigation receives these items on the spot. The same goes for disposable razors for men and intimate hygiene products for women.
Unwritten rules
A person entering a pre-trial detention center for the first time will definitely be explained in his cell what he can do and what it is better to refrain from doing. For example, you cannot shake hands or in any way touch the “offended” - those who, for various reasons, have been relegated to the lowest rung of the prison hierarchical ladder.
A cell in a pre-trial detention center is no different from a prison cell. Bunks, shelf for toiletries, washbasin, trash can, toilet. All this is in close proximity to each other.
In a prison environment, it is very important to monitor both personal hygiene and the cleanliness of the surrounding area. However, it is extremely difficult for an unprepared psychological person to keep himself in proper shape. Thoughts about deprivation of freedom and an unclear perspective depress a person, he gives up, he stops taking care of himself: washing, shaving, brushing his teeth.
However, some cameras do not have a mirror, which further aggravates the situation. A person who has given up on himself gradually convinces himself that no one is interested in his appearance anymore. People who are familiar with the realities of prison first-hand advise that such thoughts should be driven away by all means.
“Chushka” means weak
A person who neglects himself risks falling into the category of “devils.” There is a concept among prisoners that those who have lost willpower and broken under the blows of fate do not take care of themselves. And broken and desperate means weak, and the weak behind bars with the sometimes wild rules and specific laws there are not respected.
“Devils”, or “pigs” in other words, do the most difficult and dirty work in prison. Thus, insufficient attention to one’s own hygiene in a pre-trial detention center is a direct path to the very bottom of the prison community.
Shower in underwear
Bathing in a pre-trial detention center is allowed once a week, but the administration of the institution can organize a “bath day” twice a week. The duration of shower procedures is at least 15 minutes, most often prisoners are given about half an hour. It is noteworthy that previously those placed in custody could only wash with soap, but in 2016 they were allowed to use shower gels.
It is not customary to take off underwear when going to the shower; people wash directly in it. This is done in order to avoid accidentally touching another person with your bare genitals, which is considered as humiliation with all the ensuing unpleasant consequences.
Toilet nuances
As a rule, there are no separate toilets in places of detention: all amenities are located directly in the cell and are separated from the rest of the space by symbolic curtains and partitions, which, however, are mercilessly destroyed by the guards.
Considering that the cell size often does not exceed eight square meters, the toilet problem is the most pressing and piquant in the lives of prisoners. A person is forced to relieve himself in front of others. Sometimes this process is accompanied by vulgar jokes from fellow inmates.
There are many different taboos associated with the “dalnyak”, as the toilet is called in prison slang. For example, unwritten rules strictly prohibit eating while someone is defecating. And vice versa - if someone eats, others must be patient. By the way, to get rid of the unpleasant smell, prisoners pull out cotton wool from their cell mattresses and burn it. After performing natural needs, one must wash one’s hands, otherwise they are considered “dirty”, which means that everything they touch becomes “unclean” (“remembered”), that is, prohibited for others to touch. Anyone who forgets to wash their hands the first time gets off with a warning, but if it happens again, more severe measures may be taken.
Thus, maintaining hygiene in places of detention, including pre-trial detention centers, is prescribed not only by the official regulations, but also by the set of rules of the inmates themselves. Both the health of the prisoner and his position in the prison hierarchy directly depend on this.
There are six women’s colonies in Kazakhstan, the total number of women and girls serving sentences as of August 1 of this year is 2901. The women’s correctional colony UG-157/11 in the city 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 the correctional colony and who they are - women whom the court deprived of their freedom.
1. All women’s colonies in the country are general regime, except for the colony in Karaganda, where “walkers” (prison jargon) are women who have been repeatedly convicted
2. Twice a day, convicts gather on the parade ground for inspection. Absence is considered a serious violation, for which you can be sent to a punishment cell. Such a note in the personal file is undesirable, as it affects parole and transfer to a settlement colony
3. After the check, all women go to their workplaces 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 dormitory. Five squads, each containing approximately 50 women, are housed in their own blocks. In each block, in addition to the bedrooms, there is a common teahouse, a storeroom, and a guest room. There is a common bathhouse, laundry and ironing room
5. Four women live in each room. According to the charter, they have no right to sit or lie down on the bed from nine in the morning to seven in the evening. It's austere here and smells of bleach
6. Each detachment has its own foreman, an authoritative person who knows how to eliminate internal conflict situations and maintain peaceful coexistence among several dozen women with a difficult fate and character. Brigadiers of detachments or, more simply put, “bugs” are people with untouchable authority. The foreman has a deputy, an orderly (sanitary troika), a foreman-orderly, assistants responsible for the storeroom, the kitchen, the teahouse and the leisure and sports section (SDS)
7. In the relaxation room, prisoners can be alone with themselves. Three psychologists constantly monitor the well-being of prisoners. Each convict receives an individual approach. In the zone, the emotional state of women is extremely unstable
8. In the evenings, women gather in front of the TV. They watch news and TV series, the most popular ones being Turkish. It should be noted that the smooth life of the colony largely depends on the attitude of the convicted women themselves. The paintings on the walls were done by the prisoners themselves.
9. Kapterka. One convict was released today. The 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 loud laughter and joy, the liberated woman feels anxiety and notes of fear: “How will everything turn out in the wild?”
10. The most popular product in the zone is payphone cards. Prisoners may not see their loved ones for years, since many women’s families live in neighboring regions, and it is not always financially possible to come for a long-term visit. And that’s why they keep in touch via phone. But there is a limit to such conversations. Every convicted person has the right to 15 minutes of telephone conversation per day
11. Convicts are completely supported by the state. In addition, they have transmissions from relatives. They can buy everything they need at a local store once a month. 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 stick together in “families”; family members are not offended. The head of the family is the queen, the rest are princesses
13. The sauna block works almost every day. The administration met the prisoners halfway and allowed them to equip a shower room in the detachments themselves
15. Washing 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 facility, the prisoner spends 15 days in the quarantine department. Psychologists, doctors, and the educational department immediately begin working with her, after which she is transferred to one of the units on a normal regime, where she remains for six months. It differs from the facilitated one in that meetings take place once every three months. In the light mode there are more privileges - permission for monthly broadcasts, a visit lasting up to 3 days every two months, there are incentive meetings and broadcasts
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 parcels, you’ve seen the full refrigerators?”
21. The smell of fresh bread goes far beyond the bakery. In colony UG-157/11 they bake the best bread among all zones of the country
22. The chief baker, Ira, also worked in a bakery when she was free. Baking bread is her calling
23. According to the baker, the secret of delicious bread is in good first-grade flour from the Kostanay region and in the humane, conscientious attitude of the bakers
24. Ira and her six assistants hand over 1,000 rolls of bread per shift, providing for their own and the neighboring men’s 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 - claims, 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. They plan to open a fish shop in the colony soon
27. There is a small sewing workshop for 34 women, in which clothes are sewn for prisoners in male colonies. They also do not refuse third-party orders: overalls for hospitals, for oil companies. In addition, there are detachments of household service workers with a salary of 21,000 tenge - kitchen workers, janitors, team leaders, bath and laundry workers, librarians
28. There is a college at the correctional facility that provides training in such specialties as seamstress-cutter, pastry chef, cook, and hairdresser. This year, 87 convicts were awarded diplomas
29. The prison library is constantly updated, there is an agreement on this with the state library
30. The demand for books is high - almost everyone reads, mostly fiction
31. A few books on religious topics. This year, 60 women initially kept the fast, but due to the hot summer (air conditioning and fans are not allowed), only 30 remained fasting
32. In the colony there is a sports and leisure section (SRL), which includes a library, acrobatics courses and, of course, the organization of cultural events. This institution hosts the best and most costumed concerts among all zones
33. The foreman of the first detachment Bibigul, which includes the SSD, admits that a lot of effort was invested 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 the intellectual game “Field of Miracles”
38. In the SSD there are several girls whose sports and dance abilities meet the requirements of the section
39. Olga - physical trainer (organizer of physical education work) and dance director of the SSD, age - 32 years. Article 259 – drugs.
She served more than seven years. There are 2 years and 10 months left until the call. He doesn’t like to talk about his personal life. In another institution she was a persistent offender, so she was not granted parole. Here, in UG - 166/11 - she is the right person, a 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 does acrobatics and dancing at 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 to buy goods. Then I decided to bring ecstasy tablets, not for sale, but for personal use. Now her two daughters are left in the care of their 63-year-old retired mother. The last time she saw them was two and a half years ago; the mother does not have the opportunity to bring her daughters on a long-term date. Now she only sees in photographs how her daughters are growing up. Katya clearly understood that not a single pleasure in life is worth exchanging for the opportunity to raise her own children. In three years she hopes to be granted parole. After her term ends, she wants to devote herself to her daughters. In the colony, correspondence with convicted men is not uncommon. But Katya no longer wants to start a relationship. There, in freedom, everything is simpler. A person loved you, loved you, and then stopped loving you, but this disappointment is difficult to bear even in freedom. And here, in the zone, no matter how a wolf howls, there is nothing to cover the emptiness. Therefore, she suppressed all feminine feelings in herself and dreams only of seeing her children more often - at least once every six months
42. The approximate age of the colony administration employees is from 20 to 30 years. The team is 90% female; as a rule, the majority are unmarried. Constantly being busy at work does not allow many people to take care of their personal lives.
43. Head of the detachment Botagoz Nurkhanova, 28 years old. It has been working since the opening of the colony.
“When I first came to work here, I thought: “What am I doing here?” It was really scary,” says Botagoz. “The turning point happened when I had to provide moral support to one prisoner. Then you realize that they are ordinary women who just need understanding
44. Prisoners address Botagoz with the word “mother”, which is how all squad leaders are symbolically called. Of all the administration employees, the detachment chiefs are closest to the prisoners. Together with the foreman, he coordinates and monitors compliance with the regime. Communication between “mothers” and prisoners in this zone is primarily of a human nature. The broken female fate of some prisoners evokes sympathy and understanding among their guards. Over time, you practically have to live with the problems of your charges, write their characteristics, and present them in court. "Moms" - a link between convicts and senior officers
45. The administration petitions and writes positive characteristics for convicts with exemplary behavior. But, nevertheless, the last word always remains with 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, short term of imprisonment, serious criminal records. The most common judicial response is: “What makes you different from other convicts?”
46. The main articles under which women end up here: 259 - sale, storage and distribution of drugs, 177 - fraud and 96 - domestic murder, and much less often, infanticide
47. In the photograph is a copy of an 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 for her boyfriend on herself, at first she acted as an accomplice. As a result, he serves 5 years for apartment fraud. The convict admits her guilt, but while inside the walls of the colony she is trying to get the person who pushed her to commit fraud to be imprisoned.
48. Prisoners have the right to visits: short-term visits for two or four hours and long-term visits for three days. There is also the opportunity to see convicts on an open day
49. The controller in the inspection and visiting room (KDS) Gulim Kushenova accepts documents from a man who came for a long-term date with his wife
“Most often they visit convicts – Kazakh women,” says Gulim. – They come with children and relatives. Bring food, clothes, cleaning supplies
50. At the entrance to the women’s colony there is a stand with photographs of things prohibited for transfer.
51. The hall of the meeting place is a room without a hint of gloom. All furniture - cabinets, tables - is made right there, without leaving the area. Visitors and convicts are provided with all the conditions for a long visit: a separate room, a kitchen, a hall, a shower.
52. Nina Petrovna, age 61 years. Article 259 – drugs. Duration - 10 years. Served 1 year and six months.
Her husband and granddaughter came to see her for the first time in a year and a half. She has proven herself to be exceptionally good in the zone. She underwent several heart surgeries. There is no hope of leaving the colony alive. There were suicide attempts
53. “My son is serving a sentence under the same article,” says Nina Petrovna. “After the DEA officers began beating him during the investigation, I began to write numerous complaints and statements to stop the bullying. They threatened me that if I didn’t stop, I would soon also end up behind bars. I continued writing and soon the police "accidentally" found several grams of heroin on my bed... That's how I ended up here. I tried to kill myself, but they stopped me. No, don’t think about it, the conditions here and the attitude of the administration are normal, but it’s psychologically difficult for me
54. Raima, age 40 years. Article 259 - drugs. Term 10 years, served 3 years and 2 months.
“Nine years ago my husband died,” says Raima. – I was left with three small children, my youngest daughter was 8 months old, her parents are retired. I was the only breadwinner in the family. A few years later I got together with a man. He helped with money and with 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 bank loan. So I was left without business and income. She began selling fruit in the yard, and meanwhile her partner started selling heroin. My roommate was given 10 years of strict regime, I was imprisoned for complicity
58. Vera, age 30 years. Article 96 – murder. Term 6 years, served 2 years, 9 months.
She got married and gave birth to daughters. They lived happily and well, but soon her husband began to abuse her, and for seven years she endured his difficult character. The daughters, seeing their drunken father, immediately went to bed, they were so afraid of him. The husband, when intoxicated, was extremely cruel, he could grab his daughters or Vera and slam his head against the wall, hit him with any object that came to hand. He threatened me with an axe, kicked me, and kicked me out of the house. He even beat his relatives - he raised his hand against his mother. It all ended with a knife to the heart. Moreover, Vera does not remember how it happened, she wants to remember under hypnosis. The children were left in the care of their sick mother. The injured party has no claims. Vera wrote to the Supreme Court, the Prosecutor General, filed a petition to the President - all to no avail.
59. Nadezhda, age 24 years. Article 96 – murder. Term 11 years, served 3 years, 1 month.
She lived and worked as a nanny in Astana, studying to become an accountant. Then, due to financial difficulties, she moved to a small village in the Aktobe region. One day we were walking with friends, decided to continue the fun and went home to a new acquaintance - a man of retirement age. In the morning, when everyone fell asleep, he began to pester her and raped her. Being extremely intoxicated, she became very frightened, began to resist, grabbed a knife from the table and struck ten times. She called the police herself. She admitted her guilt sincerely. During the investigation, I found out that I was pregnant. She decided to leave, now her son is 2 years old. He was taken in and raised by his unemployed mother, who does not have the opportunity to come for a long-term visit. Nadezhda often talks to her son on the phone; he addresses her by name and thinks that she is his sister. She works in the zone as a seamstress-cutter. Having paid off all claims, he sends the money he earned home. He repents and knows that he deserves punishment. Hopes to be transferred to a colony-settlement at his place of residence
61. Marina. 41 years old. Article 96 - domestic murder. Duration – 6 years. Served 3 years, 3 months.
They gave me a short term because the injured party had no complaints. We lived with our second husband for ten years. He drank constantly, did not work, and beat her and the children. And during the next scandal, Marina took two knives and stabbed him simultaneously in the heart and liver. He died on the spot. Marina’s two children, her son is 17 years old and her daughter is 11 years old, live with her brother and daughter-in-law
62. Tamara, 32 years old. Article 96 – murder. Term - 9 years, served 7 years.
The husband drank and abused for seven years. One day a drunk arrived and a quarrel broke out. She was standing with her one-year-old son in her arms, he hit her and hit her son in the ear. The shell of the ear burst, blood sprayed onto the wall. Then Tamara grabbed a knife and plunged it into her husband’s heart. Her parents received guardianship over her three children - daughters 12 and 5 years old, and a son 3 years old. I haven't seen my children for the last two years. For the sake of incentives, he works as a dishwasher in a canteen, wants to get parole
63. Zarina acrobat SSD. Age 25 years. Article 96 – murder. Duration - 8 years. Served 4 years.
A pupil of the Aktobe orphanage. I was first “closed” at the age of 17. I wanted to earn money by transporting drugs to Russia. She served there for three years. When she was free, she fell in love with a guy and started dating him. At his birthday party, he accidentally killed his neighbor in a fight while drinking alcohol. She came out of the bathroom, and in the room there was already a corpse lying in a pool of blood. The guy shouted at her to run away, but she didn’t do it, she decided to be with him to the end. Then the police and ambulance arrived. She made a sincere confession. She took all the blame upon herself, her beloved asked - so he told her, women get a shorter sentence, 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-machine operator and a mechanic/adjuster. She also dances at a local club and is the best acrobat. Now she has only one dream left - to visit Paris and look at the Eiffel Tower.
