The Republic of Mordovia is a special case, because it hosts a large number of penal colonies within a relatively small territory. The popularity of prison culture is reflected, for example, in the presence of practices typical of prison life and the criminal world in Russian politics and business, as well as in politicians using expressions derived from prison slang and prison songs in their official statements. The image of Ms Lovin was widely seen as mocking a picture of Donald Trump signing an anti-abortion executive order surrounded by male aides and advisers. "It embodied putting a good face forward and remaining appropriate despite being in the midst of war.". In strict regime and special regime penal colonies, the inmates face more restrictions, they are housed in locked cells usually with 20-50 other prisoners. Nowadays, the richly-decorated hand-embroidered woolen scarves cost over 50,000 rubles ($700). Vory v zakone ( , literally: thieves in law which in free translation means criminals of honour) are at the top of this hierarchy. 4. I ask because I read of this practice a few weeks ago, is there a deeper or older meaning than protection from cold? It is extremely difficult to quote any estimates regarding prison mortality rate. Manny reasons. Aside from the federal budget subsidy, the FSIN receives revenue generated by manufacturing plants operating in penal colonies. This places Russia first in Europe in terms of the number of prisoners per 100000 inhabitants. According to Romanova, this practice is common and unofficial price lists are used for many services[30]. Other factors include the closing of a significant number of penal colonies with the least strict regime (over the last eight years almost a quarter of the total number of such colonies were closed down), The reason behind the high number of prisoners in Russia is the repressive nature of the Russian judiciary as a whole. Respect for human rights in Russian prisons is the subject of country-wide debates. Following the Women's Suffrage movement, women began enjoying more freedom in their lifestyles and their fashion. These press leaks confirm that a game is underway for control of this major component of the law enforcement system and that attempts are being made to curb and rationalise the FSINs spending. Why Russians use a head scarf ? In different regions of Dagestan this scarf has different names and is variously called gumeldi, gulmendo, gormendo, kalgai (the old name of a type of silk) and kelagai. Ranging from patterned prints to luxe fabrics to simple sheaths, the fashion item is wrapped in centuries of interpretation. In Turkic, the name of the scarf means "my flower." When a woman goes to pray, her head should be covered at all times, except when she is in a bathroom or another room by herself. In recent years, it has become increasingly popular, Most often, prisoner transport is organised in special windowless railroad carriages known as Stolypin cars, in which prisoners in groups of ten are transported in compartments measuring 3.4 m, The conditions in which the prisoners serve their sentences depend on the type of the specific penal colony. Data compiled by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, http://www.cdep.ru/index.php?id=79&item=2074, [9] ., , , 8 August 2017, https://vturme.info/kak-nachal-rabotat-dolgozhdannyj-zakon-den-za-poltora/, [10] . , . Disclaimer: RussianBest.com is an informational website, and its content does not constitute professional advice of any kind. Organisations involved in defending prisoners rights and criticising the actions of the states law enforcement agencies operate under constant pressure and are aware that they may become subject to inspections and repressions at any time (this is why Olga Romanova, the leader of Rus Sidyashchaya, had to leave the country). Their versatility all has to do with the local breed of goat whose down is extremely fine while also being strong. During his annual press conference on 20 December 2018, President Putin confirmed that there are no plans to reform the prison system. Frequently, the individuals who receive support from the activists are victims of so-called commissioned cases or lawsuits brought by public prosecutors who had been bribed for example by the victims business competitors. Andrey Stenin/Sputnik. For representatives of certain social groups, serving a sentence in prison forms part of a typical life history amongst males, a stage in life comparable to military service. Send me an email notification when someone replies to my comment, http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com/gallery/clip/1B06326_0006.do. Why do Russians use a head scarf? During World War II, the headscarf returned to its utilitarian origins as women took up new postings in factories. Amnesty International emphasises that repression and persecution of human rights defenders, restrictions on freedom of expression, cultural freedoms and minority rights are particularly common, Large-scale human rights violations in prisons and the absence of effective mechanisms in state institutions to counteract this phenomenon have become a catalyst for Russian societys self-organisation. Russian shawl designs are derived from local colour . By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. A head tie is a west and southern African women's head scarf, specifically an elaborate ornamental head covering. This makes the FSIN a unique state within a state. Day 347 of the war, Russia: threats and offers of energy cooperation, Russia: regional (pseudo)elections in the shadow of war, Extremely cautious. 1 in Yaroslav and the death of two prisoners in Chelabinsk in 2015[15]. In 2016, this stood at around 50 billion roubles[22] (over US$ 800,000). Sergei Medvedev/TASS. Trade Minister Ann Linde led . African women have worn headscarves for many years for religious, cultural reasons and even as a fashion statement but they were traditionally worn by older, usually married women. After he exposed cases of torture in his penal colony, he was taken to another location to serve the rest of his sentence and his transfer lasted one month. The geographical location of penal colonies is linked to the concept of economic development adopted back in Soviet times, when prisoners were used as forced labour, such as during the construction of large-scale investments carried out by the Soviet state including the White SeaBaltic Canal and the BaikalAmur Mainline (BAM), as well as in forestry in harsh weather conditions in Karelia, for instance. Do you know this baby? In the least strict penal colonies, the so-called, and tuberculosis. In 2017, the FSINs budget was 257.6 billion roubles (around US$ 4.5 billion), which accounts for around 1.5% of Russias total budgetary spending (more than twice as much as Moldovas total budgetary spending). MarkaKarpia, At present, over 467,000 individuals are incarcerated in Russias prisons. The absence of supervision of what happens in prisons by independent institutions aggravates the repressive nature of the system as a whole and affords new opportunities for using it as a tool of political repression[32]. Which is better Absolut, Stolichnaya, or Smirnoff vodka? A similar proportion of prisoners are serving their sentences for drug dealing (25%)[5], which likely results from the fact that the proceedings regarding possession of drugs are straightforward and investigators use them as an easy means of demonstrating the activity and efficiency of the prosecution bodies. The most well-known example of this was the statement by Vladimir Putin in which he justified the Russian air raids on Grozny, which marked the beginning of the war in Chechnya in 1999, using words derived from criminal slang he said that he will waste the terrorists in the outhouse. The Russian governments determination as regards this issue is linked to the fact that show trials of Ukrainian activists are intended to deter the residents of Crimea from demonstrating their loyalty towards Ukraine. Imprisonment as a tool of political repression. According to data compiled by the Memorial Human Rights Centre, in 2018 195 political and religious prisoners were incarcerated in Russian prisons[27]. Headscarf wearing also varies by political affiliation. The women of the Dagestan village of Kubachi still wear white kaz shawls embroidered with gold thread. [1] Data compiled by the World Prison Brief, http://www.prisonstudies.org/world-prison-brief-data, [2] . Even the relatively efficient prisoner support organisations are not capable of eliminating the problems of the Russian prison system as a whole. However, this inefficiency is not a problem for the government because in Russia the prison system is mainly a part of the machine used for exerting control over society and ensuring the stability of the system of power. Few accessories have lived as complicated a life as the headscarf. ", Check out how this Russian beauty has tied her headscarf: The ends are tucked into a neat bun in the front and raised up, and the knot looks like flower petals. According to the law, work is compulsory for most prisoners but the number of jobs available is insufficient. Historians believe that this way of wearing headscarves came from Germany but became so Russified that is now considered to be traditionally Russian. In recent months, Russian media reported extensively on the affluent life in a penal colony in Amur Oblast of a prisoner sentenced for the gravest crimes, and published eye witness accounts and photos of the individual. They were already covering as more of a practical answer to the harsh climate and intense heat.". The unique nature of the Russian prison system mainly results from the presence of an informal code of behaviours and customs observed in prisons. Muslim women were the most common group we saw dressing modestly and wearing headscarves, or hijabs. Administration of the prison system and supervision of the thousands of inmates is the task of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) which employs 325,000 individuals[19]. World War II saw the return of the utilitarian headscarf, as women in the UK and US took up jobs in factories as men went off to fight. Amnesty International emphasises that repression and persecution of human rights defenders, restrictions on freedom of expression, cultural freedoms and minority rights are particularly common[26]. The inspections the FSIN ordered when the scandal over the torture of Makarov broke out, showed 168 recent violations involving FSIN officials using force and special measures against prisoners[16]. Aside from the federal budget subsidy, the FSIN receives revenue generated by manufacturing plants operating in penal colonies. Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox. These women are confined to stereotypes to the extent that no one notices that many of them are well-educated and confident members of society and the workforce. It has been favored by revolutionaries and royalty alike. Hundreds of thousands of inmates are supervised by an elaborate apparatus of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN). Conservative groups uphold the traditions, from Catholic nuns who wear the habit, to married Orthodox Jewish women who don the tichel (a type of headscarf) or sheitel (a wig). Click here to find out more. ?, https://meduza.io/feature/2018/12/14/vizhu-novosti-pro-istoricheskiy-minimum-zaklyuchennyh-v-rossii-eto-iz-za-zakona-den-za-poltora-kolonii-massovo-zakryvayut, [3] . , , www.kipkr.fsin.su/upload/territory/Kipkr/mtb/ .pdfa, [5] Cf . , . , . , , , 15 March 2017, https://www.rbc.ru/newspaper/2017/03/15/58c702399a79473b36f47d9c, [6] . In this way, a parallel market is being created for the FSINs needs, in which prices are regulated top-down, labour is virtually unpaid and statistics are fake. Here are the most famous ones. Women used to wear headscarves differently in different parts of Russia. Among the most alarming statistics regarding the Russian prison system is the high rate of recidivism. "Because if you are feminists and you care about equality then you should challenge inequality everywhere," she told the BBC. These include the poor state of infrastructure, endemic corruption and the primacy of informal rules over the rule of law, consent to harsh exploitation of working prisoners and the omnipotence of the coercion apparatus. Most facilities were built before 1970 and a large portion of them date back to tsarist times. . They form a group that has its separate informal code of conduct (including a ban on disclosing the rules of prison life and details about the criminal world) and elects its own informal leader. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who then held the post of the republic's prime minister, publicly stated that Chechen women should not be seen with. While an ordinary kaz scarf has a fringe sewn on at one end, the wedding scarf has fringes on both ends. Headscarves first arrived in Russia from the east in the 17th century and quickly became very popular among young women, who had previously worn embroidered linen scarves over a small hat. Foreign women are not required to wear a headscarf in the country, unlike in Iran. Political lawsuits are frequently given priority in court schedules over 17 working days that followed the protests Navalny had organised in Moscow on 26 March 2018 the Tver District Court in Moscow alone heard 476 cases against the protesters. How to learn to write the russian alphabet without cursive? She also mentions that a prisoner who was recognised as an authority was even granted consent to have a free-standing dacha built on the premises of the penal colony, surrounded by a garden, and to employ his private cook and gardener. Wool Scarves 10"x55" (27x140cm) Down Shawls. The consequences of wearing the scarf illegally were public humiliation or arrest. 1. Here, the scarf is put over the head, while its ends are not tied in a knot but are simply crossed and thrown back to fix the headdress. Pavlovsky Posad shawls have very bright and easily recognizable patterns: huge roses and dahlias on a red, black or white background that flower from the corners of a woolen fabric. In ordinary regime penal colonies, the supervision by the guards is much stricter, the inmates are housed in large barracks with up to 150 beds in each, are under constant supervision and cannot move around the facility freely. All this serves to create a parallel reality with an alternative hierarchy. The Russian Prison Dog is a serious guardian breed that found its origin from the Caucasus mountain region. When asked about the possible reform of the FSIN in connection with the reports on prisoners being tortured, he answered that it would be necessary to make the prison system more efficient but that no thorough changes are needed.