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Two days have passed since the arrest. I am sure that they will sort it out and let us go, we will not stay here long, at least one week.
When we got out of the shower, it turned out that we had to carry the mattress ourselves.
– No, no, I won’t carry it. I don’t have the strength or the hands to carry all this, «I say indignantly. The accompanying employee advises:
– You need to tie the mattress with a sheet, it will be easier to carry.
«Aha, and throw it over your back, carry it like a sack!» Can you imagine what it looks like?! I’ll fall in dark basements, get hurt, and who will be to blame?!
– You can carry it like a bag, – the employee laughs. At this time, a young guy in a black robe comes into the room, I guessed that this is a prisoner working here (khozbanda). Turn to him:
«Young man, please help me carry the mattress to the cell.
It was obvious that he was happy to be addressed, but looked at the employee, asking for his permission.
– Well, what you stand, take two mattresses – ordered it the employee.
The guy put all our supplies on the mattress, rolled it into a thin tube, tied it with a sheet. One was slung over his shoulders, the other under his arm.
Again we go through the mazes and exit into a long corridor, on both sides of the cell. As we moved along the corridor, eye holes opened in the doors, and male voices asked us: «Where is the stage from?» We didn’t engage in conversation. Later I learned that in the cells, prisoners are required to monitor the movement in the corridor, for this purpose they take turns at the doors.
We were taken to the women’s building. They placed them at the doors of the neighboring cells. First they started Anya, then me. I went into the cell and the door slammed behind me. A smoke-filled cell, poor lighting, a long table in the middle, and two adjacent bunk beds on either side of it. There are a lot of women in the cell, and they all stare at me. Questions were asked in Tuvan:
– Where’s the stage from?» What article? What’s your name?»
I answer in Russian:
– I was brought from IVS, I am accused on 105th.
– Why a Russian answer, kind of like Tuvan?
– I understand, but I can’t talk.
Russian Russian, my father said, had more books and more information, so he put me in a Russian class. I know and speak Tuvan colloquially, but I don’t understand it more profoundly. In addition, each district has its own dialect of the language. If I don’t understand the words and say them incorrectly, there may be a conflict, so to avoid everything, I said that I speak Russian. Although this, too, could lead to dislike for me.
«Any accomplices?»
«Yes, there is.
One of the women prisoners says:
– A, this is about them said, former cops (police officers) killed their maid.
– We didn’t kill anyone!»
«That’s what everyone says.
I think that I will have problems: a language barrier; a former employee (if you take into account my 6-month practice in the authorities); a high social status. They’ve already figured out that the maid was murdered. For them, it looks something like this: people from high society killed a simple woman from the people, such as us. There is nothing to prove, it is useless to say, they will not believe. Why do I have to prove myself, explain myself? Time will tell who is who. One of the women suggested:
– Let’s put chifir for acquaintance.
This is the name of very strong tea that prisoners drink, especially men.
– No need to wait for Cogane when I Wake up.
While I look at the life of the cell, I can guess the hierarchy in the cell from the behavior of others. There are five bunk beds in the cell, and fourteen women. It is incredible how these 14 women live in such a small space, and I have already had 15 with me. The cell is full, where I will be put, my mattress still lying near the door. Do they take turns sleeping?! There is nothing to say about living conditions. The toilet in the cell is fenced with a wall about 1.5 meters high, the rest of the room is covered with a rag up to the ceiling. There is no hot water, clothes are drying on the batteries, and some of the ceiling is dripping with moisture. «You can easily get tuberculosis,» I think. There is no TV or even radio. There is absolutely no contact with the outside world.
You will have to survive in the domestic situation. I remember your words: «You are an unrealized person, my dear. I’m your cook, your laundress, your watchman, your Stoker, your flower-seller… How will you live when I am gone?»
And I answered in jest: «All this is done by technology. You will be gone, another will appear.»
Waking up this Chaihana. A woman of average height, hair below the shoulders, a pretty face, there is no femininity in the movement, but on the contrary, ostentatious swaying of the body and negligence, may have served a sentence more than once, in appearance, the age of about 40 years.
The entire camera sits down at the table, and from one mug they begin to take turns drinking chifir. To whom the mug approaches, the one who introduces himself, name, age, where he comes from, article, under investigation or convicted, takes a SIP and passes on. My turn came, I also introduced myself, and the women were genuinely surprised that I was 41 years old. I took a SIP of chifir and declined the offer of a cigarette, since I didn’t smoke.
– Where did you work in the wild?»
– General Director of a real estate and tourism Agency.
Apparently, they wanted to make sure that I worked in the police.
It turns out that everyone went to prison for the first time, except Choigana, who was convicted of murder for 9 years, age 27. She also made a remark to me that I don’t speak Tuvan. I say:
– That’s not a problem, I understand. That means I can communicate with you.
– Today you rest, tomorrow you get up on the road, the girls will teach you. Arina, clear her bed.
Well, I was assigned a sleeping place, on the second tier near the wall, next to the window.
The night life of the prison began. On a small piece of paper, they briefly write down the incidents of the day. In this way, the entire prison is notified of who came in, went out, and the incoming stage. The road is a rope connecting the cells where the prison mail is delivered. At night, there is an active life in prison, most of the cells do not sleep, usually young girls «road users» are responsible for the road. Night duty employees do not pay attention to this, it is normal for them.
I was left alone at the table, I wanted to be alone and analyze the events of the past few days.
Is this the handiwork of my ex-lover Dinita? By nature, perhaps, he is capable of meanness, taking advantage of his position, but he is a cowardly person. It’s hard to believe that he started all this.
Most likely, Kostyuk herself committed the crime. But why exactly does it specify us? What do I know about her?! She was a client of the Agency, and I took the application for the sale of the apartment from her. She was selling her niece’s apartment. The transaction took place, and Kostyuk received the money. But six months later, my niece comes and says that she didn’t receive any money. To me, what kind of claims can be.
I don’t understand why she’s talking about us. Okay, she knows me and Anya, but she doesn’t know Andrey and Valera… or does she? We need to relax, take our thoughts in a different direction.
At this time a woman from the lower caste of the cell approaches me and asks me:
– Can you write me a complaint about the verdict?
I hear the camera is quiet.
– I can’t say for sure, I need to read the verdict first.
It gives me the sentence that is written in the Tuvan language. According to the dates, the deadline for filing a complaint expires tomorrow, the article on robbery, 4 years of imprisonment with serving a sentence in a penal colony.
– You read me the verdict, and then we’ll see.»
She read the sentence to me, some of the words are incomprehensible to me, but, in General, I caught the essence of the case, noted some violations and wrote her a complaint. A month later, after reviewing the complaint in the Supreme court, this woman was released, changing the real term to a suspended sentence.
I see that a phone has appeared in the camera.
I have been contacted by another woman who has been held in prison for six months. tomorrow, a court is scheduled to extend the period of detention. The youngest child is currently one year and six months old, the second child is four years old, and the other two children are teenagers. Naturally, I wrote a motion, I don’t know where her expensive lawyer is looking, and I tell her:
– Call your husband, let him bring the children to the court tomorrow. He doesn’t come in himself, as if he’s at work. Wear a skirt to court so that a four-year-old child will have something to hold on to when they see you. It will be better if the youngest child will cry in the arms of a teenage daughter. They won’t be allowed in the courtroom, so let them wait for you on the first floor and escort you down the floor to the courtroom.
The next day, she left the courtroom and went home, and the measure of restraint was changed to her own recognizance. A few days later, as a token of gratitude, she made a transfer to me.
I was given a phone number to call. I’m calling you, you don’t answer the phone, it’s two o’clock in the morning. I call the driver, he picks up the phone, I tell him:
– Dima, good night, it’s me, how’s Sanya?
– Where are you calling from?»
– From prison, Dima, from prison. Tell Sana not to turn off the phone at night. Have a lawyer come to me tomorrow. Make me a transfer, a pen, standard papers, a warm tracksuit and underwear, a pair of warm socks. The book I have on my dresser is pink. Ah and products.
Chaihana why I have asked:
– Who did you call?»
– Driver.
I’m not used to strangers talking to me on the phone and asking who I called. I’m older than she is. Even my children are to me and to my parents turning on you. Chaihana starting to piss me off, I don’t like.
A young girl from the cell asked me:
– Do you have a driver?»
«Yes,» I said politely. It is clear that the girl was brought up correctly, as it should be in the Tuvan family, a respectful attitude to her elders.
It’s already one o’clock in the morning, I need to go to bed to rest my body, I don’t know what tomorrow is waiting for me. I climbed into my bunk and looked out the window at the street. The camera is located on the second floor of the women’s building, and opposite, at a distance of 300 meters, a three-story men’s building. From the third floor of the men’s building at night, the women’s camera is visible at a glance. On the contrary, the picture was terrible. Through the barred Windows in the opposite building, black, moving shapes were visible. It was like black creatures who have been placed in cells. Ropes ran from the cell Windows up, down, and into neighboring buildings. The moonlight fell on the ropes, and I imagined a huge spider’s web encircling the prison. I don’t want to, I don’t want to see it, I looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful cloudless, starry night.
The Windows are constantly opening because of the road, so it’s cold. I’m a cold person myself, predisposed to colds. I covered myself with a blanket and a fur coat and fell asleep.
In the morning of the next day, before checking, I am handed two tubes of wrapped papers. I’m asking:
– What is it?»
– These are sentences, they ask you to write complaints about them. You need to untie it and put it in your room, or they’ll take it away during the search. On the road you stay, your task is to write a complaint – said to me Chaihana. So my life in prison began.
How I now regret that I was carried away by work, study, and myself. Forgive me, my dears, for paying so little attention to you. I didn’t even know how to use appliances. And prison is a cruel world for survival, intrigues from all sides, in order to break and humiliate a person. Here is a completely different layer of the population, who do not understand and do not explain the whole essence of the terrible accusation, just as I do not understand others, everyone has their own pain.
Today is December 15. A week after my arrest, you had a stroke and your legs gave out. My daughter had to take a sabbatical. All the care of you and my parents has fallen on her, my poor girl.
Oh, how my heart aches, it’s impossible to breathe, my heart breaks. I can’t breathe. Calmly, we must live, we must breathe, breathe. A woman is sitting across from me, and I mentally ask her to look at me, and she does.
– What’s the matter with you? I’ll get some water.
I repeat in my mind: breathe, breathe, everything is fine. Dad, what was that, an attack?! You know I’ve been born with a weak heart. I’ve never had such pain. A year later, my cardiologist told me that I had suffered a microinfarction.
During my first time in prison, I was internally judgmental of prisoners for their crimes. I thought that we accidentally «wandered» here, they will soon sort it out and let us go, after all, we do not live in the years of repression. Prisoners of Stalin’s repression probably thought the same. The history of the state, like karma, repeats itself. It is hard to believe that all this lawlessness is happening in modern democratic Russia, or rather, in the Republic that is part of Russia.
Thanks to my legal education, Anya and I helped others in the investigation and appeal of the sentence, some of them reduced the term, changed the qualification of the crime to a more lenient one, and some were released or acquitted. The real professionalism of investigators and judges is falling. Of course, it is much easier to beat out a confession and fabricate evidence, the authorities will cover up, as the statistics of disclosure improve. Thus, I got to know the unknown life of another layer of the population, I got to know all the rot and arrogance of law enforcement agencies that take advantage of a person’s legal ignorance to raise the detection rate of crimes and get a promotion for successfully solving a case for a more serious crime.
After a month, we were fed rotten fish, and instead of bread, we were given spoiled army cookies, the batteries were barely warm. They were saved by broadcasts from home, but this was very little, since most of the prisoners are beggars. As usual, criminal offences are mostly committed by the lower class of the population. They did not take off their outer clothing, and went to bed with shoes on, two people on the same bed to keep each other warm.
Now we have three mentally ill women in our cell. Olya arrived from the court, was sentenced to a medical term. This young beautiful girl stabbed a friend with whom she lived in the same room in a boarding school for the mentally ill.
Tanya and Sveta came to the party (this is when they are kicked out of the cell or the operative will mix it up) from other cells. They have no confirmation of mental illness. Tanya is under investigation, beat a drunk neighbor to death. Sveta was sentenced to 15 years, stabbed two sleeping friends who abused her. Psychological examination due to the lack of data in the file of mentally ill people found them sane. I found out that these two were in the category of patients who had to visit a psychiatric hospital on their own once a year and undergo inpatient treatment. If such patients did not come to the hospital for a year, they were removed from the register of mental patients, and outpatient records were sent to the archive.
At my (Tanya’s) request, the investigator requested an outpatient card from the archives of the district hospital. After receiving confirmation of her mental illness, she was sent for treatment.
Sveta was sentenced to a real term with serving a sentence in a penal colony due to lack of professionalism or negligence of the investigation and the court. There Sveta will finally go mad and die.
Constant quarrels with these patients strain the psychological atmosphere in the cell. One night Olga attacked Tanya, then began banging her head on the floor. I had to tie her up completely and keep her there until morning. Employees do not pay attention, they ask us to calm them down.
One day at 5 o’clock in the morning, I Wake up from the impact of iron on my bed, open my eyes, and there is a freeze frame. Laughter and grief. Sveta is standing with her hand raised, and in her hand is an iron Cup. She looks at me with fear and guilt. On the other side is Tanya, bent over with her hand raised above her head. Apparently, Light swung to hit the mug, and Tanya wanted to protect herself from the blow. I show them signs to calm down, that I’m tired and I need to sleep, and they calm down. They were friendly to me.
I think, God forbid, there will be a murder in the cell. Usually on the morning Balanda road workers close the roads, and those on duty in the cell Wake up. These sick women should not be left unattended. Tanya is aggressive compared to others.
While in prison, I learned that the criminal world in the Republic is quite organized and even controls some part of the economy. They live very well with the prison administration. Criminals monitor order, Finance landscaping, and the administration allows you to drive the road at night and use phones.
One phone was attached to each camera. I was surprised that the phone was often called by convicted men who were serving their sentences in Russian colonies. Well, what can I say, well done and many thanks to the criminal world that I had the opportunity to communicate with my family. In addition, there is a thieves ' hostel, from which they necessarily supply women for the stage to the colony. Provide for children born in prison. I have seen three cases of women giving birth and being held in prison with children. One of them went to the colony with a child. My dear, I told you about her. Currently, she is doing well, got a job and took her son from the boarding school.
I have been in prison for three months now. The clerk on duty down the hall knocked on the door and peered through the peephole.
– Kama, get ready for the investigation.
«Wait, I’ll get dressed.»
Even in prison, I tried to look after myself, dress appropriately for my status. Besides, I didn’t want to look depressed or broken in front of the investigators. I put on a black wool dress with short sleeves, just below the knees. The collar and lower part of the dress were in a mottled pattern. One of my favorite dresses. It fits my beautiful figure. Wear nylon stockings in light and the ankle boots, the front part of the black husky, middle of the dark purple skin, back also likes leather and black bow. The length of my hair was up to the elbow, so I could afford to make a ponytail with an elastic band and tuck it in like a bump. She picked up a folder of papers and knocked on the door. Prison officers towards me and Ana have always been treated with respect and civility, as we are to them.
«I’m ready.»
The attendant and attendant were waiting for me outside the door. I heard that Anya was also ordered, so I went out of the cell and stood facing the wall, waiting.
«Wait,» the attendant said, and went to the next cell:
«Are you ready?»
– Yes.
Anya comes out of the cell. She’s a little taller than me, built like me. She is wearing a grey wool turtleneck and dark grey classic trousers, pressed into an arrow. Wavy thick hair with a short hairstyle. Thick lashes and brows, eyes with an open slit, a straight nose and neat lips. We said Hello, and I said,
– I have a court tomorrow to consider my complaint about the inaction of the investigation.
– I wrote a complaint to the Prosecutor General’s office. Finally, some action has been taken, if called.
We talked to her as we went along. When they came to the bars of a large corridor, they saw that it was filled with male prisoners. Today was a stage visit to the local colony. When the prison staff saw us, they started shouting at the prisoners:
– Stand aside, face the wall, hands behind your head, sit on the courts.
The middle of the corridor was cleared so that we could pass. Where else can you see such a picture, when beautiful women are walking down a long corridor, and a crowd of convicted criminals squats, opening the way for them. I slowed down a little, I think, let them at least please their eyes, excite their imagination.
On the first floor, all the boxes were occupied, and we were left standing in the General corridor against the wall. At this time, two investigators, a girl and a man, were also in the corridor waiting for the release of the investigative office. Anya and I spoke Russian. Apparently, these two investigators thought that we do not understand the Tuvan language at all. The man, looking at us with interest, said:
– Everyone says that the women of this criminal case are urban, smart and beautiful. Yes, indeed, they are good, and you can not say that the murder was committed.
The young woman’s face turned red at her colleague’s words.
– They don’t have anything to do in the cell, so they’re showing off, they don’t work like me.
The man looked at her in disbelief as she looked at us, then pulled away. The girl’s face is pretty, but her body is running, requires sports exercises, especially in the abdomen. The national trait of the bulk of Tuvan women of my age is a low butt and a full belly. The later generation, especially the young girls of today, are beautiful in everything.
The young investigator Okhemchik wanted to acquaint us with the conclusion of the examination and the Protocol of identification without the presence of lawyers. In conclusion, it was stated that the shape of the skull belongs to the Caucasian race. According to the identification Protocol, the body was identified by the photo of the mother of the victim, according to the last name, tuvinka. Accordingly, we refused to get acquainted without lawyers. It was necessary to protest these documents.
Andrey learned that Pavlova had a Tuvan name, and her appearance was that of a Mongoloid race. She was a drunk with no fixed address. The identification of the photos is illegal. According to these documents, the body belongs to a Russian woman. Pavlova’s mother didn’t recognize the real body. Finally, now they will understand that we are innocent. You need to immediately appeal against these materials, and you can already go home.
Returning to the cell, we hear Tanya’s frantic scream from the far corridor. Anya says:
– Again you have Tanya raging.
In the corridor of the women’s building, her words are heard more clearly.
– I’ll kill you, all of you, in the night!»
I ask the corridor attendant:
– What happened, did they fight?»
– As usual when you’re not in your cell.» This time they went too far.
«Okay, I’m not going in the cell. Bring me an operative or a warden.
After a while, the operative, Nikolayevich, arrives. He is of average height, well-fed, unsympathetic, but quite a sympathetic person, I tell him:
– Nikolayevich, do you want a crime to be committed in the cell?!
«What crime?»
– There are three mentally ill women in the cell. The nerves of others are already at the limit, they will kill each other. At least you can transfer Tanya to another cell.
– You know, the other cells threw her out, the solitary cells are occupied. Tomorrow they will go to the colony, and one of them will be taken away.
At this time, screams were heard from the cell again, and Tanya was the one who screamed the most.
– Until she is transferred, I will not go to the cell, or we will all go on a hunger strike, why only our cell must tolerate sick women in such numbers?!
The cells were divided into categories of crimes. There were only six women’s cells, two of them for particularly serious crimes. Since Tanya has a heavy article, the choice was only in two cells.
We went into the cell together. The women quieted when they saw the operative. Nikolayevich made a stern face and asked:
– What’s going on here, which one of you is the loudest?»
The women silently pointed at Tanya.
«Let’s go talk.»
The operative took Tanya away. I turned to my cellmates:
– Quickly pack her things, she is being transferred. Sveta, if you behave badly, you will go to the punishment cell, like Tanya, and it is dark and cold there – " I deceived.