Formation and Development of Penitentiary Institutions in Yekaterinodar (Second Half of the 19th–Early 20th Centuries)

Abstract

Introduction: the article is devoted to the historic background of the prison system in the Kuban and features of the prison institutions formation in Yekaterinodar – the center of the Kuban Oblast, formed in 1860. The article, based on the comprehension of historical experience and analysis of archival materials, shows the impact of the 1860– 1870 state-legal reforms on construction of new and enlargement of current prisons and studies the specifics of prisoner detention conditions. It reveals the role of the Yekaterinodar Military Prison Committee “Prisons Custody Society” in enhancement of Yekaterinodar’s penitentiary institutions: organization of places of detention and provision of the necessary detention regime; control over detainee’s welfare; improvement of medical care for prisoners, etc. Purpose: to reflect development features of penitentiary institutions in the Kuban as a whole and Yekaterinodar in particular. The methodological basis of the research consists of philosophical, general scientific and private scientific methods (dialectical, system-structural, historical-genetic, comparative, formal-legal, etc.). Discussion: based on a brief analysis of the works of N.I. Galkina, N.V. Slavinskii, M.K. Batchayeva, S.A. Lobova, etc., devoted to the issues under consideration, as well as the study of materials contained in the funds of the State Archive of Krasnodar Territory, the author presents chronological background of formation and development of the Kuban prison institutions. As a result of the conducted research, the researcher comes to the following conclusion: since Yekaterinodar acquired the status of a civil city in 1867, there was a sharp increase in out-of-town visitors, which led to a rise in the number of crimes and, accordingly, persons serving sentences in the form of imprisonment. It involvedthe expansion of existing prison facilities and construction of new ones, in particular, the Yekaterinodar regional prison in 1876. The establishment of the Yekaterinodar Military Prison ommittee “Prisons Custody Society” in 1867, which was in charge of the entire Kuban penitentiary system, helped achieve some success in prison guardianship within its competence. The development of guardianship in relation to prisoners should be considered one of the mechanisms that solved the problem of improving prisoners’ situation. This activity was financed by state and private charitable funds. The author also notes that the Kuban prisons addressed acute problems, characteristic, however, of the entire penitentiary system, such as insufficient funding of prison facilities, unsuitability of prison facilities, i.e. overcrowding, and harsh detention conditions.