1. IMPRISONMENT IN A PRISON AND CORRECTIVE LABOR CAMP IN TASHKET, UZBEK SSR 2.

Created: 12/30/1986

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

6

IMPRISONMENTRISON AND CORRECTIVE LABOR CAMP

IN TASHKENT, UZBEK SSR

2. ATTITUDES AMONG9

USSR INCARCERATED SUSPECTS OF VARIOUS CRIMES IN

INVESTIGATIVE PRISONS PENDING TRIAL. THESE PRISONS OCCASIONALLY HELD NOTORIOUS AND/OR IMPORTANT INMATES WHO HAD BEEN CONVICTED BUT WHO REQUIRED THE INCREASED SECURITYRISON AS OPPOSED TO THATABOR CAMP, WHICH HELD THE BULK OF CONVICTED INMATES. CAMPS WERECATEGORIZED BASED ON LEVEL OF SECURITY AND INMATE PRIVILEGE. THESE CAMPS WERE TERMEDND "SEVERE*'. UZBEK IS INMATES USUALLY KEPT TO THEMSELVES, BUT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF TENSION BETWEEN THE ETHNIC MINORITIES AND THE GREAT RUSSIANS.

TEXT: 1. PERSONS CONVICTED OF CRIMES UNDER ARTICLES OF TKE CRIHIHAL CODE OF ANY OF THE SOVIET REPUBLICS WERE NORMALLY INCARCERATEDORRECTIVE LABOR CAMP, ALSO KNOWNORRECTIVE LABOR INSTITUTION. THERE WAS AT LEAST ONE SUCH CAMP IN EACH REPUBLIC, AND IN LARGE REPUBLICS LIKE THE RSFSR THEREREAT MANY CAMPS. DURING THE INVESTIGATIVE PHASE OF THE LEGAL PROCEEDINGS, THE SUSPECT WOULD BE HELD IN AN INVESTIGATIVE PRISON (SIZO, SLEDSTVENNYYONVICTED INDIVIDUALS, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAD BEEN IMPORTANT FICURES OR THERE HAD BEEN MUCH PUBLICITY ABOUT THEIR TRIALS, WOULD SOMETIMESCOMMITTED FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR SENTENCEP.ISON RATHERAMP, SINCE IT WAS GENERALLY CONSIDERED THAT THE SECURITY OF PRISONS WAS GREATER. THEREREATER RATIO OF GUARDS TO INMATES IN THE PRISON,LOSER WATCH WAS KEPT OVER THE INMATES.

2. CAMPS WERE CATEGORIZED BY REGIMESY LEVELAND INMATE PRIVILEGE. THERE WERE THREE CATEGORIES: ND SEVERE (STROGIY). .CONDITIONSTHE EASIEST INENERAL REGIMEN CAMP AND THE* HARSHEST* IN

- <SEVERE REGIMEN XAJu^^THEVCXMroiTIOfiSREFERRED TOTHINGS

AS THE RELATIVE FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT WI TH IN THE 'CAMP i" THE RJGHT 'TOT? f7

SEND OR RECEIVE" MAIL, THE' NUMBER OF PARCELS ONE'COULD RECEIVE

OUTSIDE, THE NUMBER OF VISITORS ONE COULD HAVE, AND THE AMOUNT OF

MONEY ONE WAS ALLOWED TO SPEND IN THE CAMP STORE. THE POLICY WHICH

DICTATED WHICH INDIVIDUALS WENT TO WHICH TYPE OF CAMP WAS NOT CLEAR.

FOR EXAMPLE, AT THERECT1VE LABOR CAHP FOR WOMEN, A

GENERALAHP, THERE WERE INMATES WHO HAD COMMITTED THE GAMUT

OF CRIMES FROM MINOR TO MAJOR, INCLUDING MURDER, ASSAULT, THEFT OF

PRIVATE AND GOVERNMENT PROPERTY, BRIBERY, HOOLIGANISM, SPECULATION,

AND PILFERING OF STATE PROPERTY. THERE APPEARED, HOWEVER, TO BE NO

INMATES 5ERVING VERY LONG OR LIFE SENTENCES AT THE CAMP, AND THIS MAY

HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE CRITERIA TOR ASSIGNMENT. ACCORDING TO HEARSAY

AMONC INMATES, OTHER CRITERIA THAT DETERMINED THE CAMP'S REGIMEN

INCLUDED THE KIND OF FORCED LABOR THAT INMATES WOULD HAVE TO PERFORM

AND THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THEY WOULD WORKORK IN COLD OR

URANIUM MINES UNDERGROUND OR IN VERY COLD CLIMATES).

PARTICIPATION IH THE HORK HAS COMPULSORY. WAGES HERE RECEIVED FOR LABOR AMD HERE CREDITEDRISONER'S ACCOUNT, BUT THE COST OF BOARD AND OTHER CAMP SERVICES SUCH AS LAUNDRY HERE DEDUCTED FROM WAGES. ON HOW INDUSTRIOUSLY THE PRISONER FULFILLED HIS HORK, HE COULD FINISH THE PRISON TERMAVINGS OF AHUNDREDRUBLES OR, AS FREQUENTLY HAPPENED, HE COULD LEAVE OWING THEIZABLE DEBT. WAGES WERE PAIDIECE-WORK BASIS.

1|. INMATES WERE ALLOWED TO SPEND UP TO SEVENONTH AT THE CAMP STORE WHICH SOLD FOOD, CIGARETTES, AND NOTIONS, BUT THE AMOUNT SPENT COULD COME ONLY FROH THE AMOUNT CREDITED FOR WORK PERFORMED AND COULD NOT BE FROM AN INMATE'S PRIVATE FUNDS. ON SUNDAYS AND DURING OTHER FREE TIME INMATES COULD MOVE FREELY ABOUT THE CAMP AND WITHIN THE DORMITORIES, ALTHOUGH THEY TENDED TO REMAIN NEAR THEIR ASSIGNED FLOORS. ONE PARCEL OF UP TO FIVE KILOGRAMS WAS ALLOWED PER MONTH FROM THE OUTSIDE; CONTENTS OF PARCELS WERE LIMITED AS TO KIND AND AMOUNT. ONLY ONE HALF KILOGRAM OF SUGAR HAS ALLOWED PER PARCEL. TEA HAS ALSO LIMITED TO ONE HALF KILOGRAM PER PARCEL TO DISCOURAGE THE UZBEK PRACTICE OF MAKING EXTREMELY STRONG TEA, SOMETIMES USING ONE HUNDRED GRAMS OF TEA PER CUP. VISITING PRIVILEGES WERE GENEROUS AT THE CAMP. SOME INMATES HAD VISITORS EVERY HEEK. THERE HERE NO LIMITS ON THE SENDING OR RECEIVINC OF LETTERS.

5. BOTH MALE AND FEMALE GUARDS SERVED AT THE CAMP, HH1CHTO THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, UZBEK SSR.THEWOMEN WAS ENTIRELY SEPARATE; IT WAS NOT MERELY THE FEMALEA CAMP FOR BOTH SEXES. IT WAS RUMORED

INMATES THAT THEREORRECTIVE LABOR CAHPMEN ALSO ONUTSKIRTS/OF,HAr.;SQ^

PERFORMED THEIR

S0HEWHERE"IN TASHKENT.) THERE "WERE NO KNOWN POLITICAL *

PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE AT THE CAHP, EXCEPTUMBER OF BAPTISTS

HHO HERE CONVICTED ON CHARGES OF PROSELYTIZING RELIGIOUS BELIEFS.

THE CAMP HAD ITS OWN DISPENSARY, STAFFEDHYSICIAN AND SEVERAL

NURSES, BUT AN INMATEERIOUS ILLNESS WOULD BE SENT TO A

NEARBY HOSPITAL FOR CONVICTS, IN WHICH THERE WASECTION FOR

WOMENECTION FOR HEN. THE HOSPITAL, LIKE THE CAHP, HAD A

STAFF OF GUARDS AND WAS SURROUNDEDUARDED WALL. PATIENTS WERE

KEPT IN WARDS OF ABOUT THIRTY PATIENTS EACH. INMATES REQUIRING

PSYCHIATRIC CARE WERE SENTSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL ON SARIKUL'SKAYA

ULITSA IN TASHKENT WHICH HAS REACHED VIA TRAM OR BUS NUMBERO THE

BUS STOP PSIKHBOL'NITSA.

VIEW, WAS THEXSED 'CELLS? TEN PRISONERS

THE WORST OF THESE ISON

'RANGING FROM ^ONE-PERSON CELLS^

THAN'a? *THE* "OTHER" TYPES

LIMITED TO ONE HALF HOUR AS OPPOSED TO ONE HOUR IN THE OTHER TYPES. THE POLICY DICTATING ASSIGNMENT TO THE VARIOUS TYPES

PRISON HAS NOT KNOWN, BUT IT WAS GENERALLY UNDERSTOOD THATOF ANTICOVEKNMEVT ACTIVITY OR CRIMES INVOLVING CRIMINALDEALING WITH NATIONAL SECURITY WOULD BE HELD INPRISONS.TF CONVICTED, THESE INDIVIDUALS MICHT SERVEIN THOSE SAME PRISONS. CONDITIONS IN SPECIAL PRISONS

UNDERSTOOD TO BE AS GOOD AS OR BETTER THAN THOSE IN GENERAL REGIMENT PRISONS AND WERE SAID TO BE USED FOR IMPORTANT CASES OR THOSE INVOLVING FOREIGNERS. TEE KGB PRISONN MOSCOW WAS CONSIDERED TOPECIAL REGIMEN PRISON.

THE TASHKENT PRISON WAS LOCATED ABOUT ONE HALF HOUR DRIVE BY AUTOMOBILE FROM THE TOWN CENTER AND WAS AN INVESTIGATIVE PRISON (SIZO)ENERAL REGIMEN. INMATES HERE HELD IN LOCKED CELLS CONTAINING FROM EIGHT TO TWELVE PERSONS. WEEKLY VISITSEFENSE COUNSEL WERE PERMITTED FOR DURATIONS OF UP TO TWO OR THREE riC'JRSIME. FAMILY VISITORS WERE PERMITTEDONTH. THE RECEIPT OF PARCELS WAS NOT PERMITTED ,BUT DURING VISITS WITH FAMILY TRANSFERS OF PERSONAL ITEMS SUCH AS CLOTHING WERE ALLOWED. PRISON INMATES AWAITING TRAIL DID NOT PERFORM COMPULSORY LABOR BUT COULD SPEND UP TO SEVENONTH FROM PERSONAL FUNDS AT THE PRISON STORE. WITH THE EXCEPTIONAILY ONE HOUR RECREATION PERIOD IN THE PRISON COURTYARD AND ESCORTED TRIPS TO VISITING ROOMS OR THE PRISON DINING HALL, INMATES SPENT ALL THEIR TIME IN THEIR ASSIGNED CELLS.

THE MAJORITY OF THE GUARD AND ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL AT BOTH THE TASHKENT PRISON AND CORRECTIVE LABOR CAHP FOR WOMEN WERE UZBEK; THE REMAINING PERSONNEL WERE OF OTHER NATIONALITIES, INCLUDING RUSSIAN AND UKRAINIAN. ANALOGOUS PROPORTIONS EXISTED AMONGNMATES(pF;-THE-PRISONOT

PRISON OR CAMP WALLS/UZBEK INMATES TENDED' TO KEEP TO"TrEIRvOWN^TND', BUT THEIR WAS NO EVIDENCE OF TENSION BETWEEN ETHNIC MINORITIES ANDESTERN SOVIET NATIONALS. THEREOLID FOUNDATION OF ADMIRATION, ESPECIALLY AMONG OLDER UZBEKIS, FOR THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF RUSSIAN CULTURE AND LEARNING WHICH RAISED THE CULTURAL AND INDUSTRIAL POTENTIAL OF THE UZBEK REPUBLIC IN THE YEARS BEFORE WORLD WAR II.

Original document.

---

---