Rehab programmes tested in Russian prisons
Published 21 July, 2007, 09:09
If you are travelling 600 KM east of Moscow, then you might be on your way to jail. The Republic of Mordovia in Russia's Volga region has more prisons than any other region of Russia, some of them are intended solely for women.
Fifty kilometres of high fences and barbed wire. A railroad links 17 prison settlements, with more than 10, 000 prisoners. This sorrowful chain was constructed in the area under Joseph Stalin.
Some of the settlements are female prison camps. One thousand women live in three dormitories in the Partsa prison.
The chief of the camp Aleksandr Kulagin, who knows almost every prisoner and her past, says most of them are serving their terms for illegal distribution of drugs, robbery or murder.
With their everyday work, the women have little chance to rest. Still, some of them have managed to lighten their imprisonment. Irina, sentenced to four years in a settlement for distributing drugs, found a new profession in the camp – the bell ringer.
“When I got here, I started coming to the church. Then I climbed up the bell tower, tried ringing, and now we're ringing every day,” she says.
For other prisoners stage performances are the most beloved events. Svetlana will have to spend four years in the settlement for robbery. In the camp, she is responsible for organising the entertainment.
“Earlier women here were interested in nothing. Now 80% are taking part in social life. Some – in theatre performances, others – in church singing, or dancing,” Svetlana explains enthusiastically. 
Still, apart from the entertainment, camp 14 is a very strict settlement with no escapes registered ever. Officials say this is also thanks to an adaptation programme developed in Norway, and tested in the settlement's rehab centre.
All those imprisoned spend the first three months of their term in an adaptation group. Besides, six months before release they are gathered in a special group for those who are about to leave the settlement.
As the head of the rehabilitation centre Elena Shvedova notes, its main aim is to prepare the prisoners for a new life in freedom – something they have been deprived of for many years.
“Some women have spent here more than ten years. They don't know what they will face outside the settlement. We help them prepare for life in freedom,” she says.
The programme does bring positive results, and settlement officials often get letters of gratitude. Nevertheless, none of the former prisoners wants to come back.
discuss it
