August 29, 2024

Hostages of the System


Hostages of the System
A penitential center in Moscow.  Senate of Russian Federation, Flickr.

Psychological services have been offered in Russian prisons for 32 years, but they neither assist prisoners nor help employees of the penitentiary system. Instead, the system has become ineffective, according to the human rights project Pervy Otdel (First Department).

The problems begin with recruitment. Entry into the psychological service does not require a psychology degree; a professional retraining course and a "penchant for psychological work" suffice. A former member of the Public Monitoring Commission for the Protection of Human Rights in Places of Forced Detention noted that many people take the jobs not out of a desire to help, but because it is an easy path to obtaining a military rank and retiring earlier than many civilian specialists.

While some individuals genuinely want to help prisoners, they face significant challenges, due to limited resources and restrictive regulations within the penitentiary system.

In theory, prison psychologists should help inmates adapt to prison life, monitor their mental health, predict suicide attempts and self-harm, provide personal consultations, and prepare prisoners for life after release. Psychologists must also spend at least eight hours a month on professional self-education.

However, there is a severe shortage of staff. In Russia, there is only one psychologist for every 132 prisoners. This staffing shortage forces many psychologists to rely on mass testing instead of one-on-one communication with inmates.

"There is no real psychological work; it's all paperwork. Because of this, psychologists lack experience," a former member of the Public Monitoring Commission said.

The shortcomings of the psychological service are evident in the number of suicides. In 2019 and 2020, 2,842 persons died in prisons, colonies, and pretrial detention centers, 561 of whom committed suicide. The most recent case occurred on February 4, 2024, when Takhirzhon Bakiev, who had been brutally tortured in a colony in the Irkutsk region, was found hanged in Irkutsk's Pretrial Detention Center. Relatives and human rights activists believe Bakiev was either murdered or driven to suicide.

Asmik Novikova, a sociologist and expert with the Obshestvenny Verdict (Public Verdict Foundation), said that Bakiev should have been a clear priority for psychologists in the colony: "He was subjected to brutal torture and continued to serve his sentence. Psychologists should have been working with him. However, his suicide was not prevented, and even his attempts were not recorded in time."

There are also inadequacies in how psychologists handle prisoners who have attempted suicide. Such individuals are placed under closer surveillance, requiring them to check in every half-hour or hour, which can be particularly burdensome in prison. "Thanks to the so-called 'wonderful' psychologists, life in the colony becomes even more difficult," said Vladimir Rubashny, former head of the psychological service in the Republic of Tatarstan.

The psychological service also fails to prevent suicides among penitentiary employees. In 2019 alone, there were 180 cases. According to Rubashny, staff members are reluctant to seek help from psychologists because their issues are immediately reported to the HR department, which can result in termination.

A similar lack of confidentiality affects interactions with prisoners. Former political prisoner Sasha Skochilenko recounted how a psychologist offered her a consultation, only to later admit that her task was to determine why Skochilenko was switching price tags to anti-war stickers, thereby aiding the investigation into her case, not helping her.

You Might Also Like

Prison for a $51 Donation
  • August 13, 2024

Prison for a $51 Donation

A Russian-American citizen faces 15 years in prison for treason over a donation to a Ukrainian charity two years ago. 
Left Behind
  • August 03, 2024

Left Behind

The remarkable prisoner swap this past week is only the tip of the iceberg.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Chekhov Bilingual

Chekhov Bilingual

Some of Chekhov's most beloved stories, with English and accented Russian on facing pages throughout. 
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Dostoyevsky Bilingual

Bilingual series of short, lesser known, but highly significant works that show the traditional view of Dostoyevsky as a dour, intense, philosophical writer to be unnecessarily one-sided. 
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955