Pugachev's Rebellion
Originally, Black Dolphin was a jail (Ostrog) for those sentenced to life at hard labor, since at least 1745. After the suppression of Pugachev's Rebellion in 1773, the prison was updated for the deportation and confinement of robbers. The prison houses approximately 700 of Russia's most serious criminals, including child molesters, murderers, terrorists, cannibals, and serial killers. Prisoners at Black Dolphin are all serving sentences of life imprisonment. The prison began accepting these inmates on 1 November 2000.