Russia behind bars: the peculiarities of the Russian prison system. OSW Commentary NUMBER 293 | 06.02.2019
Journal: Archive of European Integration (AEI) (University of Pittsburgh)
Year: 2019

Russia is among the countries with the highest number of prisoners. Hundreds of thousands of inmates are supervised by an elaborate apparatus of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN). This extended system is used as a tool for exercising control over society and solidifying the system of power. At the same time, it impacts the process of how shared norms and values are being formed in Russian society, in connection with society’s frequent contact with the so-called prison culture. Due to the a