The prison mirror. [volume] (Stillwater, Minn.) 1887-1894, 1888-10-31
A COMPARISON.
The Russian Prisoners Lot

1ne Russian FfISOner7S Lot
AS have before me a description of
Russian provincial prisons and their man
agement as written by George Kennan liz
The Century, thought it would be of inter
est to some of the readers of THE MIRROR,
and especially such as are always grumbling
and finding fault with everything.
There are in Russia. outside of the city OF
ST. Petersburg, no prisons intended prma-
riy for political offenders and devoted ex-
clusively to that class of criminals. AS
long ago as 1867, Baron NeliO chief of the
department Of executive police, made a re-
port to the minister of the interior based Ole
an inspection of forty-nine provincial prs-
ons in which he said that in every one of
the institutions visited he found violations
Of law of more or less fragrant character.
He reported for example, that little atten-
ton was paid to the separation of prisoners
-insolvent debtors being shut up with
hardened criminals of the worst type; pris-
Oners not properly supplied with clothing,
and many of them were barefOOted and in
rags; men and women sick with contagious
diseases were allowed to remain for days
without care in crowded cameras or cells;
the hospitals were in very unsatisfactory
condition. and the medical authorities failed
properly to discharge their duties; prisoners
were illegally detained beyond the periods
of confinement to which they had been SEN
fenced. and the prison wardenS with rare
exceptions, were negligent. incompetent, and
unfit for their places. In 1860 State COun-
cilOr KOSSagOfSki made another inspection
of provincial prisons, which resulted in the
discovery of many disorders, abuses and
violations of law, which are set forth with
specifications in circular letter to pro-
vincial governors. The minister of the in
terror observes with regret that there has
been'nO improvement since the report of
1867. In 1872 the minister of the interior
again earnestly called the attention of pro-
vincial governors to the disorders and viola
tons of law which continued to prevail in
the prisons subject to their control. aid re-
Terred to the fact that although seven pre-
viOus circulars had been issued on the same
subject there had been little if any change
for the better.
1T appears most of the prisons of the en-
pire were OvercrOwded. many of them con-
tanning twice or three times the number of
prisoners for which they were intended.
1C ICpOIl ny Illt Cllicl vi IIc CtuUl dl
prison administration to the minister of the
interior in 1888, stated that in the province
OF Suvalki there were 433 persons in a priS
on built for 165. and in the province of Sed-
lets there were 4S4 in prison intended for
207. and in the prison of PetrOHOf there
were 752 in prison designed for 1875.
Much of this OvercrOwding is undoubtedly
due to the provision of law which makes it
a criminal OtfenSe to be without passport
or to allow ones passport to lapse. In some
parts of the empire twenty-five and thirty
per cent. of the SO-called criminals in the
jails are mere vagrants and persons not pro-
vided with the papers necessary to prove
their identity. There were 792. .933 persons
received into the prisons of the empire in
1854 and 6SS, 41S were discharged there
from, leaving "a. 515 in prison on the first
of January, 1885. Of this last number &c.
307 were awaiting trial.
lit further appears from the circular let
tiers that in many prisons women were not
separated from the men, and male OverSeers
were allowed to search the person of female
prisoners. Officials took bribeS from the
criminals in their custody and furnished
them secretly with Intoxicating liquors.
The sanitary condition of the prison build
ings was almost everywhere bad; the wells
being poisoned by leakage from neglected
and improperly constructed vaults. In one
case cited by the minister of the interior, a
prison surgeon in a provincial town, wish
VDooo