In general, the “Internal Regulations” (IRR) in force in all detention centers in our country categorically prohibit inter-cell communication. Its presence, in essence, contradicts the very meaning of isolating suspects and accused, because along the “roads” you can negotiate with accomplices, threaten victims, influence the course of the investigation, and so on. And in fact, all this really happens. So why don’t most insulators offer any real resistance to inter-chamber communication?
Why do they throw a towel at the feet of a new arrival in a cell in prison?
This long-standing prison tradition is now becoming an anachronism.
Previously, in this simple way, new arrivals to the cell (mostly “first-timers” (convicts serving their sentence in a FSIN correctional facility for the first time)) were tested for knowledge of criminal rules and customs. Prisoners, notified that a new inmate would soon be brought to their “hut” (cell), spread a towel in front of the entrance and waited for the reaction of the newly arrived cellmate. If, upon entering the cell, he bent down and picked up the towel, the conclusion was made that he was completely not involved in the criminal world. Moreover, such an act actually put an end to his further career as a thief. And due to the totality of circumstances, they may in the future be the reason for his inclusion in the “omitted”, the lowest, despised and oppressed caste in every possible way in the criminal hierarchy.
The following actions were considered correct. The first person entering the cell had to carefully wipe his feet on a towel, like on an apartment rug, then go into the “hut,” greet everyone and ask: “Who is watching the situation here?” Such a response identified the newcomer as one of his own, who knew the laws of thieves and strictly followed them.
This custom is based on the strict prohibition of thieves, namely:
Why in prison you can’t pick up any things or objects from the floor
This prohibition is based not only, and not so much on the principle “I didn’t throw it, it’s not for me to pick it up,” but rather on the concept of bending, interpreted as bending over or “bending under the changing world.” According to tradition, a thief should not be ready for submission, and even more so, does not have the right to demonstrate his humility with someone else's will.
Any thing that falls on the floor in any room of a prison or colony, a hat, a pack of cigarettes, soap, a towel, etc., is considered missing, in thieves’ language “grinded” (in a very general interpretation - untouchable for an inmate) or “unclean.” Anyone who picked up an object from the floor himself became “grinded,” especially if this thing was picked up by a prisoner in the toilet.
For radically minded inmates, such a person inevitably became a real candidate for the “roosters” - the caste of “lowered” prisoners who forcibly or voluntarily became homosexuals in the zone. The liberal part of the prisoners, without detracting from the principle of “messiness” of a thing that has fallen on the floor, nevertheless, is more tolerant in resolving such delicate situations. For example, soap that has fallen in the bathhouse can be picked up “correctly” - turn to face the rest of the prisoners, and, squatting with a straight back, pick up the soap without bending.
What fell was lost . This principle is practiced in the zone. That is, if in severe frost on the prison parade ground a prisoner’s hat fell to the floor, he should forget about it, as if it did not exist.
However, everything flows, everything changes. In the overwhelming majority of cases, through the efforts of the colony administration, the “first mover” will not be placed in a cell with experienced and seasoned inmates who have several “walkers” on their record. Nevertheless, such provocations continue to take place, even in a modified form. It is with an object that has fallen on the floor that experienced prisoners like to test newcomers for “lice” - by dropping the necessary thing, they force the “first mover” to pick it up.
The thieves' authorities unanimously assert that this should not be done under any circumstances. On the contrary, it is advisable to step on a thrown or fallen object, wipe your feet on it (if it is a towel), and trample on something lying on the floor. In this way, the “first mover” will avoid many sad consequences for himself in his present and future life in the colony.
Source
LiveInternetLiveInternet
Author: Andrey
Date: 2009-09-07
In the last article, as it turned out, I didn’t tell everything. Several people in letters asked the same question: What might they ask in the house?
The hut is not an interrogation room, there won’t be many questions. There are few basic ones, but they will definitely be asked. Here they are:
Why did you get caught?
Is everything going smoothly in life?
The name of? Where?
Here are three questions that will definitely be asked.
And I’ll tell you what to answer to them now.
Every person knows their name, but they should hardly introduce themselves by their patronymic. First name, last name - that's enough - there is no age in prison, here everyone is addressed by their first name or nickname. Therefore, instead of your middle name, provide your nickname, if any. If you don’t have it, then it will still appear later, so you can remember your school or student, army. An epaulette often characterizes a person very accurately, reflecting some characteristic feature of behavior, appearance, habits, and therefore is easily remembered, identifying with the person. It happens that a person takes a more “noble” nickname, but an old one, and is so closely associated with the person that it comes back. I remember we had a guy nicknamed Goose, since he was not named in the future, anyway, after a while he again became Goose - he tilted his head forward in a very characteristic way. And the former jacquey, who was obsessed with horses, was given the nickname Horse.
The chase may be based on the last name, or maybe based on the area, for example Mikola Pitersky. Sometimes such a chain is built that you don’t even understand where the nickname comes from. There was an old man in our cell, nicknamed Belomor. So there is a whole story behind this name. They brought him from the bullpen with a broken arm - the police tried their best, zealously interrogating him. Remembering the famous film, they named the comrade the Diamond Hand, then Ivan Ivanovich Gorbunkov, then shortened it to Ivan Ivanovich, finally deciding that this too was called Barrymore for too long (the devil knows why). And this aristocratic Berimor transformed into Belomor.
They often make fun of young people, asking them to shout through the bars: “Prison, old lady, give me a rattle.” Elderly people are rarely offered such entertainment.
In any case, remember that the choice of driver depends on the person himself. You can refuse what you don’t like; if it seems inappropriate or offensive, say “no problem.”
In addition to the name, they will definitely ask where the person is from, tell you if there are fellow countrymen in prison, and find out about your acquaintances.
“What did you get caught for?” In this case we mean the article. All you have to do is tell it, the rest is up to you. It is completely unnecessary, even undesirable, to tell the details, no matter how much you would like to look cooler.
Firstly, it won’t help - in a week they will pump up their character anyway and will treat them according to what a person is, and not what he wants to seem like.
Secondly, it is possible that there is an informer in the cell and a carelessly thrown detail will escape the opera. The trouble is not even that the secret will come true, but that the effect of a broken phone will work - the informer may hear poorly, fantasize, or, in the hope of his own benefit, openly exaggerate or twist the words he hears. If he goes into action, they will make the bastard a witness - then refuse, don’t refuse, they won’t believe you. Our courts are typical in this regard. I remember reading one person in the protocol of the court session. Mobile phone entry:
“Come, the vodka is turning sour, the kebab is getting cold, we’ve been waiting for you for half an hour, we’re salivating!
“I can’t, I broke the tire, now I’m at the tire shop.”
Commentary in the protocol: “The defendant conducts encrypted negotiations, agrees on the supply of a large quantity of drugs.”
By the way, in the entire document there is not a hint where such a brilliant interpretation came from. One inevitably remembers the artist Mkrtchan with his unforgettable “I think so!” What’s especially funny is that this conclusion was one of the main pieces of evidence.
Therefore, keep quiet about your affairs, otherwise you risk that you will be responsible for other people’s or even uncommitted crimes. If you wish, retell in a few words what you told the investigator.
Do not try to hide the accusation or report another one. Such a temptation may arise in the case of an “unpopular” article. All articles related to rape, especially of minors, indecent acts and the like are unpopular. The real accusation will still become known, especially since the prisoner is introduced to representatives of the pre-trial detention center administration not only by name, but also by the article of the charge.
A little about “unpopular articles”. People accused of them are usually intimidated in advance by journalistic nonsense, and often by investigators, and think that they will definitely be demoted, made a fag, beaten, or even killed.
Even if they let you go, no one will beat you up just like that; according to concepts, the person is already offended. And anyone can get nuts for their joints, even a tramp. In fact, the decision to transfer a person to fag is made after a comprehensive consideration of the issue by the person in charge of the prison, the Thief, or the prison officer in the pre-trial detention center or zone (as a rule, he also consults with the Thief on such an issue), and ordinary prisoners do not have such a right, otherwise it is simply lawlessness . Nowadays people rarely punish people for fucking things, that’s what they say - “there is no punishment for fucking things”, only in the most egregious cases. This is understandable, the cases can be very different, it happens that a person is framed (I know a case when, after a comprehensive discussion, it was recognized that the person accused of raping a boy was simply framed in order to close the case). It also happens that a person spends the night in good agreement with a girl, and in the morning she either herself or under the influence of her parents writes a statement of rape. And even ten witnesses will not help you, but if she is not yet 18 for at least one day, then it turns out to be rape of a minor, which, by the way, the person might not have known about. I remember at my school there was a fourth-grader-accelerator who looked about 19 years old. Guys chased after her until they found out how old she was, but some of them didn’t find out... So, the majority of those accused of rape, in general terms they are imprisoned for no reason, especially in cases where the woman herself was not averse to being drunk, but the next morning she decided that she had been raped. Well, she changed her mind later, sort of.
It happens, of course, that due to lawlessness they are lowered. This happens too. I witnessed such an incident. The man was accused of indecent acts with a minor. In the cell he was greeted unkindly - “Oh, that’s what I got him for!” NA NA NA. Suck it, bitch." Or he could have refused. In prison, if you agree with something, then that's who you are. Whatever a person is accused of, he has every right to appeal to the person in charge of the prison. Most likely, they will not drive him into a fag, they will leave him in the general mass, lowering him in status, prohibiting him from being called a man and having the right to vote in general issues. But this will not affect his real situation, except that he can only earn bread with equals in position, and even then not always. He will fully protect all the other rights and privileges of a peasant.
In reality, the Thieves are not at all interested in increasing the number of offended, and therefore embittered, prisoners who are often ready for anything. This only weakens and divides the group of prisoners, reducing their ability to resist the actions of the jailers, especially lawlessness. This is beneficial only for operas, in accordance with the well-known saying “divide and conquer”. Prison morals have seriously softened in recent years, most of all as a result of the actions of the Thieves, who make considerable efforts to improve the lives of prisoners. And although I am not a supporter of thieves’ romance, their actions personally evoke considerable respect for me.
In any case and on any issue, they look at the person, his behavior, his belief that he is right. So you don’t need to believe journalists, they will tell you something else.
“Everything is smooth in life”? The question essentially means one thing: whether a person in freedom adhered to the behavior of a real man. This means, first of all, the sexual orientation of a straight man :-), and whether he collaborated with the cops (was a freelancer, ratted someone out to the cops, was a full-time buyer, etc.). Service in the Internal Troops does not cause a negative reaction now; too many there have been dragging their feet, and the troops have not been guarding prisons for a long time.
I repeat once again, no one will throw any towels at their feet, this is stupidity. There is no such thing now even among young children. Young children are now kept in cells for four people, but often there are only two or three people. First movers are imprisoned only with first movers, so there is no lawlessness, there is simply nowhere to come from.
It happens that they joke in the cells, asking a newcomer to sit on a basin, supposedly if bubbles come out, then the person is a fagot. Don't be fooled. Actually, the correct answer is “If you blow on my dick, then bubbles will come,” but it’s better not to provoke, they can drive you word by word into such a trap, you come across notorious provocateurs. Just firmly refuse, citing the fact that you know the joke.
I would also advise you to never say what you did to a girl with quinnus, the area below a woman’s navel is forbidden in prison, they will definitely be classified as a fag. Also, fagots include those married to former whores. It’s better not to say that your wife or mistress is a cop, a judge, a prosecutor—this happens, but it’s better to remain silent about it.
Another common question in places of detention is “Who are you?” , or, alternatively, “Who are you?” But they might ask, most likely, somewhere in the bullpen, on a transport in a funnel, in the reception cell of a pre-trial detention center.
Who are you? The most important question in places of detention determines the status and social niche of a person. In fact, there are only three answers: a tramp, a man and a fag. There are still some social groups in prison, but at first they are not significant.
A tramp means that a person considers himself a criminal, most likely already has at least one prison sentence under his belt, and has a certain weight in criminal circles. You understand that he doesn’t need to read such an article, he knows everything better than me.
All other people, if they have everything in life, are husbands, at least until the event that they themselves do something incompatible with the status of a man. By definition, a man is a title that implies a certain style of behavior, responsibilities and privileges, but a separate article needs to be written about this.
PS I express my gratitude to Alexey for his comments, which forced me to remove several obvious errors and inaccuracies from the article.
What does the phrase “towel before the brakes” mean?
What does the expression “towel before the brakes” mean in prison jargon?
the slang expression “ towel in front of the brakes ” in the recently released crime series “Alien Face”. In it, a more experienced investigator told the young man that supposedly there is a rule in the zone: when a convict appears in a prison cell, a towel is placed under his feet and he must know how to behave in this case. If he is knowledgeable, he will wipe his feet on a towel and throw it back to the “bowl” with his foot, but if he is inexperienced in prison affairs, he can lift it, and from here he becomes a potential victim of the zone.
Here's what I found on one forum on this issue:
I believe that the intellectual and the elite, the establishment, are different concepts. An intellectual is a highly spiritual person, focused on something specific, for example, music, art, possibly economics, agriculture, etc. The intelligentsia is based on such concepts as conscience, honor, dignity, decency and other similar character traits. I would classify such people more as altruists. These people are rarely rich, because wealth and business cloud their minds to everything else. Intelligence is given either by a person’s breed or by natural talent. There is no third. It's my personal opinion.
Road by stage
If there is a local connection, there must be an intercity connection. And he is. Communication between FSIN institutions is established in stages. Convicts take “malyavs” with them (
