"In Russia Kids are Kids...We Want to Be Known as a Humane State"

There are currently 1,766 people serving life sentences in Russia. None of these people entered as youth. In the United States there are 140,610 people serving life sentences. It is estimated that over 2,000 of these people were sentenced for crimes committed before their 18^th birthday. 

Russia is second to the United States for the proportion of people incarcerated in the respective country.  Incarceration is all too often the final resort used by the Courts in each country; however,  withregard to youth, five years ago the High Court in Russia took steps to mandate that incarceration of youthful offenders be used only in extreme circumstances. Even prior to implementing this policy there was no adult transfer in Russia and in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, no child could be held in prison for more than 10 years. Additionally, even if a child were given the most extreme sentence, the child would typically be held in juvenile colonies until at least the age of 21.  In contrast to the United States where prisons continue to be constructed and capacity of current facilities increased, in Russia the Ministry of Justice has said that it aims to reduce the capacity of Russian Penal Institutions to 676,936 (down by 156,690) by 2020 . This reduction will  be the result of several reforms most relevant to our research:  further commitment to using incarceration as a method of last resort for youthful offenders; raising the transfer age from 21 to 24 allowing more youth to serve their full terms in juvenile colonies (aka juvenile prisons). This reeducation/reform is already occurring as is evidenced by the fact that as of 2011 there were 62 juvenile colonies in Russia. The population of youthful offenders is estimated at 3,500.  This number is down 488 since 2010.

Although Russia is seeking progressive and innovative reform of its penal system, the strategy behind this reform has received criticism by human rights activists who believe, like activists in the United States, that the root causes of incarceration are being ignored.  Specifically, these root causes are (for both juveniles and adults) a lack of rehabilitative programming in prison and limited support of re-entry upon release. Although half a world away, the crises of reform in Russia are nearly identical to those faced in the United States.  Perhaps the larger crisis is the lack of dialogue to learn from each others mistakes. 

During our time in Moscow we met with Valery Sergeev at the Moscow Center for Prison Reform (MCPR). Founded by a formerly incarcerated person, the MCPR focuses on eight main areas to reform juvenile incarceration: 1) A weekly radio program broadcast into prisons; 2) Social assistance to juveniles in prison and during re-entry; 3) Art rehabilitation programs in the Juvenile Colonies (aka Prisons); 4) Disseminating information on the civil rights of prisoners through brochures; 5) Maintaining a website; 6) Corresponding with prisoners; 7) Humanitarian aid (i.e. food, books); and 8) Public oversight of prisons and places of detention. Below are photos taken by MCPR and published in various brochures and reports...

The existence of an organization such as MCPR suggests that the juvenile prison system in Russia is in desperate need of reform; however, despite its failings, Russia still respects the human rights of youth by sentencing them to a maximum of 10 years in prison. When asked why he believes the Russian government would respect this human right, Mr. Sergeev (a long time prison reform activist) responded simply, "In Russia kids are kids...We want to be known as a humane state." It is important to note this difference between the United States and Russia when it comes to this particular human right.  Again, our two countries share a crisis in the areas of rehabilitation and re-entry. The problems in these areas are comprised of micro and macro level deficiencies in both countries.

On the macro level, problems include the fact that colonies/juvenile prisons are located hundreds of miles/kilometers away from a youth's family, which heavily strains relationships and, ultimately, the prospect for reconciliation post release. Additionally, rehabilitative programming inside the colonies/juvenile prisons  fails to meet youths' needs for success on the outside, i.e. job training in relevant fields as opposed to mopping floors; mental health treatment for both trauma (a common root cause of criminal behavior) and mental illness; continuing education to enable a youth to re-enter at the age-appropriate grade level upon release; proper hiring/training of staff to facilitate abilities beyond maintaining security. Further, assessment tools used to measure rehabilitation fail to account for variances between youth, i.e. family structure, mental illness, gender, sexuality. Too often, these assessment tools will award youth who are successful in school, who - without persuasion -  accept counseling, who are active in the church, who seek relationships with their family and/or seek marriage.  The same assessment tools punish those who do not exhibit the same performance and or tendencies without consideration for learning disabilities, being from abusive homes, religious differences, or LGBT identified youth.

On the micro level problems include colonies/juvenile prisons failing to provide proper resources for hygiene, eye glasses for youth with vision problems, identification cards/passports, seasonally appropriate clothing, and basic cleanliness and safety of facilities.

Currently in Russia the MCPR is largely responsible for rehabilitative programming in, and re-entry from, juvenile colonies. In addition to providing humanitarian support in the form of money, food, clothing, hygienic means, obtaining identification, providing legal assistance and advocacy, and locating family, MCPR employees instruct an art therapy program for young prisoners. In years past this program has paired professional artists with youth to produce calendars and art exhibits intended to both raise awareness about the crisis of juvenile incarceration and provide an outlet for expression for the youth. Below are photos of past projects...

Although the problems are vast and seemingly imbedded into the foundations of our penal systems, there are models around the world to which we can look for inspiration and reform. Norway is often regarded as famous for its "progressive prison system." Although upon first glance Norway's most notorious "Bastoy Prison" evokes images of one of America's most infamous institutions, this island colony bears nothing in common with the United States' historic and now abandoned Alcatraz. At Bastoy there are no walls or bars, no razor wire, no crowded cell blocks and there are no armed guards. Prisoners live in small cabins and receive job training relevant to one day returning to free society.  Since the longest sentence available in Norway is 21 years, returning to free society will almost always be the case. 

Slovenia's prison system is also regarded as one of the more "human rights friendly" systems in the world. Prisoners in the Slovenian system are able to engage in job training and employment outside of prison walls, allowing for continued employment upon release. Additionally, prisoners pay taxes, are enrolled in pension programs, are covered by medical insurance, are eligible to vote and even run for elected office! Re-entry plans for prisoners are prepared while the person is still under secure supervision and plans are outsourced to regional social work centers. Although Slovenia's current economy has limited funds for these agencies, the structure remains.

Of particular note to those interested in problems arising from racial/ethnic group conflict in prison, Slovenia has somehow managed to construct a system where Serbians, Croatians and Albanians (three ethnic groups with a long history of conflict) serve in an integrated environment without incident.

In the next several weeks we will be visiting Ljubljana, Slovenia to learn more about this incredibly progressive and innovative system.

In the meantime, we are happy to report that USAID with the help of the American Bar Association has recently funded a list serv and blog to promote dialogue between lawyers and advocates working for prison reform in The United States and Russia. For more information please feel free to contact us.