St. Petersburg’s historic Kresty Prison building up for sale

St. Petersburg’s historic Kresty jailhouse, built in the 19th century and notorious for the many political prisoners who had been kept there, is reportedly up for sale.

The local news outlet Fontanka writes that the former prison complex and its grounds on St. Petersburg’s Arsenal Embankment have been handed over to Dom.rf, a state corporation acting as the federal government’s agent in state property sales. Last November, Fontanka reported that 80 percent of sale proceeds would go to the Federal Penitentiary Service.

Kresty stopped operating as a prison in 2017. Until last October, a residence-type penal colony was housed in the prison complex. To replace Kresty, a new penitentiary called Kresty-2 was built in the nearby Kolpino district. The new facility is now the largest penitentiary in Europe.