Prison is more than a place. It's also a mindset. When I entered Corrective Colony No. 2or IK-2, in Mordovia, a region more than 300 miles east of MoscowI flipped a switch in my head. I'm an inmate now, I told myself. I'll be here at least nine years. I even rehearsed my release date: Oct. 20, 2031. I knew that might change.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, new inmates at prisons in Russia were initially isolated and tested for various infectious diseases, from TB to hepatitis B. That sequestering became more important with COVID-19, with overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and communal living ensuring rapid spread.
The colors gave the guards your story at a glance: aggressive toward staff, suicidal, arsonist, swindler, runaway, on and on. Around campus I'd spot the rainbow, including black for the most heinous crimes: Murder. Terrorism. Torture.
If a guard stops you, Ann said, you have to tell them your crime and release date. She taught me every word of it in Russian. I practiced but never mastered it. They also described the grounds and other rules. All prison.
#prison-experience #russian-prison-system #incarceration-challenges #covid-19-impact #inmate-survival
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