Zlatoust prison. ACE. (Convicts die here. Prison is our law). Life and work under lock and key

In the Tobolsk special prison there were three residential two-story buildings: two for workers and one for non-workers. The working corps accommodated 400 people each, and the non-working special corps №2 - about 300. The special corps contained malicious violators and those who categorically refused to work. Thieves in law also sat there.
It housed about 50 common (five-bed) cells and about the same number of "doubles" and "singles", in which there were those who, for one reason or another, could not sit in common cells. Shared cells were located on both floors on one side of the corridor, and "doubles" and "singles" - on the other. Except for a short daily walk in a small courtyard, the prisoners in the special corps had no right to anything else, except that once every ten days they had to go to the bathhouse - to the same cell, where there was hot water and several basins.
In the working buildings, conditions were better: the cameras were more spacious, there were more opportunities for communication. From the "bad" cells - they were called "scabies" - prisoners were taken to work separately. The "good" cells had a common conclusion: they opened ten cells and led out simultaneously about a hundred people through an underground tunnel into the working building. There, people dispersed to work chambers and were locked up until the end of the shift.
"Press-khata" for a careless word
Tobolsk prison, like any other, had a depressing effect on human mental health. Human life was worth nothing there. Any warder could, for one careless word, put a prisoner in a press cell, where he could be disfigured, abused or killed, and then presented it as a heart attack.
And to make it impossible to defend himself, they put him in a punishment cell where the prisoner was stripped naked. It was useless to resist.
Confinement to a punishment cell was widely practiced. This is a special room in which prisoners found to be in violation of prison order were kept. In the punishment cell, the prisoners were kept in a stricter regime than in ordinary cells. There were rats in some of the punishment cells, the rooms had ankle-deep water, and the ceilings were low.
In the press chambers - they were also called "press khatami" - the prison authorities dealt with unwanted prisoners with the hands of other prisoners. Press chambers were formed and staffed from among angry, physically strong, but morally broken prisoners.
A separate operative was assigned to each building, who distributed the prisoners to the cells and monitored the situation in the building entrusted to him.

I collected my thoughts and decided to write the sixth part.
Dedicated to the Vetluga and Railway Station districts. In modern times, both of these areas are called "Railway Station".
You can understand what this refers to from the graphics of the districts in the last part.
And so - the so-called "de facto" station area begins immediately after the dam of the city pond, it's funny, but it is so. Initially, the district began with the village of Vetluga, which was located in the form of houses on Kosotur. They built houses right on the mountain. How the inhabitants of such houses previously supported the fertile layer in the gardens, I cannot imagine, because the slope is very strong. But somehow they still live.)))
A lot of photos !!!

"Road of Life" to the City Center))) ~ 1890
Now the road has been expanded partly at the expense of Kosotur, partly at the expense of the city pond.

The beginning of everything is the old dam, it is to the right of the high voltage (just remind)

Now let's show how the houses are located. In reality, it is very interesting to move from street to street, the feeling that you are climbing on Taganay)))




The road used to lie on the site of a modern motor road, and there was a pond where the tram rails run. Where did the land begin and I don't know at home.
I'll show you a couple of pictures from the side, from behind the pond.

And so the beginning of modern Anosov Street in different years

1907
This place (slope) still exists, but I have no snapshot.

1930
The same place as in the last photo ... it seems))) Because the slope is the same.
Modernity is not much different)))

I have too few pictures of Vetluga, because there is, that is.
Move on.


1909 Prokudin-Gorsky. A chapel in the name of St. Nicholas in 1866. Probably was in the district of a modern driving school.
Next is the Church of John the Baptist.


1909, Prokudin-Gorsky. A couple of photos from the archive from the side of Tiesma.




Now, on the site of the church, there is a stunted shop located diagonally opposite school 17 (Anosova, 129). Tram stop "Forge and Press Plant".
Another shot of Vetluga at the Band.

And so, let's move on. A modern photograph as an example of a building on the mountains.


The five-story building and the blue house belong to Anosov Street. This is also Vetluga.
The next stop will be the village of railway workers and the area of \u200b\u200bthe railway station itself.
I have no general pictures of the village. There is an old one, from a book, when the village was not yet there)))


A couple of barracks and a couple of roads, that's the whole village))) But you can see the station and the railway tracks and warehouses (in their place are now the rolling stock repair shops)
The station area is separated from the village by a railway bridge, which I will show a little later.
The Zlatoust station and the road through it were opened on September 8, 1890.
First, a photo of the station.
From the side of the tracks

And on the other hand.

As of 1981.




As you can see, little has changed in almost 100 years.)))
The construction of the new station began in November 1981. Built in 1986 on December 29.
1986 year




Also a photo of the station square


Distortion due to improper assembly. There are no photos of mine yet.

Now about the station itself.
The most famous photo of Prokudin-Gorsky and a comparative photo from the book "250 Years of Zlatoust" are approximately the same angle.




Although the current photo actually has a much wider coverage, look at the Taganai Range in both images.
Also in the photograph of Prokudin-Gorsky you can see a water tower (its top), which is still alive, but somewhat "disfigured" by modern times.
I have a photo before "improving the appearance")))

Much attention was also paid to excavation for the construction of the railway. This was probably of great importance, since pictures are enough.
Postcard.


Photos were taken before 1909, because on them there is a wooden bridge and one track, and in the photo of Prokudin-Gorsky there is a stone bridge and two tracks were laid.




And a photo of Prokudin-Gorsky


In the distance you see the notorious bridge dividing the districts: on the right - the village of railway workers; on the left - the station area.
Here is a photo of the current state of the same place.


We turn our gaze 90 degrees clockwise ...


and we see the railway settlement from the side of the station area. Of course, the division is conditional.)))
Turn the head another 90 ...


and we see the paths going towards the metallurgical plant.
As you can see, everything has changed a lot since pre-revolutionary times.
There are a couple of pictures of the depot. or rather steam locomotives in the depot)))

Several photos of our time. Photo from the pedestrian bridge at the Locomotive depot.








We went further, to the exit, towards the Tesminsky railway bridge.
1890


Exit from the station to the bridge towards the station. Urzhumka. Lousy hill is covered with forest, now she is bald)))
To the left of the bridge is now the lower station area.
In the distance, the unchanging Taganay)))




Filmed just from Lousy Hill.

There are no old photographs of the residential area of \u200b\u200bthe station area.
There are many buildings of different times, from pre-revolutionary times to modern houses.
For example DK Zheleznodorozhnikov.


Modernity

In the 70s and 80s of the last century, there were ten places of detention in the USSR, in the criminal jargon called "caps". Zlatoust and Tobolsk covered prisons were considered especially harsh.

Everyone who had to go through the Tobolsk hell left there either morally broken, or, conversely, spiritually hardened. It was a serious school of survival, and not everyone withstood the trials that fell to their lot.

Life and work under lock and key

In the Tobolsk special prison there were three residential two-story buildings: two for workers and one for non-workers. The working corps accommodated 400 people each, and the non-working special corps №2 - about 300. The special corps contained malicious violators and those who categorically refused to work. Thieves in law also sat there.
It housed about 50 common (five-bed) cells and about the same number of "doubles" and "singles", in which there were those who, for one reason or another, could not sit in common cells. Shared cells were located on both floors on one side of the corridor, and "doubles" and "singles" - on the other. Except for a short daily walk in a small courtyard, the prisoners in the special corps had no right to anything else, except that once every ten days they had to go to the bathhouse - to the same cell, where there was hot water and several basins.
In the working buildings, conditions were better: the cameras were more spacious, there were more opportunities for communication. From the "bad" cells - they were called "scabies" - prisoners were taken to work separately. The "good" cells had a common conclusion: they opened ten cells and led out simultaneously about a hundred people through an underground tunnel into the working building. There, people dispersed to work chambers and were locked up until the end of the shift.
"Press-khata" for a careless word
Tobolsk prison, like any other, had a depressing effect on human mental health. Human life was worth nothing there. Any warder could, for one careless word, put a prisoner in a press cell, where he could be disfigured, abused or killed, and then presented it as a heart attack.
And to make it impossible to defend himself, they put him in a punishment cell where the prisoner was stripped naked. It was useless to resist.
Confinement to a punishment cell was widely practiced. This is a special room in which prisoners found to be in violation of prison order were kept. In the punishment cell, the prisoners were kept in a stricter regime than in ordinary cells. There were rats in some of the punishment cells, the rooms had ankle-deep water, and the ceilings were low.
In the press chambers - they were also called "press khatami" - the prison authorities dealt with unwanted prisoners with the hands of other prisoners. Press chambers were formed and staffed from among angry, physically strong, but morally broken prisoners.
A separate operative was assigned to each building, who distributed the prisoners to the cells and monitored the situation in the building entrusted to him.

Memories of prisoners

According to the recollections of Vladimir Podatev, a former crime boss and now a human rights activist, "people from the stage, suspected of having brought money or other valuables to the prison, were thrown" under unloading "into one of the press chambers, where they were beaten and robbed" ... Money was usually carried in the stomach: it was sealed in cellophane and swallowed. The press chambers knew about this, so those who got there were often tied to a radiator and forced to recover under supervision of the newspaper until they were finally convinced that all the contents of the stomach had gone out. Gold crowns and teeth were pulled out of the mouth or knocked out.
And here is what another former crime boss, and now pastor Leonid Semikolenov, recalls: “Upon arrival once again in a covered prison, after two weeks of being in quarantine, they searched me and threw me into the press hut of the special corps. The operas were of the opinion that I brought a little thief. Quite by accident, they did not find my razor during a search. In the press chamber, where I was thrown, sat five pressmen led by Cheese. Cheese and I had an unpleasant dialogue, he tried to convince me to admit that I have a little girl for thieves. Fifteen minutes later, another person was thrown into the cell, it was Sergei Boytsov. Sergei, immediately orienting himself in the situation, gave me a sign. He, choosing a good position for himself, hit the light with his fist and thrust the scissors into Syru's neck. I, too, slashed another greyhound baler in the face with the blade. Three others rushed to the door and began to knock on it. The outfit dragged Sergei and me, beat me up and put us in the punishment cell. "

How the prison became a museum

The Tobolsk prison was not only a witness to the breakdown of criminal leaders, but also a real conflict between thieves in law of the old and new formations. In the Tobolsk special prison, the status of a thief in law Ded Khasan was restored, and the future “master” of the Far East, Yevgeny Vasin (Dzhem), was also accepted as a thief in law. Almost all thieves in law and authorities went through the Tobolsk prison.
In 1989, a decision was made to close the prison. The prisoners were transferred to other prisons. Building No. 2 went to the Tobolsk diocese. Instead of the building where the prison workshops were located, an archive building was built. The headquarters building, the building of the prison hospital and buildings No. 1 and No. 3 belong to the Tobolsk Museum-Reserve, some of them are an object of museum heritage.

Bad fame about the Siberian "zone" thundered throughout the USSR

Visitors to the city of Tobolsk, barely getting into it, begin to wonder - how can you get to prison? Their goal is not to serve time behind bars and not even visit prisoners; people tend to visit the museum. Since November 1, 2012, visitors have begun to enter the Tobolsk Prison Castle who want to touch the history and see with their own eyes what the so-called “Tobolsk krytka” was - the most terrible prison in Siberia, which was compared to hell.

A branch of hell on earth

At the end of the Soviet empire, there were ten places of detention in the country, which the prisoners themselves called krytki: these were closed-regime prisons, to which either those who committed crimes of particular gravity were sent, or those who systematically violated the regime in previous places of detention.

The Tobolsk porch, along with the Zlatoust one, was considered a place where it is better not to get into. Those who did pass through it either broke down completely, or were tempered no worse than steel.

In the Tobolsk porch there were two working buildings that could accommodate 400 people, and one non-working special building for 300 souls. The working conditions were comparatively bearable: more spacious cells, softer supervision. The cameras in them were divided into good and bad; from the good they brought to work all in line, from the bad ones, they were scabies, they were led to work separately from everyone.

In the special corps were kept either especially dangerous or those who refused to go to work; all the thieves in law were sitting there. In the building there were about 50 five-person cells and the same number of single cells and cells for two people. All that the residents of the special building had the right to do was a short walk in the courtyard and a bath every ten days.

Operatives were assigned to the buildings, who monitored the situation among the prisoners and distributed them to the cells.

Zack is not a man

The most terrible thing in the Tobolsk porch was not the conditions of detention - the attitude of the staff towards the prisoners inspired fear. Getting here, a person automatically turned to zero, his life was worthless. For an imprudent act or accidentally flying out a word, anyone could be put in a "press chamber", or a "press hut" - to complete scumbags who were capable of literally anything.

The press chambers were specially assembled from prisoners who had remarkable physical strength in the complete absence of any remnants of moral qualities. With the tacit consent of the staff in such a cell, a person could be crippled or killed; officially the cause of death was later called a heart attack.

Another punishment was a punishment cell - a cold room with a low ceiling, often with rats or a floor flooded with water, where people were placed without clothes.

How it was

Vladimir Podatev, in the past, one of the crime bosses, recalled that newly arrived prisoners were often thrown into a press chamber, where hardened criminals took money and valuables from them, pulled them out of their mouths or simply knocked out gold crowns with a blow of their fist - and then shared the loot with the staff. Many, knowing this, tried to smuggle money into the prison, soldering it in cellophane and swallowing it - but the regulars of the Tobolsk roof could cope with this: they were tied to a radiator for several days and forced to go to the newspaper, letting go only when they were convinced that the newcomer will take nothing out of the chamber in its stomach.

From prison to museum

Almost all the thieves in the law of the late USSR passed through the Tobolsk porch; here was restored to its status Grandfather Hasan, here they were given a high thief status Jam – Evgeny Vasin, who later became the "master" of the Far East.

And once more prominent personalities were also imprisoned in Tobolsk - after all, it was built in the 19th century. It was here that at one time they sent Nikolay Chernyshevsky... And another writer, Vladimir Korolenko, I visited this prison - it was not called a cover at that time - already twice; he expressed his impressions in the story "Yashka". Even then, this prison had the reputation of a "prison-grave".

In 1989, the notorious prison was closed. The prisoners were scattered in other areas. One building was demolished, the other was given to the Tobolsk diocese; a museum is now open in the remaining buildings.