Fire Island.

Go to Main page The institution is a men's correctional colony special regime

for those sentenced to life imprisonment. According to , the occupancy limit is 505 seats, including a high-security section with 55 seats.

• The colony is located on Ognenny Island, located on Lake Novozero near the city of Belozersk, in the Belozersky district of the Vologda region.: Institution address
• 161222, Vologda region, Belozersky district, Ognenny Island, 16.: Institution email address .

Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

The head of the correctional commission and his deputies, at specially allotted times, receive citizens on issues of serving the sentence of those sentenced to imprisonment.

Applications for visits, transfers and money transfers for prisoners are considered only by the head of the colony. Information about IK-5 can be obtained on a special page of the GUFSIN website http://www.35.fsin.rf/stru%D1%81ture/fku-ik-5/ or on the page of the electronic directory of prisons of the Russian Federation https://fsin- atlas.ru/catalog/object/ik5ognen/ . There is also pages in in social networks:

dedicated to the colony

To receive a visit, you must have permission from the head of the institution, which can be obtained by submitting a special application. It can be completed in writing or electronically on the colony page on the GUFSIN website. If there are no legal grounds for refusal, then written permission to visit is issued. If a visit is refused, the reasons for the refusal shall be indicated on the application..

Map - how to get there

Photo

Infrastructure

The colony itself is a complex of four buildings. The cells in it will be more spacious, with ventilation and sewerage, which is missing in the old premises for prisoners. One of the buildings is located in the building of a former monastery, which is already 500 years old. The remaining buildings are modern, built within the last 5-20 years and consist of three floors.

The territory of the Fiery One is small, so the colony occupies all of it. The island is connected by a wooden bridge with another one, Sladkoye, where the institution’s employees live. Fiery has no direct communication with the mainland There is also no mobile phone service on the island.

Prisoners

The regime, level of isolation and security of IK-5 can be called one of the toughest in the Russian correctional system. This is due to the fact that the most dangerous criminals are sent here. Here, those convicted under 17 articles of the Criminal Code serve their sentences: murderers, terrorists, cannibals, pedophiles, rapists, persons who have committed crimes against minors and law enforcement officers.

In addition to those who were initially sentenced to life imprisonment, those for whom the death penalty was replaced by this punishment after the introduction of a moratorium on it in Russia in 1996 are also held here. As of 2018, there are about 200 people in the colony.

Also in “Pyatak” there is a special fifth detachment, as it is called here - “conscripts” - convicts with final sentences, who are here not under a special, but under a strict regime. They serve their sentence in the economic service detachment, ensuring the life of the island. You can join this squad only of your own free will.

The reasons for this choice are obvious: a minimum number of “neighbors”, and therefore potential conflicts, and most importantly, the presence permanent job. They live in a special building, in which there are not cells, but rooms for four people. Since these people have permanent employment, they are entitled to vacation. There is a special room for vacationers; they are allowed not to get up at 6 am and go to bed later than 10 pm, watch TV as much as they want and even play something on the console.

All life prisoners live in IK-5 not in barracks, as is customary in such institutions, but in special cells. The standard room area is 6 square meters per person. There are two prisoners per cell, the mentally unstable - one at a time.

Prisoners are selected in a special way to be in the cell. For example, so that convicts prone to escape do not end up in the same cell, or a pedophile maniac does not end up next door to someone who still has children at large.

The cell's furnishings are minimalist: each prisoner has a bed, a stool and a shelf for personal belongings, and a common table. The sanitary and “living” parts of the cell are separated: the sink and toilet are located in the adjacent room. The institution is equipped with television monitors that constantly monitor the actions of prisoners.

On the door of each cell hangs a special sign with a photograph of the prisoner in it and a list of his crimes. This is done to keep employees alert.

After serving the first ten years in the colony, the conditions of detention are slightly relaxed, and radios or televisions are allowed to be installed in the cells. They are purchased by the prisoners themselves, having accumulated funds earned or transferred to them, or they are donated by relatives or philanthropists.

The bathhouse is provided once a week, at which time linen and clothes are changed. Toiletries, bed linen and the prisoner’s clothing is provided by the colony; things “from the outside” are strictly prohibited.

Maintaining cleanliness and order in the cell is the responsibility of prisoners. Their implementation is reported during the morning rounds.

Schedule

A prisoner's day begins at 6:00 am and ends at 10:00 pm. Waking time is occupied by TV, radio, books, work and walks. Sitting down or lying down on the bed during the day is strictly prohibited; a stool is provided for such purposes.

When opening the cell doors, the convicted person must stand facing the wall, put his hands behind his back, bow his head and lower his eyes to the floor. They move around the prison in the same way; looking around is strictly prohibited.

Walks are carried out every day for an hour and a half. They walk in small closed courtyards strictly one at a time, and the handcuffs are not removed. Cellmates are taken out for a walk at the same time, during which time their cells are checked for the presence of prohibited items, evidence of an impending escape or suicide. Convicts are also subject to mandatory search when being taken out of their cells. When visiting the toilet, bathhouse, or walking, any contact with other convicts is excluded.

Any actions of a convicted person are carried out at the command of the colony staff and with permission. Any event takes place under the supervision of at least three employees of the institution.

There are quite a lot of books in the colony, so the prisoners read a lot. All publications undergo a thorough censorship check by their superiors for the presence of scenes of violence, cruelty, drug use, etc.

Pyatak does not host sporting events, professional or school training, watching films, organizing concerts or other entertainment events. All prisoners are required to follow established order and do not deviate from the existing rules.

The slightest violation of the regime leads to punishment in the form of deprivation of rations or to a punishment cell.

Nutrition

Convicts receive three hot meals daily:

• breakfast– always porridge, tea with sugar or compote;
• dinner– soup with meat or fish, pearl barley or buckwheat porridge;
• dinner– vegetables, porridge or pasta and tea.

91.45 rubles costs a day of food in IK-5, the cost of dietary food is higher - 139.50 rubles. In general, about 5,000 rubles are spent per month on the maintenance of a prisoner. This amount includes food and public utilities, the prisoner's salary is not taken into account here.

Job

In the Vologda Pyatak, prisoners have the opportunity to work. Mittens, uniforms, padded jackets, and hats are sewn here. Almost everyone wants to work; only those who are found to have inappropriate behavior are not allowed. The work is carried out in special cells for two people under constant supervision. Prisoners work for an hour and a half every day.

Prisoners do not receive money in their hands; it is credited to a special personal account. They spend it mainly on local store. To make purchases, the prisoner is given a list of goods, and he chooses what he needs. The store's assortment allows you to provide everything you need; only alcohol and cigarettes are unavailable. You can also spend your money on purchasing magazines, newspapers, and books. For larger purchases, such as a television, prisoners can save money in their account.

Prisoners' health

The local medical center is equipped quite modernly and very well: there is a dentist’s office, a dressing room, and an isolation ward for patients who need rest. If something serious happens, the patient is sent to Vologda for treatment. The dentist comes once a quarter. A full-time doctor works every day, and if necessary, can come at night. But such cases are very rare, mostly prisoners complain of hypertension and osteochondrosis, the latter developing from a sedentary lifestyle.

Many convicts suffer mental illness, and besides this, which has already become traditional for Russian prisons tuberculosis. On average, there are 20-30 patients in the prison infirmary.

The colony has a full-time psychologist who always works with each of the prisoners. He compiles their characteristics for the colony staff, analyzes their tendency to escape or commit suicide, helps prisoners overcome difficult moments, and works on their awareness of their own guilt and motives. Conversations with a psychologist are carried out in the presence of three guards and in handcuffs according to the rules of the institution.

Convicts die rarely and mostly from heart disease. Relatives, if any, are immediately informed about the death. In the event that the body is not collected within a certain period of time, the deceased is buried in the local cemetery of Sladky Island.

Solving religious issues

The state cares about the health of not only the body of prisoners, but also the spirit. Religion in the colony is treated very tolerantly. Many prisoners, during a long stay in prison, come to God and are baptized. A priest from Belozersk, Father Alexander, regularly visits his charges, confesses and gives them communion. Muslims are allowed to perform prayers in their cells before lights out, and there is a prayer room for Orthodox Christians. Most of the icons on the walls of the colony were painted by the prisoners themselves.

Parcels and transfers to the colony

According to Article 125 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation, special regime prisoners are allowed to receive 1 parcel and 1 parcel per year. Due to the inaccessibility of Pyatak, few people come for dates and broadcasts. Currently, it is possible to order a parcel for a convicted person in a specialized store on the Internet: https://fsin-mag.ru. Only those items that are permitted to be given to a prisoner are presented here.

When collecting the parcel yourself, you must fill out a special application, a sample of which is presented on the above-mentioned GUFSIN website, and carefully read the list of goods prohibited for transfer to prisoners.

• products in glass, metal or opaque packaging;
• tobacco;
• alcohol;
• medicines;
• perishable or requiring special storage products.

It is prohibited to transfer clothing, chemicals, strong-smelling, piercing, or cutting objects.

Letters and packages for prisoners are always checked by prison staff. The number of letters, according to Article 91 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation, is not limited for a prisoner.

Punishment cell

Behind the slightest violation regime or disobedience to the colony staff, the prisoner is sent to a punishment cell. This is a room not exceeding 7 square meters, with one window, which is always covered with a piece of iron. The prisoner is there alone, the bunks nailed to the wall are folded up for the daytime, time here has to be spent on your feet or on the floor. In addition, it is always cold and damp in the punishment cell, and the daily rations have been reduced. According to Article 118 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation, the period of stay in a punishment cell should not exceed 15 days.

Features of the mode

The main feature of the conditions of detention, characteristic only of the “Vologda Pyatak”, is complete smoking ban on the island. Since this factor turns out to be very painful for prisoners, as compensation for the taboo on tobacco, the administration of the institution changed the procedure for escorting prisoners outside their cells. They are necessarily handcuffed, but are not forced to bend their body to the ground and stretch out their arms outstretched behind their backs, as is done, for example, in the White Swan colony.

History of the special regime colony

IK-5 was founded within the walls of the Kirillo-Novoezersky Monastery, erected in 1517. After October revolution the building was rebuilt into a prison for “enemies of the revolution” and was used to house political prisoners until Stalin’s death. After 1953, especially dangerous criminals convicted of banditry and murder were imprisoned there.

Since 1994, only those sentenced to life imprisonment began to be sent to this institution. The choice for this place was not accidental: the impressive one and a half meter thick walls of the monastery reliably protect cruel criminals from the outside world. The island location of the colony gave Pyatak another nickname - “Russian Alcatraz” and completely excluded the possibility of escape: in the entire history of the prison there was not a single case.

Parole for convicts

“Vologda Pyatak” contains prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, but Russian legislation allows for the possibility of release after serving a sentence of at least twenty-five years.

After this period, the convicted person for parole submits a petition to the court. When making a decision, this body is guided by the presence or absence of violations of the regime during the last three years and the prisoner’s employment status. So far in Russia there has been only one precedent for the release of a lifer. This happened in February 2018 in the Polar Owl colony.

The most famous prisoners

Each of the prisoners in the colony has a very frightening “track record”. But especially among them there are several that can be distinguished:

• Arasul Khubiev- organizer of the terrorist attack Mineralnye Vody in 2001, convicted in 2002
• Yusup Yunusov– one of the organizers of the explosion of the Government House in Grozny in 2002, convicted in 2004.
• Vasily Shivkoplyas– member of A. Borovkov’s gang, killed 15 people, convicted in 2003.
• Artem Anufriev– one of the youngest prisoners, convicted in 2013 for the murder of 6 people.

Mention in popular culture

In popular culture, the “Vologda nickel” has been noted several times:

• In the 1973 film “Kalina Krasnaya” the hero V. Shukshin leaves the gates of the colony.
• “Vologda nickel” was shown in V. Sergeev’s film “Schizophrenia”.
• The group “Ori! Zone" there is a song "Fire Island", dedicated to the colony.
• The documentary film “Those who did not survive to life imprisonment” from V. Mikeladze’s series “Life Imprisoned” is dedicated to “Pyatak”.

In 2018, “Vologda Pyatak” entered the top twenty most terrible prisons in the world along with “San Pedro” in Bolivia, “Ciudad Barrios” in El Salvador and “San Quentin” in the USA. The rating was compiled

For crimes committed, convicts who have received their sentence are sent to institutions to serve their sentences. One of these is the fifth special regime correctional colony. People call it “Vologda nickel”. She settled down in former building Kirillo-Novoezersky monastery. The colony received this name due to the fifth institution number assigned to it.

A little history

The colony was built in 1517 on granite blocks delivered by boats by the monks themselves. The thickness of the walls, which were erected directly from the water, reaches one and a half meters.

The monastery was in the special regard of the great princes and Moscow tsars, who often visited it. For which they rewarded him with contributions and estates.

In the sixteenth century, the Kirillo-Novoezersky monastery received three lakes and lands and was exempted from all types of duties. But in 1919 everything changed. By order of the new government, all possessions were confiscated. The monks' personal belongings and clothes were taken away. After which they were forced to leave their monastery and scatter around the surrounding area.

The monastery was turned into a prison for opponents of the revolution. Then they turned it into a colony for political prisoners. And after Stalin’s death, the institution became a prison for dangerous criminals. Currently, the “Vologda Pyatak” is intended for convicts sentenced to life imprisonment or the death penalty, replaced by a more lenient type of punishment due to the imposed moratorium. Where is this institution located?

Location of the colony

Where is the Vologda Pyatak institution located? The colony, the address of which is known to any convict and others, is located on Fire Island. This is fifty kilometers off-road from the nearest settlement. connected by a bridge to Sladky Island, where employees of the Vologda Pyatak institution (Lake Novoe) live. Russia, Belozersky district, Novoozero village, post office no. 16. - address of the correctional colony. This is where especially dangerous criminals serve their sentences.

Procedure for admission to the institution

“Vologda Pyatak” - a special regime colony, like other institutions, accepts convicts, guided in its actions by internal regulations.

Reception of the arriving person is carried out on a commission basis. An inspection of belongings and a personal search are carried out. The convict is then placed in a quarantine department. He's passing medical checkup. Convicts are familiarized with the conditions and procedure for detention, serving their sentences, rights and responsibilities.

Within ten days, the colony staff are obliged, upon a written application from the “new guy,” to notify one of his relatives about his location.

Employees of the institution must address prisoners as “you”, call them “convict” or “citizen” and by their last name.

The Vologda Pyatak prison has a capacity of five hundred and five places, including fifty-five of them for convicts who are assigned a special regime of detention. Only men are in the colony. The institution is equipped with television monitors that constantly monitor the actions of convicts.

Prisoners are selected in a special way to be in the cell. For example, so that like-minded people who are prone to escape do not end up in the same cell.

Premises have been allocated for convicts chamber type, with an area for one person of six square meters. There are two prisoners per cell. During the day, the convicted person has no right to lie down or sit on the bed.

Each person is provided with an individual sleeping place, bedding, clothing, and hygiene products.

Convicts have the right to three hot meals daily and a walk. While visiting the toilet, bathing, walking, etc. any contact with other convicts is excluded. Even conversations with a psychologist are carried out in the presence of three guards.

Any actions of a convicted person are carried out at the command of the colony staff and with permission. Any event takes place under the supervision of at least three employees of the institution. The cells are searched daily, as are prisoners when they are removed from them. The handcuffs are not removed.

The colony does not host sporting events, vocational or school training, watching films, etc.

Short-term visits are allowed. Long-term personal meetings are prohibited.

The slightest violation of the regime leads to punishment in the form of deprivation of rations or to a punishment cell.

In the colony, the majority of convicts suffer from mental illness, and some of them have tuberculosis.

Work of convicts

“Vologda Pyatak” is a colony where convicts are engaged in sewing mittens, souvenir “helmets” and “Budenovkas”. For these purposes, special cells are allocated for no more than two people. Convicts receive monthly remuneration for their work, which they can spend on subscribing to newspapers and books. They are also allowed to buy food in a special store.

"Vologda nickel" - the prison of my soul

The article under this title was written by Masha Pishkina, expressing her subjective opinion about her employees, and not about the convicts. She called the “Vologda Pyatak” the Russian Alcatraz.

The article arose after visiting the colony with a film crew.

The first impression described in Masha’s article was caused by the appearance of a colony employee who was thirty years old. But according to Pishkina, she looked like she was forty. This is how morally difficult working and living conditions take their toll. Many of the employees live on a nearby island in dilapidated houses. The school for children is ten kilometers away, and kindergarten requires major repairs.

The head of the colony made a positive impression on Maria due to his good nature, decency, responsiveness and modesty.

Analyzing the employees of the institution, the girl noted for herself that they were all unique and interesting as individuals in some way.

A visit to the “Vologda Pyatak” and communication with those who work there made Maria want to be in their ranks and perform morally difficult service within the walls of the colony.

Construction of a new building

The Vologda Pyatak prison will in the near future be ready to accept seventy-two more people sentenced to life imprisonment. They will be located in the new fourth building, built on the site of the Church of the Smolensk Mother of God. The building will consist of three floors. The cells are planned to be made according to European standards: more spacious, with ventilation and sewerage. What is missing in the old prison facilities.

Convicts serving time

On the door of each cell in the Vologda Pyatak colony there is a sign indicating a brief description of convicted It says on it: the article under which he is imprisoned, how many people have killed, whether he is prone to escape, suicide, self-harm, etc.

“Vologda Pyatak” is a special regime colony. And it is intended for dangerous criminals. Therefore, the signs are hung so that the staff of the institution do not lose their vigilance and always remember who is in the cell.

The head of the colony noted a downward trend in the age of convicts. Just a few years ago the average reached forty-four to forty-seven years. But now it’s twice as low. People aged twenty-one to twenty-two began to arrive more and more often. Employees explain this by improper upbringing, the influence of society, and the media.

Parole for convicts

The Vologda Pyatak colony contains several hundred convicts, many of whom have not lost hope of being released. Russian legislation allows this option, but after serving a sentence of at least twenty-five years.

A person convicted of parole submits a petition to the court. When making a decision, this body is mainly guided by the presence or absence of violations of the regime during the last three years and the prisoner’s employment status.

List of convicts

Murderers, maniacs, rapists, drug distributors and other convicts are kept and serve their sentences in the institution. “Vologda Pyatak” is a colony whose list of convicts numbers more than one hundred people. Particularly dangerous criminals sentenced to death include the prisoners described below.

Mikhail Bukharov - committed several murders and was sentenced to death.

Vladimir Zhurin - committed robbery. He also took the life of a man.

Valery Balin - convicted of robbery, murder, illegal possession of weapons and sentenced to death.

Viktor Apollonov - convicted of murdering five people, sentenced to life imprisonment, etc.

The prison for criminals who received life sentences, located on Ognenny Island in the middle of Lake Novy in the Vologda Region, can be safely called “Russian Alcatraz.” Just like its American sister city, it is separated from land on all sides by cold water northern reservoir, and the maintenance regime is considered one of the most severe. Not a single prisoner has managed to escape from it in its entire long history. Title y Russian analogue popularly – the Vologda nickel, and in official documents – PKU IK-5 of the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Vologda Region. However, the prison changed its names several times.

The first mention of people who set foot on the island dates back to 1517. The pioneer was the monk of the Korniliev-Komelsky monastery, Kirill. He searched for a long time and finally found a place completely suitable for absolute solitude, where he could indulge in prayers to God. In those distant times, the island on the lake was called Red. The places there are really very picturesque. A few years later, several more monks joined Cyril.

Together they founded the Kirillo-Novoezersky Monastery, the walls and buildings of which now serve as a maximum security prison. The history of the monastery began during the time of Ivan the Terrible's father, Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily the Third. All Russian sovereigns paid a lot of attention to one of the northern monasteries. Peter the Great and the future Empress Elizabeth the First visited it.

Near the monastery there is ancient city Belozersk, where disgraced boyars were often sent into exile, but a prison appeared on Ognenny Island immediately after arriving in the Vologda region Soviet power. In 1918, all the monks were expelled from the island. Instead, revolutionary-minded people in “boots and leather jackets” began to settle in the monastery. With them appeared their wards “enemies of the people” - representatives of socially alien classes.

“Enemies of the people” were kept in the monastery cells for the next few decades. Only closer to the war, instead of nobles, white officers and merchants, most of the “political criminals” were Soviet party and economic figures who fell under the moloch of Stalin’s repressions. Perhaps among them were the same people in “boots and leather jackets” who changed the status of the ancient monastery. The Kirillo-Komelsky Monastery was quickly forgotten. Now it was called the Novoyezerskaya ITC or generally impersonal - a maximum security camp. The faces of the saints were thickly smeared with a thick layer of fresh plaster.

In 1953, Lavrenty Palych, before his execution in the Moscow basement of the district headquarters, managed to Once again repurpose the colony. That time to a prison for especially dangerous criminals, who quickly came up with a new name for the prison - Vologda Pyatak. The jailers accurately determined the type of contingent arriving to serve their sentences and re-educate. They were those convicted for the first time for banditry and murder.

The “zone” has always been considered “red”. "" got there extremely rarely, due to their specialization in other articles of the criminal code. In 1994, already under Russian jurisdiction, it was decided to adapt the Vologda Pyatak for the detention of criminals who received life imprisonment by a court verdict. With the announcement of a moratorium on the death penalty in 1996, their number increased.

Thief in law Gennady Mikhailov - Soleny

The first stage of “prisoners with a wad” happened in the same 1994. 17 people arrived on the island. Among them was a thief in law (Mikhailov), who had previously stabbed to death a security officer in a colony in the Kemerovo region. He will have to live on the Vologda nickel for 20 years. In the summer of 2014, he will be taken from the island to the “hospital” in Vologda, where he will die. To this day, only 4 people from that first stage remain in prison. The rest were taken by death or they were transported to other 6 institutions of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service, intended in Russia to house life-sentence prisoners.

Solyony was not the discoverer of the Vologda penny among thieves. In the early 80s, Pasha Strazhnik (Strazhnikov), one of the most famous thieves in law, was held there for some time. Soviet Union. After his release, he lived for a long time in warmer climes, until in 1997 he died in an accident in the Georgian Zestafoni. On the Vologda nickel he almost collided with another famous thief in law Piso (Kuchuloriya), who served there at about the same time for about a year. Unlike the Guard, the prison sucked all the health out of the Georgian. A couple of years later, Piso died, but was already free in Moscow.

Approximately the same fate awaited another “thief in law” from the southerners, Gochu Galsky (Toria). He visited Pyatak in 2010 when he was very young. Last year he died in Warsaw, barely crossing the forty-year mark. Quite recently, the Dagestani thief Shamil Smolyansky (Magomedov) “visited” the prison for a short time, but the Vologda nickel was no longer what it was before. In 2011, it underwent a global reconstruction, which largely changed the living conditions contents and destroyed the previously seemingly indestructible spirit of deep antiquity.

The Vologda Pyatak entered the 21st century with buckets replacing buckets and the absence of washstands in the cells. Now there is no such extreme in prison. Toilet bowls and sinks were installed in all cells, although only with cold water. All facilities of the prison complex are still heated with coal or wood, as in the time of the founder of the monastery, monk Kirill.

For relatives of prisoners in a hurry to go on a date, the dirt road from the regional center of Belozersk, located 50 kilometers away, which spreads throughout the spring and autumn, can become an insurmountable extreme. The thread connecting the island with the “mainland” is a fairly solid wooden bridge. It is used to transport its guests to the prison. They are taken along it to the prison cemetery, located on the shore somewhere 3 kilometers away.

Vologda nickel today

New time and the new state have not changed high-quality composition prisoners. The majority are bandits who killed a couple of people during a robbery. Cannibals have also become a trend of modern times. The prison has its own old-timer. This is Kazbek Kaloev, sentenced to death in the Soviet Union in 1990. He was the leader of a gang that robbed and killed passers-by on the streets. Before the execution was replaced with a life sentence, he was already considered a particularly dangerous repeat offender, having been convicted four times. Kaloyev's last hope was parole, the issue of which, according to the current law, can be considered no earlier than serving 25 years of imprisonment. So far in Russia there is only one precedent for a prisoner being released with a wad on his back. Most recently it happened in prison "".

Now the Vologda Pyatak, designed at maximum occupancy for half a thousand souls, is practically half empty. In the last decade, the forced population has not been able to cross the 2 hundred mark.

Otherwise, the Vologda Pyatak is not much different from similar Russian prisons. Psychopaths are in solitary confinement; more stress-resistant prisoners share cells with a neighbor or neighbors. On the walls in front of the doors to the cells on the corridor side there are “memos” that describe in detail the character and behavior of their inhabitants. This measure is intended specifically for security guards. To never relax.

The history of the prison has not yet seen riots or acts of mass disobedience, but what the hell isn’t it? In 1995, the only time an emergency occurred in the prison. One of the prisoners, a Chechen by nationality, committed suicide. Of the peculiarities of the conditions of detention unique to the Vologda Pyatak, the most painful for the prisoners was the complete ban on smoking on the island. Many years ago, the administration of the institution decided so. As compensation for the tobacco taboo, she also changed the procedure for escorting prisoners outside their cells. They are necessarily handcuffed, but are not forced to bend their torsos to the ground and put their arms outstretched behind their backs.

Continuing Soviet prison traditions, in the Vologda Pyatak they sew mittens - a favorite product sewing workshops with "zones". The prison went down in the history of Russian cinema. Main character Vasily Shukshin’s film “Kalina Krasnaya” comes out of its gates. Appearance it has not changed since the filming of the film.

The colony on Ognenny Island in the Belozersky district is called “Vologda Pyatak” - after the number of the institution. Here, the hero of Vasily Shukshin’s film “Kalina Krasnaya,” Yegor Prokudin, walked along the wooden walkways to freedom. Those sentenced to life imprisonment for atrocious crimes serve their sentences here. The total number of prisoners in this colony includes hundreds of ruined lives.

A little history

The Novozersky men's monastery, within whose walls convicts are kept, is located 37 versts from Belozersk on the Red (Fire) Island of New Lake. Founded in 1517 during the reign of Grand Duke Vasily III Ioannovich Rev. Kirill, monk of the Korniliev Komel Monastery. In ancient times, the monastery enjoyed fame; it was favored by the great princes and kings of Moscow, who often personally visited the monastery.

After the revolution of 1917, the monastery was closed, and very soon they began to house prisoners. In 1938, Novo-Yezerskaya ITK-14 was located here, after the war ITK-6, LO-17, which in the fifties was reorganized into a maximum security camp. In 1956, Penitentiary Colony No. 17 established a strict regime for men convicted for the first time of banditry and murder.

In 1962, the colony was called ITK-5. In 1994, for the first time in the Vologda region and in Russia, a correctional colony with a new type of criminal punishment - life imprisonment - was created on its basis. “Pyatak” was not chosen by chance. Only one road leads to the powerful thick walls of the monastery - a wooden bridge across the lake. It is almost impossible to escape from here, by the way, time has confirmed this. The first convicts were brought in in the spring of 1994 by convoy from Tambov. There were about 20 of them.

Today, on Fire Island there are about two hundred prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as convicts for whom the death penalty has been commuted to life imprisonment by way of pardon. Impressions and thoughts On April 10, I was traveling to the “pyatak” on a bus with the artists of the Belozersky House of Culture. This was my third trip to this institution; previously I had been here for the Days of Review of Useful Deeds. On these days, exhibitions and concerts were usually organized, in which convicts, including “lifers,” took part.

This time there was no holiday for the convicts; they did not see either a concert of their own talents or performances by visiting artists. Having overcome control - an endless number of doors and bars, where we were forced to turn off Cell Phones, we found ourselves inside the institution. We were immediately taken to the assembly hall so that the artists could change clothes. While they were installing the equipment, I went to the window.

Thick walls, strong bars on the windows. And outside the window is a piece of the monastery wall and the edge of the blue spring sky. For some reason I thought: it must be sad to see the same view from the cell window every day for many, many years in a row. But I immediately remembered that when we walked along the gloomy corridors, on the doors of each cell hung quite solid “track records” of their inhabitants and photographs.

Each list contains more than one article, which means more than one crime, more than one ruined life. What do these people think about within the walls of this monastery, what do they dream about, regret, repent, and do they repent?

My thoughts were interrupted by a rather well-fed cat, which suddenly appeared on the ledge of the wall on the other side of the bars. It turned out that this is a local cat, which, like all representatives of the cat family, even walks on its own in the territory of the colony.

Holiday

This time, only colony employees, veterans and guests gradually gathered in the assembly hall. It was a holiday for those who work here. And about 250 people work at Pyatak, 66 of them are women. Guests appeared on stage: the head of the educational service department of the Directorate federal service execution of punishments Colonel Galina Fedotova, the head of the district Vladimir Lebedev, who, by the way, himself served in this institution for ten years, the head of the Department of Internal Affairs for the Belozersky district Evgeny Shashkin, the chairman of the district court Nikolai Tarasov, the chairman of the board of veterans of the institution Tamara Velikanova and others.

The names of those who were there when everything in the colony began literally from scratch, when in the sixties, after desolation, a special regime correctional colony was created here, sounded from the stage.

These are Tamara Mikhailovna Velikanova, Liya Alexandrovna and Valery Georgievich Lyalin, Alexey Andreevich Andreev, Elizaveta Nikolaevna Lebedeva, Nikolai Fedorovich Polozov. The former head of the colony, retired Colonel Alexey Vasilyevich Rozov, came to congratulate his colleagues and veterans on their anniversary. During his service as head of the colony, a lot of big job. It was during his leadership that the turning point of 1994 occurred, when the colony was repurposed.

In this regard, it was necessary to fully equip the premises; the buildings, headquarters building, bridges were repaired, a canteen for employees was equipped, a fire service building, a bakery, a hotel, a store and much more were built. But without a team of like-minded people, he would not have been able to cope with the task.

Many of those employees have retired, but still work in the colony to this day: Vyacheslav Ivanovich Pavlov, Alexander Mikhailovich Ivanov, Leonid Anatolyevich Sharonov, Abdulahat Abduamitovich Khodainazarov, Olga Yuryevna Kuznetsova, Lyubov Aleksandrovna Ukhacheva and others. With a minute of silence, those gathered honored the memory of those veterans of the institution who did not live to see today. Let us also name their names: Pavel Agapevich Pavlov, Svyatoslav Ivanovich Kash-lev, Alexander Aleksandrovich Cheremkhin, Nikolai Viktorovich Sidorkov, Pyotr Mikhailovich and Galina Ivanovna Babukov, Alexander Timofeevich Antonov. The current head of the colony, Colonel of the Internal Service Miroslav Makukh, congratulated his colleagues.

Miroslav Nikolaevich has been leading the colony since 2001. During this time three were built residential buildings, a sports and recreation complex, new bridges were built and put into operation connecting the islands of Ognenny, Sladkiy and " mainland" At the end of 2008, IK-5 took third place in the ranking among institutions of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Vologda Region. Miroslav Nikolaevich Makukh presented certificates, gratitude, and badges to the best employees.

After the ceremonial part there was a concert, numbers performed by the artists of the cultural center were replaced by numbers performed by the colony staff. It turned out that they sing beautifully, read poetry and even perform small performances. I would also like to note that in the hall there was a photo exhibition and wall newspapers telling about the life of the colony.

Way home

Having gone through the same procedure again with bars and doors, we finally found ourselves “free.” The bus set off on its way back.

Having passed the bridge, he slowed down, and I turned around again to look at Fire Island. Huge monastery walls rose in the middle of the snow-white surface of a frozen lake. As if a ship had anchored here forever, I thought.

Belozersk August 1994. I will remember the first night spent on the building for the rest of my life. All night I walked along the corridor and read the door cards. And the more I read, the scarier it became. For some time I realized that there were only murderers and rapists around me. Noticing my condition, Ensign Sharonov said: “Never show that you are scared. Everyone is scared, but no one is afraid. Do as we do, and you will learn everything. And in general, boy, remember, no one will do this work except us.”

From the memoirs of a security officer

*********************************************************************************
Larisa Petrovna Vasilenko president of the charity public organization“Return” and devoted her entire life to working with prisoners. Larisa Petrovna told us about her trip to the Vologda region, where there is a prison for those for whom the death penalty has been commuted to life imprisonment. Here's her story:

- Due to my duty, I had to visit where they were serving a life sentence. I still care about what I saw.
I went to this colony by car. We drove for a very long time off-road, and it seemed to me that we were at the end of the world. There is no civilization there. The colony is located on Ognenny Island. There are actually two islands there. Colonial staff live on one. On another island is the Kirillo-Novoezersky Monastery, which was built 490 years ago.

The Monk Kirill prayed to the Mother of God that she would determine for him a place for lifelong stay on earth. And then the Mother of God appeared to him in a dream and said that he needed to come here from the Tikhvin Monastery. Kirill followed her advice, arrived on the island and saw that the earth here was red, as if it was burning. In a subtle dream, an angel appeared to him and said: this is your place where you should be constantly.

And he, having bought this place from the inhabitants, moved to this small island by boat. You can immediately take a look at the island. Kirill began to build a monastery here. Many did not like his idea. More than once he was robbed by robbers. And one day these robbers got lost on the lake with the loot, and Kirill Novoyezersky met them and told them not to commit their iniquities anymore, not to gloat, because they would have to answer for everyone at the judgment of God.

Fire Island

And now, 490 years later, life prisoners - robbers, criminals - found themselves in exactly this place.
My heart trembles because of what I saw and felt there. I would like to say to all the teenagers who are now in the pre-trial detention center. The Lord tells us: “Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more. It’s as if something worse could happen.” And what could be worse if you are locked in a cramped little cell and are there without being a believer? Why are these people scared to be there? Because they don't have a prayerful spirit. Life seems terrible to them now. If earlier saints, for the sake of heroism and prayer for people, were limited to such a life and did not want to go out into the world, then here it is the other way around. People want to go out into the world, but they are constantly under lock and key.

Where are these people from? From all the nearby regions. When we crossed the threshold of the monastery, an employee began to show us the frescoes that were preserved under the plaster. The plaster was crumbling, and the frescoes were clearly visible. But I didn’t pay attention to the frescoes. I turned my attention to the doors. Each door has a sign written on it and a photograph of a person whose death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment. It says here what he did and it says: dangerous! prone to escape! prone to attack! I felt like I was among reptiles.

I read these signs and found that there was not a single one that indicated that the person was convicted of drug charges.

The reasons why these people are here are terrifying. I'm scared to even talk about it. For example, he raped a woman and killed her children. Another robbed drivers on the roads and brutally killed them with extreme cruelty. Or he raped a five-year-old girl and strangled her. Such people are indeed very dangerous, and they should not be released.

Prisoners are kept in cells of three. I saw them being taken out for a walk. The first door opens. Behind her is a second one, barred. They must put their hands through the bars to put on the handcuffs. Then they go out and in a bent position, raising their arms behind their backs, this is how they should move while walking.

I asked the head of the colony in what cases they are taken out of these cells. He replied that only in the following cases. An hour and a half to the medical unit, to work (they also work for an hour and a half, sewing mittens) and sometimes to church. The rest of the time the prisoners must remain in the cell. You understand how difficult it is to be in a cell with each other for fifteen to twenty years. A psychologist works in the colony. If something happens, they are helped to psychologically overcome this situation. If a prisoner falls ill, he is taken to the hospital, and then they take a break from each other.


I talked to the prisoners and asked them how they escaped, knowing that they had to be here for the rest of their lives. They said that with God's help. Whose heart the Lord has touched thinks about his soul, and this is a great mercy. And maybe someday the Lord will send them salvation. But for others it is very difficult.
When I walked past the room for long visits, I saw that the door was closed with a large lock. The officer who accompanied me caught my eye and said: “The first date is due only ten years after he serves his sentence!” But how much can change during this time!

The only hope is amnesty, which takes place after twenty-five years. If a person is inclined towards a peaceful lifestyle, he is released.

We visited the chapel where confession usually takes place; all the paintings and icons there were made by the hands of prisoners. It cannot be said that they all managed to become church members.
Many of those who are here, coming here, wrote a statement asking for the death penalty to be returned to them. But since the death penalty has been abolished in our country, they are now grateful that they are alive. Some of them have spent twenty years within these walls. And one man told me that he had already served 27 years.

In the conversation, the prisoners told me that their lives go on as always: in the morning, when they make their rounds, prison staff ask the question: is everything okay? They answer: “Everything is fine in the camera, there are no questions, the camera is in good condition.” And so day after day, year after year, not a single extra word. Days and seasons are erased, nothing changes. It has been established that in prison conditions, after seven years a person begins to degrade and this becomes noticeable. The connection with current events is lost, the person becomes less talkative, and his vocabulary changes.

The only thing that saves prisoners is correspondence with the will. Letters that are answered by kind people. Through such correspondence, prisoners change and gradually become churchgoers.

When I went outside from these premises, the sun was shining and blinded my eyes. The thick monastery walls were white. When I looked up, I shuddered. From the windows I saw many dead, expressionless faces looking at me. It was scary because there were so many of them, small barred cell windows.

I remember Dmitry. I remember that I brought to the cells the newspaper “Orthodox Crosses”, which is distributed here in St. Petersburg Crosses, and from the newspaper he understood where I was from. And he said that he had read it. We got to talking, and Dmitry said that he was twenty-nine years old and was sentenced to life. I didn't dare ask why. But I just asked whether a person could end up in prison for life if he committed a crime for the first time. It turned out that yes. I ask you to pray for Dmitry. And Yuri is in the next cell. I remember these people...

When we left the colony, all the horror was behind us. I didn’t have time to catch my breath when I saw a cemetery in the woods. It turned out that there were those who had served their life sentence here on the island and died.
After this trip, I still have the feeling that I visited the end of the world, where hell is located.
***********************************************************************************

Politicians are actively discussing the topic of a moratorium on the death penalty, and some are inclined to believe that especially dangerous criminals should be executed. But here is the opinion of the famous director Vakhtang Mikeladze, who himself was behind bars as a prisoner, and then chose documentary filmmaking as his life’s work and made about a hundred films about prisoners.

Where would you put a comma, Vakhtang Evgenievich? You yourself have been behind bars, visited many prisons and camps, and made more than a hundred documentaries on this topic.

The 90s gave birth to a huge number of criminals. Now many of them, those who survived, are serving sentences in special colonies for life imprisonment. I filmed the characters of my films for the series “Prisoners for Life” and “PLS” (this abbreviation means “life imprisoned”) in four prisons: “Black Dolphin” in the Orenburg region, “Fire Island” in the Vologda region, “White Swan” in Solikamsk, Ivdel city Sverdlovsk region. The fates of criminals who would never be released passed before me. My position is clearly expressed in the films: I am against the death penalty. Execution is too easy for people who have committed terrible acts.

- I’m not sure that the victims of these same “pls” will agree with you...

- I showed films about life prisoners to women whose children were raped and they, seeing how incredibly difficult it was for these criminals to live in the conditions they created, said: let them live. After all, many of the PLS students even want to commit suicide. Watch as they are taken out of the cell. Only in a pose, that is, leaning forward, arms raised from behind with palms outstretched. There is a blindfold on the eyes. So that they cannot navigate in space. They are taken for a walk in special walking chambers that are located on the roof of the building, the bandage is removed, but they see nothing except the walls and the sky through the bars. Each of them is inclined to escape; they have nothing to lose. Let them live as long as God has given them. And even after death, neither first nor last name is written on their gravestone, but the inscription PLS and number. This is also done on purpose. Because for their crimes, people can desecrate their graves.

- How do the prisoners themselves “pls” build relationships among themselves?

- Even in life-long prisons there is a classification of prisoners: colored, urka, thief in law. Deputy Minister of Justice Yuri Kalinin told how he went into the cell of three prisoners. Two people were talking to him. He asked where the third one was. To which they answered that he was the third rapist, and he was lying under the bunk. They have their own laws. Cruel.

- Why did you turn to the topic of prisoners?

- Criminals are also part of the people. I filmed Andrei Volkhov, the leader of the Saransk group in prison, who repented in front of the camera and said, tell my friends to come to their senses and not do this. And my friend, journalist Yuri Krause, answers him: many of your friends have either been killed or are in prison like you. We showed this film, like others, to juvenile delinquents in colonies and filmed them hidden camera. And when the lights turned off, the guys cried looking at the screen. Such pictures greatly help convicts and make them take a fresh look at criminal romance. Of course, not everyone could make such a movie at all - it is a difficult and not very rewarding task. But I know the criminal environment, convicts easily get in touch with me. After all, I was sitting myself. True, under a completely different article, as a member of a family of traitors to the motherland.

Stalin's repressions did not leave the educated Georgian family of Vakhtang Mikeladze aside. First, his grandfather, the first secretary of the Central Committee of Transcaucasia, was shot. Then the grandmother, the People's Commissar of Education of Georgia, who despised Beria and openly told him this to his face. The parents of Vakhtang Mikeladze became the prototypes of the heroes of the high-profile film “Repentance” by Tengize Abuladze. His father, a famous composer and director, was arrested by order of Beria, he was savagely mocked, deprived of his hearing, and then he was also shot. Vakhtang, his mother and sister went along the convoy. The future documentary filmmaker spent six and a half years behind bars. Mikeladze came to VGIK straight from the camp.

- Were there any among the criminals with whom you sympathized?

- In “Black Dolphin”, father and son Tishchenko are serving their life sentences in the same cell. In 1996, a showdown between two gangs took place in a pub in Irkutsk. One of them was led by Father Tishchenko, and his son was with him. So they had no choice to leave alive, either they would be killed or they would be killed. The son, on the orders of his father, shot five people and wounded several more. They were sentenced to death. Then they appealed against life imprisonment. They have already served 13 years. My son got there when he was only 23 years old. Father and son obtained permission to sit in the same cell, although this is prohibited for accomplices. Both became believers. Of course, the father did not wish harm to his son. And it turned out like this - pls. We asked my father if he worked in prison. And he replied: “Why? I'm already dead." I cried after talking to them. It seems to me that they were given too harsh a sentence. And there are criminals whom you hate. There was one scoundrel who sophisticatedly raped a woman and her daughter, taking turns in front of each other, and then killed her. He himself said that it would be better if he were shot.

Now I'm working on another film, very dramatic. Remember, the movie "Prison Romance", which was based on real story true love investigator Natalya Vorontsova and criminal Sergei Maduev. So, she served her time, and I want to introduce her to the performer of the role, Marina Neelova. I will also show you the cell in which Maduev died half a month after his imprisonment. He has no grave. And Abdulov, who played him, rests on Vagankov...

REFERENCE

Vakhtang Mikeladze was born on June 16, 1937. Graduated from VGIK, Roman Karmen's course. He worked in Tbilisi at a studio of popular science and documentary films. Since 1995, he worked at the RTS television company and participated in the creation of the “Man and the Law” program. State Prize laureate, Honored Artist, director of the Documentary Detective program.