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Until 1997, colonies in Russia were called correctional labor colonies, in which convicts were required to work and the administration was required to provide work.
Detergent production workshop || Photo by Olga KAZANTSEVA
Now the administration is also obliged to provide convicts with work, but, unfortunately, it cannot always do this due to the lack of jobs. This is probably why there is an opinion among people that keeping convicts in correctional institutions costs the state a pretty penny. The head of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation for the Tyumen region, Vadim Verstkin, debunked this established myth. Work is one of the main and most effective means of rehabilitation of a convicted person.
The institutions of the regional Federal Penitentiary Service include six labor adaptation centers for convicts (IK-1, 2, 4, 6, 13 UFSIN, FKU KP-9 UFSIN), a medical-industrial (labor) workshop (LIU-19) and a training-industrial workshop in Tyumen educational colony.
Every day, more than two thousand convicts are sent to paid work in correctional institutions in the region, producing consumer goods, as well as products for intra-system and state needs. Convicts work in metal and woodworking shops, producing clothing, shoes, furniture, building materials, and even processing plastic and producing polymer packaging film. Several institutions operate workshops for drying vegetables - carrots, cabbage, beets, onions and potatoes.
Correctional colonies use the latest technological equipment for plasma cutting of metal, airless paint spraying and anti-corrosion treatment of metal. Over the past four years, more than ten new production facilities have been established in newly opened areas. In particular, since 2014, SIP panels have been produced on the basis of IK-4, and a knitting workshop for the production of knitted products has been opened in the Tobolsk women's colony. Using additional budget funding, technological equipment was purchased for IK-1, and since 2015, fortified dry jelly has been produced there. With the acquisition of a stationary aggregate mill in IK-2, flour production capacity was increased. In IK-4, main and auxiliary equipment for the production of PVC-coated gloves was put into operation.
In the Tyumen colonies, two years ago the production of disposable plastic tableware was opened and a workshop for the production of liquid dishwashing detergent was launched. At the open production site “Krupotsekh”, in accordance with GOST, convicts produce pea, barley, millet, pearl barley and wheat cereals. Thus, thanks to the development of new types of activities, about 200 convicts were employed.
In accordance with the program “Food Security of Institutions Subordinate to the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Tyumen Region for 2017,” convicts grew 1,260 tons of potatoes, 80 tons of beets, 90 tons of carrots and 280 tons of cabbage for their own needs, which allows them to diversify their diet. In six subsidiary farms at correctional institutions there are six pigsties, four cowsheds and one poultry house. The farms number more than 1,500 pigs, about 200 heads of cattle, and more than 40 thousand chickens. There are sheep and horses.
The products of the Federal Penitentiary Service can be seen at regional specialized exhibitions on the development of a comfortable urban environment “Tyumen is our home”, where samples and models of houses, swings, flower beds, bicycle racks, fireplace sets, chess tables, paving stones, flowerpots, gazebos, benches and various fences are presented.
Samples of food products were presented at the regional festival “Siberian Pickle.” In October we will participate in the specialized exhibition of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia “Possibilities of the industrial sector of the penal system” in Moscow, which will be held as part of the XXI International Exhibition of State Security Equipment “Interpolitex-2017,” said Vadim Verstkin.
Tyumen colonies have great production potential, but due to the lack of orders for products, we cannot provide work for all convicts. Unfortunately, in the colonies there are still unclaimed production areas in permanent buildings with utilities, access roads and protected areas,” complains Vadim Verstkin. - And in order to bring them back to life, we invite Tyumen enterprises and commercial organizations to cooperate. To attract representatives of the region’s business community, in 2015 we signed a cooperation agreement with the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Tyumen Region, Eduard Abdullin.
Work for 16 hours for 30 rubles a month - under these conditions the prisoners served the sewing production in the Mordovian colony, according to her well-known prisoner Tolokonnikova from Pussy Riot. Nadezhda, taking advantage of her fame, achieved a transfer to another prison, where she was taken on November 12. Others only dream of such happiness...
For buyers of IR products, such almost free labor is incredibly profitable. But the state sometimes gets even less from these profits than the convicts.
The potential of colonies is enormous
According to the Federal Penitentiary Service, 30 billion rubles worth of products are produced annually in correctional institutions. And not only due to the famous logging or “sewing work”. The colonies produce souvenirs, furniture, equipment - in total there are about a hundred types of goods, including the most exotic ones. For example, in one of the IKs in the Sverdlovsk region they earn more than 1 million a year from breeding worms. In Yaroslavl IK-1 they make camouflage kits for the needs of the defense industry. Moreover, production behind the barb is far from operating at full capacity; only about 30% of prisoners are employed in it.
Although, with the right approach, the zones could be turned into real business empires.
“The industrial potential of the institutions is enormous,” says human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin. – In each of the 500 colonies there are empty territories of 5-10 hectares; in many, hangars, warehouses, and railway tracks have remained since Soviet times. Plus communications, guarded perimeter. Essentially, a ready-made infrastructure. And the labor of prisoners is cheaper than the labor of guest workers. According to our surveys, 95% of prisoners are ready to work even for 5,000 rubles a month. Such conditions for business cannot be found anywhere in the wild. And a long time ago it would have been possible to conduct an audit of these territories and openly allow entrepreneurs there. But it is much more profitable for prison governors to run their own opaque business using corruption schemes.
Today there are two main forms of cooperation between business and colonies. First, enterprises can purchase camp products at a negotiated price, usually below the market price. According to this principle, for example, the overalls that Tolokonnikova sewed were sold. One of the largest customers of such goods in various colonies was the specialized company Vostok-Service with an annual turnover of 18 billion rubles, owned by former State Duma deputy from United Russia Vladimir Golovnev. True, now, in the wake of the scandal, the company denies its cooperation with the zones.
– Nobody wants their products to be associated with places of detention. And with the frauds that can take place in such a business scheme. – my other interlocutor shops at the zone himself, so he asked not to name him. – The price of a product, as in the wild, includes the supplier’s margin, utility costs, and employee labor. The latter, for example, is estimated based on the minimum wage - 5,000 rubles. And some entrepreneurs pay more - 10-12 thousand. But we don’t know whether this money reaches the prisoners. Tolokonnikova says that she received 29 rubles, I heard that somewhere they are paid a ruble a month. Who cares the difference, you can guess.
Fight over food
But for businessmen this is not important; it is still beneficial for them. So much so that some decide to cooperate more closely - in fact, they open branches in the zones. They import raw materials, equipment and organize the necessary production. Sometimes quite large. For example, the processing of amber in the Kaliningrad region is mostly carried out by the hands of local prisoners. And Norilsk Nickel has been partially placing its orders in the Krasnoyarsk colonies for more than 30 years. The production volume in only one of the industrial complexes is about 400 million rubles per year.
“And everything is “in white” there - taxes are paid, and prisoners receive from 5 to 15 thousand rubles: a world-famous company does not need scandals,” Osechkin believes. “But this is the only example of a large business coming to the zone that I know of. Otherwise, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs come there, most often affiliated with bosses in uniform, ready to work according to contracts written on their knees.
True, there are small exceptions that confirm the rule. For example, a company delivering food packages has been operating in pre-trial detention centers in the capital for more than 3 years.
“Our food terminals are located in the detention centers; we also organize the delivery of goods that prisoners’ relatives order via the Internet,” says business founder Nikolai Motorny. “Thanks to us, the wild queues at the transfer office, where previously relatives almost fought, have almost disappeared. But it took us 5 years to realize this idea. During this time, the leadership of the FSIN was replaced three times, and I was only able to come to an agreement with the current team. And then at the very beginning I received threats. After all, some detention center employees are more interested in bringing some food to the prisoner themselves. But in the end our problems were solved. Moreover, in 2012 alone we paid about 50 million rubles to the budget under the contract - this is 18% of turnover. They go to the regional department of the Federal Penitentiary Service, and from there to the federal headquarters. We have transparent accounting and mutual reporting. But this is in Moscow, where everything is in plain sight.
I do not rule out that it is different locally.
Unaccounted for millions
There are no standard agreements that would be concluded between the company and the colony. They are arbitrary everywhere, as are the deduction amounts indicated in them.
– About 20% of the income is given to the institution, although only 5% may be specified in the contract - this money goes to the management of the Federal Penitentiary Service. And the remaining 15% goes to the head of the colony in cash. After all, officially they do not have the right to do business,” one of the entrepreneurs told me. – Under these conditions, my partner opened the production of doors in one of the regional colonies. True, the next year the boss demanded to pay 40%, and he took the business out of there.
And in the worst case, the business risks being left behind barbed wire. This happened to Samara businessman Azat Oganesyan twice. At first he tried to open a confectionery factory in one of the industrial complexes in Togliatti.
But after a few months, Oganesyan was simply no longer allowed into his own production - allegedly drugs were found in his car on the territory of the zone. The persistent entrepreneur invested another 1.5 million rubles in a similar business, but in a colony in Tatarstan. There he was accused of giving prisoners wine. In both cases, the equipment remained in the colonies.
It is not difficult to pull off such schemes, especially since often the production established in the colonies does not appear on paper at all. The management of the institutions does not officially report it to their department of the Federal Penitentiary Service. This was the case in Kopeisk IK-6, where a year ago prisoners started a riot, tired of working for free.
“Souvenir knives, sabers, and furniture were produced there,” says human rights activist Nikolai Shchur. – The huge workshop was registered to the wife of the head of the colony. In addition, there was underground car repair - this was the most common source of unaccounted income for the colonies. Under our pressure, a criminal case was opened in this regard. As a result, so far they have only fired the head of the IC.
Moreover, my interlocutors believe that those at the top cannot help but know about such undertakings of the prison generals.
“Of course, everyone is aware, because each colony has a regional administration, its own curator in the FSB, and there is an inspection prosecutor’s office,” says one of them. – The slightest suspicion – and everything can be detected in the bud. At the same time, fraud is also carried out on government orders. But the facts are revealed extremely rarely.
For example, government theft is now being checked in IK-25 in the Chelyabinsk region.
“They received a federal order for the production of 100 fire engines for 4 million rubles each,” says Nikolai Shchur. “At the same time, the colony itself did nothing; it simply gave the order to a specialized enterprise at a price of 60% of the purchase price. Thus, about 2 million dollars were put into my pocket. Again everything turned out well with the dismissal of the boss. Moreover, the OBEP employee directly told me that they wouldn’t really investigate anything - the money was stolen back in Moscow. That is, the scheme was worked out at the customer level and the interests of high-ranking officials are involved.
Major corporations such as Boeing and IBM locate their production facilities in US prisons. At the same time, about 20% of prisoners work in the States - at will, employment here is not mandatory. The salary is up to $10 a day, which is several times lower than the minimum wage in the wild. German prisoners are obliged to work; there are opportunities for this in every colony. They receive up to 200 euros per month. The Italian colonies also actively cooperate with business. Several years ago, one of them launched the production of a line of men's clothing under the Made in jail brand. The idea turned out to be so profitable that similar projects were launched in French prisons. After our publication, perhaps Russian business will become interested in this area.
At the same time, officially at the head office of the Federal Penitentiary Service they react to such situations quite sensibly - following the events, they recognize facts of corruption, illegal business, and even unreasonably low salaries of prisoners.
The latter, by the way, are going to increase starting next year. True, it is doubtful that prisoners will receive more in reality. Although the shadow income of the system is also made by their labor. And according to experts, they significantly exceed the official billion dollars...
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Our country's correctional institutions produce a huge variety of goods. And only part of them is used for the needs of the correctional system. Often we don’t even pay attention to the fact that this or that product was made behind barbed wire. After all, in terms of quality, it can be made much better than “in the wild” (I already introduced you to this example when I showed you the production of salads in one of the colonies of our region, and you should also remember the production of delicious mayonnaise)
Today I will show you some of the goods and products produced in the correctional colonies of the Ivanovo region.
In the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Ivanovo region, an exhibition of products produced by the Labor Adaptation Centers of correctional institutions in the region and an exhibition of agricultural products began its work. And together with you we will become its first viewers.
At the very beginning, a small press conference was held, during which it was possible to ask any questions to the deputy head of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Ivanovo region Vladimir Melnik, the acting deputy head of the Federal Penitentiary Service Alexander Elizarov, the head of the department for organizing labor employment of the special contingent Elena Platonova and the heads of production services of correctional institutions areas.
In the correctional colonies of the Ivanovo region, there are eight Labor Adaptation Centers for Convicts (CLAC), which are structural divisions of institutions executing criminal punishment. The main task of the CTAO is to ensure maximum employment of convicts, to develop the need for work or work habits in persons who did not have strong labor skills before entering the place of execution of punishment.
To this end, work is being done in correctional institutions in the Ivanovo region to expand existing production areas and organize new ones.
The main industries are: light industry (clothing production, shoe production, leather goods); woodworking; furniture manufacturing; metalworking; production of building materials (permanent formwork, polystyrene foam, profiled sheets (corrugated sheets), paving slabs and decorative tiles, PVC windows, lumber); agricultural production; food production (milk, cottage cheese, butter, cream, meat, mayonnaise, flour, eggs, cereals).
Each correctional institution has sewing sections; light industry products occupy 72.6% of the production structure of the regional penitentiary system. The main range of light industry products is uniforms for various law enforcement agencies, work clothes made to order from commercial organizations, knitwear, and footwear. At the same time, modern production equipment is actively used in the production process. A computer-aided design (CAD) system has been introduced. All women's correctional institutions: IK-3,7,10 are specialized sewing units.
Notice the police uniform? Over the past three years, IK-7 has been sewing products under direct government contracts concluded with the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In 2015, the contract amount was 73 million 400.0 thousand rubles. summer field suits were made for military personnel; in 2016, the contract amount was 104 million 508.0 thousand rubles.
In 2017, the work of IK-7 with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia continued, a contract was signed for sewing 24,400 suits for police officers in the amount of 38 million 223 thousand rubles. For the first time the state was concluded. a contract between IK-7 and the Federal Service of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation for sewing summer suits 33,830 units worth 50 million 074 thousand rubles, and for the first time a contract was concluded between IK-3 and the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation for suits for customs service employees 2 000 units for 5 million rubles.
They even produce their own socks (frankly speaking, I would get myself a few packs of these and compare them with regular store-bought ones, which ones last longer, which ones make my feet sweat more, etc.)
I’m even sure in advance that such socks would be worn better. Because the quality of products produced in correctional institutions meets all the requirements for them. And you can’t spoil yourself in such a production - each batch of products undergoes examination and acceptance (this happens especially strictly with clothing)
On the basis of correctional colony No. 2, a site for the production of hosiery and knitwear has been organized. The site has modern machines for the production of hosiery, gloves, and sweaters.
Particular attention is paid to the organization of production sites for the production of construction products, since these products are in demand both within the system and by third-party consumers.
In colony No. 4, a section for the production of profiled sheets has been successfully operating for a long time, there is a section for the production of foam plastic and permanent formwork blocks. Expanded polystyrene granules are used as raw materials.
Products made at the site for the production of paving slabs, curb stones, and decorative tiles are in great demand (I didn’t even know we had that)
They can even make crocodiles like these.
In all men's correctional institutions, convicts are employed in work related to metalworking and furniture manufacturing using laminated chipboards
I was stuck at this stand for about twenty minutes. I looked at everything in great detail, from the boxes to the bottle stands. Each item is unique and unique
So if you want to give someone the most fashionable chess or backgammon “from the Zone”, all this can be done simply and at normal prices. On the website you can find all the necessary contacts and even a product catalog.
They can even put any designs on your backgammon, even with your photo. It seems to me that the exclusivity of such a gift is simply cosmic.
And look at the chess pieces.
A special place is occupied by areas for the production of chairs. These products are manufactured for theaters, cinemas, and offices.
And this is what prisoners’ diploma papers look like after they’ve learned their profession. They make some furniture in miniature and demonstrate the acquired skills live.
There are 3 professional educational institutions operating on the basis of correctional institutions of the penal system of the region
All educational institutions have certificates of state accreditation for secondary vocational education (SVE) programs “sewing equipment operator” and “welder” with a training period of 10 months, as well as licenses for the right to carry out educational activities in vocational training programs with short terms from 3 to 5 months, in the following professions: “Woodworking machine operator”, “Seamstress”, “Shoe assembler”, “Tailor”, “Poultry farmer”, “Stoker operator”, “Construction painter”.
In the 2016/2017 academic year, licenses were obtained to carry out educational activities for 2 new professions: poultry farmer, animal care worker.
Every year, more than 1,000 people undergo training in educational institutions, so at the end of the 2016/2017 academic year, the number of convicts who received a working profession in educational institutions was 1,203 people.
But such a ship, the size of a car, is also on display.
Now a few words about tasty treats.
One of the priority areas in the development of the manufacturing sector in 2016-2017. is the organization of work on food production both within the framework of self-sufficiency and for the purpose of sale to third-party consumers.
The acreage of cultivated crops, the number of cattle and pigs increase every year.
Thus, in the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Ivanovo region, the supply of vegetables from its own production is 100%. The average annual number of cattle is 430 heads, including 180 cows, 740 pigs, 55 sheep, 1,500 laying hens, which makes it possible to meet 35% of the meat requirement.
Bread produced: rye - 476.777 tons; wheat - 441.25 tons, pasta - 14.57 tons. In the current year, agricultural areas of correctional institutions in the Ivanovo region have produced 4.5 tons of beef, 2.6 tons of poultry, 24 tons of pork, 88,000 eggs, 6.5 tons, 256 tons of milk, 7.6 tons of cottage cheese, 16 , 9 tons of zucchini.
On the territory of IK-2, a dairy farm for 40 heads and a calf barn was organized, a milk processing workshop was put into operation, as a result, the volume of pasteurized milk production increased from 65 to 100 tons per year. In addition, the production of butter was organized, the production of chicken eggs increased more than 10 times and amounted to 66 thousand eggs per year.
The milk is very tasty, and is very different for the better from many well-known brands in stores.
As part of ensuring food security and independence of the penal system, a new type of activity has been organized in FKU IK-4 - flour-grinding production. Since January 2017, a site for the production of wheat and barley cereals has been put into operation. The organization of these plots made it possible to meet 100% of the demand for cereals and flour.
A mayonnaise production site has been organized on the basis of IK-10 (you and I have already been to the production site and seen with our own eyes how it is prepared).
In addition to correctional institutions in the Ivanovo region, products are supplied to colonies in the Kostroma, Vladimir, and Yaroslavl regions.
Confectionery products (assorted sweets, waffles) are also sold through stores for convicts, which are packaged in IK-10.
All food products have quality certificates.
In 2017, the volume of output of commercial products, work performed and services provided will be 400 million rubles, the volume of production of products for intra-system needs will be 93.7 million rubles. (23.4% of the total volume of commercial output).
3,487 convicts were involved in paid work, 60.4% of the average number, with the average for the penal system - 36.1%
This is such an unusual excursion for you and me.
Huge words of gratitude to the leadership of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Ivanovo region for the opportunity to see everything for yourself and show you!
Photo: http://www.25.fsin.su/news/detail.php?ELEMENT_ID=205026
Primorye business is involved in the development of production in the region’s correctional coloniesToday, prisoners can produce bricks, furniture, PVC products, pickle vegetables, sew linen, bake bread and produce more than 400 items
Last week, the administration of the Primorsky Territory held a meeting on the issues of involving the business community in the development of production in places of deprivation of liberty. Of course, the penitentiary system of the region has its own structure that deals with issues of production and sales of products, but as practice shows, this is not enough. The production process itself allows us to carry out certain works and orders with good quality and within a specific time frame. In addition, the proceedings allow convicts to be involved in the case - there is no time left for idle thinking and doing nothing. And, perhaps, the most important factor: the earnings received from production allow the convicted person to fulfill his obligations to compensate for damage to victims, and also not to be a parasite of the state and of citizens who replenish the country’s budget through taxes, the ENV reports.
The meeting, the main topic of which was the involvement of the regional business community in the development of production in places where, by court decision, guilty persons are serving real sentences, was attended by the First Vice-Governor of the Primorsky Territory Vasily Usoltsev, the leadership of the Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service and representatives of the business community. On the agenda was an issue directly related to our penitentiary system - increasing the economic efficiency of the work of convicts and creating additional jobs for their labor adaptation, as well as the employment of those sentenced to forced labor and the possibility of creating a rehabilitation center for persons released from prison.
The main report was made by the head of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service for the Primorsky Territory, Major General Oleg Simchenkov. He voiced to representatives of the regional administration and the business community the importance of resolving issues of labor adaptation of convicts and their resocialization after release, including with regard to stabilizing the socio-economic situation in the region, as well as a number of problematic issues that arise during the implementation of these processes.
It is worth noting that our penal system, despite the barbed wire, the access system, the security alarm, and the somewhat isolated position of the colonies, does not exist in isolation. The relationship between society and the penitentiary system is the most direct - and each side leaves its mark on the opposite. Understanding by the authorities and the public of the Primorsky Territory of the problems of the penal system will help achieve the goals set in solving the national task of reforming the penal system and will serve to stabilize the socio-economic situation in the region.
The main problem is that a significant portion of convicts remain away from the main means of correction - education through labor.
A working convict gets the opportunity to restore his professional and labor skills or acquire a new specialty necessary for his further, after serving his sentence, social adaptation in society, to provide assistance to his family, and to solve his financial problems in the first time after his release and in the future.
An employed convict pays alimony, personal income tax, contributions to the pension fund from his salary, provides financial claims of organizations and citizens for compensation for damage caused to their property by a crime or administrative offense, reimburses the cost of utilities, food and clothing. The time worked is included in the total length of service.
A significant break in work activity and, accordingly, the loss of professional skills for this category of citizens makes it difficult for them to find employment and creates social tension in the region, since the need for material and financial support forces them to solve these problems by criminal means, which leads to an increase in recidivism.
There are 22 institutions located in the Primorsky Territory, which are part of the regional Main Directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service. These are 10 correctional colonies (IK-6,10,20,22,27,29,31,39,41), 4 settlement colonies (KP-26,37,49,51), 1 educational colony (NVK), 4 pre-trial detention centers (SI-1,2,3,4), 2 medical institutions (LIU-23,47) and 1 regional hospital. In total, more than 15 thousand convicts are kept in these institutions under the control of the department, most of them are residents of the Primorsky Territory. The Federal Penitentiary Institution of the GUFSIN of Russia in the Primorsky Territory also operates, which includes the department for the execution of punishment and the application of other measures of a criminal legal nature and 37 branches.
In order to fulfill the requirements of the current legislation of the Russian Federation on the mandatory involvement of convicts in labor, a production sector has been created and operates in the structure of the penitentiary system of the Primorsky Territory, which includes 10 labor adaptation centers for convicts, 1 medical production workshop, as well as 4 colony settlements, one of which a specialized agricultural enterprise with 2000 arable lands and 3 buildings for keeping farm animals.
Today, the leadership of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the region is looking for opportunities and taking measures to ensure employment for convicts. A vocational training system is functioning, on-the-job training is being conducted, work is being done to attract orders for the production of consumer goods and placing equipment in unused production areas of organizations of various forms of ownership, and new types of production are being created.
Some production has been established in the coastal colonies; there are quite large production areas. If during the years of the USSR all prisoners worked for the good of the country, now there is no such opportunity. In some cases there is not a sufficient volume of orders, in others specialized equipment is needed, in others there is no sales market, in others the personnel are let down in terms of ranks and professionalism. However, today the MTB of the colonies of Primorye looks like this: mechanical repair, carpentry, sewing shops, metalworking shops, and others, with a variety of equipment, and storage facilities, railway access roads. The range of products produced by the manufacturing sector of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Primorsky Territory includes more than 400 items.
Enterprises in the region produce PVC products (windows, doors, etc.) in IK-20 (Zavodskoy village), IK-41 (Ussuriysk); office and school furniture in IK-20 (Zavodskoy village), IK-41 (Ussuriysk); The production of corrugated sheets was organized in IK-29 (Bolshoi Kamen), IK-20 (Zavodskoy village).
In IK-22, IK-27 (Volchanets village), IK-33 (Spassk-Dalniy) tiles and sidewalk curbs, foam blocks, and cinder blocks are produced. In IK-6 (Spassk-Dalniy), IK-20 (Zavodskoy village), IK-31 (S. Chuguevka), IK-33 (Spassk-Dalniy), IK-41 (Ussuriysk) production of Chinese chopsticks. In IK-41 (Ussuriysk), work has been organized to expand the range of products for the Ussuri locomotive repair plant and refrigerated depot.
In IK-6 (Spassk-Dalniy), IK-20 (Volchanets village), IK-22 (Volchanets village), IK-31 (Chuguevka village), IK-33 (Spassk-Dalniy), IK-41 (Ussuriysk) has band sawmills and woodworking machines, but due to the lack of raw materials it is not possible to load the existing equipment at full capacity.
On the basis of the IK-22 brick factory (Volchanets village), ceramic bricks of the M-100, M-125 grades are produced in volumes of 400 thousand pieces per month. If there are orders, the plant’s capacity allows it to increase the production of ceramic bricks to 600 thousand pieces per month.
The sewing divisions of the Primorsky Territory penal system (IK-10 (the village of Gornoye, Mikhailovsky district), IK-20 (the village of Zavodskoy), LIU-23 (Ussuriysk), IK-22 (the village of Volchanets)) can produce a wide range of clothing property and uniforms, as well as working special clothing for the needs of all industries. The production capacity of sewing enterprises is at 50% capacity.
Enterprises of the Primorsky Territory penal system have the capabilities and are ready to accept investors for the installation of equipment on the production areas of institutions for the opening of various industries, and are also ready to accept orders for the production of products (metalworking, woodworking, clothing products, reinforced concrete products), both at full cost and at provision of services. In accordance with Russian legislation affecting import substitution, institutions of the penitentiary system now have the opportunity to place greenhouse complexes, workshops for processing meat and fish products, and canning vegetables on their production sites in order to replace imported products.
It is worth adding here that those entrepreneurs who locate their production in correctional colonies have a number of significant advantages. This includes strict, controlled discipline of workers, security from attacks by unscrupulous competitors, relatively cheap labor, and a number of other points.
But let's look further. The prisoner served the term assigned to him by the court, but what next? Experts believe that our recidivism rate is high because a citizen who is released is effectively erased from society. They don’t hire him, who needs an employee with a dark past. While serving my sentence, I lost all the skills I had before, and studying is an expense. If you work in a colony, your skills are retained and new ones are added. And what is very important is that a person is released who has not lost or acquired or retained these skills to work, including in a work collective.
The Primorsky GUFSIN of Russia approached business and the administrative structures of the region with a proposal to create a permanent commission under the governor on issues of creating conditions for the functioning and state support of the penal system of the Russian Federation in the Primorsky Territory, involving representatives of the business community of the Primorsky Territory in the work of the commission. This should improve the economic efficiency of convicts’ labor and create additional jobs for their labor adaptation.
During the last meeting, its participants got acquainted with specific examples of the capabilities and potential of production facilities in correctional institutions. Issues regarding the participation of UIS production in restoring the consequences of the past typhoon Lionroc were also discussed.
The meeting participants noted the relevance of this topic and supported the proposal of the Federal Penitentiary Service to create a permanent commission on issues of creating conditions for the functioning and state support of the penal system in Primorye with the involvement of representatives of the business community in the work of the commission.
The meeting took the form of an active dialogue, during which a number of constructive proposals were developed for submission to the Governor of Primorsky Krai for consideration and approval.
As of December 1, 2016, there were 633,000 people in Russian prisons. A huge amount of money is spent from the budget on their maintenance, and according to the deputy director of the Federal Penitentiary Service Oleg Korshunov, the correctional system earns about 50 billion rubles a year from production in prisons. Experts from the Infometer project center, using the example of the Northwestern Federal District, studied how the Federal Penitentiary Service and their subordinate institutions build economic relations.
What do they produce in prisons?
The website of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Komi Republic lists 13 types of production and publishes a price list for the goods produced. For example, correctional colony No. 1 in the city of Syktyvkar can produce 1,800 medical suits per month at a price of 1,150 rubles per piece. The Arkhangelsk Federal Penitentiary Service offers businesses to open joint ventures in 10 colonies. Today, prisons are not places where criminals serve their sentences, but large production facilities for various goods. Institutions of the Northwestern District are actively involved in government procurement: since the launch of the zakupki.gov.ru portal, they have concluded about 7,000 contracts for goods, work and services.
Most of all, the colonies produce food, clothing and textiles; less often they provide repair services for public utilities and carry out construction work.
Full self-sufficiency
During the analysis of documents, Infometr experts found that the bulk of orders come from organizations affiliated with the penal system: departments, colonies and educational institutions subordinate to the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia over the years have ordered 60 times more products, works and services than other.
In the structure of the state budget, the FSIN occupies sixth position. In 2015, the department was allocated 269 billion rubles - more than the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture. In addition to huge budget subsidies, FSIN institutions themselves earn serious money, but the conditions of detention of prisoners remain deplorable.
There are no exact statistics on the salaries of convicts, but there are reports from human rights activists who describe working conditions - 27 working days a week, and salaries - from 400 to 5,000 rubles per month. Prisoners are forced to agree to such conditions, since their work characterizes them well enough to apply for parole.
Gray area
Legislation on the right to access information obliges public authorities to maintain their websites, publish reports on their activities and respond to requests from citizens.
The Federal Penitentiary Service is one of the most closed structures among the federal executive authorities. In the 2016 openness rating, the FSIN ranks 49th out of 73 possible. The situation is even worse with the openness of the subordinate institutions of the FSIN - correctional institutions. Often they do not have their own website and publish general information in sections of the Federal Penitentiary Service websites. With this format of work there is no talk of any openness or transparency. Relatives of prisoners often cannot find out about the access regime, the order of meetings and other important information.
The closed nature of the system is also reflected in the quality of pages maintained on government portals bus.gov.ru - a single portal where state and municipal institutions publish information about their activities, and zakupki.gov.ru - a website where government agencies purchase goods and services. Correctional institutions either do not post information at all or publish outdated information for 2012-2013.
The data that was collected from open sources is the tip of the iceberg, under which lies unpublished data, gray schemes, and business with prisoners.
Efficiency is not the main thing
The Russian penitentiary system is considered one of the most ineffective in the world. Russian prisons have one of the highest mortality rates in Europe. Data on the percentage of recidivism in Russia varies, but the most common estimate is 50-60%.
The task of correctional institutions comes down not to the resocialization of prisoners, so that after release they can return to normal life, but to self-reproduction, so that broken and crippled people come back.
Courts acquit 0.4% of prisoners, within the statistical margin of error, and effectively recruit new workers for prison industries.
State within a state
The current system creates a parallel reality within the state. There is nothing behind the barbed wire: no constitution, no civil rights and freedoms, no human relations. Each prison is a separate city-state, and the prison residents are its citizens. The state has its own president - the head of the correctional colony, its own police - correctional officers, its own formal and informal laws and rules, production and economy, its own hierarchy, even time.
The main reason why such a system of relations has developed is the lack of information. Society does not know what happens in prisons, what prisoners do, or how correctional officers treat them. From time to time, notes appear about torture, about corruption scandals, about inhuman living conditions, but these are exceptions, behind which hides an entire financial empire built on human lives.
