Have you ever been attracted to someone?

The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) is going to open a “pre-trial detention center for dummies” - those who are brought to criminal responsibility for the first time. In this way, they want to separate inexperienced defendants from seasoned criminals. “Have you ever been attracted to someone?” – we asked famous people.

Eduard Limonov, writer:

– I have been in prison so many times that I simply don’t want to talk about any cases, understand me. It's hard to say whether anything will come of the FSIN idea until we get something tangible, but I don't rule out the possibility that they are acting with the best of intentions. On the other hand, there are prisons and detention centers for minors, and the rules there are stricter than in many areas for adults.

Lev Ponomarev, human rights activist:

“It’s more often first-timers who are not yet familiar with the code who commit outrages. I myself was not in a pre-trial detention center, but I was serving an administrative arrest. Several migrant workers and a man who got drunk and threw a bottle at some institution were sitting with me. We all communicated normally. But the toilet in the room where they sleep and eat is humiliating.

Svetlana Masterkova, Olympic champion:

– Once I rescued friends from the police who had “successfully” gone to the club. The policemen and I laughed together at what my friends were saying. So it's not all that scary. And the last time I talked to the police was when my house was robbed. They said that, judging by the list of stolen property, it would be easier not to write a statement, because I would waste more nerves. So I never went to the department.

Grigory Pasko, journalist:

– Prisoners are no worse than our cops, judges and prosecutors. All these prison horror stories like “if you get there, they’ll let you go in an instant” are lies. If this happens, it is at the direction of those same people listed above. In general, I like the talk about house arrests and pre-trial detention centers for first-timers, but it wouldn’t hurt to change the rules of detention. I have been to both Matrosskaya Tishina and Butyrka - there are wonderful cells there, but people die in them too...

Anastasia Melnikova, actress:

– Sometimes people come to me asking for help. For example, a boy who was beaten during arrest. And I help, I figure it out. Naturally, the police are biased towards me - I have been “working” side by side with them for 15 years. I am sure that both in the police and in the pre-trial detention center there are more good people than bad. There are more people who help than those who are unworthy to wear shoulder straps. I only welcome the initiative to create a separate pre-trial detention center - a person who finds himself in such a place has a better chance of being released with an intact psyche.