Federal Governmental Institution — penal colony № 2 with special conditions of economic activity of the main directorate of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Perm Krai, popularly known as White Swan (russian: Белый лебедь, ''Belyy Lebed''), is 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 ...
in
Solikamsk
Solikamsk (russian: Солика́мск, Permyak: Совкар, ''Sovkar'', also Соликамскӧй, ''Sovkamsköy'') is a town in Perm Krai, Russia. Modern Solikamsk is the third-largest town in the krai, with a population of
History
The ...
,
Perm Krai
Perm Krai (russian: Пе́рмский край, r=Permsky kray, p=ˈpʲɛrmskʲɪj ˈkraj, ''Permsky krai'', , ''Perem lador'') is a federal subject of Russia (a krai) that came into existence on December 1, 2005 as a result of the 2004 re ...
,
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 ...
.
It is one of the seven maximum-security
supermax prisons operated by 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 ...
for convicts sentenced to
life imprisonment in Russia.
History
White Swan was founded in 1938 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 ...
by the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
to hold
political prisoners
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...
, particularly
priests, but was eventually used for common criminals as well.
[ In 1955, a special ]decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used ...
of the CPSU Central Committee
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, – TsK KPSS was the executive leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, acting between sessions of Congress. According to party statutes, the committee directe ...
changed the colony to correct the so-called "Thieves in Law
A “thief in law” (Russian: вор в зако́не, Georgian: კანონიერი ქურდი), in the Soviet Union, the post-Soviet states, and respective diasporas abroad is a specifically granted formal and special status of ...
", and the main task of the prison was the total isolation and closure of all methods of communication between prisoners and the outside world. The Soviet authorities began to staff White Swan with some of the highest quality correctional officer
A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...
s in the country to control the Thieves in Law, in order to be able to withstand the bribes and intimidation. In 1996, the death penalty in Russia entered a moratorium as a requirement for joining the Council of Europe, and a new criminal code
A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
introduced life sentences
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 ...
. In 1999, White Swan was re-purposed to house serious criminals serving life sentences and, unlike previous detainees, were not expected to ever leave the facility. The prison has roughly 300 inmates, one-third of its maximum capacity, held in cells of one, two and three people. All cells have a dossier containing photos, articles, and a brief "biography" of the detainees. White Swan was the first prison in Russia to feature an on-site professional psychologist, and the administration, after studying the prisoners, settles them based on psychological compatibility in order to avoid conflicts. The conditions of the prison supposedly correspond to the requirements of international standards, with a library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
, correspondence materials, a commissary
A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop.
In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...
, a weekly shower, and an hour-long walk per day. During White Swan's entire existence, there have been no confirmed escapes.
Origin of White Swan name
The origin of the prison's nickname is unknown, with one theory being the bright white painted walls of the prison building, while another being from the way detainees were moved across the prison, leaning forward (almost 90 degrees) with their hands thrown behind their back, appearing like a swan. The prison is also known by the slightly more formal name VK-240/2 (russian: ВК-240/2)
Notable inmates
* Salman Raduyev
Salman Betyrovich Raduyev (or Raduev; russian: Салма́н Бетырович Раду́ев; February 13, 1967 – December 14, 2002) was a Chechen separatist field commander, from 1994 to 1999, who masterminded and was responsible for t ...
, Chechen separatist warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
, died at White Swan under mysterious circumstances in 2002.
* Yury Shutov, former deputy of the Saint Petersburg Legislative Assembly and a former aide to Anatoly Sobchak
Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Soviet and Russian politician, a co-author of the ...
, the author of books ''Sobchak's Heart'' (about Anatoly Sobchak) and ''The Godfather of Piterskyes'' (about Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
). Shutov was sentenced in February 2006 to life imprisonment for a number of murders, attempted murders, and kidnappings. Russian authors Yuri Felshtinsky
Yuri Georgievich Felshtinsky (russian: Юрий Георгиевич Фельштинский, born 7 September 1956 in Moscow) is a Russian American historian. Felshtinsky has authored a number of books on Russian history, including ''The Bol ...
and Vladimir Pribylovsky
Vladimir Valerianovich Pribylovsky (russian: Влади́мир Валериа́нович Прибыло́вский, 6 March 195613 January 2016) was a Soviet and Russian political scientist, historian, journalist, human rights activist, and a ...
insist that the charges against Shutov were fabricated.Yuri Felshtinsky
Yuri Georgievich Felshtinsky (russian: Юрий Георгиевич Фельштинский, born 7 September 1956 in Moscow) is a Russian American historian. Felshtinsky has authored a number of books on Russian history, including ''The Bol ...
and Vladimir Pribylovsky
Vladimir Valerianovich Pribylovsky (russian: Влади́мир Валериа́нович Прибыло́вский, 6 March 195613 January 2016) was a Soviet and Russian political scientist, historian, journalist, human rights activist, and a ...
The Age of Assassins. The Rise and Rise of Vladimir Putin, Gibson Square Books, London, 2008, , pages 273-277.
* Ali Taziev
Ali Musaevich Taziev (russian: Али Мусаевич Тазиев), also known as Akhmed Yevloev (Ingush language, Ingush: Йовлой Ахьмад, russian: Ахмед Евлоев), Magomet Yevloyev, and Emir Magas; born 19 August 1974) is t ...
, Ingush militant leader.
References
{{reflist
External links
Solikamsk prison The White swan
Black mystery of the "White Swan"
Photo Album IK -1 Solikamsk
"White Swan" - one of five Russian colonies of special regime, which keep murderers, rapists, maniacs and terrorists"
The colony of special regime IK -2 "White Swan", Solikamsk from Russian prison portal (video)
Prisons in Russia
Buildings and structures in Perm Krai
Camps of the Gulag
1938 establishments in Russia