How the FSIN could solve the problem of social segregation in prisons: expert view

Historical aspect

By the mid-30s of the last century, the so-called “thieves' order” was formed in Soviet prisons and camps. During these years, an unwritten prison hierarchy and division into higher (thieves, thieves), intermediate (men) and lower (roosters, lowered) social groups developed. Such a hierarchy, in fact, remains now. That is, it can be safely argued that the current system of social groups has been unchanged for almost 80 years.

In the book of Eduard Kuznetsov “Mordovian Marathon” (Jerusalem, 1979), the whole chapter “Strange People” is dedicated to the camp lower layers.

Quote (1979)

From the book of E. Kuznetsov "Mordovian marathon"

“Passive are not only and not so much prone to the prisoners as weak-haired, intimidated by others, lost in cards that violated thieves,” writes Andrei Amalric in the book “Notes of the dissident” (Ann-Arbor).

- Having received the reputation of the “Rooster”, it is already impossible to get rid of it, she reaches for each from the camp to the camp.

And if “lowered”, having fallen to a new place where no one knows him, will hide his “suit”, this will sooner or later find it. And then the punishment is inevitable: a collective reprisal against frequent fatal outcome. ”

The theme of social gradation is also covered in the Kolyma Stories by Varlam Shalamov.

The first of the convicted homosexuals decided to tell about himself the Leningrad poet Gennady Trifonov.

In December 1977, from the West Ural camp No. 398/38, he sent an open letter to the editorial office of the Literary Newspaper. This letter is the cry of the soul of a person brought to despair, it is replete with monstrous details. The letter was not published at that time.

It is safe to say that the story of the described phenomenon “roots” stretches from the last century.

Thieves' world (way of life), prison subculture

If we turn to the Soviet era, then the “thieves' world” and “world of ordinary people” did not intersect. They existed as "parallel universes." A classic example of Vasily Shukshin “Kalina Red”. "The entrance to the thieves' world is a ruble, the exit is two." The thief who decided to “tie” the thief paid his life. The state communist ideology did not give the possibility of mixing. Belonging to the “thieves' culture” was considered shameful.

In the 90s of the last century, there was an active expansion of the “thieves of the thieves” into ordinary life. It should be noted that

The thieves' way of life in the broad sense of the word permeates the various layers of Russian society.

These are not only convicted and prisoners, these are members of their families, former prisoners - also often not related to criminal fishing, nevertheless communicate with the leaders of the thieves' communities "looking and layers." The latter act as arbitration judges.

In Russia there are long -time (still pre -revolutionary) traditions of compassion for "prisoners". During the period of Stalinist repressions, a significant part of the company “Speak in the camps”, many have relatives, are included. In Russia, there is a saying "from prison and from Suma are not raped." The country's youth movement AUE appeared and stubbornly activated in the country (a prisoner alone).

There are entire settlements and regions (Chita region, the Far East), where they live “according to concepts” in schools and adolescence (there are “looking” in schools, colleges, streets and districts),

Including create their own hierarchy, including the lower group - “Degraded”. And all this happens in the youth environment up to 20–22 years, which did not former in the colonies. They, in fact, "play prison." The country is successful in the “thieves' way”, a lexicon of speech, a thieves chanson in musical culture. In the conditions of such historically established compassion to the prisoners, the presence of rooting hierarchical ties is dangerous for society.

A look at the problem from the point of view of the "thieves' structure"

“Offended”, “Degraded”, from the point of view of the “philosophy of the thieves of the thieves” - “dishonest”. They are opposed to “decent” (men and thieves). There should not be a large number of “dishonest”. Simply put, the “thieves' way” is theoretically not interested in the growth of the number “Degraded”.

End of the 90s-early 2000s

By the indicated time, the cruelty inherent in the camps of the Gulag - left. The liberalization of the company, the entry of the Russian Federation to the Council of Europe did their job. The leadership of the penal system began to be harshly asking the leadership of the colonies for the manifestation of cruelty and bullying, including among convicts. Nevertheless, the FSIN system preserved relatively cruel customs, especially in teenage colonies.

Example: an educational colony in the city of Kostroma - in 2001 a teenager hanged in a colony; In the course of the investigation, it turned out that the colony administration indulged in a group of activists (actually looking) who created arbitrariness - extorted money, set their own orders, including rituals in the colony, public “lowering” - dousing, lowering the toilet chain on the head of a toilet chain, putting a head in a toilet. After the case of hanging, several employees of the administration and minor activists were sentenced to real terms of imprisonment.

Reference

“Offended” and “homosexual” are not equivalent concepts. Where do "Degraded" come from

“Degraded” and “homosexual” are not equivalent concepts, “Degraded” may not have, but at present in most cases it has no relation to crimes on sexual grounds or homosexuality in everyday life. Often these are random people who showed weakness or weak life in prison. The category of “Degraded” - persons who have recognized serious sexual crimes, usually in relation to children. Now, the presence of rape in itself automatically does not entail the movement of Degraded to Casta. Moreover, in the pre -trial detention center, according to the “thieves' structure”, it is forbidden to resolve the issue of belonging to “Degraded” only on the basis of a crime. Speaking:

If the defendant enters the chamber of the pre -trial detention center and says that he committed violence against the child (with a corpse, committed an act of cannibalism), the rest of the cellmates say - “you have no place here” and throw it out of the camera.

If the case says that “they are charged with sexual intercourse with my daughter’s daughter, but I didn’t do this, I was stipulated,” his issue will be resolved in the colony, including depending on his behavior. In the overwhelming cases, “Degraded” are people who openly recognize the commission of “taboo” in the “thieves' structure” of actions: extremely cruel crimes, non -traditional sexual contacts, including women, work with excrement and so on, the list is quite wide.

The situation is currently

Of course, at present the situation has changed, the life of the prisoners of the “lowered” is not so hopeless and cruel. Merified rituals as a conceptual expression of the subculture in most cases have gone the past. It is impossible not to admit that the FSIN system (in fact, the successor to the ITL of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, and earlier the Gulag) has changed significantly and dramatically. Talking about the life of “Degraded”, operating on cases, situations, concepts of even the 90s of the last century, is wrong. It is necessary to admit positive shifts and a tendency to openness.

In general, the situation with the lower social group currently has the stage of the "parallel life of the segregated group." Described in literary works (group rape, killings for the refusal of sexual contact as systemic mezhihirarchical relations in general in the FSIN system). There are separate outgoing private (in individual colonies) or regional cases. Which nevertheless makes such an existence in the form of a separate constantly humiliated group - unacceptable for a democratic society.

As a rule, the Degraded colony live with everyone, but for them there is always a separate table, separate dishes, a separate place in the ranks (at the very end), a separate bed, separate shops and chairs, separate places for smoking and rest. The administration looks at Degraded with the same eyes as prisoners. I compare this with the policy of apartheid in a number of states in the last century.

Even patients with HIV are not subject to such discrimination.

“Hind”, if they want it themselves, eat from common dishes, go to the bathhouse with everyone, use common things, they are not discriminated in any way in terms of “concepts”. Nobody, using the same things as the “hassle”, will not become complete.

Attitude of employees and colonies, regional departments

In the framework of this case, the court requested information about the possible pressure on the applicant who appealed, the basis: an article from the mediazone media-the words of one of my clients are given there, which tells a demonstration case-in the room of long-term meetings, the regime employee demanded from the prisoner to use his individual utensils, and not general. This example is characteristic

FSIN employees profess the same life’s way as prisoners. Offensive nicknames are used in communication, through their fingers look at a clear separation in the use of things.

The situation is aggravated even more in the prisoned regions (Komi, Mordovia, Kirov Region). These regions enjoy a bad reputation among prisoners and human rights activists, but this attitude is associated with the neglect of control and responsibility. The colonies in such regions themselves, such as prisoners, they live in settlements where a colony is a city -forming enterprise, the employee’s parents served as security guards in the same colony, most likely the children of employees have the same fate - work in the colony. They themselves say "we have been sitting all our lives." The hostility (hatred) is inherited by the prisoners. Among such employees are more unreliable people who like to assert themselves at the expense of the weaker. The level of violence in such regions and colonies is much larger. The fact that the problem is silent leads to the fact that segregation goes to a new level. A very disturbing situation is formed in the BS colonies (former employees, where employees of law enforcement agencies and government officials are serving a sentence; Deputy Director of the FSIN Maksimenko announced an increase in the number of colonies for the BS against the backdrop of the reduction of the colonies for ordinary prisoners).

Previously, about 5 or more years ago in such colonies there was no completely unofficial hierarchy. This is understandable, in conclusion - people with higher (and not one) education, often with legal, concluded highly intellectual. Young (up to 30 years) employees, usually the lower level, operational workers, fighters of special units and other employees of law enforcement agencies, not previously connected by intellectual labor, began to enter the colony. The colony administration also distinguishes its convicted employees of the FSIN, they are concerned, they are recruited an asset that acts on the direction of the administration. Accordingly, such a contingent introduces its own orders.

The separation began in the colonies, and offended also appeared there.

Moreover, it is characteristic that the greatest favors of the administrations are used by sadists in uniform.

So, for example, the former deputy chief of the Orenburg colony-settlement Murat Kumarov, convicted under three articles of the Criminal Code of Russia, including the article on violent actions of a sexual nature, was released on a parole. On February 15, 2019, an official convicted that he gave the order to rape the prisoner and conduct a penis on his lips ahead of schedule. What kind of virtues for?

In the whole country, I believe that social segregation is largely encouraged by colonies, and if the state does not pay attention to this problem, then it (the situation) will worsen, and its resolution will become much more complicated. The FSIN has no plan to eliminate the situation.

Attitude to the problem of the Orthodox Church

With the presence of such a problem, even clergymen are considered. Among the priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, there is a group of priests involved in prison ministry. Everyone who is engaged in prison ministry knows that when conducting such a sacrament as the sacrament, the offended are communed after all the others, or they are not allowed to the sacrament, or communion and separately.

There were cases when too scrupulous priests did not take into account this and prisoners communed after the “offended” - they lowered it.

That is, even priests take into account this problem.

The first steps to correct the situation

To correct the situation, a complex of resource -intensive measures is needed.

I propose the first step - it will not require significant investments and costs and will allow you to further determine the required strategic and tactical steps.

Currently, in the colonies there is the so -called prof/accounting. Persons prone to escape, homosexual contacts, with game addiction, drug addicts and other categories are subject to accounting. Currently, prof/accounting of the “Degraded” category is absent. First of all, it is necessary to introduce prof/accounting “Degraded”, selecting a uninhabited term for the name, for example, a group of special social risk.

This measure for its implementation does not require significant financial resources. It is possible for use in the shortest possible time. Then there will be statistics, in this group it is necessary to work, identify the reasons why a person was in this group. After that, it will be possible to plan strategic and tactical steps to eradicate the situation.

I will explain on a simple example. In the Kostroma region there are colonies for the “first-time” IK-2 and 7. There are a punishment of persons who are not previously in places of imprisonment. In colonies of 80–100 "Degraded". Where does the Degraded come from?

1. They were “lowered” in a pre -trial detention center or transit points (I must say that in the pre -trial detention center, according to the “thieves' structure”, it is forbidden to resolve the issue of status. This is done only in extreme cases - for example, when the prisoner openly declares that he is a homosexual, or committed an obvious extremely cruel crime, violence against a child, for example).

2. The decision on status is made directly in the colony (where thieves' customs are theoretically absent).

Accordingly, in the presence of professional/accounting, it is necessary to find out how a person acquired the status of the “offended”. Even with the adjustment for a possible distortion, a picture of what is happening will become clear, and further steps can be planned. The introduction of prof/accounting can be introduced by the FSIN regulatory act, which will not require long -term bureaucratic delays. I suppose the introduction of a profile/accounting of an emergency measure, it must be introduced as soon as possible.

Locking the problem

In the memorandum, the Government of the Russian Federation clearly determines the problem of the presence of a hierarchy in prisons, in particular, the expression “is not known” - about the problem.

This position detractes the role of the state and puts up the Russian Federation in an extremely unsightly light. I will give as an example the "grandfather" in the Soviet and then Russian army. Currently, System Grandfather - no. I know this from the firsthand, my relatives serve in the army. That is, there may be cases where commanders work poorly, but there is no systemic violation. And all this became possible after the presence of the problem was recognized, and most importantly, they began to work on it. The presence of segregation undermines the foundations of traditional religious, family, social and other values ​​in society and threatens the very existence of society.

A. Vinogradov

It was published as an additional explanation for the recall of the memorandum on the situation of social segregation in Russian prisons.

November 10, 2019