VOA新闻杂志2024--Life Inside Russia’s Prisons

Life Inside Russia’s Prisons

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a critic of the Russian government.

He was sentenced to 25 years in prison last year on charges of treason for speaking against Russia's war with Ukraine.

He is in Penal¹ Colony Number 6, south of Moscow and not far from Kazakhstan.

Kara-Murza's wife, Yevgenia, spoke² with The Associated Press about her husband's experiences.

She said her husband lives in a small cell with a cot, a sink, a stool³ and toilet. The only things he owns are a drinking cup and a toothbrush.

People are interested in what life is like inside of the prisons because another critic of President Vladimir Putin's government died at a prison in Russia's far north, close to the Arctic⁴ Circle. Alexei Navalny died February 16. He was the leader of a political group that campaigned against Putin. Forty-seven-year-old Navalny was sentenced to 19 years in prison in early 2021.

The Associated Press called life in Russia's prisons "grim⁵" and noted⁶ the prisoners suffer from a lack of food, sleep, and healthcare. They also must deal with rules that change all the time.

Grigory Vaypan is a lawyer with Memorial, a group that started during the period of the Soviet⁷ Union. Memorial received the Nobel Prize in 2022. The group studies the experiences of political prisoners, and how Russia uses the threat of prison to quiet critics.

Vaypan said there are 680 political prisoners in Russia. He also said no one in the Russian prison system is safe, but the situation is worse for government critics.

"The state aims to additionally punish them, or additionally isolate⁸ them from the world, or do everything to break their spirit," Vaypan said.

Kara-Murza's sentence of 25 years is the longest in modern Russia. He is one of a growing number of critics held in prison for expressing their anti-Putin opinions.

Historians⁹ say the Russian prison system developed from the Soviet Union's "gulags." The prisons of that time were known for their bad conditions. Nobel Prize-winning writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn documented the prisons in his books One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich and The Gulag Archipelago.

Yevgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of Vladimir Kara-Murza, described Russian prison life:

Meals

Meals are simple and not very satisfying. The first meal of the day is porridge, a liquid made from grains. The midday meal is soup with very little meat, along with mashed¹⁰ potatoes and a piece of meat or fish. For dinner, the meal is almost the same. Prisoners are permitted to eat two eggs per week. They can buy fruits and vegetables at small prison stores but not much is available.

Friends and family can send packages with other foods. But those in solitary¹¹ cells are not permitted to receive packages.

How do people spend their time?

Some prisoners are told to spend most of their days doing tasks such as cleaning their rooms. Other times they are told to only "stand at attention." They sometimes must listen to recordings¹² of prison rules for hours.

Others are told to work. There are not enough jobs for all the men in the prison. In women's prisons, the jobs often include sewing uniforms for the military, police and other workers. There are 30 to 40 women's prisons in Russia.

One woman, Nadya Tolokonnikova, was in prison for nearly 22 months. She was a member of the rock band Pussy¹³ Riot¹⁴. Her prison time was from 2012 to 2013. She said she worked on uniforms for 16 to 18 hours at a time.

"It's a system of slavery and it is truly horrible," she said.

Inmates¹⁵ — another word for prisoners — are supposed to be paid at least minimum wage. That is about $200 per month. But experts say it is usually much less. Sasha Graf is an activist¹⁶ for better prison conditions. Graf said prisoners' pay can be as low as $3.20 per month. That is only enough to buy cigarettes at the prison store.

Intimidation¹⁷

Tolokonnikova said, when she arrived at Penal Colony No. 14 in Mordovia, the head of the prison described himself as a "Stalinist."

She said he told her: "You may be a somebody outside of this colony, have a voice, people who support you and care for you, but here, you are completely in my power, and you need to understand this."

Zoya Svetova, a reporter and prisoner rights activist, said that in the past, prisons were overseen¹⁸ by commissions¹⁹ that were supposed to make sure the prisoners were treated with respect. However, she said, most of the people have been replaced with those loyal to Putin's government. The government uses the prisons, she said, for "intimidation and oppression."

Oleg Kozlovsky, of Amnesty International, said political prisoners can be safe from the abuse that regular prisoners suffer. But there are still ways to make political prisoners feel bad.

Navalny, he said, spent months in a cell on his own for breaking small rules such as not having his uniform buttoned the right way or not putting his hands behind his back at the right time.

The time in the small cell – where it could be very cold in winter or very hot in summer – was not good for Navalny's health. He had been poisoned in the past and was still suffering from the effects of the poison.

Kara-Murza's wife said her husband had also been poisoned. Although he is only 42, his health has worsened. She said he needs exercise and physical therapy to help his arms and legs.

Alexei Gorinov is 62. He criticized the war and was sent to prison for seven years.

He has breathing problems and had a medical operation to remove one of his lungs. He is now in a prison hospital, but his lawyer says he is mistreated. Guards wake him up every two hours. He considers it a form of torture.

There have been calls for prison reform in recent years. Vaypan of the Memorial group, said whatever led to Navalny's death shows the prison system has crossed a line.

It's a "worrying signal," he said.

Words in This Story

critic –n. a person who disagrees with something or someone and who speaks or writes in opposition²⁰ to what they disagree with

cot –n. a small bed that folds

grim –adj. unhappy and without hope

isolate –v. to cause someone to be kept apart from others, often as punishment

solitary cell –n. a room in a prison that is meant to hold only one person who is being kept apart from others as a more severe form of punishment

sew –v. to use thread and cloth to make or repair clothes

intimidation –n. the act of threatening someone with harm or trouble usually to prevent them from doing or saying something

1 penal   

adj.刑罚的；刑法上的

参考例句：

• I hope you're familiar with penal code.我希望你们熟悉本州法律规则。
• He underwent nineteen years of penal servitude for theft.他因犯了大窃案受过十九年的苦刑。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 stool   

n.凳子；粪便；根株；v.长出新枝，排便

参考例句：

• The stool is steady enough.这个凳子很稳。
• The boy was straining at stool.那个男孩在用力大便。

4 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

5 grim   

adj.严酷的，令人害怕的，不愉快的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• I've had a grim day.我过了不愉快的一天。
• His expression was grim when he told them they had lost their jobs.当他告诉他们说他们已被解雇时，他的表情十分冷酷。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 isolate   

vt.使孤立，隔离

参考例句：

• Do not isolate yourself from others.不要把自己孤立起来。
• We should never isolate ourselves from the masses.我们永远不能脱离群众。

9 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

10 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

11 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

12 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

13 pussy   

n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪

参考例句：

• Why can't they leave my pussy alone?为什么他们就不能离我小猫咪远一点？
• The baby was playing with his pussy.孩子正和他的猫嬉戏。

14 riot   

n.暴（骚）乱，（色彩等）极度丰富；vi.聚众闹事

参考例句：

• They had to call the police in order to put down the riot.他们只得叫来警察以平定骚乱。
• Flowers of all sorts are blooming in a riot of colour.百花盛开，万紫千红。

15 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

17 intimidation   

n.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• The Opposition alleged voter intimidation by the army.反对党声称投票者受到军方的恐吓。
• The gang silenced witnesses by intimidation.恶帮用恐吓的手段使得证人不敢说话。

18 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

19 commissions   

n.委员会( commission的名词复数 )；佣金；任命；职权

参考例句：

• If you are going to Hong Kong, I have two or three small commissions for you. 你如去香港，我有两三件小事托你办。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He baited the broker by promises of higher commissions. 他答应给更高的佣金来引诱那位经纪人。 来自辞典例句

20 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。