Two books: Memoirs of a Patriotic intelligence officer and a modern prison. Rules of life "according to the concepts of how to survive in a modern prison by stanislav simonov

04.05.2021

This application is an expanded edition of the book "How to Survive in a Modern Prison", supplemented with new images.

Date of issue: June 9, 2014
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2014-06-20T05:43:55Z 2014-06-20T05:43:55Z

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This application is an expanded edition of the book "How to Survive in a Modern Prison", supplemented with new images.
The book is a guide to survival in a modern prison. In essence, this is the ABC of the "first mover". The manual is provided with a large number of original illustrations and legal references. The book is written on a unique experience, contains classified information and is designed for everyone who is interested in this topic. The preface to the book was written by ex. deputy head of the Butyrka central, lieutenant colonel of the internal service, doctor KRATOV D.B., unjustly accused of the murder of Magnitsky S.L.
The author of the book - Simonov Stanislav was born in 1963 in the family of a scientist, doctor of sciences, academician Simonov Yu.B. He graduated from 10 classes in a Moscow school. After leaving school, he worked for three years as a geophysicist at the Central Geophysical Expedition. In the late 80s he graduated from the theater school. B. Schukin. He worked for several years in the Moscow theater, but in the early 90s he left for Italy, where he lived and worked as a consultant on Chin Chita (an analogue of the Russian Mosfilm). From 1994 to 1996 he worked as a journalist at the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. In early 1997 he left to live and work in Germany. In order to take away his property, at the end of 2001 he was arrested in Moscow on a fabricated case by "werewolves in uniform" from the Samolkin-Ganeev group. The property was taken away, he received a term: 13.6 years. From 2001 to 2004 he was kept in Moscow detention centers (Butyrka, Matrosskaya Tishina, SIZO 77/4). Subsequently, he served his sentence in various colonies of Russia, until 2011. He has two published books and two hundred publications in various publications. Now he works as the editor-in-chief of a news agency.
Illustrations Andrey Nurijanyan.
Publication of the book in google play - Belikov A.S.

Advice from the Author of How to Survive in a Modern Prison Based on Personal Experience

Alexey MOKROUSOV, "Top Secret", No.7/384, July 2016

The author of the book How to Survive in a Modern Prison, Stanislav Simonov, has a biography typical of the 1990s. Graduate of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas. THEM. Gubkin, he led a geological expedition in the Pamirs, worked as a consultant at the Italian film studio Chinechitta, a journalist at the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, and an artist at the Moscow Youth Theater. In 2001, Simonov was convicted in the case of the Joint-Stock Commercial Space Bank, which was allegedly conducted by employees of the famous group of "werewolves in uniform" in their own way. So his personal experience detention in Moscow detention centers (Butyrka, Matrosskaya Tishina, pre-trial detention center 77/4) and subsequent transfers and colonies Russian Federation belongs to the 21st century. After his release in 2011, Simonov took up literature and organized “mystical excursions” around Moscow at night, and taught acting classes. He published an electronic dictionary "Dictionary of modern prison jargon", which is illustrated with drawings by Andrey Nuridzhanyan, as well as the book "How to survive in a modern prison" (M.: Gorodets, 2015), fragments of which are now printed by the newspaper "Sovershenno sekretno".

Knowledgeable people compare Stas Simonov's book with a textbook of survival in a modern prison, where in detail, with knowledge of the case, many details of everyday existence are described. On the cover is a fragment of the foreword of the former deputy. head of SIZO-2 (Butyrka) doctor D.B. Kratova: "In my opinion, this book is the best of what has been written on this topic."

Chapters - among them "Arrest", "IVS", "General cells", "Visit to the investigator", "Lawyer", "Mass fights in the cell", "Food, alcohol", "Medicine", "Tattoos and inserts", " Court”, “Preparation for the stage”, “Malyava” - read like sections of a mini-encyclopedia dedicated to the rules of life in captivity. The three quotes on the cover look like the quintessence of the entire book. One belongs to the American writer Charles Bukowski: "If you want to know who your real friend is, try to get behind bars." The second - to the poet Joseph Brodsky: "Prison is a lack of space compensated by an excess of time." The third is Mahatma Gandhi, whose paradox does not seem to be mandatory: "No one can become a full-fledged person without serving some time in prison." Of course, anyone is able to process the experience that has fallen to his lot, but in the end, a person does not deserve any experience.

The pictures of places of detention that Stanislav Simonov paints are amazing. Unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, constant humiliation of human dignity, a system of relationships saturated with criminal values - what possible correction and re-education can we talk about? Punishment disproportionate to the crime, that's what he sees as the penitentiary system modern Russia. Describing the subsequent humiliation of the convict, his possible ordeals, the author affirms the reader in the thought: we are faced with a system not so much of punishment, but of senseless, inexorable destruction of the human in man. But even in such a situation, you can survive and remain human.

gambling kills people

The game itself in prison is welcome, as it is considered one of the manifestations of thieves. According to the "concepts", the winner gives 20% to replenish the "general" regardless of what exactly is won. Of course, we are talking strictly about material objects or money, and not about virtual winnings (squats, pull-ups, shelobans, etc.). At each central there is a person responsible for the game, through him the "rules of the game" that exist today are conveyed to the general masses. Through it, a “ceiling” (standard maximum) is set, after reaching which the game must stop or, with the permission of the “watcher of the game”, continue further.

Before a “normal” game, its main conditions are discussed: how long the game lasts, by whom exactly and how the calculation is made. In the normal course of the game, there should be someone to oversee the game and act as a referee in controversial situations. It happens that one of the people around supports the player (that is, he is equally responsible for the loss). The winner, if it was not agreed in advance, has the right to set any deadline for receiving the winnings (immediately upon the fact of winning, before 12 am, or in a week). In a situation of impossibility of settlement at the set time and the unwillingness of the winner to wait for the payment, the loser is declared a "shoe". In prison, they say, a hoodlum is worse than a pederast. They “receive” from the “shirt” (by physical impact), and its further existence in the “system” passes under the stigma of the “shirt”. The loser leads his existence on a par with the pederasts. Washing off such a stigma is impossible, at least while in prison. They say that the game involves deception. And they say it for a reason.

By and large, it is not difficult to “pull” a person into the game. If he is passionate, it is impossible to stop him. It is also worth saying that playing cards(stos, machine gun, stirrup) in the system are made manually. A person who knows his business can make a deck in such a way that when distributing it, he will feel with his fingers to whom and what he is distributing (marking, etc.). If several people have an agreement among themselves about "undressing" someone, it is simply impossible not to lose in such a situation. Excitement destroys people in the wild, destroys people in prison. Often, the loser can leave for the stage, having lost all his belongings, including shoes. The author saw people who adapted two-liter empty plastic bottles, cutting out the middle from them, for shoes and leaving in January in this form for the stage. Clack-clack - empty bottles pounded on the stone floor of the Bryansk central, and it was heard: fool-fool. All this might not have happened if this man had not sat down to the game.

They play cards, backgammon, chess, checkers, dominoes, lice and monopoly "under interest". There are many games, but the meaning is the same: always of the two who sit down for it, someone will win, the other will lose, and this is the law of the game. Experienced gamers look after the future “client” for many days, creating an appropriate psychological atmosphere for “pulling” a person into the game. People in this process can change, they may lose significantly to the future victim, and all this is done only in order to draw the client into the process. Caught lose money, cars and apartments on the loose. At the same time, thieves or authorities help to get money at will from the loser. When there is no real money or the situation does not involve monetary payment for a loss, then a “price list” is used - a list based on which you can evaluate any thing in ruble equivalent - from a sports bag to a toothbrush.

Prisoners are always pursued by hypodynamia

Every prisoner is entitled to a daily walk at any central station. Walking time is one hour. In reality, the “bringers” take advantage of the fact that a prisoner does not have a clock in prison, and can arbitrarily reduce this time. In rain and frost, at the request of the prisoners, the time of the walk can also be reduced.

Walks are made in walking yards. At each central they are different, although their difference is insignificant - stone courtyards with a fur coat on the walls and an open top. Sky blocked on some centrals special roof, that is, all walking yards are covered with a roof like a hangar with openings between the walls and the roof for fresh air access. Top part patios are covered with metal bars. In some courtyards there are benches for sitting, but mostly there are no benches or they are broken.

On walks you can play sports. You can have conversations that are not intended for other people's ears. Also, during walks, disassemblies are carried out, they “ask” or “receive” from the guilty. According to the rules of the order, it is not allowed to take anything with you, but, having agreed with the “leader”, you can take a blanket (get rid of dust), chess, backgammon, drinking water and even water for washing after sports.

Dust, dirt, debris, gobies and snow in winter are the permanent inhabitants of the courtyards. Those who regularly go in for sports are forced to take care of cleaning the yards themselves.

Walks provide only relative privacy, since the “brakes” in the yards are equipped with “shnifts”, and the yards themselves are arranged so that the duty officer can observe the situation from above all this time. The ability and opportunity to negotiate with the “leader” about extending the time spent in the fresh air or about an extracurricular walk depends on each individual person. One thing is important: for several packs of foreign, in some cases "just" filter cigarettes, "outputs" go to this. There are cases when tables are laid for prisoners in the walking yards and barbecues are fried for money.

During the walk, the prisoners have the opportunity to talk to the inhabitants of other cells, walking in the neighboring courtyards. To do this, just shout: "Neighbors." Having received an answer, for example, “speak”, they are interested in which “hut” (those who are nearby), and then a short dialogue is possible. It is also possible to receive or transfer to neighbors "baby", cargo or cigarettes. Before the walk and after it, the “leaders” can search the prisoners in the order of initiative. They can be “pulled out” from the courtyard to meet with lawyers, or investigators, or with a security officer, but this happens rarely and irregularly. Walking alone (one person) in the courtyards is prohibited by the internal regulations. An hour a day is enough time for regular exercise. If you set a goal and build a training schedule, then in a few months you can significantly improve your physical shape. At the very least, while walking, you should refrain from cigarettes and idle chatter.

Prisoners are always pursued by physical inactivity, so an hour of non-stop movement is required for any person. It is considered good form to leave a few cigarettes, a few matches and a “scratch” from the box in the hidden places of the courtyard. So that moisture does not get into them, they are wrapped with cellophane, since those sitting on the “kiche” (penalty isolator) walk in the same courtyards, but at other times, such “nychki” are considered a gift for the prisoners sitting in the punishment cell. It is forbidden to smoke in the punishment cell, and cigarettes and matches are confiscated. While moving towards the walking yards and also from them into the cell, there is a possibility of meeting with other prisoners, you can exchange a few words with the “shnift” of other cells standing at their “posts”.

Prisoners are always accompanied by "leaders". However, there is always an opportunity to exchange a couple of phrases, to convey information or find out the news, to transmit or receive "babies" there is always. Such actions in prison are a common occurrence. The old jailers don't even pay attention to it. Young, stupid people are trying to stop these actions. The maximum punishment, provided that you are caught passing or receiving a "malya", which may follow, is sitting in a single "glass" in the corridor from 10 minutes to 1 hour, after which the offender is returned to his cell.

Daily walks are a joy and an outlet for every normal, healthy prisoner. They soften the pressure of the stone walls of the prison for a while. After walking, especially after exercising, you should wash your body under the sink or on the “long distance”. If this is not possible, it is worth wiping the heated body with a damp towel.

How to get "boar"

According to the law, everyone sitting in prison is entitled to transfers (“boars”), parcels, parcels, and is given the opportunity to purchase something (from the assortment that is available in this central). A person under investigation, on trial, or who has not yet received the “law” (a decision on the entry into force of a sentence that changes the legal status of a prisoner and the corresponding attitude towards him on the part of the administration) has the right to a monthly grocery transfer (32 kg), clothing transfer once every 6 months and an unspecified number of parcels (small package up to 2 kg), made by your relatives and friends, from the will, and an unlimited number of stalls ordered directly from the camera for the funds in your personal account (there is such a form in prison).

The parcel brought to the prison by your relatives (32 kg or less, and you still have to bring it to the prison, stand in line, wait until it is searched by the prison workers) is called a “boar”. Receiving a "boar" is always an exciting and joyful event for the prisoner and his neighbors.

It is worth remembering that sometimes people who brought food parcels to a prisoner stand up to 3-4 days in queues, going through roll calls, checking, swallowing the belching of the system, this is in an atmosphere in which there are mainly relatives of those arrested, whose nerves are inflated to the extreme. It’s good if a person lives in the same city where the central is located, it’s good if relatives have a car and a waiting time. And if there is no car, no time, and a relative or acquaintance came from another city, and in the evening he should leave? The wife tore off the last thing from her beggarly salary or, God forbid, pensions and brought, brought, dragged trunks with transfer to the central, and tomorrow you have to go to the same job where they give this miserable money, but you can’t lose your job, lose it - just catastrophe (his own is sitting). There were cases when the products died before they even reached the transmission window. Brought from afar and bought with the last money, they perished before reaching the convict.

Any queue is a shortage, a shortage creates a supply. Such a deficit leads to sentences that are not quite ordinary in nature. In some central cities, residents of nearby houses have turned into a permanent business standing in such lines and selling such places in line for 500–800 rubles (in 2000–2006, Moscow). A place in the queue is bought willingly. Sometimes, however, strong guys come and beat such businessmen terribly, but, despite this, such offers are always renewed.

Write to my account

Everyone arrested and held in prisons has the right to purchase food and basic necessities in the so-called internal prison store. The money is withdrawn from your personal account. Funds are deposited into this account in two ways. The first one is what you had with you when you were arrested. It's all about personal money. The second way is a postal order to the address of the institution where the arrested person is kept. You can also come to the prison and deposit money into this account. There are no restrictions on the amount of money. Upon receipt of funds to the account, the prisoner is provided with an extract. Having it, you can pay for the purchase in the stall. The price list of what is available is provided about once a month for review directly to the prisoner in the cell. If the prisoner does not want to, then none of the neighbors will know about the amount of money in his account. The next moment, an exciting event in the life of a prisoner, is the direct receipt of a “boar”. It usually enters the cell on the day it is handed over. But the stall, sometimes, goes for a week or two, it all depends on how the case is put in this prison.

Of course, no one has the right to take away this “boar” from you, but many secretly or clearly want to tear a piece from it. Good form is the so-called paying attention to those who deserve it, and to those to whom you consider it necessary to “pay” this attention. It can be: “watcher”, “road”, “shnifts”, “office” and anyone else. It is also necessary to put something on the “general”, that is, on the oak tree for the “hut”. It is difficult to give advice here, but if a prisoner does not do this, he will be considered a “curcule”. Refusal to “pay attention” will certainly be regarded as personal greed, which means that the attitude towards the prisoner will be appropriate, although, of course, everything depends on the person and the specific situation.

It is optimal to do this as follows: immediately postpone the third or fourth part of the transfer and divide it into equal parts between the “applicants”. “Looking” and “brothers” - more, then “road” and so on. Cigarettes are placed on the “oak” (“Prima”, etc., this is quite acceptable), tea, perhaps drying, or cookies, or sweets. You can do a little of everything. From the "oak" take all comers. If you did not devote anything to the “general” central, then do it when you receive the “boar” - you are sitting in prison. How much? It all depends on the volume received and on the further regularity of receiving parcels, transfers and stalls. The volume should be voluminous to create a good impression of yourself. For example, a block of cigarettes, a kilogram of sugar, several packs of tea. A "general" prison does not require bread, lard, cheese, etc. Enough tea, cigarettes, sugar, sweets (cheap), something from the "dry" (cookies, dryers, crackers). For the rest, whomever you see fit, treat him. It will be mandatory (someone from the lads or "watcher") to ask the prisoner to make a separate stall for the "general". If there is such an opportunity, it can be done. It is important not to become a cash cow. Always measure your capabilities and those of your loved ones in the wild. Help can and should be provided, but within reasonable limits and not to the detriment of oneself.

The editors thank the Moscow publishing house "Gorodets" for providing a fragment from Stanislav Simonov's book "How to Survive in a Modern Prison"

Chapter from the book: HOW TO SURVIVE IN A MODERN PRISON

large cities.

- Not.

- Can you borrow the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?
We don't have UC.

- You don't have UC?
-Not.

- What do you need there?

- Not! Don't know.

The positive side of having a lawyer at the time of detention is that in this state of hassle there is someone with whom you can consult in choosing defense tactics. A competent lawyer will not allow police lawlessness to develop and will help LAWYER
Chapter from the book: HOW TO SURVIVE IN A MODERN PRISON
The need for a lawyer arises mainly when life comes close to a person with the law and its servants. This is a common occurrence: a person is arrested, and his relatives start looking for lawyers, calling everyone who can be called, asking the same question, is there a lawyer they know. If one is not found, their path lies in the first nearest law office, where a lawyer is hired. An agreement is concluded with a lawyer either by the client himself or by someone on his behalf, for example, close relatives. And on the basis of this agreement, the law office issues a warrant, which is a document allowing the lawyer to visit places to protect the interests of the client. For those who find themselves in the "system", the lawyer appears as the last straw, a chance to go free. Unfortunately, life makes its own adjustments. In the system of bureaucratic and police arbitrariness, a lawyer is just an illusion of justice. Its possibilities are extremely limited and often do not lie in the plane of the law, but in completely different planes. Among lawyers, as well as among investigators, unprofessionalism flourishes.
Lawyers are merchants of your hope. We are talking about lawyers involved in criminal cases. Having briefly assessed the situation, they are only interested in the material side of the matter. It is not the result that matters to them, but how much the client can pay or how long he can pay. Lawyers don't work for free. Whether you are a good friend or relative, a lawyer is a lawyer. By the way, it is a vicious practice to look for lawyers among your friends. You will be very lucky if there is one, and very, very lucky if he turns out to be a real pro, and it can already be considered lucky if he manages to get you out of trouble.
Of course, there has always been a so-called. "golden ten". They had and have knowledge, experience, and opportunities, but their fees start from several tens of thousands of dollars, and they work only in Moscow and in several
large cities.
According to the law, prescribed in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, all investigative actions must take place in the presence of lawyers. For those who do not have the opportunity to hire their own lawyer, the state provides a lawyer at its own expense, i.e. so-called free lawyer. Hence the division into paid and free lawyers. Free lawyers are ordinary lawyers who work in some kind of law office and have their own clientele, but due to circumstances they spend part of their time on such events. His working time is credited to the entire law office, and the office already solves its business with the state with this time worked. For us in this case it is not important.
It is important to understand only one thing in relations with a lawyer: who pays him for your protection: - you yourself or the state. If the state, then the protection, you understand, is appropriate. But any so-called. a state lawyer is immediately ready to move into the category of honest, excuse me, private after receiving a fee for his work. so-called. a free, public lawyer has close ties with the internal affairs bodies of the very territory in which your detention took place, which means that his own police officers planted a job for him. And it turns out that his task is not to protect you, but either to help the police in this case, or together with them milking money out of you, or (and this is at best) the formal departure of the prescribed working time. You should not focus on television series, in life everything is different. Sometimes you may encounter a paradoxical situation: a lawyer does not know the simplest laws. Let me give you an example from life:
Investigation Corps. The “leader” (there is such work in prison) brought the arrested person to a meeting with the lawyer, but did not close the door to the premises. There is a table, two chairs in the room (everything is screwed to the floor) and you can see how others, lawyers, are scurrying along the corridor, escorting the arrested and running around with wallets "withdrawals". An imposing-looking man in his fifties peers into the room. He is dressed expensively, with obvious chic. On the face it says: lawyer.
- You don't have the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation? he asks.
- Not.
The man disappears. A minute later, the situation repeats itself. Another guy about the same age as the previous one, with an inscription on his forehead: a lawyer appears at the door.
- Can you borrow the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation?
We don't have UC.
The figure disappears. A minute later, the first and second lawyers are seen colliding in the corridor.
- You don't have UC?
-Not.
- That's bad luck! I can’t, you know, find it, but I need it.
- What do you need there?
- I want to know from how many to how many they are “loaded” under article 162, part II. Do you happen to know?
- Not! Don't know.
And both scatter like colliding billiard balls.
That is: - two lawyers, judging by the clothes, not badly earning in this profession, obviously not last people, do not know the terms of punishment prescribed in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (the main book of a lawyer 254 pages, in a pocket edition) according to one of the most common in criminal practice of the 90s early. 2002 article.
So what do they know then? How can they legally help their clients? But in fact, everything is very simple: they do not know this and much more, and they do not need to know this.
By making a “muzzle with a shovel”, they simply imitate work, milking money from clients. Articles, deadlines - this is empty, it will sit anyway. Once caught, then just like that, the court will not release.
What is important to know when choosing a lawyer? Of course, it is ideal to already have it in advance and know its capabilities. When detained, it is simply shown business card or given his phone number, and then he begins to protect you. At the same time, police officers understand that you have a real lawyer. This sharply reduces their desire to influence the detainee with unlawful methods.
The positive side of having a lawyer at the time of detention is that in this state of hassle there is someone with whom you can consult in choosing defense tactics. A competent lawyer will not allow police lawlessness to develop and will help to avoid stupid things that come from ignorance of the laws and rules of this game.

The young man was nervous:

Ideally, it would be nice to plan a lawyer in advance, to find out his capabilities and abilities. Talk to him and get his consent to protect you or your relatives and loved ones. Such an acquaintance will never be superfluous. If not for you, then for your loved ones one day it will definitely help in a difficult moment.

Avoid stupid things that come from ignorance of the laws and rules of this game.
Often, at the first stage of communication with a lawyer, people are pleased with such details in his biography as past work in the police, prosecutor's office, court, etc. Of course, this is not bad, but his past position is not the most important thing in the work of a lawyer. His experience in such cases is important (how many specific cases of this kind he handled) and the former effectiveness of his work is important (i.e. what is the level of his protection, how many people were released before the trial, how many were sentenced and how many were sentenced, and which ones). It is very important to know what other additional mechanisms, in addition to experience and knowledge, a lawyer has. In other words, does he have connections in law enforcement and judicial bodies, and does he know to whom, how, when and how much to give money (bribes) to solve this problem. Without this, it will be extremely difficult to help in deciding the specific fate of a person. And this is a very delicate moment, because. it is not possible to be completely sure either of the amount transferred as a bribe, or even of the very fact of transferring money to someone. Here is another real life example:
This story happened in the mid 90s. The young man was taken at the sale of gold bars (a total of 100 grams), there was no hallmark on the bars. It should be noted that he was caught by coming out with an offer to sell this gold directly to a police informer (a common story).
The gold was not stolen, it was his own, so the young man was not particularly worried about his fate. He did not really understand what exactly he had violated in the law. However, the case was opened, and the guy was left free on bail. (lucky). As time went on, the case naturally did not fall apart, but moved straight to its completion. Feeling that the trial would still take place, well, in order to insure himself, the young man turned to his former classmate (he spent 6 years at the same desk) working as a lawyer. He promised to find out. After some time, a classmate said that it was a simple matter, a maximum of a couple of years shines conditionally, and a minimum can be justified, but for this you need to give ... (a bribe). We agreed on the amount. (The amount turned out to be very decent) - Remember, either they will justify, or you will receive conditionally! - Cheerfully said a childhood friend, taking the money. The case was closed and it went to court. A long, tedious, like toothache, litigation. And then, it so happened that the case was transferred to the court of another district, and then to another court.
The young man was nervous:
- What about money? And in general, where are those who took them looking. Why let the case go to others? Well, in general?
“Don't worry,” the childhood friend answered with a smile, patting the hand with a brand new ring on the plump side of an expensive recently acquired briefcase.
- Whoever took it leads you. Do not be afraid!
As a result, the young man was amnestied. Like a stone was lifted from his soul. It was, from the point of view of the law - nonsense. A month later, it turned out quite by accident that a childhood friend, a young lawyer, did not give anything to anyone, he simply put all the money in his pocket, knowing full well that the maximum sentence for this case was only two years of probation. And if not for the case, the young man would have been sure all his life that a friend had helped a friend, and as a result, he would have been grateful for this to the grave of his life - for his money stolen from himself.
Once again I want to note: lawyers are people who do not have conscience and decency in ordinary human understanding of these words. A lawyer works for money. Money is the main stimulus of their activity. It happens that, having assessed the situation, the lawyer conducts the defense formally, insisting on giving bribes ... Having received the money, he does not transfer it to anyone, but waits, orienting the client to the future, which should happen anyway, without any monetary intervention.
In the event that the situation does not develop according to the predicted scenario, you can always refer to all sorts of complications or return part of the money, saying: well, it didn’t work out, the circumstances of the case are too complicated. But we are talking only about money intended for bribes, there is no question of returning money to a lawyer in a situation of a bad scenario for the development of a criminal case. A lawyer works for a fee, i.e. receives money on the fact of work, and not on the result. No serious lawyer will give a 100% guarantee that you will get the result you want.
The usual pattern is this. First, the brightest prospects are drawn with a simultaneous story about past victories, then black tones are added, because. there were numerous complications and difficulties. Next stage - detailed explanation the seriousness of the situation and the ever-increasing difficulties. The bright outlook is fading, although optimism remains. Then the difficulties continue to grow, and the inevitability of punishment is gradually introduced into the mind of the client. The inhuman efforts of the lawyer are demonstrated, and the question is already in the size of the punishment. After publishing the tragic scenario, the lawyer explains the inevitability of what is happening and how the result would have been more tragic without his participation.
In other words, the lawyer competently for your own money reconciles you with ... really. This is a standard practice that is very reminiscent of institutionalized fraud. When concluding an agreement with a lawyer, it is necessary to specify all the details of financial relationships, i.e. for what exactly he receives money, what exactly this amount is, in what parts and when they are paid. What exactly is included in this payment, we mean the stages of development of a criminal case. Is participation in the trial included in the fee or is there a separate fee for this? Will the lawyer help at the cassation stage, if necessary, does he have connections with the Federal Penitentiary Service, i.e. whether it will help with the worst development of the case in directing the client to the desired area.
The lawyer must explain in detail each stage of his actions, he must clearly tell about the possible scenarios for the development of the criminal case (from the best to the worst). You need to specifically ask him a question: can he guarantee anything, if so, what exactly and, most importantly, what do his guarantees look like? In the case of a bribe, what will be the results and whether the money will be returned in case of failure.
If the money given for a bribe can theoretically still be returned, then there is no need to even talk about the return of the fee paid to the lawyer for his work. The amount of the average fee (Moscow rates) in an ordinary, uncomplicated criminal case can be 2000-5000 dollars and more. Everything depends on many factors. A lawyer can simultaneously defend several persons involved in one case, if their testimony does not contradict each other, and they do not have personal antagonism. Even if there is one, (life is a complicated thing, and even the “system” is capable of divorcing relatives, not just accomplices), it is necessary through a lawyer to coordinate and develop a single line of defense and behavior, both during the preliminary investigation and during the trial process, otherwise you are doomed to receive the maximum possible punishment in this case.
There are no restrictions on visits by a lawyer to his client, he can and has the right to visit the client as much as he needs. Don't burden your lawyer with additional requests, such as bringing "bans" to jail or doing irrelevant errands. Lawyers treat such requests negatively and fulfill them extremely reluctantly. You should not, in the course of a criminal investigation, change your line of relationship with a lawyer. If it is paid by you, be as frank with it as possible. Also, you should not change your lawyer during the investigation. The appearance of a new person protecting you is always bad, plus it leads to a forced temporary delay (in any case, the new person needs time to get up to speed).
Lawyers do not believe in debt and, as a rule, do not take anything other than money to pay for their services. If a lawyer does not return the money taken not as a fee for his own work, but to solve your problems, it is extremely difficult, (read) almost impossible, to return them while in custody. In such situations, either a witness or a document confirming their transfer to a lawyer is always important. Keep in mind that both are carefully avoided by lawyers.
It happens that cellmates, knowing that you are being visited by a “free” lawyer, make various requests for help, sending letters of a personal nature, performing certain legal services, bringing a ban, calling someone outside through a lawyer, etc. Of course, in each case it is necessary to make a specific decision, but one must understand: the salvation of drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves. An attempt to fulfill each such request can result in unpredictable consequences for the one who undertook to fulfill it. Such a good deed brings possible problems. Is it worth it to multiply already existing problems with your own hands?
Ideally, it would be nice to plan a lawyer in advance, to find out his capabilities and abilities. Talk to him and get his consent to protect you or your relatives and loved ones. Such an acquaintance will never be superfluous. If not for you, then for your loved ones one day it will definitely help in a difficult moment.

The book of memoirs of a front-line intelligence officer does not coincide with the pathos of official historiography

Nikolay Kovalenko. I only write the truth...: Memoirs. Preparation for printing N.N. Chenkova and F.M. Chenkov. – M.: New Literary Review, 2016. 200 p.: ill.

Perhaps the most unexpected thing about this book is that it was written by a man whose biography looks completely Soviet. Yes, grandfather was dispossessed, uncle was exiled, but Kovalenko himself studied at the Tallinn Military Infantry School since 1940, served as an intelligence officer during the Great Patriotic War, and retired as a lieutenant colonel. After that he worked in Karelia, was in charge of a photocopying workshop, was the supply manager of a land management expedition and deputy director of the stadium.

The facts of the biography do not convey the mindset. Kovalenko grew up in a peasant family, where everyone worked from dawn to dusk. The destruction of the usual way of life is the key drama of his whole life.

Dekulakization is not just a tragedy of Russia in the 20th century, it is a decisive event in the country's loss of its identity. The author will not help to understand the nature of this cruel, meaningless self-destruction: “The year was 1931. Our village of Konstantingradsky disappeared from the geographical map of the region. This year, other farms and settlements also disappeared, the inhabitants of which - peasants - were either dispossessed and expelled from the villages, or taken to remote lands. So, ten kilometers from our village was the village of Dubove. It had such a name, apparently, because a beautiful oak grove stood next to it. About a dozen peasant families lived in the village, who moved here from Ukraine in 1902-1906.

The peasants had solid houses with carved decorations, roofed with iron, and not with straw, like my grandfather's. They had beautiful gardens, kept bees, sowed barley, oats and fattened cattle for themselves and for delivery to the state. They kept sheep, goats and many different birds. Some, including my maternal grandfather, Ivan Nikitovich Koval, produced Dutch and Swiss cheese. All residents of the village of Dubovoye were dispossessed in 1930. Their houses, cattle, all real estate were taken away from them, and they, all the peasants, were simply expelled from the village. Not a single family was sent to Siberia or the North.” But many were sent away.

The book contains many letters to Konovalov from the Rybok family, who lived in the same Novokhopyorsk, Voronezh province, where the author spent his childhood (from this family was the wife of Uncle Vasily, who was shot in 1938). They contain memories of dispossession (the activists were mainly local loafers and beggars) and forced resettlement to the North, where many deportees died.

“On March 30, 1930, the exiles were herded into wagons, which had bunk beds, a cast-iron stove and a bucket for the administration of natural needs ... They checked the presence of deportees in the wagons. And then it turned out that the fifteen-year-old Anya, the daughter of Nikolai Kuzmich, was not on the list of deportees. She was asked to stay where she was. She refused and went along with everyone.” It was hard to expect a different decision from a peasant girl, whose family is taken away to no one knows where, and she is offered to stay alone near a ruined house. But somehow this story is reminiscent of a mocking offer made 14 years later to Janusz Korczak, when the Nazis sent his pupils to a concentration camp, and they were ready to leave him on the platform. Of course, he got into the car.

Uncle Vasily's wife described to the author her life in the Dolinsk concentration camp near Karaganda - she was exiled there without trial or investigation as a member of the family of a traitor to the motherland. Sexual violence and harassment by the NKVD was considered the norm, in exchange for coercion, a softening of the regime was offered: “There were many young people in the concentration camp beautiful girls and women. Many of them cohabited with the enkavedeshniki, satisfying their sexual passions, receiving easier work and an extra piece of bread in return. Antonina Nikolaevna in one of her letters said:

“All the NKVD officers, from the guard to the head of the camp, had their own concubines, and some of the chiefs had two or three women. The camp had a house with four rooms and a kitchen. Each room had a bed, a table, a bedside table and two chairs. It was called the home of mating. This house has never been empty at night. Visiting high-ranking officials of the KULAG (Karaganda Camp Administration) stayed there. Young beautiful camp women were placed at their disposal. They, unfortunate women, spent nights with NKVD officials, satisfying their sexual needs.”

Probably, the behavior of these communists was not discussed at party meetings, their wives did not write a statement about them to the trade union committee. Moreover, “if any official did not like the beauty who spent the night with him, he was sent another even younger woman the next night. And women with pleasure and joy went to this house. They knew that there they would be fed, watered, and they would spend time with men for whom their souls had long yearned, with real men who would fully satisfy their female needs, and even, perhaps, give easier work. They were sent to work as cooks, storekeepers, secretaries, typists, accountants, accountants and cleaners in the camp administration and other purely female jobs. These women were unescorted and freely roamed the camp. And it was good for everyone: both these women and the NKVD officers, who even during the day took their concubines to the house for visitors and there they received from them the full satisfaction of their carnal needs. Nikolai Andreevich, believe me that I am writing only a little truth about what happened and what happened in our camp. After all, each boss, and even a simple guard, had two or three women, many of whom gave birth to children. And it got to the point that a maternity ward, an infirmary and an orphanage were built at the camp, which still exist today. Some time ago, this camp for women prisoners was reorganized into a women's camp for criminals for political reasons. The order in the camp is the same as it was when I was serving a five-year sentence. Criminals also, and perhaps even more, give birth to children produced by men in the form of the NKVD. (…)”.

I will add to this letter of Antonina Nikolaevna only lines from a letter from her daughter Nelli Vasilievna, received by me in 1994. She writes: “When I came with little Volodya in 1957 to the CPO (in Dolinka), women criminals walked past us under escort, not far from my mother there was a large children's town, quite large, where small children lived who were born from these women . Later this town was liquidated, the prisoners too. I went there when I had kids. Very clean, well-kept beds, comfortable.”

Thank God that the enkavedeshniki were worried and cared about the kids they produced.

The author does not idealize the village past, he retains objectivity in such difficult issues as the ambiguous relations between the peasants and the Church. In the family of the narrator, the mother and grandmother believed in God, but the father and grandfather did not. But the latter was on good terms with the local priest and took his side in difficult situations. Kovalenko tells the case of the late 20s. The peasants asked the priest “to conduct a prayer service, asking God for rain. But when the rain turned into hail, the ground was littered with downed apples, pears and plums, and rooks with broken wings crawled around the house, the villagers grumbled, they say, the priest is to blame! Grandfather did not agree: “The father is not to blame, but nature itself is to blame, it does not obey a person and does what it wants, it does, it is uncontrollable by a person. But there is no God.” Then the peasants asked where the priests come from and why they are needed. Grandfather answered that there is a religion, priests are trained in theological schools and seminaries, and they are needed in order to keep people from all foolishness with their sermons and educate them in a spirit of respect for each other, especially for women.

The memoirist himself saw such an attitude towards women in Tallinn in 1940. The Estonian capital made an impression - not so much with an abundance of foreign goods, but with a different culture of life, where the tendency to order and cleanliness was instinctive. So abroad, as in the era of the Decembrists, sowed doubts about the plausibility of the editorials of domestic newspapers: “The propagandists of the communist ideology and the Stalinist serfdom regime bawled out to the whole world that socialism was built in the USSR, human freedom and a high standard of living were ensured. But it was a shameless lie of the communists. Soviet Union was at that time a slave, feudal state. The peasants had neither land, nor passports, nor the opportunity to leave the village to work in the city. The workers were assigned to a factory or enterprise... The population of the country lived in poverty, barely making ends meet. But in bourgeois-democratic Estonia, socialism was built in the full understanding of the content of this word. By annexing Estonia to the USSR, the communist-stalinists destroyed Estonian socialism.”

With whom could the author discuss what he saw in Tallinn, to whom could he entrust his observations? Of course, there were critical voices all around, but mostly bellowing boys. Standing in front of the “Torgsin” that unexpectedly opened in Novokhopyorsk, they shouted to the whole street: “Torgsin, Torgsin! Comrades, take a look! Russia is starving, Stalin is exterminating us!” The store was intended for trade not with foreigners (where did they come from?), but with the local population - everything was sold, in fact, changed into handed-over products made of gold, silver and platinum.

The motive of fear constantly arises in the book - either because of the letters that the author, as a child, sent to his uncle from among the White Guards in Paris (they were intercepted by the authorities, but there were no consequences, probably many then wrote to relatives), then in the expectation that from his native Novokhopyorsk they will send a personal file, where they will point to relatives abroad, they will note that Kovalenko himself is from a family of repressed people.

Fear was supported by the feeling of constant surveillance, the oppressive atmosphere of squealing: the sexots were everywhere. In the head of the OGPU, Kovalenko admits that he was also recruited in secret - he was waiting for a conversation, arguments, and he was simply informed that now he was recruited. Fortunately, he was able not to tarnish his name, but for many years he was looking for informants in his inner circle.

Most denounced not from a good life. But this is little consolation for a person endowed with intelligence and conscience who happened to live in Soviet Russia. Kovalenko's book is among the memoirs that are alternative to the official Soviet, and in many respects to the current Russian historiography. “The Goner” by Alexander Appel (M., 2009), “A tragically terrible story of the 20th century. The Second Coming of Christ” by Alexander Perepechennykh (2013) – the voice of the people is far from the hops and molasses of misunderstood patriotism. The skeptical view of those who built another Russia, but suffered a historic defeat in the fight against the lumpen - that little that leaves a legacy of a civilization that did not leave of its own accord.

Nikolai Kovalenko's book was published in the Russia in Memoirs series, dedicated to unpublished memories - there are many of them in public and private archives. It is unlikely that such an abundance of texts should be expected from our contemporaries - the electronic type of communication prone to narcissism, which has reigned thanks to the Internet, reduces the number and quality of potential memoirists.

The unbearable burden of life

Stas Simonov. How to survive in a modern prison. – M.: Gorodets, 2015. 352 p.

Stanislav Simonov has a biography typical of the 90s. Graduate of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas. THEM. Gubkin, he led a geological expedition in the Pamirs, worked as a consultant at the Italian film studio Cinechitta, a journalist at the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, and an artist at the Moscow Youth Theater.

In the press, his name is found in connection with the case of the Joint-Stock Space Bank, which was allegedly conducted by employees from the in their own way famous group of "werewolves in uniform." According to him, Simonov was convicted in 2001, so that the experience he described of being held in Moscow detention centers (Butyrka, Matrosskaya Tishina, pre-trial detention center 77/4) and the subsequent transfers and colonies of the Russian Federation dates back to the 21st century. After his release in 2011, he took up literature and organized “mystical excursions” around Moscow at night, conducts acting classes, and heads a news agency. In electronic form, he published the “Dictionary of Modern Prison Jargon” - like the book “How to Survive in a Modern Prison”, the dictionary is illustrated with drawings by Andrey Nurijanyan.

Knowledgeable people compare Stas Simonov's book with a textbook of survival in a modern prison, where in detail, with knowledge of the case, many details of everyday existence are described. The cover even contains a quote from the foreword of the former deputy head of SIZO-2, known as Butyrka, doctor D.B. Kratova: "In my opinion, this book is the best of what has been written on this topic."

Chapters - among them "Arrest", "IVS", "General cells", "Walks", "Stalls, transfers, parcels, parcels", "Visit to the investigator", "Lawyer", "Mass fights in the cell", "Food, alcohol”, “Medicine”, “Hunger strike”, “Tattoos and inserts”, “Court”, “Preparation for the stage”, “Malyava”, “Huckler” look like sections of a mini-encyclopedia dedicated to the rules of life in captivity. "Mini" - because it is difficult to fit into it experienced in any case.

On the cover of the book are three quotes that sound like the quintessence of the entire book. One belongs to the American writer Charles Bukowski: "If you want to know who your real friend is, try to get yourself behind bars." The second - to the poet, Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky: "Prison is a lack of space compensated by an excess of time." The third is Mahatma Gandhi, whose paradox does not seem to be mandatory: "No one can become a full-fledged person without serving some time in prison." A person is able to process any experience that has fallen to his lot, but in the end he does not deserve any experience. In principle, Brodsky’s phrase was more likely generated by his experience of exile than by a long stay in the crowded world of the camera, where building relationships with others takes the lion’s share of time and effort, and the problem of physical and moral survival becomes far from literary. Simonov writes a lot about the details of this survival, sharing his observations and giving a lot of valuable advice to those who are already in trouble or do not promise anything. “The situation inside the “system” is dictated by the criminal environment”, in the cell “everyone’s nerves are inflated, space is limited (which means that it’s impossible to simply physically move away from any problem), and the future is uncertain. AT ordinary life you can get away from conflict and problems in the literal sense of the word: do not call, do not answer calls, turn off the phone altogether, avoid meetings, leave the city, or try to solve the problem, after waiting for some time, involve relatives, friends, acquaintances, etc. In prison, this is impossible or almost impossible. Once formed, it will hang over you like the sword of Damocles, twenty-four hours a day and demand an immediate solution.

Among these definitions of the prison world, only Bukovsky’s phrase looks unconditional; the special position of relatives is mentioned more than once in the book: “It doesn’t matter whether you did what you are accused of or not. By and large, this is no longer of interest to anyone - neither your neighbors, nor the police, nor the jailers, nor the prosecutor's office, nor the judges, nor your friends. This is important for your relatives and, of course, for you. The rest don't care. What matters is that you're in prison." And if something happens that happens often - “yesterday's friends, relatives, wives and even children can simply forget about your existence. And someone who yesterday still seemed like a reliable person may suddenly refuse elementary help, ”there will simply be no one to rely on. Therefore, Simonov's call to think about relatives, who also have a hard time in this situation, is understandable. D.B. also writes about this in the preface. Kratov: “By the nature of my work, I had to communicate a lot with the relatives of those arrested, and I saw and felt for myself how difficult, how unbearably morally difficult it is for people whose relatives, by the will of fate, ended up in prison. I always tried to help them and convey to the inmates a very simple idea, which is that the main suffering falls on their loved ones and relatives, so that they appreciate care and understand how difficult it is sometimes for their mothers, wives and children. I told the inmates: “... It wasn’t you who imprisoned yourself, it was you who imprisoned them ...””

The pictures of places of detention that the author draws are amazing. Unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, constant humiliation of human dignity, a system of relationships saturated with criminal values and itself thoroughly anti-legal - what possible correction and re-education can we talk about? Punishment disproportionate to the crime, that's what this penitentiary system of modern Russia is. Here, not only are the ideas of the great Norwegian abolitionist criminologist Niels Christie rejected, here Anton Pavlovich Chekhov himself would be horrified by the conditions of detention in today's Russian prisons. The author of Sakhalin Island could hardly have imagined that 120 years after the writing and publication of his book, the situation would only worsen.

It is hard to imagine that Skolkovo and a modern Russian prison are located in the same space and time.

Predestination is, perhaps, the main misfortune of a Russian arrested person: “Remember, if you have already been detained and a measure of restraint has been chosen as an arrest, i. detention, acquitted in court, according to statistics, there is very little chance, only 0.46 (4 and a half people out of 1000 arrested). There is a high probability of receiving a suspended sentence when a written undertaking not to leave is chosen as a preventive measure, although it does not give a 100% guarantee that you will not serve a real term in a colony.<…>

It is naive to assume that a partial confession will help the arrested person avoid getting sentenced. For law enforcement agencies, in fact, it does not matter whether partial testimony is received or complete. One logic works for them: there is no smoke without fire. He partially confessed, which means he is guilty of the rest. Someone may be surprised by this state of affairs, someone will not believe my words, but anyone who has gone through the “system” will confirm this to you. Remember: law and justice are two different things.”

Describing the subsequent humiliation of the convict, his possible ordeals in stages, the duration and conditions of which are in no way regulated by law, the author affirms his reader in the thought: we have before us a system not so much of punishment, but of a meaningless one, originating in the Gulag and since then, in many respects, inextricable destruction human in man. The neighborhood of a professional criminal environment with the so-called "muzhiks" does not benefit anyone, it rather gives rise to new non-legal relations within the prison zones, relations in which the guards are also involved. This cycle of movement in a closed space, devoid of any internal logic, is justified by only one goal: to somehow spend, or rather, kill time. The main thing in human behavior is the word "patience". “Never impose your communication,” Simonov shares another piece of advice. - Remember that in prison there is nowhere to go from being “boring”, you can only send him three letters or tell him clearly, in plain text that he is bothering you or that communication with him tires you. Few people in the “system” understand hints, the “system” does not tolerate “figurativeness”. Be specific or be silent. The second is always preferred. The “system” teaches you to listen sometimes a thousand times to the same thoughts, complaints, problems and statements. Patience, silence and waiting. It is important, the author writes, to maintain "a clear understanding of the hierarchy, precise behavior in the structure of the 'system', silence and insensitivity, patience and attentiveness will be your guarantee against collisions in the 'system' with anyone."

All this requires a remarkable character, who survived in prison, Simonov believes, will not disappear in the wild. At the end of the book, he cites a long letter of recollection of a former Afghan, a reserve colonel, whose business fell victim to raiders. Ex-military describes his misadventures in captivity; as an appendix to the article "Captivity" prints a fragment of this letter with the preservation of the author's spelling. This striking testimony from an Afghan colonel says a lot about the modern state machine; after it, questions about the meaning and quality of its existence can not even be asked - it feels like it just rides like a skating rink, not paying attention to the crunch of bones under the wheels. Thus, the legacy of the Yeltsin era is once again called into question, because most of the stories described in the book date back to the early 2000s. Recently, it has become customary to romanticize the 90s, to attribute to them a special spirit of opportunity, intoxicating the spirit of freedom. Probably, many were really intoxicated by it so much that they did not (and still do not realize) themselves an account of reality, of all the opportunities that opened up, using only one - personal accumulation, being unable to change the structure of public space. The prison became an extension of the economy by other means. The hypocrisy and cynicism of the Yeltsin decade was manifested in the fact that the system of punishment degraded faster than other elements public life. Of course, the combination of political impotence and good PR can temporarily shift the optics of most contemporaries, but it is difficult to change the results. The reform of the legal system was not brought to a significant result, its inhumane, absurd nature remained the most important characteristic of the political era.

The book includes an unillustrated version of the dictionary of prison jargon, as well as reference applications - a set of rights of arrested and imprisoned people compiled on the basis of various sources, addresses and phone numbers of the Federal Penitentiary Service and the courts of Russia.

Fragment of a letter from an Afghan colonel

Bryansk. - Smolensk ...

loaded in Bryansk and we went ... moreover, they loaded with us those who were supposed to be loaded into another Stolypin - but as usual - mixed up and we went together ... technology - shmons - everywhere, as usual, in different ways - most often - everyone is thrust into one or two compartments… the maximum that I myself have seen is 32 people with trunks in one compartment… it’s hard to imagine – but you can… then they start sorting – according to the regime… and, accordingly – shmon… shmon is simple – they bring you into a free compartment with your trunks and you put everything from the trunks on the shelves and down to your underpants yourself ... then they look through everything, and you collect your clothes, and you are transferred to another compartment in which you will spend the trip - everything seems to be fast, etc. as usual, something will disappear or disappear from you ... under the guise of something that is not allowed - you can simplify the task - if you have a multiple of their number (cops) the number of packs of good cigarettes - or one bag per nose or two, as you like ... in Smolensk, as usual - they unloaded - a paddy wagon - and pre-trial detention center No. 1 of Smolensk - they brought it inside and assembled it - well, it’s just a European-style renovation ... everything is purely cultural ... then the snoops locked the tables - they have special tables there for shmon ... from one

assemblies pull out 4 people each - shmon and into another assembly - they all swindled and led inside ... you go out into the street - on the left - a hospital, you go further - the square ... on the left - the main building - three floors, straight ahead - small wooden church, and on the right - a separate building - called - America - because. it does not fit with other buildings ... it is two-story ... on the second floor there is a hospital, and on the first floor there is a long corridor - for fifteen cells ... on the left - women on the right - men and there is also a transfer - a horror full of shkonari in 3 tiers - (for 12 people) ... no windows ... winter ... everything is sooty ... dirt - I thought before that I saw what dirt was, but I was wrong ... it’s even dirtier there ... and I was driving to the village ... then I thought that it was almost - will and then - ass ... I stayed there 14 days and beyond ... again for assembly - again shmon and again assembly. We sit, we wait… and in the schnift we see how the snoops are dragging trays of bread and boxes… it turned out - a dry ration… according to the garbage… you have to go from Smolensk to Yaroslavl for 4 days - and they gave out a dry ration - for a day half a tambourine of bread and two cans porridge with meat, in total multiply by 4 and you get an additional load ... moreover, a joke - porridge with meat is made in Barnaul ... then Altai ... in one of the zones, I forgot the number, a specialist for prisoners - by prisoners ... then again - paddy wagon and Stolypin ... and shmon - on the same principle ... sit down ... we go ... on the road - our Stolypin - froze (naturally) ... stop ... Tula ... we were told - in general, whoever wants one - to the central - and who does not want - sit in the Stolypin ...

Tula - funny ... brought to the central ... unloaded ... we pass ... duty room ... corridor ... roll call ... and then to get to the assembly ... you go down to the basement, go along the basement ... not lit ... again rise and group at the door ... then the door opens and five people… they take them to the assembly… an old central unit with vaulted ceilings… at the assembly and in the cells there is a European-style renovation… these are probably former stables or something… but the cells are clean and civilized… two water tanks… comfortable shkonari… there is even a socket under the radio, but I don’t have one myself, alas… but in front of the long distance… a mosaic… the convicts did their best… I was already stunned… we spent 33 hours in Tula… and then… again – assembling… shmon… paddy wagon… Stolypin… the same, but warmed up… in Tula notably fed regardless of the dry ration ... and I’ll dwell on feeding in more detail ... breakfast - porridge ... with a bun ... lunch ... soup with meat ... for the second - a side dish and separately ... a piece of meat the size of a pack of cigarettes ... just give the balancer a shlenka and say the number of people in hut... the boys said that if not meat, then two sausages or a fish fried without a head ... and so they feed the whole central ... wonderful ... every other day relies on each glass of milk (fanych) ... and 3 eggs a week per person ...

in a word, they loaded them into Stolypin and again shmon for those who returned ... and drove through Moscow (Kursk railway station) ... through Bologoye ... there is parking on sidings ... (we arrived in Bologoye at 7 in the morning - and went to Yaroslavl - at 23 ...) in Yarik ... unloaded directly onto the platform and through the paths to the paddy wagon ... and to the central ... in Yaroslavl, the central was old and dirty ... assembly ... shmon and into cells ... there are two floors and 7 buildings ... the transit building stands alone ... at first Bologoe ... I didn’t even know that it’s such an asshole, they bring you there early in the morning…when, like I was there twice…I repeat – asshole…there in the morning they unhook…and throw…it’s good for the garbage…they can come out, move away, etc., and you sit in this cage ... they don’t take you to the toilet ... because the station ... accordingly - they don’t give you to drink ... only what is in stock ... write in a bottle or a garbage bag (these are wonderful and necessary things trash bags) ... Shitting - also in a bag ... - okay - little things in life ... finally, in the evening, the car starts moving - this is a recoupling ... finally recoupling ... and let's go ... that-that ... to Yaroslavl (Yarik) ... arrived in the morning and straight to the platform ... the passenger one... unloaded... created a box in fives... and forward across the tracks to paddy wagons... another 30 minutes of the trip and we are at Central...

Yarik - the old central ... I would say - ancient ... for those passing by - a separate building ... 2-story with an old forged staircase ... 8 cameras ... huge by the standards that I saw - 3-tier racks, and the center one is the upper tier because down, as well as in the middle, you have to crawl into niches for coffins ... 2 cells of transit settlers, 2 cells of transit settlers of general regime, and 2 transfers of strict security ... strict guards sit in transit for a long time and they have established contacts ... alcohol - 500 rubles. liter… forwarded 30 minutes from the moment the money was given… whoever doesn’t have it, they make moonshine… from there the settlers are sent as a whole Stolypins… they collect 94 people and go… especially from Yarik – 3 directions… Arkhara (Arkhangelsk Territory)… Komi… Kirov province… where not look ... impenetrable ass everywhere ... rarely come across who, for one reason or another, goes back ... I spent 5 weeks there ... 6 baths ... and only two rolled back, one from Arkhara - one from near Solikamsk ... and now evening comes (this is after 5 weeks)… And the garbage opens the brakes and reads out the stage… 94 people and me… Komi… further… down to the assembly… shmon… the settlers are not very strong… so - superficially… if they just find something beautiful or the settler is a fool… loading… and into Stolypin… the convoy in stolypin... the mordovorots - as if to pick them up... just loaded up... they line up along the length of the stolypin and are so disgusting, but creepy... THE VOLOGDA CONVOY WELCOMES YOU... REPEAT WE WILL NOT BE everyone quieted down - shmon... but what to take from the settler... they have already taken everything... proshmonali - rass adili… and we drove… 28 hours from Yarik to Mikun station… it’s a fork and already Komyatsky region… straight ahead… Another 25 hours by steam locomotive and Vorkuta… On the way… Ukhta… Pechora… to the right – the capital of Komi – Syktyvkar… 150 km by rail… To the left - a single-track railway built by convicts in the swamps ... 400 miles - the village of YEARLY ... (this is on the Komi - the path to the water ...) well, here - a stop and unloading straight from the Stolypin to the paddy wagon along the gangway ... they have such a technology there ... and the convoy needs less and it quickly turns out in a box ... they bring - we look - a zone ... and in it the PFRSI - this is such a hat - a room that functions as a pre-trial detention center ... A two-story building ... on the second floor - a punishment cell, a ShIZO, a BUR (high-security barrack), in Komi there are two BURs and one - there for a strict regime ... search and resettlement ... we can dwell on this in more detail ... they search there to the goal ... you see their habits ... then you are in shorts and with a bale of sheets, where everything is dumped - such a search ... you go to the cell to sort it out and get dressed - I was lucky, I was the first ... I drive into the camera ... there is a light bulb dim - 40 watts ... and 3 cats are sitting in the corner ... I looked closely - bah, otherwise rats ... and I realized that life was just a success ...

Stas became a victim of a raider seizure of his enterprise with his brother in 2001. Stas is an actor by his first education, he graduated from Pike, a philologist by his second. In the 90s, Stas incorporated a large foreign trade association. The main asset was the building in Novoslobodskaya. The office has overgrown various structures opened a bank. He lived then in a big way, and most of the time was in Germany.

The raiders acted harshly, using the famous "werewolves in uniform" Ganeev - Samolkin. The accusations brought against Stas concerned especially grave articles related to the murders. He and his brother were charged with 19 episodes of explosions, murders, and assassination attempts. In total, it was drawn to a couple of life sentences. The system is organized in such a way that even after the werewolves were imprisoned, none of those imprisoned by them ever returned home. The criminal case against the Simonov brothers was cynically fabricated; This rotten construction almost completely fell apart in court, but the machine does not reverse, and they were charged with two episodes anyway. The mechanism rotates only in one direction. Everyone understood the nonsense, everyone sympathized, but he received 14 years.

Brazenly, cynically, the prosecutors behaved, the judge was blind. The current "Ehovsky" liberal hamsters, who call themselves "fighters against the Putin regime", did not even dream of what Stas went through then. Today's screamers, provoking stupid law enforcement by playing heroes, apparently do not even understand what they are playing with. Some really have already “tasted” the delights, realizing what they are faced with, some are on the verge of it. Now the "fighters" in machine-gun mode are writing sincere confessions and testimonies against each other. It is foolish to say here that they are being tortured, or secret serums are being applied to them, everything is much simpler; they saw a stupid and powerful car, they realized that a huge rusty train without brakes was flying at them. I have almost no sympathy for them, stupidity in this clinical case can only be cured with a cleaver.

Stas Simonov was released from prison last year. He served more than 9 years, there were prisons, stages, zones, correctional institutions on his way. The other day we met for tea. Stas, unexpectedly during a conversation, suggested that I write a preface to his new book called How to Survive in a Modern Prison. The project of the book turned out to be very curious and looked like some strange mixture of a manual for a pioneer and a collection of prison tales. Surprisingly, the author painstakingly compiled a dictionary of modern prison jargon. This dictionary was a kind of mixture of modern Gopnikov slang, urban jargon, and thieves prison language. In the modern prison there are surprisingly many drug addicts, everyday words, even words from the Internet slang.

Tales are understandable, but why is the dictionary jargon?

Language is a living organism, it lives and transforms. The jargon is changing, the rate of change is colossal, it is evolving. How accurate were some expressions, concepts; more capaciously and precisely you will not define. It was a pity to lose such material, so I recorded everything.

He was clearly pleased with the work, and with pleasure told once again about the prison with the bag. “Revealed the secret” that usually no one is ever going to prison. He said that once in prison for the first time, a person experiences a powerful shock, and especially “cultural sapiens” suffer.

A regular visitor to gloomy institutions, in principle, does not need this book, a person who thinks that he will never get there, either. To everyone else, everything I wrote will be very useful. Flight instructions are written in blood, everything is not so bloody here, but experience in prison is gained by health and years of life, I'm just sharing my experience!

I used to take his epistolary attempts not very seriously, but I changed my mind. The book concentrates the sadness of the current reality, and the salt of the sad present of Russia. It's amazing how she shines through modern Russian realities, like the apparatus of engineer Garin, and burns her with it. I don’t know how my friend will be able to publish a book, but it’s a pity if he doesn’t.

Having become acquainted with this story, you begin to understand that Russia is sick, and it is systemically sick. It seems that if this disease is not localized in the near future, then this cancerous tumor will devour the country, and may even overwhelm even the existing system. The people know that the real corruption in the prosecutor's office and the police in modern Russia is simply colossal. Everyone knows that the majority of police and prosecutorial chiefs buy or receive their positions for tasks or obligations.

And when a law enforcement officer buys a police or prosecutorial position, then fulfilling his obligations, he will stop at nothing, and the money invested in the case will be returned multiplied. It seems terrible, but it has become a business. Courts in this case are laundry, and in turn are simply built into the total system. In the process of judicial investigation, the court often simply serves the prosecution. The judge, in the course of his work, begins to understand the "rules of the game" and does not have the opportunity to refute the accusation and acquit the defendant. In the end, this may even cost him his career, and the career of a judge directly depends on the “correctness” of the sentences. If the accused nevertheless ended up in a criminal court, then with a probability of 99% he will have a road in only one direction - to study the delights of the penitentiary system. To say that in a modern Russian court you can prove your innocence, and then go home, means to be a very naive person. In the best case, the judge will give “for the time spent” or a couple of months more than the term already served. This, in the modern language of the judges, means that you are innocent. And in the usual case, you will go in a barred carriage named after the famous Russian Prime Minister, to explore the expanses of the Motherland, but already inside the system, and probably in a not very pleasant company.