Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) plans to build seven new "combined-type" prison complexes across the country by 2035, each one merging a correctional colony, a prison and a pre-trial detention center in a single facility, according to the federal program "Development of the Penal System (2018-2035)."
The program calls for design work followed by construction of the seven facilities, which will include pre-trial detention wings for 5,380 people and correctional colony sections for a further 15,120 people, the document states.
The first of the new complexes is due to open in the republic of Tatarstan by 2030. A second is planned for the following year in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow. The remaining five are scheduled to open by 2035 in the Astrakhan, Tyumen and Kherson regions, as well as in the republic of Buryatia and the Zabaykalsky Krai, both in Siberia and the Russian Far East.
Prisoner numbers and staff shortages
The construction push comes as FSIN grapples with both a shrinking prison population and a severe shortage of staff. In May, FSIN director Arkady Gostev said the number of prisoners in Russia had fallen to 282,000, of whom 85,000 were held in pre-trial detention centers. At the end of 2021, the total stood at 465,000.
Gostev attributed the decline mainly to the humanization of criminal sentencing, with courts increasingly handing down forced labor and other punishments that do not involve imprisonment, including suspended sentences and restriction of freedom. He said recruitment of prisoners into the Russian Armed Forces had also contributed to the fall.
At the same time, Gostev said the service was suffering an acute shortage of personnel. He said the shortfall of officers had reached 50 percent or more in many units. In 29 divisions, the shortage of junior command staff reached between 40 and 50 percent, while in 16 regional bodies it exceeded 50 percent. Gostev warned that carrying out official duties under these conditions inevitably increases workloads and psychological and physical fatigue, creating tension within teams that in turn drives staff to resign.
Robots and rapid-build facilities
FSIN has also been testing new technology and construction methods for its facilities. The service previously unveiled a model of a rapid-build correctional center for 200 inmates at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum. The design includes a dormitory building, a small park with benches, a sports ground, an exercise yard and a car park, and the whole complex can reportedly be dismantled and relocated if needed. FSIN has said it hopes the modular centers will attract interest from businesses looking for dormitory accommodation at their own sites.
Another innovation is an experiment introducing patrol robots into colonies. The machines are intended to modernize and digitize security at penal institutions, reduce the burden on staff, improve safety and help prevent offenses. Each robot is fitted with navigation, video surveillance and analytics systems, allowing for robotic patrols that provide continuous automated monitoring of compliance with prison rules and record conditions on video.
Russia's most technologically advanced prison is currently considered to be Correctional Colony No. 6 for prisoners serving life sentences, known as "Snezhinka" ("Snowflake"). Its grounds are monitored by motion sensors and more than a thousand surveillance cameras, and staff leaving the site must pass through equipment that scans their retinas in addition to using an electronic pass.
