"There is no difference there - day now or night"

The artist Alexei Knedlyakovsky, on January 7, was released after 15 days of arrest for the installation on the day of employees of the state security services of a wooden cross on the monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky, spoke about the conditions of maintenance in a special detention center. Rather, as Kndlyakovsky writes, about the "conditions of torture of people contained there."

My camera was about 10.5 sq.m. (although 11.5 is indicated on the stages). It housed 4 sleeping places, 2 more than possible existing according to norms. Until January 1, I kept another person with me, from January 1, I “sported off” alone. I have no complaints here.

Lighting. Imagine that you always have night at home and there is only an old nightlight from lighting devices. Here are about such illumination conditions I had all these 15 days. But the first 5 or 6 days was even worse, the light was so little that it was impossible to read, and it was possible to write only in the daytime and only located almost close to the window. By the arrival of the “ONK” they added another lamp and, although with difficulty, but could be read. The camera cameras are in the basement, windows at the ground level, so there is practically no light from the windows and you don’t feel the difference between day and night.

Noise. Above the window is a ventilation hole - a hole of about 20 × 20 cm, closed by a grill. Through this hole, air from the chamber sucks with a noise. The noise makes a ventilation box vibrating from the air flow. I had to talk in the cell by raising a voice, otherwise the interlocutor would be poorly audible. It is very difficult to sleep with such a noise, you constantly wake up. My head began to hurt after about 2 hours, then there was a ringing and noise in my ears that do not stop now. If you have a kitchen hood, turn it on the maximum, go into it dense and try to imagine the noise about two times louder. In such noise conditions, I was.

Walks and fresh air. According to the law, administratively arrested, daily walks in the fresh air in the daytime, lasting at least an hour. Nothing like this was provided to me. At the end of the hunger strike, they took to stand 2-3 times near the entrance to the insulator, but when it was already dark and 20-30 minutes. This is exclusive, because no one takes the rest of the arrested.

About the cold and constant draft from the cracks in the window, to write even somehow indecent, these are trifles in comparison with the rest.

Briefly summarize. You are sitting in the basement, where there is no difference day now or night, constant terrible noise does not give you rest 24 hours a day, you do not see the sun and do not get fresh air. And note, the terms of the administration. Arest are now not limited to 15 days, according to some articles they can give 30 days. 30 days in such conditions!

The text of the original.