‘Legalized torture’

What we know about conditions in the Arctic prison where Alexey Navalny died

On February 16, 2024, Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) reported the death of leading opposition figure Alexey Navalny. The politician was serving a 19-year sentence at Correctional Facility No. 3 (IK-3) in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (a prison also known as “Polar Wolf”) when he “felt unwell after a walk and almost immediately lost consciousness,” according to the FSIN. The authorities said that emergency medical workers carried out “all of the necessary resuscitation measures” but that they “did not yield positive results.” Meduza explains what we know about the living conditions, prisoner treatment, and medical resources at IK-3.

The first reports that Alexey Navalny had been transferred to IK-3 came on December 25; before that, his whereabouts were unknown to the public and to his family for 19 days. On December 26, Navalny’s associates published his first statement following the transfer:

Prison administrators began regularly sending Navalny to a punitive isolation cell (ShIZO) for alleged minor infractions, just as the authorities at his previous prison had done. On February 14, three days after his most recent release from solitary confinement, he was ordered back to the cell for 15 days — his 27th time there. Human rights advocate Eva Merkacheva attributed his death to these regular stints in the ShIZO.

This material was first published on December 26, 2023 and updated on February 16, 2024. For the latest updates about Alexey Navalny’s death, follow Meduza’s live blog.

What we know about IK-3

The “Polar Wolf” prison, where Navalny allegedly died, has a dismal reputation.

The facility is located in the village of Kharp in Russia’s Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, north of the Arctic Circle. In 2006, Novaya Gazeta wrote that “Polar Wolf” had “always functioned as a prison colony for especially dangerous repeat offenders.” Navalny associate Ivan Zhdanov referred to it as “one of the further north and most remote” prisons in Russia and called conditions there “brutal.”

Lawyers who specialize in defending convicts’ rights gave a similar description of the prison. “It’s a disgusting colony,” one lawyer told Meduza. “Conditions for prisoners are very harsh, and all communications from there are blocked, except for perhaps some medical requests and requests for material assistance.

Other difficulties facing prisoners in the Arctic Circle

The “Polar Wolf” prison colony is located in the tundra and is effectively in Arctic climate conditions, according to a lawyer who focuses on court cases involving FSIN institutions.

“Conditions there are extremely harsh because the special regime is essentially legalized torture,” the lawyer said. “It’s also worth noting that last year, the prosecutor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug identified violations of labor protection, fire safety, and sanitary regulations in the ‘Polar Wolf’ colony. This means detention conditions there are so poor that even the prosecutor’s office decided it was necessary to intervene, despite the fact that prosecutorial oversight at detention facilities is basically a formality.

Medical assistance at ‘Polar Wolf’

It’s difficult to give a detailed description of the medical resources available to prisoners in IK-3, but we have every reason to believe that the situation is pretty bad. “If memory serves, the last complaint regarding improper medical care was during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said a lawyer who works on disputes with the FSIN. “But there’s reason to believe that things aren’t really so good, knowing how healthcare works in relatively prosperous regions. And specialists, especially ones who work in specialized fields, are unlikely to go work there.”

An employee from the Russia Behind Bars foundation gave an even grimmer description:

As a rule, every time you go to them with a request, you’re given a pill for diarrhea. You have a headache? Diarrhea pill. Liver pain? Diarrhea pill.

Reports of torture at IK-3

While there have been no official reports of torture at the facility, human rights defenders believe it is practiced. “The entire time I worked in the FSIN system, which was about 10 years, there were no official reports of torture [in the ‘Polar Wolf’ colony]. But judging by the accounts of convicts there, torture there is routine,” said a lawyer who focuses on prisoners’ rights. She continued:

There are no radiators to heat the cells. There are [only] two pipes through which water flows in and out. If you argue and try to stand up for your rights with an FSIN employee, he simply turns the valve and your room temperature drops to 10 degrees [Celsius, or 50 degrees Fahrenheit]. You sit in this cold cell wearing your synthetic clothes.

When there are temperature inspections, it might go up to 25 degrees [Celsius, or 77 degrees Fahrenheit]. As soon as the outsiders leave, the temperature can be turned back down to 16–18 degrees [Celsius, or 60–64 degrees Fahrenheit].

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Explainer by Kirill Olgin.Abridged English-language version by Sam Breazeale.