Spy Rudolf Abel. The fate of the resident: what was the legendary intelligence officer Rudolf Abel like?

Security towers rising sadly behind high fence with barbed wire, visible from afar. General regime men's colony No. 54 is located near Novaya Lyalya. Here, in prison slang, are the “first-timers” who are serving their sentence for the first time.

Today there are just over 350 people here. The youngest is 18, the oldest is 64 years old. Men are brought here from all over the region for various crimes. In total, the colony can accommodate 1,612 prisoners, but in the future they plan to establish a strict regime here.

"Point of No Return"

Among the prisoners, says the head of the colony, Yuri Nikulin, there are only three Kachkanar residents. One was brought here for rape, another for robbery and illegal possession of weapons, the third for robbery and hooliganism. Also from Kachkanar there are 15 “convicts” here: six accused and nine convicted, the verdict in whose case has not yet entered into force. Basically, they are accused of theft, drugs and extortion.

No one is immune from prison. We even had several heads of nearby cities imprisoned, mainly for economic crimes,” says Yuri Nikolaevich. - They may also end up behind bars ordinary people who were pushed to commit a crime by alcohol or stupidity.

For example, 30-year-old Roman has been in prison for robbery for the ninth year, he says that he drank, became bored, after which he went looking for adventure.

I liked the “foreign car”. The driver sitting behind the wheel did not become a hindrance. I remember that I took myself for a show off: “it will work out/it won’t work out.” It worked. “I hit him, pulled him out of the car, got behind the wheel and drove away, then drove around and abandoned the car,” the prisoner smiles sadly.

He still has two years left until the end of his term. Waiting at home is his wife (they got married in a colony in March of this year) and an eight-year-old daughter who was born on the eve of the trial.

If I had known how everything would turn out, I would not have left the house that day at all. I know where my point of no return is. The colony is, of course, a school of life, but, as they say, it is better to go through it in absentia.

Prisoner Konstantin recently turned 39 years old, nine of which he spent in a colony for robbery, with another 4.5 left.

Together with friends they broke into the store and stole all the proceeds. I don’t remember how much I managed to “earn”; many years have passed since then. I only know that the money ran out within a week,” says the man.

The time will soon approach when he will be able to apply for early release. He admits that he cannot imagine the day when he will be outside the walls of the colony - after several thousand days of imprisonment.

22-year-old Dmitry enters the office, introduces himself and immediately names his article. He has been wearing a prison uniform for more than four years because he “stood up for his friends and accidentally killed a young man.”

I was then studying at a military center to become a translator, came home on leave, decided to celebrate and went to a disco with my friends. A conflict broke out there, a fight broke out - crowd against crowd. I saw that my friends were being beaten and got involved. After the disco, one young man felt ill, I took him home. He later fainted and was taken to intensive care, where he died two weeks later.

Dima does not justify himself, but says that he did not want to kill and he himself does not understand how this could happen. He reasons that perhaps the victim fell after the shock and hit his head hard, but witnesses pointed to him as the culprit.

Prisoners who have committed any violation are sent to a punishment cell. From inciting conflicts to fights. The sentence is 15 days. During this time, visits and telephone conversations with family

"Social elevators"

In the zone, says the head of the colony, a system of social “elevators” has been developed. When convicts get here, they undergo a two-week quarantine, then they are assigned to one of six detachments.

Then everything depends on the prisoner. If we see that he is taking the path of correction, then we allow him to be transferred to easier conditions of detention. The final stage of the “elevators” is the colony-settlement. But when bad behavior he moves in reverse side- to strict content. The food is the same everywhere. The differences are in the “benefits” - the number of “dates” with relatives and transfers.

The tour of the prison begins with general view to the territory. To do this, we go up to a small platform. Five rows of fences are clearly visible below: lattice, wooden and iron. The menacing bark of a huge Caucasian is heard.

There were escape attempts. At night, two climbed over the fence. They managed to get to the third fence, then they were spotted by a sentry. When the bullets whistled overhead, the fugitives stopped, says the chief.

Overcoming three fences to break free is not enough, says the lieutenant colonel. Behind the next one, dogs patrol every forty meters. Perhaps the prisoners were very lucky that they were spotted in time - the dogs could have torn apart the living prey. There have been no underminings in the history of the colony; getting out of here in a truck is something out of science fiction. The body is equipped with ultra-sensitive equipment that can respond to the heartbeat of a mouse.

Do not believe the series and films about colonies and prisons that are shown on TV. There's little truth there. By the way, look,” Yuri Nikolaevich points his hand into the distance, “just new stage arrived, among them there are Kachkanar people.

A small group, accompanied by guards, shifts at the gate. There are bags in their hands. After some time, a line of prisoners disappears behind the iron gates.

"Conversations are being tapped"

A thick iron door separates “will” and “bondage”. On the border of two worlds there is a “hotel” where convicts have long meetings with their relatives. You can check into a “room” for a maximum of three days. Up to two adults and children can visit. There is also a collection point for parcels and a room for short visits, where prisoners communicate with relatives through glass using an intercom.

You can also communicate with your family through a payphone. Calls are on schedule. All conversations are monitored, and at the slightest suspicion the call is dropped,” says the boss. - You can write a letter home, but before sending it will undergo strict censorship.

Cell phones, he said, are prohibited, although there have been cases when civilians tried to throw cell phones over the fence.

To enter the territory through the gateway, you must present an ID. Next, the lieutenant colonel puts his finger on a small device. The device reads his fingerprint, recognizes him, after which the lock clicks, another door opens, letting him into the lattice labyrinth and into the “zone.”

On the left is the production area, on the right is the residential area. Access gates are installed everywhere. The access system is through an intercom, into which an employee introduces himself, and a video operator, who opens the lock from a surveillance point.

In total, the colony has more than 130 video cameras installed - in front of every door and in all rooms. Two dome cameras rotate without interruption and project a view of the colony from above onto monitors. Pictures are displayed online. All video recordings are stored for two months.

Subsistence farming

The area has been tidied up. There are several empty beds from which the harvest has already been harvested. There is a persistent smell of manure in the air, carried by two prisoners on stretchers. Men - in identical padded jackets with serial numbers. They smile ingratiatingly, say hello and look at their superiors with a respectful glance.

It’s still a bit of a mess here,” the head of the colony apologizes. - In the summer, prisoners grow cabbage and carrots, which then end up on their table. We can say that we have here subsistence farming. There is also a farm yard with cows, sheep, and pigs. The lamb, however, goes for sale.

In the distance, several prisoners are renovating a building for a new detention center, which will soon be surrounded by a six-meter fence.

Ahead is a white building. Dining room. On the facade - soviet poster with the inscription: “Remember! We are waiting for you at home." There is a schedule on the door. One meal is given 20 minutes.

In the spacious hall there are tables arranged in several rows. One of the prisoners, wearing a white chef's shirt, carefully polishes the tabletops.

It's completely self-service. The prisoners enter in a detachment, take trays, go to the distribution area, where today's menu is posted, receive food, and after eating they also file off to their work places. Convicts also cook, wash dishes and clean up. Employees eat in their canteen.

The prisoners' diet is balanced, all necessary proteins and carbohydrates are calculated. Deviations from the menu are not allowed. The diet includes simple foods. For example, today's breakfast includes a bowl of buckwheat porridge, bread and butter and a glass of milk. For lunch they will serve: pickle soup, stewed potatoes with meat, tea, milk, bread. For dinner - fish goulash, casserole, tea, compote, bread and egg.

We also bake our own bread,” says the boss.

On the shelves of the bakery, white bread is stacked in neat rows, similar in shape to regular store bread. Each prisoner is entitled to one loaf of bread per day.

They don't know where the soup comes from

Already on the street we notice a cart harnessed to a bay horse. Drives the cart little man in a padded jacket and earflaps.

This is savings in real terms - why spend money on gasoline if the waste from the canteen to the utility yard can be transported on horseback, - comments the boss.

Convicts are engaged agriculture: grow vegetables, raise livestock

The next object is the “club”, where prisoners spend their free time from work and sleep. Along the long corridor there are several doors with small windows to control what the prisoners are doing. The signs read: an art workshop, a gym, a library, there are two prayer rooms - Muslim and Christian.

Yuri Nikolaevich opens the door with Muslim symbols without knocking. Inside is the modest decoration of a prison mosque. In the middle of the room, a man is kneeling and reading the Koran.

The lieutenant colonel lingers in the room and then comes out with DVDs, which he will later give to his assistant with orders to check them for religiousness. If it contains other materials, the discs will be taken away.

In a separate wing there are small hotel-type rooms with a TV and DVD player. Nearby there is a cozy dining room with a microwave and a seating area. This is the center of social adaptation. As the deputy chief will explain, people live here whose terms of imprisonment are nearing the end.

The guys study civilian life, and sometimes they come out and don’t even know how to brew a bag of tea or where the soup comes from. Let's move on.

“Study, earn, spend”

An inconspicuous gray building - a school and vocational school (professionally - technical school). Prisoners who did not have time to receive secondary or vocational education study here.

School is exactly the same as in civilian life. There is a director, teachers who give grades and draw up lesson schedules,” says Yuri Nikolaevich.

We walk along the school corridor. The classrooms where they train to become steelworkers, mechanics, welders, electricians, and masons are also equipped with desks. They contain notebooks, pens, theory textbooks and visual aids in the form of machines, various types bricks and much more necessary for practice.

The course lasts five months, explains one of the teachers. - Then the prisoners take exams and go to work.

There are several industries in the colony: woodworking, metalworking, and a sawmill. There is a staff of auxiliary workers and welders. Some prisoners run their own car repair shop, where they repair cars of city residents. Some prisoners are employed in the production of “consumer goods” - consumer goods. These are figurines, stone boxes, paintings, backgammon and much more, which subsequently replenish the shelves of regional stores. The proceeds go to federal budget. Convicts also sew soft toys, which are transferred to orphanages and shelters.

Workshop for the production of consumer goods. Prisoners make backgammon, photo frames, ship models and much more that can be bought in a regular store outside.

All employees are subject to labor laws. Prisoners work according to a schedule or five days, “go” on vacation, during which they are in the detachment, receive a salary (not lower than the minimum wage), from which an income tax of 13%, child support and payments ordered by the court are deducted. In addition, about 130 rubles are withheld from each convicted person daily: 70 rubles 37 kopecks for food, 60 rubles for utilities. The rest is compensated by the state. Deductions cannot exceed 50% of salary.

The money is transferred to your personal account; you can save it or spend it in the convenience store located on site. People go there only at set times and only with an escort.

For entertainment - modest calendar holidays with performances by local “stars”, “rhyme weaving” competitions, sports competitions, watching educational TV shows or “good” films. All television is “filtered” in order to protect men from “chernukha”.

"It is forbidden to sit on the bed"

The residential part is divided into several zones. Under the general regime, prisoners live in “barracks” in groups of several dozen people. A small adjacent area with a smoking area is surrounded by bars.

At the entrance there is a common changing room, where identical jackets are neatly hung. A little further down the corridor there is a large bedroom with bunk beds, bedside tables, duty schedules and visual instructions for making the bed hung on the walls.

Most prisoners live in units with an average of 50 people. Each person has one sleeping set, a bedside table where personal belongings are stored, and a small stool

The bed can only be used for sleeping. The rest of the time you can’t sit or lie on it,” says the boss. - If you really want to, you can sit on a stool.

The inhabitants of the detachment are watching TV in the back room. IN total, there are about 30 men of different ages here. Prisoners, having received permission to sit down, sit down on long benches and gaze intently at the screen. At this time, the announcer, in a boring voice, tells you what you need to do to avoid falling asleep while driving.

Some are visited, others are not. Perhaps the relatives have to travel far, or they decided to completely protect themselves from communicating with such a loved one,” says the deputy chief. - And how can they be judged for their reluctance to communicate? For example, we had a man who had a fight with his partner and several times threw a two-year-old child to the floor from his height. The baby remained disabled for the rest of his life.

During the conversation, we approach the gate with the inscription SHIZO, behind which there is a view of a low building. A shepherd dog is running behind the fence. She escorts unexpected guests to the door with a loud bark. Lyrical music is played in the isolation ward - “for moral and spiritual development.”

Along the gloomy long corridor there are many iron doors. On each there is an intercom and a small compartment for passing food, instructions on how a prisoner should behave when leaving the cell. Hands behind your back, facing the wall.

The guard moves the keys in the lock, a loud command sounds: “Get up, line up!” Several men obediently put their hands behind their backs and stand in formation near the wall. The dim room with a small window near the ceiling and the illuminated corridor are separated by another barrier - a thick lattice.

From the beginning of this year to the conclusion of correctional colonies sentenced 135 residents of Kachkanar. Convicts (age - from 17 to 50 years) will have to serve time for theft, robbery, rape, theft, causing grievous harm health and other criminal offenses.

I hope that the following tips will never be useful to you. Although, as it says folk wisdom: “Don’t swear off money or prison.”

(Total 6 photos)

Expert: Vitaly Lozovsky, specialist in the field of criminal subculture. Served 3 years on economic charges

DON'T BE SCARED
“Your first task after the metal cell door slams behind you is not to faint,” smiles Vitaly Lozovsky. “You will remember the picture unfolding before you for the rest of your life.” It may contain several times more people than it should be according to the layout of the pre-trial detention center. The stench emitted by sweaty bodies and the prison toilet - a bucket - located in the corner, mixes with tobacco smoke, which, out of habit, eats the eyes. But don’t panic - people survive here too.”

BE POLITE
When entering a “hut” - that’s what a cell is called in prison jargon (hairdryer) - you must first say hello and introduce yourself. In prison (or, as prisoners say, “in prison”) it is not customary to shake hands - experienced prisoners will take this with hostility, and you will be very lucky if the prisoners simply look at you with bewilderment. “It will be enough to just say “Hello, my name is so-and-so,” advises Lozovsky.

FIND THE MAIN
Find out who is watching in the cell and go to him immediately. The supervisor is responsible for order, liquidation conflict situations and compliance with numerous prison regulations. He will show you the place where you will sleep (your “hut”), and also explain (or instruct someone to do this) the rules of behavior in the “hut”. It is better to observe them strictly, even if some may seem ridiculous to you. The supervisor will tell you exactly what duties you will perform to maintain your chamber life and who here belongs to the caste of the “omitted” - you cannot communicate with them. You also cannot touch their things and dishes - usually a hole is specially punched in the bowl of the “lowered” one with a nail, to distinguish it from the rest. Therefore, be especially careful.

DON'T TALK
Try to ask as few questions as possible to others and even less to talk about yourself. “It is very likely that there is an informer (“hen”, “hen”) who will convey everything he heard from you to the investigator,” explains Vitaly. - If someone starts asking you about the details of your case, ask in response: “For what purpose are you interested?” After this, all questions should disappear by themselves.” Your attempt to provoke frankness from your neighbor - just for the sake of communicating - may arouse suspicions among prisoners that the “chicken” is you. And the reprisal against such characters is as cruel as possible.”

DON'T PLAY
Beware card games, even if they offer to play “for nothing”. If you lose - and it is inevitable if you are not a professional gambler - the winner can claim that by “just because” he meant, for example, $1000. And failure to pay a gambling debt in prison is clearly punishable, if not by death, then by being put in jail. If for some reason you can’t get out, you must say: “I’m playing without interest!” So you stipulate the conditions: no matter how the game ends, you disperse peacefully.

DON'T STINK
Take good care of your hygiene and keep your clothes clean. If you neglect yourself, you risk falling into the category of “devils”, sleeping under a bunk and doing the hardest and dirtiest work. Before going to the toilet in a big way (“to the long distance”), make sure that none of the cellmates is eating or drinking tea. Climbing onto a bucket at this time is considered a grave insult to the entire “hut”. After performing any toilet needs, wash your hands, even if there is a line in front of the sink. With “dirty” hands, after touching the penis, you will “finish”, that is, taboo for use, everything you touch, including your cellmates.

FILTER THE BAZAAR
Watch what you say. "This is also in ordinary life is highly valued, and simply necessary in the camera,” explains Lozovsky. Any word spoken can be masterfully turned against you. For example: “Lemons have much more vitamin C than apples, and I’ll prove it to you now!” - “The prosecutors are proving it. What, are you also one of their kind?” And all I had to do was replace “I will prove” with “I will prove it.” “There is a categorical taboo on the word “offend” and all its derivatives,” says Vitaly. - Don’t even think about asking sympathetically a prisoner who is upset about something: “Did someone offend you?” Thus, you directly hint at his belonging to the caste of the “lowered”. You can pay dearly for such hints.”

SHARE
Having received a transfer from outside, you must “pay attention to the lads,” that is, allocate part of the parcel “to the common fund.” Who keeps the common fund - ask the person in charge. If you don’t do this, no one will take anything away from you - this is strictly prohibited by prison concepts as “lawlessness” - however, you are unlikely to enjoy respect and sympathy among prisoners in the future. And never take anything without asking. Even a seemingly ownerless cigarette taken from the table can be equated to “ratting” - theft of the property of fellow inmates.”

HOLD ON
“Try to forget about free life as soon as possible and prepare yourself for the worst,” advises Vitaly Lozovsky. - The cold certainty that you will have to spend several years behind bars is much more beneficial for your psyche than the daily expectation of a miracle and liberation. Think of your imprisonment as another life test that you, as a real man, must withstand with honor. And remember that in prison physical strength plays virtually no role. But strength of character and spiritual qualities are decisive." Different pre-trial detention centers may have their own nuances, maybe somewhere the rules are not so regulated, but the main rules included in the subheadings of each section of this article apply everywhere.

PRISON SUITS
Despite the fact that a pronounced division into suits occurs in the zone, it is necessary to know their differences already at the initial stage.

“Thieves”, “bosota”, “brothers” are professional criminals for whom prison is a natural stage of their life path. They constitute the prison elite.

“Men” are people who committed a crime unintentionally, on domestic grounds, in a state of passion or intoxication.

“Devils” or “pigs” are prisoners who have degenerated and do not take care of themselves, who have completely lost their willpower and have resigned themselves to their fate. They do the dirtiest work, but are not subjected to sexual violence.

“Offended”, “lowered” - prisoners whom the rest of the prisoners are persuading to commit sodomy. You can fall into this caste by accident or as a result of “lawlessness” - prison lawlessness. “In any case, there is no way back,” comments Vitaly Lozovsky. “The prisoners can only express sympathy and “put down” or kill the one who illegally deprived you of honor, but you will remain in an unenviable position.” Be careful.

WHAT TO TAKE WITH YOU TO YOUR CELL
Let's say you have an hour to get ready before your arrest. Be sure to take with you:

1. Large sports bag
You will put it in it and in it you will store your things in the future - in the chamber of the bedside tables and wardrobes not provided.

2. Cigarettes and cigarettes
Even if you don’t smoke, they will help you establish relationships with prisoners or pay for any services that smoking cellmates can provide you.

3. Tea
More the better. “Tea in prison is both an object of cult and monetary unit, like cigarettes,” explains Vitaly Lozovsky. Keep in mind that frequent use of chifir quickly becomes addictive.

4. Clothes
Sweatpants, plain and woolen socks, flip-flops, a couple of T-shirts, a hoodie or a warm knitted vest - but not a single item should be red; in prison it is considered a symbol of cooperation with the guards. It’s better to leave your favorite woolen sweater at home - here they will immediately unravel it into threads to weave the so-called. "road" - system external message between cameras. Notes (“babies”), cigarettes, or “clouds” of tea travel along the threads.

5. Two bars of soap
Regular (preferably children's) for washing and laundry for washing.

6. Shaving accessories
Everything except cologne (it contains alcohol) toothbrush and pasta.

7. Handkerchiefs, a sheet, a couple of pillowcases
And, if it fits, take a blanket - bed linen is tight in prisons.

8. Spoon
A piercing fork will not be allowed through, and also take a metal bowl and mug, and a boiler.

9. Needle and thread, nail clippers
Nail scissors won't miss for obvious reasons. Also grab a couple of notebooks, envelopes, several fountain pens with spare refills.

10. Products
Onions and garlic, lard, bouillon cubes, instant noodles, sugar, salt, crackers. Don't take canned food - they will be confiscated because the edges are sharp. open can can be used as a bladed weapon

Not a moment of peace. This is exactly what can be said about the current existence in our zone. The boss had a fit and decided to improve discipline. Both among the special contingent and among the personnel. I started with the latest ones. According to the talkative warrant officer, the colonel announced a muster and forced all employees to march outside the zone. The trouble was that those who arrived first walked until they were blue in the face until they waited for the last ones, and this took a very long time. Afterwards, the owner gave the deputies and heads of departments a beating. They, in turn, took it out on their subordinates - such as detachments, safety inspectors and others. Then it was the prisoners who got it.

Red or black zone?

All readers are familiar with such concepts as “red” or “black” prisons. In the first case, the administration and the “active” rule the show; in the second, it’s the beholder and the “blatota”. But, as you know, in this mortal world There is not only black and white, but there are shades. So in the case of prisons and colonies, everything is not so simple.

Everything is known by comparison

They say correctly - everything is learned by comparison. One figure with a “rattle”, Spetsurik, served a total of about thirty years, changing all the regimes, including the special one. Like most “special officers”, this “overstayer” does not use swear words or slang expressions, is very well read and loves to talk, remembering the past, that is, consider past terms. He came into our area periodically because he lives nearby and commits stupid thefts when drunk. I was especially impressed by his story about the post-perestroika period in captivity.

In search of prohibition

New Year is the most hated holiday in prison

Weekends and holidays They don’t like you in the pre-trial detention center. These days the “feeders” through which the average prisoner communicates with outside world. Fat, good-natured women - whirligigs in camouflage, looking like rural teachers - do not deliver mail and books from the library. They don’t call you to the “feeder” for a “volume” (indictment) of garbage from the special unit. The guards do not shout “slightly” when taking the defendants out for interrogations and visits. They don’t take people to court, they don’t take them to the doctor, the exercise yards are empty. All the usual prison life, the so-called movement, freezes.

Paradoxes of Captivity

In the morning, a search was carried out in the detachment. Because it was freezing rain outside, they did not kick us out of the barracks, but allowed us to stand in the aisles. Watching the inspectors carry out a search, I thought how squeamish they were. They dig through lousy bed linen with their bare hands, shake out dirty panties and socks, and feel under the insoles of stinking shoes with their fingers. By the way, such jackals don’t wash their hands afterwards, but continue to serve, wiping their muzzles, picking their noses and picking up the filter of cigarettes before lighting them. What are we used to, but to do this!

Broken

Convicts, who for some reason are threatened with physical violence in the zone, resort to all sorts of tricks and tricks, as well as sacrifices, just to “break out” of the colony or cell of the pre-trial detention center. We will talk about why such situations arise and how cunning prisoners get out of it in this material.

What has changed in Russian prison in 10 years?

Autumn is in full swing. It begins to get dark early. On the high concrete fence of the pre-trial detention center, a garland of lanterns lights up as early as five o’clock in the evening. The entire pre-trial detention center is surrounded by lights around the perimeter. They kind of remind me of red flags that you can’t step over. You can't do it on pain of death. I am again, after a ten-year break, under investigation. And I write these notes.