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'Welcome To Hell': Life In A Notorious Russian Women's Prison

Russian penitentiaries are loathed and feared by those serving sentences there -- and that goes for the women, too. (file image)
Photo: Vladimir Velengurin (TASS)

From kittens tossed into blazing furnaces to prisoners losing fingers slaving for hours at sewing machines in a rat-infested sweatshop, IK-14 prison for women in Russia’s central region of Mordovia is one of the most dreaded female correctional facilities in the country.
Such is the notoriety of the prison, women condemned to serve there often take extreme measures to avoid it, including slitting their wrists. And Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova said the reputation of prison IK-14 was known across Russia.
"As the inmates say, ‘If you haven’t done time in Mordovia, you haven’t done time, " said Tolokonnikova , who herself served prison time at the facility in 2013.
In a letter published in September 2013, Tolokonnikova complained about the slave-labor conditions at the prison, as well as abuse faced by prisoners. She wrote that women were forced to work 16 or 17 hours a day with one day off every eight weeks.
Such was her experience at the prison that Tolokonnikova campaigned for prisoner rights once she was released under an amnesty in December 2013.
According to the latest official data , 557,684 individuals are incarcerated in Russian correctional facilities. Of these, 44,474 are women.
More than six years after Tolokonnikova penned her letter, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) admitted she was "correct," in the words of FSIN Deputy Director Valery Maksimenko.
On December 24, Maksimenko announced the FSIN had requested that prosecutors open a criminal probe into allegations of slave-labor conditions at the prison in Mordovia. The director of prison IK-14, Yury Kupriyanov, was dismissed, along with other officials, Maksimenko said.
Kupriyanov had forced the prisoners to sew clothing for him, his relatives, friends, and business associates, Maksimenko explained.
Some of the inmates who have served time at IK-14 have told of their experience there to the Volga Desk of RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service.
Gelena Alekseyeva, a former deputy minister for investment in Saratov Oblast, was sentenced in 2013 to 3 1/2 years in prison for abetting commercial bribery. Between March 2014 and May 2015, Alekseyeva served part of her sentence at IK-14 in Mordovia.
Alekseyeva said such is the dread of being sent there, that women take extreme measures to avoid it.
"When the girls find out that they’re going to Mordovia, they cut their wrists, do everything possible: get sick, swallow nails, just so they don’t have to go there. Its reputation is known, especially after the letter by Nadia Tolokonnikova," Alekseyeva told RFE/RL.
Alekseyeva was picked to work in the sewing shop, cutting fabric to size.
"The saw cuts the fabric along a chalk line continuously. God forbid, if the saw cuts somewhere else [and not on the chalk line], then all 100 cuts are ruined. I can say that fingers on the saw are chopped off, cut, blood flows. This is definitely unsafe, requiring some training. I was saved by the cons themselves," Alekseyeva explained.
Like others, Alekseyeva said conditions at the facility were downright medieval.
"Mice lived with us. Rats lived with us in the industrial zone. Before you went into the bathroom, you needed to knock -- there were special poles for that. So that the rats would scatter, you understand," Alekseyeva recounted, adding that cats are also kept to hunt the rodents.
As the felines reproduced, however, the prison found a cruel method to keep their numbers down.
"They [the kittens] are collected in a sack and burned in the furnace," Alekseyeva said, explaining the cats are used as a kind of bargaining chip with the prisoners.
"There is nothing more dear to the inmates than these kittens and cats. But they can also be used for punishment. So, if you sewed badly today then we will burn the cats! They don’t punish one or two people -- they punish a whole brigade," Alekseyeva said.
When Veronika Krass entered prison IK-14 in October 2014, a few words scrawled on the wall at the entrance grabbed her attention.
"At the entrance to IK-14 there is a sign: ‘Welcome To Hell.’ When someone enters the colony, there’s a lineup in the yard. Everyone yells, ‘Fresh meat has arrived.’ The inmates react of course to this -- they are afraid," Krass told RFE/RL.
In April 2014, Krass was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty on narcotics and robbery charges. She served part of her term in the Mordovian prison from October 2014 to March 2017. She was 41 years old when she was imprisoned at prison IK-14.
Krass explained that up till the last moment, she had no idea she was headed to prison IK-14.
"After the sentence is handed down everyone is very afraid about ending up in Mordovia. They sit in their cells and nervously wait. In the end, quite unexpectedly in the middle of the night, people are taken out," Krass said. "I was taken at midnight and they told me I should be ready to leave in 40 minutes. As I was led out, I asked where I was going. No one answered me. During the trip no one answers any of your questions."
Like others, Krass complained that the conditions in the sewing shop were unbearable, with daily quotas constantly raised.
Krass says once she complained to prison administrators that she couldn’t keep up with her sewing quota, a mistake she quickly realized.
"They told me if I didn’t sew what I had to -- and it was minus 20 [Celsius] outside -- then I would stand in the ‘spot’ outside. That means, in the evening after work, you cannot return to the barracks."
Arguing with administrators only got Krass thrown in the isolation cell for a few days.
Yelena Federova was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted on a murder charge when she was 20 years old. She served part of that sentence from June 2007 to April 2016 at prison IK-14.
Federova was quickly moved to work in the medical unit. Originally relieved that she had avoided the horrors of the sweatshop, Federova said she witnessed "really horrible things."
"I repeatedly saw beaten women -- young and old. They cried, begging for help. I went to Yury Kupriyanov to put an end to this madness -- end the beatings and uphold the law," Federova recounted.
Ultimately, she turned to independent media and NGOs with the shocking details of what was going on in the prison. A criminal probe was opened but quickly shut after Fedorova refused to give the names of any witnesses.
"They were afraid to open their mouths again, fearing they’d be killed this time," claimed Fedorova.
The fate of one 21-year-old HIV-positive prisoner, Lena, still haunts Fedorova.
"On July 13, 2013 she died in my arms. She was a really young girl, who, despite her diagnosis, could have lived a long and happy life. She had just 40 days to her release. We battled for two hours to save Lena’s life, [while] her heart was still beating," Fedorova said.
"Two days before she died, Lena went to the medical unit staggering, as if she were drunk. She had bruises all over. They beat her because she went to ARV therapy [antiretroviral therapy] and was unable to sew what was demanded of her by the shop leader."
Like the others, Fedorova now hopes that Kupriyanov and others responsible for the treatment of prisoners at prison IK-10, finally face justice.
"I think that Yury Kupriyanov should be punished for all that he did. He destroyed the lives of many while working at the prison," Fedorova said. "I’m not only for him being punished, but others in the prison administration as well. Kupriyanov was not alone."
Vadim Meshcheryakov is a correspondent for RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service.
Tony Wesolowsky is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL in Prague, covering Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and Central Europe, as well as energy issues. His work has also appeared in The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Christian Science Monitor, and the Bulletin Of The Atomic Scientists.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty © 2022 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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Naked, Shaved and Stripped of Her Name—Life in a North Korean Prison

February 7, 2019
by
Lindy Lowry
in Asia

‘I Survived a North Korean Prison Camp’

5 Gut-Wrenching Facts About North Korean Prison Camps

A Handful of Rotten Corn–a Day in the Life of 50,000 Christians in North Korean Prison Camps

5 Ways to Pray for Those in Prison—As If You Were There Too

In North Korea, No. 1 on the World Watch List for the 18 th consecutive year , the state uses the country’s brutal and intricate penal system as a fear tactic. Anyone who is discovered to be a Christian or is perceived as a “threat” to the spread of the Kim family’s ideology is quickly eradicated from society into detention centers, re-education camps and maximum-security hard labor prison camps. Here, a North Korean prison camp survivor walks us through her difficult journey in a North Korean prison and shares how God stayed with her through so much brutality. Her story is difficult to read but also important as we pray fervently and specifically with these secret believers in North Korea.
The name I was born with in North Korea was the first thing they took away from me when I arrived here in this North Korean prison . Every morning at 8 a.m., they call for “42.” To get to them, I have crawl on my elbows through the cat-flap. When I stand up, I must keep my head down. I’m not allowed to look at the guards.
Each day begins the same. I put my hands behind my back and follow the guards to the interrogation room. Each day for an hour, they ask the same questions.
Am I a Christian? Yes. I love Jesus. But I deny it. If I admit that I was helped by Chinese Christians, I will be killed, either quickly or slowly.

They will murder me in this North Korean prison.
Every day, I’m beaten and kicked—it hurts the most when they hit my ears. My ears ring for hours, sometimes days.
At the end of the day, they bring me back to my cell. It’s warm during the day, cold at night. The space is so small I can barely lie down. It isn’t often that I get to lie down. They force me to sit on my knees with closed fists and never allow me to open them.
I’m in solitary confinement here in this North Korean prison camp because they believe that I believe in God. My grandfather, he’s the one who really believed in God. On Sundays, he often told me to leave the house and play outside. I didn’t understand why and didn’t want to, but he forced me.
I’m here because I needed to feed myself and my family. During the famine, I crossed the border and fled to China to look for food. It was there that I met other Christians like my grandfather. I was touched by them. They reminded me of him. They never really spoke about the gospel, but I participated in their worship services. Then, one night, I had a dream and saw my grandfather sitting in a circle with other men. There was a Bible in the middle, and all of them were praying.
In my dream, I shouted to him: “I am a believer too!”
I always thought I was the first in my family to really follow God, but now I realize I came from a Christian family.
One day when I was living in China, a black car pulled up next to me. I thought the man wanted to ask for directions, but the driver and other men stepped out of the car and grabbed me.
I tried to get away, but they pushed me into the car. When that door closed, I realized my life was over.
After a few weeks in a Chinese prison cell, I was brought to this North Korean prison. The first day, I had to strip off all my clothes, and they searched every part of my body to see if I had hidden anything, money especially.
I had to squat dozens of times. Then I was ordered to put on different clothes that didn’t fit and didn’t match. Probably from a previous prisoner.
They shaved off all my hair and brought me to this prison cell.
I’m so alone here. I know there are other prisoners. I can hear their voices, but I never see them.
All I can do is pray. And sing—in my heart. Never out loud. In my head, I sing a song I wrote:
My heart longs for my Father in this prison
Although the road to truth is steep and narrow
A bright future will be revealed when I continue
Without faith, calamity will strike in this road
Allow me to go forth towards the fortress
Although there may be much grief and complications
How could I follow in the footsteps of my God?
With tears, my heart longs for my Father in this prison
Father, please accept this sinful daughter
Please protect me in your mountain fortress and under your shield
Father’s voice that comes from the sky
It has been a year now. I don’t know how long I will survive in this place. One day they will call me, and I won’t move. I will have died here in a North Korean prison. They will dispose of my body, and the first new prisoner that comes in will be “Prisoner 42.” They will wear my clothes.
Two years ago, they called me out of my prison cell and brought me to court.
That was a victory. People who are sent to the Kwan-li-so —a political labor camp—are never sentenced by a judge. They just disappear . No one survives the Kwan-li-so . Most Christians go to these maximum security North Korean prison camps. My persistence has paid off. They have not found me guilty of being a Christian.
No lawyer represented me. I just stood in front of the judge with guards behind me. My husband was there, too. He looked at me with the saddest eyes, and I could see he had been crying. I wanted to say so much to him, and I knew he wanted to talk to me, too. But we couldn’t say a single word.
The judge asked my husband if he wanted to divorce me.
He had to do it for his sake and for the sake of our children. If he didn’t divorce me, they would all be punished. Still, his words broke my heart.
Then I was sentenced to four years in a re-education camp. If you think a North Korean re-education camp is the worst that can happen, you have never been to a North Korean prison. I spent one year in prison, and for one year my skin didn’t touch a single ray of sunlight.
Just to be transported from the prison—to be outside and to feel the wind—was amazing.
But any sense of happiness or relief quickly disappeared when I arrived at the camp. I remember seeing moving, shapeless forms. It took me a moment to realize they were people. Some were bent over; others were missing an arm or a leg. I looked down at my own arms and legs, thin like matches. I didn’t look much better than the other inmates.
In the camp, I work 12 hours a day. Sometimes more. Every day is just one long living nightmare. But at least I am not alone in a cell anymore.
The other day, I was sick and was allowed to stay in my barracks. I thought I was all by myself when I noticed a blanket in the corner. It was moving. I studied it and realized that underneath it was a person.
I tiptoed toward the blanket and listened intently. The sounds were hardly audible, yet they sounded familiar.
Suddenly, I realized what was happening. There was a woman, and she was praying, praying in tongues. I went back to my mattress and watched her for days.
One day, we were working outside. Nobody was near, and I walked up to her and said, “Hello, greetings in Jesus’ name.”
She was completely shocked. Fortunately, I could calm her down quickly before her gasps alerted the guards.
Inside this North Korean prison, we wound up forming a secret church. When we met and felt safe enough, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed.
She was actually much braver than I was. She spoke to others about Christ as well.
That’s why one day a car came to pick her up. When I saw her leave, I knew they were taking her to a maximum-security Kwan-li-so . I knew I would never see her again.
I’m here in my barracks. But not for long anymore. God has been with me every day, every hour, every minute and every second. Yesterday, I learned I would be released. I have only served two years here.
The first thing I’ll do when I get out is find my husband and children. They are much bigger now. We haven’t seen each other in years.
But God has watched over me here in this North Korean prison, and I pray and believe that he also watches over my family every second of every minute of every hour of every day.
I need to tell them about this loving God.

Through a secret network outside of North Korea, Open Doors supports secret believers who are able to make their way across the border. But we need your help to continue. Will you give now to come alongside and strengthen this secret church of believers?

Open Doors USA is a 501(c)(3) organization and charter member of ECFA, the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability.
Federal Tax ID# 23-7275342

Part of HuffPost Personal. ©2022 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved.
In just three seconds my future dramatically shifted.
Feb 4, 2019, 09:30 AM EST | Updated Jan 28, 2021
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I left my home in Olympia, Washington, in January 2018 to undertake a two-year global journey I hoped would help me to discover more about the world and, subsequently, myself. I had just divorced a wonderful man ― and the equally wonderful life that came with him ― after being married for six years.
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