New Britain herald., 1925-07-11
RUSSIAN PRISONS
 ARF MORE HUMANE
Only Most Desperate Criminals
 Kept in Barred Cells

By The Associated Press
 Moscow, July ll,-PHson life Tn Russia has greatly improved since the grim days of the bolshevik revo- lution. A much more humane re- gime has replaced the terrorisuc methods which accompanied the change from monarchical to a democratic regime. From the hard ened murderer down to the inoffen- siye looking youth accused of theft. prisoners eat, sleep, mingle togeth- CT and share the same daily condi- tions Of prison life. Criticism is chiefly directed at the slender quan- tlty of food and lack of outdoor ex- ercse.
 But Few In Cells
 Only in the cases of the most dan- serous criminal prisoners are found such things as stone cells, iron bars and solitary confinement. All oth- CTS, even political prisoners, are giv- en large, wel-lightcd tidy rooms with iron cots, and a single blanket for covering. Tn most cases these rooms are not even barred, and the inmates are free to minge among themselves. Very little work Is pro- vided. and tho prisoners, therefore, are free to indulge their hobbies, to smoke, play cards. read and have the freest use of musical instru- ments (their own) and other forms of entertainment
 Not Enough To Do.
 ParadoXical as it may seem, it is this lack of work, according to The prisoners themselves. which makes prison life so difficult to bear. Judg- ed by American standards, prison labor in Russia is poorly organized. In the larger iaiIs there are car penter shops, book binding plants. printeries, basket making depart ments and machine shops, but the work Is sufficient only to keep about a third of the inmates occupied. This Is especially true of the juvcn- He jails, where the boys and girls are allowed to pass their sentences in idleness. This soon breaks down the morale and spirit of the prs- oners, making them morose and des- pondent, and when they are released they are wholly incapactated for any useful pursuit,
 Murder Not So Serious. Murder in Russia is relatively [ mild offense as compared to coun- ter-revolution. The correspondent or a recent visit to one of the Moscow , prisons spoke to a youth guilty of a ; triple murder, who was serving only three years, while In the next room was a man accused of countcr-revo- lutionary activities, who was con demned to death. Ten years is the maximum for murder in the first de- , gree. but death invariably Is mcted out to those found guilty of working , against the present political regime The Bolsheviks say this severity is necessary in order to insure the sue. cess of revolution.
 , Talks With Priest
 Tn other prison the correspondent talked with a priest, still wearing hi! f clerical garb. who, according to hi! , own story, was sentenced to three , years for having censured from the pulpit a group of young Communists
 Across the corridor from him was q , physician of refined features and keen intelligence who was imprison- od for a similar term because he re fused to join the medical corps of the Red Army. In another room was T delicate-featured soft-spoken stu dent. who was given three years for attempting 10 cross the frontier . without passport.
 Counter revolution is regarded the most grievous offense of whiCl' , enc can be convicted in Soviet Rus. sia. The State Political Police C"Cheka"). now called the 'G. P T.", keeps an a ever-watchful eye those belonging to the old imperial istic regime. making scores of ar. , rests every week on even the slight. est suspicion.' Most of the arrested persons are sent to the famous
 Ruterka Prison, on the outskirts ot Moscow, which has become knowr , as the "Aristocrats' Prison," iron the number of princes, prtncesses , barons. baronesses, counts anG countesses interned there.