RUSSIA'S ALCATRAZ - The toughest prison on Fire Island | Full Documentary
WELT Documentary・20 minutes read
Russian courts sentence dangerous criminals to life imprisonment on Fire Island, a former monastery turned maximum-security prison, where inmates face harsh conditions and prefer the death penalty. Levanov, a murderer with a brutal criminal history, resides in this prison along with other inmates who work in the sewing shop and have limited privacy.
Insights
- Inmates at Fire Island, Russia's maximum-security prison, often prefer the death penalty over life imprisonment, with a sewing shop job being a coveted privilege for compliant prisoners.
- The prison's unique features, such as thick walls, extreme temperatures, and limited privacy, create a challenging environment where psychologists and profilers work with inmates to develop offender profiles, showcasing the complex dynamics within the facility.
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Recent questions
What is Fire Island prison like?
A former monastery turned maximum-security prison in Russia, Fire Island has thick walls, extreme temperatures, and inmates preferring death over continued incarceration.
What privileges do conforming inmates receive?
Inmates who conform at Fire Island prison may receive privileges like a paid job in the sewing shop.
What is Levanov's criminal history?
Levanov, a murderer at Fire Island prison, has a criminal history that includes abusing a nine-year-old girl, serving a prison term for child abuse, and brutally murdering a woman he met online.
How do inmates interact with family members at Fire Island?
Inmates serving life sentences at Fire Island can have personal meetings with family members, with good behavior allowing for up to two visits per year in special apartments.
What is the difference between maximum security prisons and prison camps in Russia?
Maximum security prisons in Russia, like Fire Island, house dangerous criminals with strict screening processes for family visits, while prison camps offer more freedom of movement and a caste system among inmates.
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Summary
00:00
Fire Island: Russia's Maximum-Security Prison Life
- Russian courts sentence terrorists, assassins, mafia bosses, and serial killers to life imprisonment on Fire Island, a former monastery turned maximum-security prison.
- The prison walls are 80 to 150 centimeters thick, surrounded by water and swampland, with extreme temperatures ranging from 35 degrees Celsius in summer to minus 30 in winter.
- Inmates in this prison prefer the death penalty over continued incarceration, with a paid job in the sewing shop being a privilege for those who conform.
- Levanov, a murderer convicted under Russian criminal code articles 105 and 103 for brutally killing his girlfriend, is subjected to cell searches for forbidden items.
- The prison cells accommodate three to four inmates, with the only privacy being the toilet, while psychologists and profilers work with prisoners to compile offender profiles.
- Levanov's criminal history includes abusing a nine-year-old girl, serving a prison term for child abuse, and brutally murdering a woman he met online, hoping for release after 25 years.
- Fire Island, Russia's oldest maximum-security prison, was once a monastery converted into a prison for dangerous criminals, surrounded by marshlands and lake Novozro.
- The prison's living quarters include renovated buildings with running water, security cameras, and a ventilation system to combat extreme temperatures.
- Inmates take showers together for security reasons, with a doctor treating medical issues in an isolation room, while the prison operates as an almost self-sufficient facility.
- Inmates in the sewing shop make life jackets, souvenirs, and clothes for a private company, with some like Levanov making compensation payments to victims' families and hoping for eventual release.
34:10
Life Sentences in Russian Prisons: Inside Look
- In Russia, prisoners serving life sentences like Levanov can have personal meetings with family members on Fire Island, with good behavior allowing for up to two visits per year in special apartments.
- Maximum security prisons in Russia, like the one in Yavas, house around 2,000 men serving life sentences, with strict screening processes before allowing family visits to ensure safety.
- In contrast to maximum security prisons, prison camps have more freedom of movement, with a caste system present among inmates, where crime bosses and common criminals avoid informers and homosexuals.
- Work is a reward for good behavior in both maximum security prisons and prison camps, with early release being a possibility in the latter for well-behaved inmates.
- Inmates in prison camps like Lake Navajoro provide for lifers through work like baking and cooking, with a system in place where those serving life sentences have their food brought to their cells three times a day to avoid potential dangers in communal dining halls.
