Ognenny Ostrov (russian: Огненный остров, literally: ''Fire Island'') is a small

lake island A lake island is any landmass within a lake. It is a type of inland island. Lake islands may form a lake archipelago. Formation Lake islands may form in numerous ways. They may occur through a build-up of sedimentation as shoals, and become ...

in the central

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n Vologda region. It hosts a high security prison ("Correctional colony No. 5 of the Federal Penitentiary Service Administration for the Vologda Region") for formerly condemned and other dangerous inmates called Vologodskiy Pyatak or simply Pyatak (russian: Вологодский пятак, literally: ''Vologda's fiver''). Ognenny Ostrov is located about 400 kilometers north of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, on Lake Novozero. A

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

was founded on this island in 1517 by St. Cyril of Novozero after he witnessed "a column of fire" hitting the island. The monastery buildings were used as a backdrop in the 1973

Vasily Shukshin Vasily Makarovich Shukshin (russian: Василий Макарович Шукшин; 25 July 1929 – 2 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian writer, actor, screenwriter and film director from the Altai region who specialized in rural themes. A ...

movie “Red Roses” and in some stories by Russian writer Alexandr Yashin. Following the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

in 1917, the monastery was converted into a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

to hold “enemies of the revolution”. During the 1930s and 1940s it functioned as a

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer to ...

for victims of the

purges In history, religion and political science, a purge is a position removal or execution of people who are considered undesirable by those in power from a government, another organization, their team leaders, or society as a whole. A group undertak ...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

. After Stalin's death in 1953, it was turned into a regular prison for non-political dangerous criminals. In 1997, the prison was converted into a facility housing only prisoners serving

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes fo ...

s and those formerly sentenced to

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

; the latter group had their sentences commuted to

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

following the 1996 moratorium on the death penalty in Russia. The prison, formally known as Prison No. OE 256/5 (ФКУ ИК-5)– and “Pyatak” amongst the inmates (named after the last digit of the formal name) - currently holds approximately 193

prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

s. The penitentiary, part of the

Federal Penitentiary Service The Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN, Russian: Федеральная служба исполнения наказаний (ФСИН), ''Federalnaya Sluzhba Ispolneniya Nakazaniy'') is a federal agency of the Ministry of Justice of Russia ...

, is in the Belozersky District,

Vologda Oblast Vologda Oblast ( rus, Вологодская область, p=vəlɐˈɡotskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ, r=Vologodskaya oblast, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is Vologda. The Oblast has a population of 1,202,44 ...

, about north of

. Some experts say the prison is more comfortable and the guards less cruel compared to other Russian prisons housing lifers.social film about life imprisonment in Russia ''Sentenced to life'' russian: Приговоренные пожизненно by V. Mikeladze)

Media

* ''Three Days and Never Again (Last Visit)''. Video. 53 min. Director: Alexsandr Goutman, 1998.

References

External links

*
ФКУ ИК-5
"

Sentenced to Life on Fire Island
December 23, 2004. Last accessed August 8, 2006.

Photo Essay.

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

, December 23, 2004. Last accessed August 8, 2006.
Google Maps Location
Last accessed August 8, 2006. {{coord, 59, 57, 14, N, 37, 14, 15, E, region:RU_type:isle, display=title Islands of Russia Prisons in Russia Geography of Vologda Oblast Prisons in the Soviet Union