In thieves' jargon, a prison cell is called a hut. And when a new “tenant” appears here, he must necessarily undergo “registration”. And in Russian prisons, “registration” is a whole ritual, the purpose of which is to get to know the cellmate better.
Once in the cell, the newcomer will have to answer several trick questions. Based on the results of such a check, the first mover is assigned to a certain caste. In most cases, the prisoner becomes one of the “men”, that is, ordinary prisoners.
Some persons are exempt from registration. We are talking about sick prisoners and people over 40 years old. We will talk about how the initiation rite in the zone takes place below.
When did the ritual of registration in Russian prisons arise?
According to most researchers, the initiation rite appeared in Russian prisons back in the 18th century. In this way, the inmates got to know each other. By the end of the 19th century, prisoners formed a special caste system, which has survived to this day practically unchanged.
In the 20th century, there were 4 main categories of prisoners. In thieves' jargon they were called "suits." And in order to determine which suit the first mover belonged to, he was given an initiation ceremony. In Soviet times, it became an integral part of prison life. This process was especially popular in the 30-90s of the last century. During this period, the initiation rite could be lengthy, contain many illogical riddles and instructions, and often turn into outright mockery.
Since the 90s of the last century, there has been a gradual decline in the popularity of prison registration. This ritual is still carried out in some form today, but in most cases the newcomer is asked several questions regarding his article, general worldview, etc.
SECTION III. PROSECUTORAL SUPERVISION OVER THE EXECUTION OF LAWS IN PRISON
Preparing to check the implementation of laws in prison
As with supervision over the implementation of laws in correctional colonies, inspections in prison are aimed at identifying violations of the law, their causes and the conditions conducive to them.
The frequency of inspections is determined depending on the state of affairs in the supervised institutions (systematically, and if there are signals of serious violations of the law - immediately).
The selection of an inspection object is preceded by:
familiarization with the materials of previous inspections and acts of prosecutorial response (warnings, resolutions, protests, submissions), as well as with their actual implementation;
analysis of complaints, statements and appeals from convicts and other citizens about violations of the law in prison;
studying the reports and certificates available from the prosecutor’s office on the activities of the prison;
familiarization with the materials of departmental inspections and other regulatory authorities.
Having determined the object of the inspection, the prosecutor outlines a plan for its implementation, including the following points:
1) a list of main issues to focus on;
2) the timing of the inspection, the number and composition of participants, the distribution of issues subject to inspection among them;
3) a list of specialists of various profiles involved in the inspection (if necessary): healthcare, sanitary and fire supervision, etc.;
4) a list of preliminary tasks (requests) to specific services of the penal system and prison officials to provide the necessary certificates, information, other materials and documents;
5) preparation of a final certificate or report.
It is recommended to start the inspection with a conversation with the heads of the prison about the state of affairs in the institution. At the same time, it is necessary to find out how completely the previously identified violations of the law have been eliminated and whether the proposals made by the prosecutor have been implemented. The prosecutor instructs to prepare the information he needs, gets acquainted with the book of inspector's comments and suggestions, with certificates of departmental inspections, reports and other documentation, checks the legality of orders and instructions issued by the administration of the institution. The information obtained will allow the inspection to be carried out more effectively, focusing efforts on those areas where violations of the law are most common.
An integral element of the inspection is the prosecutor’s tour of residential cells, the prefabricated department, premises for communal and household purposes, production facilities and the medical unit. Depending on the nature of the inspection, the prosecutor can inspect any structure and equipment of the prison, including engineering and technical security equipment, become familiar with the organization of access control, etc. First of all, compliance with the law in the punishment cell is checked. Officials of the institution should participate in the inspection so that the prosecutor can obtain from them clarifications on emerging issues and take the necessary measures directly during the inspection.
The prosecutor must be ready to consider any appeals from convicts related to the violation of their rights and legitimate interests, and, if possible, resolve them on the spot. If the convicted person wishes to talk privately with the prosecutor, such an opportunity is provided to him upon requests that require additional verification. The prosecutor invites the convicted person to put the questions in writing and send them to him or the competent authority.
At the request of convicts or on the initiative of the prosecutor, their personal reception is organized.
Prisons are a specific type of correctional institution, the main task of which is to, using the means provided by law, ensure the achievement of the goals of punishment - the correction of convicts and the prevention of new crimes.
It is in this link of the penitentiary system that the punitive elements inherent in imprisonment find their expression in the harshest form; forms of educational work are reduced to a minimum, therefore the norms of the current legislation significantly limit the maximum terms of detention in prison.
Serving a sentence in prison is associated with both stricter isolation of the convicted person and more severe conditions of his detention than in a correctional colony, therefore only convicted men who have reached the age of majority can be in prison. At the same time, according to Art. 58 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, serving a sentence in prison can be assigned only for part of the term and to a strictly limited circle of persons from among the most dangerous category of criminals.
The results of the activities of institutions of this type are largely determined by the exact implementation of the law on the procedure and conditions for serving a sentence in prison. The guarantor of compliance with the law in these institutions is prosecutorial supervision, the main form of implementation of which is checking the implementation of laws by the prison administration, identifying violations, and taking comprehensive measures to eliminate them. The effectiveness of supervision depends on knowledge of laws, other regulatory legal acts, methods of conducting prosecutorial checks and the ability to apply this knowledge in practice.
How does registration work?
Registration takes place in the form of a “friendly” dialogue. A special place in it is occupied by tricky riddles that were invented within the prison walls. These are trick questions with only one correct answer. Therefore, the prisoner must either initially know the solution, or reach it intuitively.
As a rule, initiation is not carried out among mature criminals. Currently, registration in its original form is carried out only in children's colonies. Moreover, minor prisoners often show extreme cruelty towards newcomers.
In juvenile detention centers, registration serves the following purposes:
- find out about the criminal background of the newcomer;
- clarify the rights and obligations of the suit to which the first mover will subsequently be assigned;
- establish the newcomer’s level of knowledge of criminal cultures;
- understand whether the cellmate is ready to adhere to established standards.
registration is carried out immediately after the newcomer enters the cell. In some colonies, the initiation ceremony is carried out after a certain period of time. Usually this is three months.
The concept of “prison jokes” is inextricably linked with initiation. Their goal is to convict the recruit of ignorance of the rules of the criminal world. Moreover, riddles can be asked to a beginner until the questioner gets bored with the process.
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Is permanent registration canceled while a person is in the zone?
The very fact of isolating a person from society does not deprive him of the right to use residential premises. That is, the law does not allow a person sentenced to imprisonment to be automatically deregistered. In addition, temporary registration does not provide for the cancellation of permanent registration.
When is deregistration permissible?
Deregistration is possible only with the consent of the person . This rule also applies to those isolated from society. This mainly happens when a convicted person seeks to reduce his family’s housing costs or simplify the procedure for selling real estate.
At the same time, forced discharge is also possible. The basis for this is a court decision. It is possible in cases where a person committed violations, for example, used housing for other purposes, did not pay utilities, or damaged property.
How to recover?
Restoration of registration depends on the reasons for its cancellation. If a person checks out voluntarily, then he needs to contact the owner of the property and obtain the latter’s consent. After that, he will be able to check in at the premises. If the eviction was forced, then the issue will have to be resolved in court. It is necessary to fill out a statement of claim and attach supporting documents to it.
The judicial procedure for resolving the issue will entail certain monetary costs. At a minimum, the interested party will need to pay 300 rubles of state duty .
Features of prison riddles
Questions are asked quickly, and answers are also required instantaneously. If the prisoner answers incorrectly, he gets hit in the forehead with a spoon. As a result, upon completion of registration, he may grow “horns” - this is the name given to swellings formed from numerous blows. Alternative penalties for incorrect answers may include:
- punching through a book;
- blows with a liter mug and other improvised objects.
Such surveys are conducted in a defiant and dismissive tone. They are often associated with the use of obscene language. Let's look at some of the most common trick questions:
- “What is the prison based on?” This is one of the most insidious questions, because it is impossible to reach the correct answer in a logical way. You won't be able to guess here either. Correct answer: "Locked up." And beginners give it extremely rarely.
- “Gags” are common in prison, when the prisoner is asked to choose one of two options. And both of them are outrageous. And to answer correctly, the prisoner should know the prison rules well. For example, a convicted person may be asked to engage in sexual intercourse or get stabbed in the eye with a fork. Having chosen the first, he immediately subscribes to sodomy and automatically becomes a rooster. Therefore, the correct answer would be the second, because there are simply no forks in prisons. In some riddles you cannot choose any of the given options. To avoid a sad fate, the prisoner must know the “correct answer” in advance, since it is impossible to think of it.
Are convicts registered at the place where they serve their sentences?
A person sentenced to imprisonment is registered at the place where the sentence is served. This is necessary because if a person stays at the address of stay for more than 90 days, he is obliged to contact the persons responsible for receiving and transmitting data to the territorial police departments. In this case, registration will be temporary, for the period of imprisonment.
The registration procedure is regulated by regulations:
- Law of the Russian Federation of June 25, 1993 No. 5242-1;
- Decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation of July 17, 1995 No. 713;
- Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia of December 31, 2021 No. 984.
Since the convicted person does not have the opportunity to perform all the actions on his own, the responsibility for registration rests with the administration of the correctional institution. This rule is enshrined in Article 81.1 of the Penal Code of the Russian Federation.
Why is this necessary?
A person sentenced to imprisonment is somewhat limited in his rights, for example, to choose a place of residence or temporary stay. Such restrictions apply during the sentence until release. But the convicted person is not deprived of his rights in full.
For example, he can count on medical care. He also retains social guarantees for receiving:
- wages;
- benefits;
- pensions;
- scholarships.
Temporary registration is also necessary in order to reduce payments for housing and communal services at the previous address of residence.
These rights can only be exercised if there is registration, including a temporary one.
It is also necessary to register a convicted person to avoid liability under Article 19.15.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation . In this case, measures will be taken against the administration of the correctional facility, since the responsibility for registering a person serving a sentence is assigned to it.
Buying the correct answer
The convicted person is usually given 45 seconds to think about each answer. This is the so-called “boy time”.
If no response is received within the allotted time or it turns out to be incorrect, the recruit is deprived of the status of a boy. It will be very difficult to regain the respect of your fellow inmates later, so newcomers are ready to do almost anything to avoid being demoted in rank. Taking advantage of this, seasoned prisoners can offer the first mover to buy the answer to the riddle.
Features of the redemption may be as follows:
- Beatings. Most often, a dry or wet towel twisted into a tourniquet is used for beating.
- Torture with melted cellophane. The cellophane tube is set on fire and dripped onto the newcomer’s skin.
- Payback with money. A prisoner with money often becomes a cash cow.
Often offers to buy status turn out to be a scam. This is how seasoned prisoners have fun, without planning to give the newcomer a “promotion.”
Prison and life behind bars
Once imprisoned, a person is obliged to mobilize all his physical and intellectual potential and wage an endless struggle for survival.
After all, there are only two exits from the pre-trial detention center - to the zone or to the morgue. The latter, as a rule, ends up as a result of a showdown, suicide or accident. There is a third option - the defendant is found not guilty in the courtroom and sent home. But the likelihood of such a happy ending is so small that we won’t even consider it. In short, risky, brave people with a king in their heads can trample the zone without any problems. Recommended reading: No event or line-up
The path to the criminal elite
Sometimes successfully completing registration opens the way for a prisoner to the top. The top of the prison hierarchy are thieves in law. They have immunity in the zone and enjoy a number of privileges.
In the criminal world, there were cases when authoritative inmates paid attention to a newcomer. Subsequently, he himself could become a thief in law. To do this, he must answer all questions correctly when registering and follow prison rules. It will also be useful to have useful skills. For example, in the USSR, a petty pickpocket managed to earn the “crown” of criminal authority, since he had the skills of a hairdresser and lived “by the rules.” At first he cut the hair of thieves in law, and over time he himself joined their ranks.
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Curiosity about the number of walkers was also not encouraged. But to test his camp experience, the lads started entertainment. As a rule, registration begins with questions. As soon as the convict crossed the threshold, finding himself face to face with a completely alien world, some smart guy approached him and asked sympathetically: Will you sell your mother or will you kick him in the ass? Such a strange acquaintance has many varieties: “Did they say hello to you from Praskovya Feodorovna?”, “What will you eat soap from the table or bread from the bucket?” The fate of the prisoner depended on what the answer was.
