Federal Governmental Institution — penal colony No. 18 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, commonly known as the Polar Owl (russian: Полярная сова, ''Polyarnaya sova'') is a Russian prison located on the bank of the Sob River near the

Polar Urals The Polar Urals (russian: Полярный Урал) are a mountain range in the western part of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the northeastern part of Komi, Russian Federation. The border between Europe and Asia runs along the main ridg ...

in the

Kharp Kharp (russian: Харп) is an urban locality (an urban-type settlement) in Priuralsky District of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the bank of the Sob River near the Polar Urals The Polar Urals (russian: Полярный У ...

urban-type settlement. It is one of the seven supermax corrective labor colonies operated by the Federal Penitentiary Service for convicts sentenced to

life imprisonment 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 for ...

in Russia.

History

was founded in 1961 during the construction of the

Salekhard–Igarka Railway The broad gauge Salekhard–Igarka Railway, ( ''Transpolyarnaya Magistral'', i.e. 'Transpolar Mainline') also referred to variously as ''Dead Road (')'', and ''Stalinbahn'', is an incomplete railway in northern Siberia. The railway was a project ...

. The core of the new settlement was a camp for prisoners who worked on laying the railway. Subsequently, the camp was transformed into a prison for particularly dangerous recidivists. The prison received the status of a colony for life convicts in 2004. In 2010–2012, there were reports in the media that some employees of the colony were involved in a scandal with the falsification of confession. Some unscrupulous guards were suspected of beating testimonies from prisoners with the use of physical and psychological violence. ''

Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' ( rus, Новая газета, t=New Gazette, p=ˈnovəjə ɡɐˈzʲetə) is an independent Russian newspaper known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs. It is published in Mo ...

'' reported 190 fake turnouts, while '' Izvestia'' reported 32 fake turnouts. According to ''Novaya Gazeta'', the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug tried to hush up the case, since high-ranking officials could be involved in it.

Notable inmates

The Polar Owl has housed numerous serial killers: * Alexander Elistratov (born 1954) - made an unsuccessful escape attempt in 2011 * Alexander Greba (born 1980) * Yevgeny Kolesnikov (1984-2016) - killed himself at the colony * Sergey Osipenko (born 1970) * Ivan Panchenko (born 1968) * Alexander Pichushkin (born 1974) * Dmitry Voronenko (born 1971) * Mikhail Alexandrovich Yudin (born 1975) * Abdufatto Zamanov (born 1973) * Sergey Zastynchanu (born 1979) * Alexander Zhizhich (born 1979) - one half a killing team with his brother

References

{{coord missing, Russia Prisons in Russia 1961 establishments in Russia