“I could have been shot from any tower.”

According to the Federal Penitentiary Service, as of March 1, 2013, there were almost 698 thousand convicts in Russia. In Russian colonies, not only do people sit, get divorced and die, but they are also born and get married: in 2011, 299 weddings were registered in places of deprivation of liberty, in 2012 - 438. In March of this year, Leonid Kovyazin, a defendant in the “Bolotnaya case”, got married in a Moscow pre-trial detention center. , in June - Alexey Polikhovich . They marry in the zone not only for love, but also for convenience: they don’t give dates without a stamp in their passport. The wife of a former prisoner from Omsk, Elena Loginova, told how she got married in prison and how she brought her husband home.

Acquaintance

We met a year before Slava went to the colony, on the radio: he gave an advertisement and his number, and I heard and sent him a short text message. And he decided to answer me. We corresponded, called each other - I was amazed at his attitude. I thought that there were no more people like me and him, that they were extinct, like dinosaurs. Therefore, I decided that if we didn’t have a family relationship, we would just be friends. But when we met, we liked each other and started dating. Soon I had a complex operation and realized how close and dear this man was: he visited and supported me more than anyone else, even my loved ones. I realized that in difficult times he would not abandon or betray me. We became even closer. It was then that I realized that Slava is the one with whom I want to spend the rest of my life.

I was almost 34, he was almost 36. For my birthday, he proposed to me and gave me a ring. I thought and realized that I wanted to see him in old age with his advantages and disadvantages. It was the first time in my life that I felt this way. And then his case was fabricated.

Framed on an especially large scale

Slava and his friend were walking through Omsk, suddenly five people in civilian clothes ran up to them from behind, knocked them down and began beating them. My husband didn’t even immediately realize that it was the police - he thought they were robbing. In 18-degree frost, we were kept in the snow for 2.5 hours - they were looking for witnesses. When the witnesses were found, one of them refused to sign the report because he saw that the detainees had been beaten: Slava’s nose was broken, the girl’s teeth were knocked out. As a result, the police planted drugs on them and photographed on camera that the seizure had been made. The husband was tortured in the offices for 12 hours. When he was detained he was sober, but 12 hours after his arrest he was drunk - they forced him to drink. And that’s all - he signed, naturally, what they needed. As a result, they gave me 6 years under Article 228 Part 2 . Slava spent about six months in a pre-trial detention center.

First, I myself had to make a decision whether to wait for him or not: we are almost 40 years old, we no longer have the strength or health to wait that long, and the question of children naturally disappears. He gave me freedom of choice, even tried to encourage me to think three times and not ruin my life. But I decided this: in your entire life you may not find a person who is close to you in spirit. I had my first marriage, and after the divorce, I haven’t met such a person in 10 years. And these years flew by unnoticed. And here the wait is not 10 years, but less. And I will know what I'm waiting for.

Why marry in the zone?

In different colonies there are concessions: if you bring a certificate of cohabitation before you were convicted, they may allow you to go on a date. But in our colony we approached this issue strictly: only registration and nothing else. And when we decided to register in the colony, I wanted it to be a holiday for the two of us - with a wedding dress, with a suit.

I have never encountered this system, I was not familiar with people who are in places not so remote. It was scary at first. I’m a girl from a prosperous family: I graduated from school with a gold medal, graduated from college with honors, and worked for 6 years as a school head teacher. I always tried to act in such a way that I would not be ashamed of myself, so that my loved ones would not be ashamed of me. Gradually I began to understand that these were all stereotypes. While waiting before the dates, I talked with mothers, wives, and girlfriends of prisoners and realized that not all scoundrels are on the other side. Here, in peaceful life, there are much more of them, but there there are often uncompromising people who do not make a deal with their conscience. They are not socially adapted, they do not know how to dodge, adapt, they do not know how to catch or flatter.

Wedding

We got married 8 months after Slava was imprisoned. We didn’t have a date, we only communicated through glass on the phone. Getting married in a zone is very difficult. How to choose a ring size if the groom doesn't know it? As a result, rings were purchased, and even a wedding cake. I brought with me posters for the newlyweds to decorate the room, and children's champagne on which our photographs were pasted. By the standards of ordinary life this is banal, but by the standards of a colony it is almost a miracle.

On the day of painting, I woke up at 5 a.m.: hair, makeup, and so on. Since after the wedding a visit is given for three days, you need to take things with you to stay in the colony. And with these trunks, the prepared brides stood until half past twelve. It is generally very difficult to wait in a colony: inspection, control. The other girls were simply smart, beautiful, but not in dresses. So, as we noted, practically no one noted. Of course, we were envied all the time - not without it. People are embittered, they don’t believe that they can wait and wait, that they can have a holiday, overcoming all the difficulties.

During the search, gold and cell phones are taken away - only then the grooms are brought in. The saddest thing is that at the moment when the marriage is concluded, the future husband stands in a robe; a suit can only be put on in the visiting room. And the registration room is like an elevator: there is a table in it, and on the other side of the table there is a registry office employee with a book. On this side you are with your future spouse. And no one else will fit in this room. The registry office employee registers the marriage in a minute and gives the opportunity to exchange rings, although almost no one is allowed to carry them. And then the rings are confiscated. Then they provide you with a room and begin to inspect all your things, cut all the food and check it so that you don’t bring anything unauthorized. It’s hard for anyone who hasn’t experienced a personal search to survive it.

There were many difficulties with the Ufsinovites. They didn’t even allow us to put up posters in our room; they warned us that we would have to make repairs. The people who work there are more disadvantaged than those who sit there. Prisoners are sooner or later released, and employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service spend their lives in the zone. They are much more embittered than those who are serving their sentences - they hindered us out of envy and malice: they did not seem to be convicted, but they had never had such a holiday in their lives.

After the wedding, I went to see my husband once every six months because he was in poor health. A year before we met, he underwent a complex operation and was offered to amputate his leg, but he refused. And in the colony his health was deteriorating, and the fact that he was tortured after his arrest also had an effect. His sister and I ran to all authorities every day, while he was sitting, as we went to work. She ran to the courts, to the prosecutor's offices, and I to all the medical institutions.

Liberation

As a result, he was released on parole. The court found the actions of the police officers - all those who participated in his detention - unlawful. One was fired on suspicion of misconduct. And two received real prison sentences. One of those who directly detained Slava and fabricated this case was sentenced to 6 years. A year later, the second employee received 10 years - they themselves were involved in drug sales.

When we were running, knocking on doorsteps, they said that the man had been framed and imprisoned for no reason, naturally, no one believed it. Although everyone saw violations in the documents, forgery and fabrication. Nobody in this system wants to get involved. Still, I think the fact that my husband’s sister and I shouted at all the crossroads, demanded verification, wrote, wrote, and tried to reach Moscow and all the authorities here - this played a role.

Fireworks over the colony

In total, he served three years without one month. We registered on July 15, 2010. And his birthday is in September. I racked my brain for a long time on how to congratulate him in a way that would be memorable. Something to give other than a big gift. And I decided to give my husband a fireworks display! I went to the salon and chose fireworks. It was the beginning of September - it got dark late, and people were brought into the barracks at 10 o’clock. I drove up to the fence of the colony in the evening. It was impossible to find out where the barracks were. I read the instructions on the fireworks and was horrified: you couldn’t launch them near trees, power lines, near a road or during windy conditions. Everything was there: the road, the wires, the trees, and the wind. Finally I managed to light the fireworks. Of course, I hinted to my husband that he should wait outside, that there would be a surprise. That day we were still on a date during the day. And so I light the fireworks - clap and silence. I was so upset. Maybe it's raw, maybe I did something wrong. And then he started shooting! It only lasted 15-20 seconds. But the spectacle is amazing! The barracks were very far from the fence, I didn’t see anything, but the wind carried a roar of joyful cries.

I was afraid of only one thing: they could easily shoot me from any tower. They then talked to us and said that this could have been a signal to escape, a provocation. But the husband, of course, was happy. A friend there said to him: “In my life I have seen many people in love, both married and unmarried, both rich and poor. But in my entire life I have never seen a wife congratulate her husband like that. She sincerely loves you, you appreciate it.” .

A year later, for our wedding anniversary, I gave my husband a real three-tier wedding cake with swans, which we didn’t have at the registration. In general, we celebrated all our dates. I arrive at the beginning of December - my husband and I are celebrating the New Year. She brought with her an artificial Christmas tree, garlands, and posters. All this had to be defended by the employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service, to prove that there was no crime. Once I brought my husband a Santa Claus beard and a cap - they were confiscated from me as a means of disguise. We laughed for a very long time.

Life after the zone

Now we have a daughter, she will soon be 8 months old. When we were planning a child, I assumed that I would raise him alone for another three years. Everything turned out quite easily: I came to my husband for a date on Valentine’s Day and immediately became pregnant. She gave birth at 37 and a half years old. Doctors convinced me to have an abortion - there was a danger to my health. But I said: as much as I go through, I go through as much. When I was discharged from the maternity hospital, my husband called and said that there was a parole trial: “Wait for me, I’ll be home!”

We are now waiting for a response from the European Court in Strasbourg. Our authorities cannot yet admit that a person spent 3 years of his life in prison for no reason. We do not have our own home, and compensation for these 3 years could help us. But in general, we are still happy. We have a daughter and we have overcome everything.