Quality of Life and Historical Values In Russian Prisons

In the late 1900's the Soviet Union had few prisons. Most convicted criminals served most of their sentences in Labor Camps. While they were in the camps they had to work in the most bizarre places, meaning they worked in difficult areas. Now in the present, criminals go straight to jail or prison. The council of Europe consider prisons in Russia as a place which is constant torture. It gets worst over time due to the large number of HIV positive inmates. Inmates that are tested positive are being medicated daily. In the prisons they created a self-support group to watch over the inmates that test HIV positive. Now it's best if the ill inmates just go straight to the hospital or maybe the prison should hire doctors to work. Also they are experiencing a over crowd now so the risk of inmates getting sick is higher . Now prison officials are required to protect prisoners who have received threats, and freedom of religious practices guaranteed. When the prisoners show good behavior they get rewarded by being able to roam around outside. Thats good for some and bad for others because they tend to get in more trouble outside the prison walls. There are a lot of prisoners that like tattoos.The Russian Mafia Tattoos is what it's called. This goes back to when the Soviet Union once powered. With it's deepest thoughts through the notorious Russian prison camp system, this is known as the Soviet Gulag. As their communist empire fell a new breed of professional criminals were spawned, filled by a sense of dignity. Overall I learned that Russian Prisoners went through a lot to get where they are. While they served their time they surely made up for what they done.

Jordan's Post: Living Conditons in Russian Prisons

After researching the living conditions in Russian prisons I have been introduced to the extreme brutality and humiliating activities that the inmates are subjected to while serving their sentences. Prison Guards and other police officials have been recorded beating prisoners more than once and in various prisons. The incidents have yet to be sufficiently justified. In some cases the abuse has been blamed on the misbehavior of the inmates, but other times the guards have taken punishment matters into their own hands. Human rights should respected, despite a criminal past or accusations of criminal behavior.

Under the rule of Stalin large numbers of Russians were imprisoned and used as free laborers, similarly to slaves, for the authorities. It is increasingly common for community services to be given as punishment for crimes nowadays, which is the main reason so many Russians are serving time in prison. Russia has over 829,000 people incarcerated. Because of the high number, Russia has the second largest number of inmates next to America, which is first. Minor offenses of the laws are taken incredibly seriously in Russia and that is the cause of the overpopulation in prisons. Only 25% of the current prisoners have committed a crime that should result in a prison sentence. The number of prisoners is overwhelming and the inmates are deprived of decent living conditions because the Russian government cannot afford all of the prisoners at once.

As a result of the facilities’ conditions, prisoners are often forced to do the manual labor that is required to keep things functioning. The occasional inmate claims that he was deprived of sleep because the prison guards made him clean and partake in unnecessary actions. Others said that they were forced to clean the floors and corridors of the prison late into the night; only being dismissed for sleep minutes before they were expected to arise. Prison officials have claimed that the prisoners have not fulfilled their duties as Russian citizens by committing crimes, so they do not believe that their dignity matters. They think that they have the right to determine a prisoners worth. In some prisons the guards destroy what little personal possessions the prisoners have; they take away anything of sentimental value from the inmates. There have even been occurrences where policemen attack the prisoners for no reason at all. Although, there was an abuse case that was said to have been used to intimidate incoming prisoners.

There is no reason for the officials of prisons to violate the rights of human beings. They do not deserve to be treated any other way because of the mistakes they have made. Acceptable conditions should be provided for these people; conditions that insure their safety, health, and dignity. These conditions can be created if each situation was approached with equality.Even prisoners are worthy of respect.

This Link displays the physical abuse inmates suffered from inside of a Russian prison.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNAYJhOWpiI

Jillian's Post: Disease in Accordance with Poverty and Prisons

The history of tuberculosis (TB) dates back to ancient Egypt with even a few references to the disease even before then. Even with vaccines and treatment regimens, TB has never been totally vanquished. It remains one of the top infectious killers around the world. The bacteria (Mycobacterium Tuberculosis) are spread through airborne droplets that have been expelled into the air. When people talk, spit, sneeze, or cough the germs enter into the air around us and infects others. The disease is particularly difficult to treat because it reproduces only about once a day and yet manages to mutate rapidly to resist drugs. 

Tuberculosis affects those individuals whose immune systems are compromised by other disease states such as HIV/AIDS, pulmonary diseases and endocrine diseases. Both the elderly and the very young are more susceptible to contracting TB.  It thrives in areas with poor living conditions, acute poverty, and large populations. Only 1\10th of the people infected ever fully contract the disease. The people with latent or dormant TB would show signs of the disease in their chest x-ray and would test positive for it.

Prisons are a breeding ground for Tuberculosis. The occurrence of TB is 100 times more in prisons that in normal society. The current tools used for treatment and diagnosis in Western Societies are often met with significant challenges to effectively implement when applied to eastern societies or third-world countries. This is based on poor living conditions, poor healthcare recourses and lack of funds.

 Treatment can only cure about 2\3 of the infected Treatment is extensive and involves at least four drugs that attack the disease in different ways, simultaneously.  The disease is often mistaken for bronchitis or a severe cold. The symptoms are vague and include fever, sweats, loss of appetite, and weight loss. These symptoms are so general that it becomes even more difficult to identify TB.

TB is very curable, but requires a complex treatment plan. A combination of four drugs over the course of six months is required to cure a strain that is not drug-resistant. The drugs are quickly becoming outdated on a global scale and newer strains of incredibly strong drug-resistant TB are popping up. TB can remain dormant for years. It could be latent and never make the infected person sick, nor would it be passed onto others.

The attached Link describes what challenges Healthcare Providers encounter when treating TB.

Russian prisons have been noted throughout history for being cruel and filthy. There is evidence of inmate brutality and massive TB outbreaks among prisoners. Within the close quarters of prison, Tuberculosis is spread even faster. The prisons on Russia lack enough funding to adequately care for prisoners. The food is often limited and the drugs necessary to treat TB and AIDS (both extremely prominent in the penitentiary system) are even more rare. Treatment for Tuberculosis can cost up to $250,000. After the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1950's living conditions dropped dramatically and even less treatment was available for the disease. The collapse also created mass migrations and the health care system failed. Because of this failure there was a 7.5% increase in annual TB cases (WHO).

The end of the 1990’s came with disturbing realizations; 27% of the country’s TB cases were in prison. The World Health Organization began working with experts and leaders to create a better approach to the Tuberculosis outbreaks. The collaboration resulted in DOTS. The system uses five elements: government commitment, diagnosis through sputum microscopy, regular drug supply, 6-8 months of regularly supervised treatment including direct observation of drug-taking for at least two months; and reporting systems to monitor treatment progress and program performance (WHO). The system continues to be effective and has been applied to other countries, as well.

I have been fortunate enough to be born in a medically advanced country and even more fortunate to have never encountered TB except my studies. I found it surprising that one of the top killers around the world was not an exotic virus, but Tuberculosis. Its prominence around the globe has a frightening influence on how I view penal and health care systems. Russian prisons are taking action in order to control the Tuberculosis rate. However, people are still dying because of a disease that’s been around for thousands of years. Something needs to change. I plan on being a part of that change because once these prisoners are released, they can spread TB more easily. I refuse to read about another orphaned child because TB killed their parent. It is no longer logical to let a disease run rampant because we don’t have the technology to stop it. We, as a society, are capable of making Tuberculosis a disease of the past.

Introduction To Our Topic

We've broken our social injustice topic down into three branches: Disease, abuse, and historical value.

Russian prisons are noted for being overcrowded and filled to the brim with infectious diseases like malaria and tuberculosis. The acute poverty in Russia is just the beginning of the disease issues.

The abuse in Russian prisons is often seen as a taboo topic, but it's out there, and we'd like to expose it to the world. The living conditions and health care inhibit the prisoner's quality of life.

The historical value of the prisons run deep. It entails both abuse and disease and puts meaning behind it. The history of the prisons will explain what it means presently, and what it meant to be an inmate in Russia.

Each member in the group will include a paragraph within the post in which they discuss their personal views about their chosen topic.