Federal Governmental Institution — penal colony No. 18 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, commonly known as the Polar Owl (, ''Polyarnaya sova'') is a Russian

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

located on the bank of the Sob River near the

Polar Urals The Polar Urals () are a mountain range in the western part of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the northeastern part of Komi, Russian Federation. The border between Europe and Asia runs along the main ridge of the Polar Urals.Google Eart ...

in the Kharp

urban-type settlement Urban-type settlement, abbreviated: ; , abbreviated: ; ; ; ; . is an official designation for lesser urbanized settlements, used in several Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern European countries. The term was primarily used in the So ...

. It is one of the seven

supermax A super-maximum security (supermax) or administrative maximum (ADX) prison is a "control-unit" prison, or a unit within prisons, which represents the most secure level of custody in the prison systems of certain countries. The objective is to ...

("special regimen", in Russian terminology) corrective labor colonies operated by the

Federal Penitentiary Service The Federal Penitentiary Service (, FSIN) is a federal agency of the Ministry of Justice of Russia responsible for correctional services. The FSIN is the federal authority for the detention of suspected and convicted persons, the security an ...

for convicts sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

in Russia. In addition to special regimen it has sections with common and strict regimens.

History

Kharp was founded in 1961 during the construction of the

Salekhard–Igarka Railway The broad gauge Salekhard–Igarka Railway, ( ''Transpolyarnaya Magistral'', i.e. 'Transpolar Mainline', popularly known as the Dead road) is an incomplete railway in northern Siberia. The railway was a project of the Soviet Gulag system that to ...

. The core of the new settlement was a camp for prisoners who worked on laying the railway. Subsequently, the camp was transformed into a prison for particularly dangerous recidivists. The prison received the status of a colony for life convicts in 2004. In 2010–2012, there were reports in the media that some employees of the colony were involved in a scandal with the falsification of confession. Some unscrupulous guards were suspected of beating testimonies from prisoners with the use of physical and psychological violence. ''

Novaya Gazeta ''Novaya Gazeta'' (, ) is an independent Russian newspaper. It is known for its critical and investigative coverage of Russian political and social affairs, the Chechen wars, corruption among the ruling elite, and increasing authoritarianism i ...

'' reported 190 fake turnouts, while ''

Izvestia ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, r=Izvestiya, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in February 1917, ''Izvestia'', which covered foreign relations, was the organ of the Supreme Soviet of th ...

'' reported 32 fake turnouts. According to ''Novaya Gazeta'', the Federal Penitentiary Service for the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug tried to hush up the case, since high-ranking officials could be involved in it.

Notable inmates

The Polar Owl facility has held numerous serial killers. It has also been used to hold political opponents of President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

. * Nikolai Ageyev (born 1974) * Firuz Aituganov (born 1990) * Alexander Elistratov (1954-2011) – made an unsuccessful escape attempt in 2011 * Alexander Greba (born 1980) * Yevgeny Kolesnikov (1984–2016) – killed himself at the colony * Nikolay Korolyov (born 1981) * Nur-Pashi Kulayev (born 1980) - terrorist * Alexander Lokhtachyov (born 1981) *

Sergey Osipenko Sergey Alekseevich Osipenko (; born 6 March 1970), known as The Rossoshansky Maniac (), is a Kazakhstani-Russian serial killer and rapist. From 2005 to 2006, he murdered 4 girls and women in the Voronezh Oblast. Biography In the 1990s, he wo ...

(born 1970) * Ivan Panchenko (born 1968) * Alexander Pichushkin (born 1974) * Sergey Pomazun (born 1981) * Oleg Ten (born 1975) *

Dmitry Voronenko Dmitry Petrovich Voronenko (, ; born 29 July 1971), known as The Petersburg Maniac (), is a Kyrgyzstani-Ukraine, Ukrainian serial killer, who killed four girls and young women in St. Petersburg between 2006 and 2007. Early life Voronenko was ...

(born 1971) * Mikhail Yudin (born 1975) * Abdufatto Zamanov (born 1973) *

Sergey Zastynchanu Sergey Vladimirovich Zastynchanu (, ; born 1979), known as The Koptevsky Maniac () is a Moldovan serial killer who operated mainly in the north of Moscow. Biography He was born in 1980 in Moldova and grew up in the small town of Fălești, w ...

(born 1979) * Alexander Zhizhich (born 1979) – one half of a killing team with his brother

References

{{authority control Prisons in Russia 1961 establishments in Russia Buildings and structures in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Government buildings completed in 1961

History

Notable inmates

See also

References