The Minsk Detention Center No. 1 or SIZO No. 1 (,

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

: СІЗА №1), informally known as Volodarka, Belarusian pronunciation: ''Valadarka'' (Валадарка), is the central prison of the Republic of

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

located in

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

Name

The prison castle is known in

as ''Pishchalauski Castle'' (Пішчалаўскі замак), also spelled ''Pischalauski Castle'', a name derived from the landlord who built it, Rudolph Pischallo. The Russian version of the name is ''Pishchalovsky castle''. Its popular name, ''Volodarka'', was coined after the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

, when the street on which the building stood was renamed in honour of revolutionary leader V. Volodarsky. It is also sometimes called the ''Belarusian Bastille''.

Current usage

Operated by the Belarusian

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

, SIZO No. 1 is the only facility that houses

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

inmates. Their execution occurs at the prison. The prison is also used as a pre-trial detention centre where arrested political activists are held.

History

Russian Empire

The stone building was completed by 1824, and it was commissioned in spring 1825. The castle-shaped structure was purposely built as a prison by the landowner Rudolph Pischallo (also spelled Rudolf Pischalo), who entrusted architect Kazimir Khrschonovich (also spelled Casimir Hrschanovicha) with the design. The project was approved by

Tsar Nicholas I Nicholas I, group=pron (Russian language, Russian: Николай I Павлович; – ) was Emperor of Russia, List of rulers of Partitioned Poland#Kings of the Kingdom of Poland, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 18 ...

himself. The main building is three stories high, flanked by four corner towers, and surrounded by the prison yard.

Inmates and executions

Vintsent Dunin-Martsinkyevich Vintsent Dunin-Marcinkievič (; ; February 8, 1808 – December 21, 1884) was a Polish- Belarusian writer, poet, dramatist and social activist and is considered one of the founders of the modern Belarusian literary tradition and national scho ...

(c. 1808–1884), Belarusian writer and social activist (imprisoned 1864-1865) *

Felix Dzerzhinsky Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky (; ; – 20 July 1926), nicknamed Iron Felix (), was a Soviet revolutionary and politician of Polish origin. From 1917 until his death in 1926, he led the first two Soviet secret police organizations, the Cheka a ...

, future leader of the Soviet secret police, here repeatedly on transfer during his arrests for "revolutionary activity" * Alés Harun (1887–1920), Belarusian writer (imprisoned 1907) * Karuś Kahaniec (1868–1918), Belarusian writer (imprisoned 1905-1906 & 1910-1911) * Jakub Kołas (1882–1956), Belarusian writer (imprisoned 1908-1911) *

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

(1867–1935), future Polish statesman, held here while under investigation after being arrested in 1887 * Ivan Pulikhov (Pulichaŭ; 1879-1906), revolutionary terrorist who attempted to assassinate the Minsk governor, hanged at the prison gates *

Masha Bruskina Maria "Masha" Bruskina ( ''Marïya Barïsawna Bruskina''; ; 1924 – 26 October 1941 in Minsk), was a Belarusian Jewish teenage nurse and a communist martyr to the anti-fascist resistance during the early years of World War II, as well as ...

(1924-1941), Belarusian jewish partisan, hanged publicly by the Nazis on October 26, 1941.

Soviet Union

After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the prison was taken over by the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə, links=yes), ...

GPU A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a specialized electronic circuit designed for digital image processing and to accelerate computer graphics, being present either as a discrete video card or embedded on motherboards, mobile phones, personal ...

. Famous Socialist Revolutionary

Boris Savinkov Boris Viktorovich Savinkov (; 31 January 1879 – 7 May 1925) was a Russian revolutionary, writer, and politician. As a leading figure in the Socialist Revolutionary Party's (SR) Combat Organization in the early 20th century, he was a key organ ...

, arrested after being lured back to Soviet territory as part of operation "Trust", was held here for a while in 1924. On the night of 29/30 October 1937, during

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

Great Terror The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the assassination of Sergei Kirov by Leonid Nikolaev ...

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

officers executed 36 representatives of Belarusian culture, science and art in the castle basement, by shooting them in the head. Another 52 were executed that night in the basement of the building of the internal prison of the NKVD in Minsk near the Pishchalovsky castle. In total, during the repressions of 1937-1940, about 100 people were executed in the Pishchalovsky Castle, accused of anti-Soviet activities.

World War II

As a result of the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...

starting on September 17, 1939, a large number of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

s (military, police, and civil servants) as well as Polish common criminals were imprisoned at Pishchalauski Castle. In 1940-1941, the prisoner was

Ryszard Kaczorowski Ryszard Kaczorowski, GCMG (; 26 November 1919 – 10 April 2010) was a Polish statesman. From 1989 to 1990, he served as the last President of Poland- in-exile. He succeeded Kazimierz Sabbat, and resigned his post following Poland's regain ...

, later the last

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

- in-exile. After the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, the Germans kept on using the prison as such. During the

Great Patriotic War The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

, arrested partisans and members of the underground were kept in the Pishchalovsky Castle. Some were executed or tortured there.

Post-WWII

In the years 1944-1945 the prisoner was

Kazimierz Świątek Kazimierz Cardinal Świątek (; 21 October 1914 – 21 July 2011) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who was most known for his resistance to Cold War-era Soviet communism and for his service in Minsk, Belar ...

, later a

cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. Ca ...

. After 1953, it was the only institution in the

Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...

where death sentences were carried out. In chronological order of execution: * Vasyl Meleshko (1917-1975), Ukrainian participant in the

Khatyn massacre Khatyn (, ; , ) was a village of 26 houses and 157 inhabitants in Belarus, in Lahoysk Raion, Minsk Region, 50 km away from Minsk. On 22 March 1943, almost the entire population of the village was massacred by the Schutzmannschaft Battal ...

(no connection to Katyn massacre) * Valery Nekhaev (1948–1983), Soviet murderer * Hryhoriy Vasiura (1915-1987), Ukrainian

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

Lt., later POW and Nazi collaborator, who took part in the Khatyn massacre *

Gennady Mikhasevich Gennady Modestovich Mikhasevich (; 7 April 1947 – 25 September 1987) was a Soviet serial killer and serial rapist known as the "Vitebsk Strangler" (Віцебскі душыцель), who murdered a minimum of 36 women between 1971 and 1985 in V ...

(1947-1987), Soviet serial killer

Independent Belarus

Pishchalauski Castle is a registered state architectural monument. As of 2013, it was in urgent need of major repairs, with part of one of its four towers having collapsed in April 2008. As of 2013, there were speculations that "Volodarka" might be transformed into a museum.

Opponents of the Lukashenko government

People arrested during and after the

1996 Belarusian referendum A seven-question referendum was held in Belarus on 24 November 1996. Four questions were put forward by Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, on changing the date of the country's independence day, amending the constitution of Belarus ...

and the

Minsk Spring The "Minsk Spring" or "Belarusian Spring" (, ) was a series of mass street protests in 1996 and 1997 against the increasingly-authoritarian rule of President Alexander Lukashenko. Background and causes The protests were triggered by a consti ...

and detained in Pishchalauski Castle include: * Vadzim Kabanchuk, politician and military commander, detained from September 1997 to March 1998 People arrested during and after the 2020 presidential campaign, which led to the contested reelection of

Alexander Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (also transliterated as Alyaksandr Ryhoravich Lukashenka; born 30 August 1954) is a Belarusian politician who has been the first and only president of Belarus since the office's establishment in 1994, making hi ...

, and detained in Pishchalauski Castle include: *

Andrej Aliaksandraŭ Andrej Aliaksandraŭ (, transliteration in official documents: Andrei Aliaksandrau; born 27 January 1978) is a Belarusian journalist, activist and political prisoner. Early life and career Aliaksandraŭ was born in Nizhny Tagil (the Russian S ...

, journalist *

Mikola Dziadok use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

(born 1988), Belarusian activist; arrested for "violation of public order", etc. * Alaksandar Kabanaŭ (born 1971), аuthor of the YouTube channel "People's Reporter", associate of

Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya Sviatlana Hieorhiyeuna Tsikhanouskaya (; born 11 September 1982) is a Belarusian political activist. After standing as a candidate in the 2020 presidential election against the president Alexander Lukashenko, she has led the political opposit ...

, charged for "violat ngpublic order"and "insulting a government official", sentenced to 3 years in prison *

Maria Kalesnikava Maria Kalesnikava (Marya Alyaksandrauna Kalesnikava / Maria Aleksandrovna Kolesnikova; born 24 April 1982) is a Belarusian professional flutist and political activist. In 2020, she headed Viktar Babaryka's electoral campaign during the presid ...

, musician, politician * Ihar Losik, blogger * Siarhiej Piatruchin, blogger *

Roman Protasevich Roman Dmitriyevich Protasevich or Raman Dzmitryevich Pratasevich (born 5 May 1995) is a Belarusian blogger and political activist. He was the editor-in-chief of the Telegram channel Nexta and chief editor of the Telegram channel Belarus of the ...

(born 1995), Belarusian activist; arrested after his flight,

Ryanair Flight 4978 Ryanair Flight 4978 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from Athens International Airport, Greece, to Vilnius Airport, Lithuania, operated by Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz, a Polish subsidiary of the Irish airline Ryanair. On 23 May ...

, was diverted to Minsk for a false bomb threat *

Marfa Rabkova Marfa Rabkova ( Belarusian and ; born 6 January 1995) is a Belarusian human rights activist who works for the Viasna Human Rights Centre. In 2020 she was arrested by the Belarusian authorities for her activism and sent to the pre-trial prison SI ...

, human rights defender * Illia Salei (born 1991), Belarusian lawyer; arrested for "threatening the national security of Belarus" * Rostislav Shavel (born 2001), Belarusian footballer; arrested for participating in a march *Yuliya Sluckaya, media manager *

Aliaksandr Vasilievič Aliaksandr (Saša) Vasilievič (, also known as Aliaksandr Vasilevich; born 14 September 1974) is a Belarusian businessman, gallerist, publisher, opposition activist, and a former political prisoner. Career and imprisonment Vasilievič is a co-f ...

, businessman *

Maxim Znak Maxim Aliaksandravič Znak (; born 4 September 1981) is a Belarusian lawyer and politician, part of Viktar Babaryka's team, lawyer of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and a member of the presidium of the Coordination Council formed during the 2020� ...

(born 1981), Belarusian lawyer and politician; arrested for "conspiracy to seize state power in an unconstitutional manner" and "establishing and leading an extremist organization". *Maryna Zolatava, editor-in-chief of

tut.by Tut.By was an independent news, media and service internet portal, one of the five most popular websites in Belarus, operating predominantly in Russian and partially in Belarusian languages, and the most popular news web portal in the country. A ...

Executions

In chronological order of execution: * Igor Mirenkov (1969-1996), Soviet-Belarusian serial killer *Sergey Pugachev (1972-2005), Belarusian serial killer and member of The Polotsk Four * Yuri Kurilsky (1979-2007), Belarusian serial killer * Alexander Sergeychik (1970-2007), Belarusian serial killer * Eduard Lykov (1960-2014), Russian-born Belarusian serial killer *

Ivan Kulesh Ivan Kulesh (; 1986 – 5 November 2016) was a Belarusian criminal and serial killer. Between 2013 and 2014, the drunken Kulesh killed three saleswomen in two stores in the Lida District, Grodno Region, after which he stole money and goods. For ...

(1986-2016), Belarusian serial killer * Alexey Mikhalenya (1984-2018), Belarusian serial killer

References

External links

*
Belarus Castles, Palaces and historical Manors database of Belarusian State Archive
Castles in Belarus Buildings and structures in Minsk Tourist attractions in Minsk Buildings and structures completed in 1825 Prisons in Belarus Execution sites Military history of Minsk {{Castles in Belarus