The work of Zonov's roosters. How do they let you down in prison? This is not California

We are already fed up with talk that Western politicians and the rest of “progressive humanity” are going to boycott the Sochi Olympics because of the oppression of homosexuals in Russia. And this happens, of course, to the thunderous applause and delight of the Russian opposition.

I could not find a single example of so-called harassment against athletes or fans representing sexual minorities. Perhaps only a new law prohibiting them from having sex or organizing gay pride parades near schools and kindergartens. Likewise, this is also not recommended for straight people by law. And do Olympians of non-traditional sexual orientation participate in the Olympic Games only for the purpose of having sex near kindergartens or campaigning for gay life there? If not, then why such loud hysteria and who is bothered by the law prohibiting this?

And why were fighters for the rights of sexual minorities so interested in the Sochi Olympics, and not, say, in the maximum security camps? Yes, because the “fight” for LGBT rights in conjunction with the Olympic Games is pure PR and a lot of money. Please note that “global human rights defenders” of the allegedly violated rights of sexual minorities in Russia are only interested in global issues that bring decent funding and mass attention. Such as the Olympics, tours of top officials of Russian classical music, visits of heads of state, etc. And no less.

I know that now defenders of homosexuals (including Western ideologue fighters, some Russian bloggers and LGBT activists) will burst into further cries that I am allegedly insulting people with non-traditional sexual orientation and calling for ignoring the violation of their rights.

Hey guys! Wake up! Everything is much simpler. Why do you protect only where it is interesting and profitable for you to do so? If I’m wrong, then why don’t you, as true fighters for the rights of LGBT people and other sexual minorities, start defending, say, “offended cocks” in zones or in prisons?

Don't know any of them? Then I'll tell you. And my words will be confirmed by everyone who, by the will of fate, has been in prison.

“Roosters”, “offended”, “lowered”, “rooster color”, “junk”, “leaky” - these are only a small part of the official prison camp names for persons of non-traditional sexual orientation. In fact, all these names are synonyms. Perhaps there is a small nuance between “omitted” and “offended”, which now, practically, no longer carries a semantic load. The omitted one is an open, passive homosexual who has had homosexual contacts, and the offended one is the one who “got dirty”, that is, shook hands with the rooster, or ate from the same plate, or used his spoon, or came into some other close contact.

In every pre-trial detention center, prison and correctional colony there are special huts (cells, sections), the so-called “offenders”, where “roosters” live separately from everyone else. In large camp barracks, this is a special “rooster corner”. In many zones and prisons, the “offended” have their own supervisor, one of the same ones. It is called the "chief rooster". Each newly arrived prisoner must be informed of the whereabouts of the “offended” so that the newcomer does not accidentally get into trouble. Now, the “offended” make up about 1 - 1.5% of the total number of Russian prisoners. And this is almost 15 thousand prisoners.

“Roosters” must have their own bed linen, which is washed separately, as well as their own dishes, which are also stored strictly separately. So that, God forbid, it does not get mixed up with the dishes and linen of “decent prisoners.” Otherwise there will be big problems. Everyone has. Even during a check in the ranks, the “offender” is built separately.

« Rooster”, aka “homosexual”, aka “offended” or “leaky”, has no right:

Sit at a common table in a cell or camp canteen (there are separate eating areas for them with separate utensils and places to store food);
- touch products intended for ordinary prisoners;
- take a cigarette from the pack, touching other cigarettes, or light it from one match in front of a “decent prisoner”;
- shake hands with anyone, except for the same ones;
- make any claim against an ordinary prisoner, since he is not an equal being. Instead of responding to the claim, he may well receive a blow;

“Rooster”, aka “homosexual”, aka “offended” or “leaky”, is obliged:

Comply with virtually any demands of other prisoners;
- do all the dirty work in a cell, barracks, section. Namely, wash the floors, take out the trash cans, clean the latrine (bowl, latrine, etc.). At the same time, in the detachments, all long-rangers are assigned to the “roosters”, who are responsible for their cleanliness;
- live only in the premises of the “offended”; ordinary huts, sections and barracks are not for them;
- when entering a cell (section, barracks) for the first time, immediately inform the entire house “I am offended” and modestly settle down near the brakes (doors) or dalnyak (toilet), where you wait for the further decision of your fate. If the “rooster” hid the fact that he was offended and behaved like an ordinary prisoner (shaked hands, drank chifir from a common mug with everyone, sat down at a common table), and then it turned out that he was a homosexual, then they may well beat him to death . Because he “messed up” (dirty, infected) the entire “people’s hut”.
- use only separate dishes, towels, linen and other household and personal hygiene items.
- clearly understand your lowest place in the prison camp hierarchy and understand that even all kinds of “rats”, “snitches” and “pimps” are higher and will never be equated with “roosters”. Unless they are “lowered”, but this is the most extreme measure, which is almost never used anymore.

At the stage in the Stolypin carriage, the “roosters” are located on the floor under the lower “shkonka” (shelf), or (if you’re lucky) in a separate “compartment”.

I’ll tell you how they deal with those who, having jumped into the “Stolypin”, in the hope of the general bustle of the road, do not inform the other prisoners that they are “offended”. In the winter of 2011, I had the opportunity to visit the stage Murmansk - Vologda - Moscow. One of the convicts, while being taken to the toilet, looked into the next “compartment” and, as he passed, managed to shout that one of the “rooster” prisoners sitting there supposedly recognized him from the Murmansk central prison. After a difficult conversation, the Murmansk resident admitted that he was homosexual and lived in a “offended” prison in the Murmansk pre-trial detention center, but decided to hide his sexual orientation. He was beaten for a long time and cruelly (in the next “kupeshka” there were at least 10 convicts). Then they kicked him under the bottom shelf, where he spent the rest of the long journey. Yes, and more. The experienced convoy demonstratively did not pay any attention to the situation. Only then did he take the “offended” person several times to clean the common toilets and the corridor in the “Stolypin”.

Until recently, the “offended” were forcibly given special “portakis” (tattoos, tattoos) indicating their orientation. Here are just a few:

1.Designation: homosexual - “daisy”, “mashka”, “rooster”, “comb”, “blue”, “pig”. Location: back.
2.It is called "King of all stripes". Designation - homosexual, capable of all forms of sex. Location: back.
3.Tattoo of an authority figure among homosexuals, the so-called “chief rooster.”
4. Ring of the "lowered"

Nowadays, such a tattoo can be done by force only to those who have already been seen trying to hide their “rooster color.”

Here is a brief summary of the “rights and responsibilities” of representatives of sexual minorities in prisons.

I suggest that LGBT activists, politicians and journalists parasitizing on the topic of protecting (it is not clear from what) sexual minorities, stop screaming about the Olympics and moaning about the ban on gay pride parades around schools and kindergartens, and start protecting the rights of homosexuals in zones and prisons. Of course, they don’t pay for this, there is no PR, and it’s somehow scary to go into barracks and huts... But you try. A?

In the zone, prisoners celebrate most holidays as they please: instead of alcohol - chifir, instead of snacks - “grass”, secretly sent from outside. Celebrating everyone's favorite New Year is not particularly different from ordinary prison feasts, except for the impromptu champagne - as the chimes strike, prisoners raise glasses of cloudy liquid infused with bread. And then they go to bed.

But the Year of the Rooster will not be celebrated in Russian zones. After all, there this word has a completely different, offensive, even indecent meaning. Roosters in prison are still not considered people. Moreover, as MK managed to find out, recently there have been some changes in the hierarchy of prisoners. And it is much easier to become one of the outcasts in the zone than before.
What's in the mouth, what's on the forehead

There are different stories about the rooster caste. Many imagine such prison outcasts, whom prisoners use for menial labor and sexual services. But in fact, roosters have their own internal organization and even a leader. Which is often more cruel than an ordinary prisoner.

People become roosters for various reasons. Thus, those convicted under Article 131 of the Criminal Code (rape) are released into the zone. Molesters, libertines, and sexual perverts fall into this same group. And homosexuals, regardless of what crime they committed. But lately, more and more often, people are caught in the rooster because of jambs - that is, for an act unworthy of a prisoner. For example, neither men nor thieves are supposed to do anything related to plumbing; this is a job exclusively for roosters.

“There is a whole set of rules of conduct in relation to roosters,” said the head of one of the colonies. “For example, a decent prisoner should not take a thing if it has been touched by a rooster. The latter have everything of their own: cigarettes, tea, bowls, mugs. In a smoking room, you can give a half-smoked cigarette to a rooster, but under no circumstances should you take a cigarette from a dead one. In the dining room, such people have separate tables, in the camp church there are special benches, separate benches and basins in the bathhouse, and the like. If a prisoner accidentally sat down at the wrong table or took the wrong spoon, he immediately falls into the rooster caste. That's why roosters in pre-trial detention centers have special cells. It happens that the police deliberately put thieves in such a cell in order to break them, since a decent prisoner cannot spend the night there. Even if he didn’t eat, didn’t drink, didn’t sleep, he’ll still be down. As soon as the prisoner realizes that he is among the roosters, he goes to any lengths to get transferred.

“You need to clearly know some rules in the zone,” admits Sergei, who served 9 years for murder.љ- Especially for newcomers. The main thing is that when you first appear in the zone, do not agree to a rooster’s work, do not pick up a rag or a mop. In the dining room, you need to watch where your squad mates sit and not rush to take a free table. By the way, many things belonging to those who were omitted are marked with red paint.

The process of converting an ordinary prisoner into a rooster has now changed. Previously, a man was simply raped and forced to perform oral sex with one of the thieves. But after several accidents (when the castaways bit off someone else’s dignity), the ritual began to take place differently: the rooster is slapped on the forehead or lips with the genitals. And it happens that thieves simply decide to declare some prisoner a rooster. Then the rumor spreads through the prison mail, and the prisoner cannot wash off the stigma.љ

In our zone, all the roosters were divided into three groups,” continues Sergei. “There were so-called forshmaki, who fell out of the general group for some offense. For example, I slept near the bucket... And the roosters actually did all the dirty work in our zone - they cleaned, took out the trash, scrubbed their assholes. There were, however, also so-called working cocks, or mares, who served specifically to satisfy the sexual needs of thieves. By the way, many homosexuals immediately admitted their orientation and thus voluntarily became omitted. All these workers bore female nicknames, most often adapted from their real names. Lenya became Lena, Sasha became Sonya. Such cockerels had feminine habits, wore cosmetics, perfume, had condoms and tried to look attractive.
In one of the zones we managed to talk with the unfortunate man who was turned into a rooster. However, our interlocutor claims that he made this choice himself. What immediately catches your eye is the gentle, clean-shaven face with brightly applied cosmetics specially before our arrival. Instead of a prisoner's uniform, there is a simple jumper with ruffles and a woolen skirt that fits men's hips, worn over trousers.

“Everyone here only calls me Dana,” the guy admits, lowering his eyelashes ingratiatingly and at the same time coquettishly. Once upon a time, even before the zone, I was called Denis. But that was a long time ago... I got here for theft, I was given five years. And then I fell in love right there. At first I hid my feelings from Michel. But this is unbearable! He only noticed me when I finally transformed into a woman. But I don’t consider myself a rooster in any way!

-How do your family and friends feel about your reincarnation?
- In the wild, only one friend knows about my second one - she brings me mascara, underwear, skirts. It's hard here, of course. They don’t ask about my wishes, they call me and that’s it... Sometimes I have to serve three or four prisoners in a day. But I endure everything - otherwise they will beat me, and I don’t need bruises. However, they treat me more carefully than others.

-љFor example?љ
- We allowed more time to communicate with my beloved, although this is not allowed here. But in strict regime, where prisoners have long sentences, entire married couples form, and this is quite normal. Two men live together, share responsibilities, like in a real family, but they don’t give birth to children.
Roosters in the zone live separately from the rest - in the detachment under the last number. And even during verification on the parade ground they stand separately.љ
“Most of the neglected do not enter into sexual intercourse voluntarily,” Dana sighs. “They are persuaded to do so by threats and beatings. Sometimes they resist, asking to be left alone, but the requests of the abandoned one do not touch anyone here. During rape, they are also mocked with particular sophistication. Those who are released are raped at night in the department, in the toilet, in the bathhouse. And if the roosters still refuse, they beat them brutally, for about 40 minutes.

Roosters rarely take revenge on their offenders; they cannot raise a hand against a man.
“But it happens that they can’t stand it and grab a knife,” says Dana. “They say there was even such a case when one drove an awl into a thieve who was tormenting him with his pestering!” They smashed this rooster's head with a stool, but did not kill him. In any rooster troop there is always a leader who is physically stronger than others. It is he who holds everyone else in his fist. In the zone where I was sitting last time, in the Far East, this place was occupied by a rooster named Kuzya. In the zone, he crushed the entire squad under him. To achieve this status, he literally walked over corpses. Once a tough guy came to the rooster squad, why he was let go, I don’t know. He beat Kuzya and became a spectator. But Kuzya snitched on him so much that this jock was sent to prison. Kuzya treated the other contender for the post of chief rooster even harsher. He started a rumor among the thieves that his rival stole things, and he himself planted them on his rival. The thieves came, discovered what was missing and smashed his head.

-љAre they going to celebrate this New Year in your zone?љ- I asked the prisoner goodbye.љ- After all, not only will it be the year of the Rooster, but also the year of the blue?!љ
- I hope to spend New Year's Eve with my Michel. And then, apparently, you will have to fulfill other people’s wishes in addition to your own. All the roosters in the zone will have a hard time this night,” Dana sighs, fiddling with the kerchief in her hands. “But no one will drink for the rooster year.” That's for sure.

“Lowered”, “leaky”, “broken”, “seated”, “roosters” and so on. They are given female names. Prisoners with “low social status,” as they are referred to in official documents, have many names. There are also many ways to get into the “offended” category. And there is not a single opportunity to rise back from this suit (caste of prisoners).

"Roosters" are not born, they are made

Probably about 80% of conversations, jokes, jokes, threats and insults in the zone are related to the topic of “omitted”. To be honest, prisoners love this kind of talk. They help prisoners feel that things are not so bad for them, since there are others who have it much, much worse. And over whom even the very last “horse” (the prisoner’s servant) has power. In general, the worst thing that can happen to a prisoner is to become a prisoner, and this can happen relatively easily.

From an incorrectly spoken word or an insult that was not responded to, to certain actions, any carelessness can negatively affect social status.

I had a friend who, without thinking, said in public that he was petting with his girlfriend. In fact, there is nothing incomprehensible in this word, but in the zone there is a golden rule: speak in simple words so that the last fool can understand, since any misunderstood term can be used against the speaker. And if this term is somehow connected with sex and the speaker is “sharpened”, then such a statement can be a direct road to the “harem” (to the “roosters”, in other words).

This is what happened to an acquaintance: he blurted it out without thinking, then had a fight with the people to whom he blurted it out, and they, remembering the petting, tried to prove that the acquaintance had a direct path to being “lost.” And this despite the fact that the guy immediately explained that there was nothing wrong with this word and that it was just a term. He was lucky: then serious people stood up for him, because he could not have solved this problem on his own, since he had just arrived at the camp. After this story, the friend was warned that under no circumstances should he talk about his personal life in the zone.

In the prison world there are a lot of prohibitions on intimate life. In fact, the only sure way to avoid getting into trouble is to engage exclusively in classic sex, without touching anything else. It is better not to engage in oral sex at all, since it only allows for the opportunity to hire a prostitute or find a girl with whom you will never kiss. Naturally, with this approach, unfamiliar terms from sexology are automatically included in the category of “stupid” (in this case, shameful, “cocky”).

This does not mean that no one was involved in all sorts of “bad” things in freedom—they are simply silent about it.

You can also end up in a “harem” for not responding to some insults. For example, if they sent three letters and the person remained silent, that means that’s where he belongs.

But a prisoner can become a “rooster” for seemingly ordinary, everyday actions. You cannot contact those who have been “separated.” Everything that the “lowered one” touches is immediately “stuffed” (that is, it goes into the category of things for “roosters”). This rule does not apply only to “prohibitions” (things prohibited in the zone), which are sometimes hidden from those “detained”. They told how some of them carried mobile phones from the living area to the work area in their underpants. And this did not bother the prisoners at all. Those who are still “lowered” can be beaten (with sticks or kicked) and used for a second purpose.

I was told that in some areas, nails were driven into the doors especially for “roosters” to prevent them from touching the handles. They have their own tables, bunks, toilets, taps, everything of their own that the “men” are not allowed to touch. Therefore, if a prisoner takes food or cigarettes from the “lowered” one, drinks tea with him or sits down to eat at his table, then he himself will fall into the lower Zonov caste. Of course, if this is not done “unknowingly” (when a person does not know that there is a “rooster” in front of him, or that the thing is “stuffed”).

This is not California

The two main responsibilities of the “offended”: sexually satisfy the prisoners and do all the dirty work in the zone. They can be beaten for educational purposes and for the sake of the soul. I was told cases when the “lowered” were woken up with a kick in the face so that they went to clean the toilet.

The administration has ambivalent views on the "rooster" issue. Policemen who have worked in the MLS for a long time are imbued with the “concepts” to the marrow of their bones and, accordingly, treat the “lowered” ones a little differently than other prisoners. On the other hand, as part of their duty, the guards are obliged to prevent any manifestation of physical or psychological violence among prisoners, so they try in every possible way to ensure that the “roosters” are not severely beaten or humiliated. And lately they have been especially successful in this: they have almost completely stopped beating those “exiled.”

In the zone where I was sitting, at the beginning of my sentence, the “offended” person was obliged to press himself against the wall when a “man” passed along the corridor.

If there is no place to put the “lowered” one, then he can sleep right under the bunk. At the stages, in the transit cells, all the “roosters” are seated either towards the door or towards the toilet. In general, in order to survive in the zone, being a “rooster”, you need to have a certain type of personality, since not everyone can endure the constant humiliation, beatings, harassment and complete destruction of human dignity to which the “offended” are subjected.

True, the “omitted” ones are no less cruel. Old-timers told me that supposedly in one of the colonies they decided to conduct an experiment, and the “roosters” from the entire zone were settled in one detachment so that no one would bother them and they could live in peace. So, before the police had time to do this, the “offended” created in the detachment exactly the same hierarchy as in the entire zone: their own “thieves”, “men” and “low-downs” appeared there. But, unlike the rest of the zone, in this detachment the hierarchy was maintained, allegedly thanks to inhuman cruelty (in principle, this is understandable). The experiment had to be stopped.

I don’t know how it is in other camps, but in our zone the “roosters” could always be distinguished externally. Not only by their clothes, they had some special imprint on their faces. It was clear that these people were in the “harem” for a reason.

However, despite all the beatings and humiliation, those “left out” have some rights and social guarantees.

Firstly, all “roosters” are divided into workers and non-workers. Workers provide sexual services; non-workers, therefore, do not. And no one has the right to force the “low” to do “this” against his will - this is lawlessness. Most often, intimate services are provided by mutual desire.

Secondly, you must pay for sex. If a prisoner does not pay the “punched” man for sex, it means he is doing it for love. And who can have love with a “rooster”? That's right, the same one. In general, in terms of payment for cleaning or other services, those “left out” were not “thrown away”: they paid in full and always on time, since they are already offended by life, what more can you mock! Therefore, very often prisoners with low social status fared much better materially than prisoners with a higher status.

In general, in relation to the “roosters” the essence of the prisoner is revealed. ZKs are divided into two camps: those who use the services of “leaky” people with pleasure, not seeing any problems in this, and those who avoid such things, considering them an active form of homosexuality. There are not so many of the former in the zone, especially recently, when the police have actively taken up the eradication of intimate services. I don’t know how it is in other camps, but in our colony the administration has achieved tremendous success in this matter. Our prisoners, before turning to the “rooster” with a proposal to have sex, thought three times: whether they needed it.

Not bad

But here's what's interesting. Despite the poor situation of the “offended” in the zone, some prisoners consciously and absolutely voluntarily went to the “harem”. In my memory, several people deliberately took something from the “offended” or sat down to eat at their table. Some did it out of protest against something, while others simply lost their nerve. But there were prisoners who, during their time in prison, began to understand that they liked sex with men, and in all its manifestations.

It always seemed to me that such a cruel attitude towards “roosters” arose as a means of protection against the possible spread of sodomy. Psychologists have long proven that in closed same-sex groups, so-called false homosexuality arises; Freud called this phenomenon acquired perversion. Being among men for a long time, willy-nilly you begin to look closely at some of them as possible objects of desire. No, of course, everyone remains heterosexual, but women are distant and over time become a somewhat abstract concept, so many people turn their attention to “their own”. Some people hide this even from themselves, but there are those who are not at all embarrassed by this state of affairs. There were cases when, before a long date with his wife, a prisoner went to the “rooster” in order to “relieve tension and not lose face in the dirt on the date.”

I remember they told me about how true love arose between one “man” and a “rooster”. They even planned to live together after their release, and the “lowered” one was going to change his sex for the sake of his beloved. Most likely, after they were released, these plans were forgotten, since such thoughts disappear as soon as the prisoner sees real women around him. The zone is gradually forgotten, but the residue remains, for some for life.

In our prison world there are several castes, that is, groups of prisoners of different “dignity”. There are four main castes, and there can be many more intermediate castes in each zone (by the way, this is exactly what they say among prisoners: in prison, in zone).

The first, highest caste is the thieves; the second, most numerous - men; the third, more or less large (depending on the zone) - goats; fourth, lowest - roosters, outcasts. I don’t know whether outcasts can be considered a separate caste, but this is an academic question. And we will assume that there are four castes. Let's start from the top.

Thieves.

That's not what they call themselves. They replace the word “thieves” with “lads”, “prisoners”, “tramps”, “tramps”, “swindlers”, “travelers”, and half a century ago they called themselves “zhigans”, “people”.. These are professional criminals. For them, prisons and camps are mandatory stages of their professional career. Our criminal world is a special world; it is very difficult, almost impossible, for an outsider to get there. Committing a crime, even the most professional one - robbing a bank, for example - does not mean being accepted into this world. Any, even casual, relationship to the structures of power, its political institutions (for example, membership in a party or Komsomol) forever closes a person’s path to the “thieves’ world,” no matter how professional a criminal he subsequently becomes. In addition to the “clean profile”, the candidate for thieves must adhere to the “correct concepts”; over time, these concepts also change (we will talk about this later). The elite of the criminal world are thieves in law. This is not necessarily the name given to those who earn their living by theft. These are rather informal leaders, a kind of “initiates”, recognized by well-known authorities and having received their recommendation, elected as “full members” at a meeting (at the “gangway”) of all thieves located in a given prison, camp or region. According to various estimates, there are now only a few hundred thieves in law in the territory of the former Union. They are united into several groups.

If there is no real thief in the zone, the world of thieves tries to send there a “supervisor,” that is, its representative, who will ensure that the prisoners comply with the thieves’ law and the thieves’ orders. Thieves' orders are usually a new rule created as a result of some dispute between prisoners, or as a response to a new Ministry of Internal Affairs action. The unwritten prison law continues to be constantly drawn up from orders. The will of the beholder is the same law for other prisoners as the will of the thief. The watcher or thief is surrounded by a group of assistants. This is the highest caste in the camp - the thieves. Of course, in some camp there may not be a real thief or watcher. But in every camp there are people who consider themselves professionals, the prison as their home, and all its other inhabitants as aliens.

In the caste of thieves there is a main one - “godfather”, “authority”. Under the boss there is something like a presidential team, several thieves, each of whom does his own thing: one looks after the men, another looks after the “common fund” (that’s the name of the common prison treasury), the third looks after something else. They can also be called “authorities”. The godfather and his entourage have a guard - “athletes”, “fighters”, “gladiators”.

Not every prisoner can become a criminal. First of all, he must be pure in his free life. Previously, for example, the path to the highest caste was closed to those who served in the army or who at least once went to work in the zone. These requirements have now been lifted in some places. And in some zones, thieves can go to work - in the event, however, that this is not work as a foreman, orderly, etc., that is, if it does not give him at least some kind of official power over the others. Those who worked in the service sector in freedom, that is, were waiters or taxi drivers, cannot become thieves either. Former bosses too. There are many other requirements for applicants for the status of a criminal. Each zone may have its own special requirements.

The thieves are the real power in some zones, the power that fights with the official power, that is, with the administration of the zone. In addition to power, thieves have privileges - the right not to work, the right to keep whatever they deem necessary from the common fund. The thieves also have responsibilities. The right boss is obliged to ensure that the zone is “warmed up”, that is, it receives food, tea, tobacco, vodka, and clothing through illegal means. He is also obliged to resolve disputes that arise between other prisoners, and generally not allow any clashes between them, to ensure that no one is unfairly punished, offended, or deprived. All this does not mean, of course, that for the boss the correct order in the zone is more important than personal benefits. Often his concern for the lads is just an excuse to crush them and take everything for himself. But there are also enough zones where the godfather does not get out of the punishment cell (punishment cell) and spends his entire sentence on bread and water so that the lads can live peacefully and not from hand to mouth.

Those who adhere to the correct concepts and prison law in the zone or in prison are called by the administration deniers, deniers. This includes not only thieves, but everyone who actively resists the administration. It happens that a person simply found himself out of favor with the detachment (detachment leader) and refused the left-handed work that he was forced to do. In general, the case also means a lot here.

Especially for denial, Article 1883 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR was invented - “Malicious disobedience to the legal requirements of the administration of the ITU.” This is Andropov’s article, introduced in 1983. According to it, a person could be endlessly added to his sentence from one to five years. Many were promoted this way. Currently there is no such article in criminal law. Article 321 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is called “Disorganization of the normal activities of institutions that ensure isolation from society,” but it refers to violence or the threat of violence against prison staff or other prisoners.

There are also zones where thieves work together with the administration, or more precisely, with the operational unit. Sometimes special “inserts” are made - the newly arrived authoritative thieves are talked into cooperation and begin to help him in everything, the former thieves are discredited or removed from the zone, and the new “supervisor” is provided with assistance (naturally, behind the scenes). He becomes the boss, everything goes to him: vodka, marijuana, tea, smoking. And for this he brings order to the zone that the administration needs.

It is this type of thieves that is most common in the zones now. The criminal world has changed no less than the big world. Once upon a time, thieves were not allowed to have documents, sign papers, get married, or go to work in the camp. Today, the criminal world is actively involved in business and politics. How can you do without paperwork in business? What kind of politician is this without a family, that is, without hostages? Tumbleweeds, no one will believe him... Starting around the 70s, the title of thief in law, honorable for the criminal world, began to be bought and, what is much more important, sold. There was even a name for such newly minted thieves in law - “oranges”. These people, in general, are no longer as ideological as the former thieves. They used to die and go to the fires, but they refused to kiss the bitch’s knife (this was the way of getting laid during the bitch’s war). Honor and respect are also a huge value. Well, then concrete things began to be respected - money, the opportunity to make money. Morals have changed in the criminal world, and they have changed in prison as well.

Guys

This is the next caste. It consists of random, generally speaking, people in the zone. One was imprisoned by his wife for drunkenness, another stole some small change, he is imprisoned for fighting, and this one was given a case - he got caught. In general, from fifty to ninety percent of our prisoners are people who in some Western country would simply be fined, and that would be the end of it. There, prisons only bring losses, but here they have been profitable for many years, that’s the whole point. This is only if you consider legal profits. And it’s better not to tell how the camp administration, and its bosses, and the mafia, and the same freemen who go to the camps to work, and those who live near the camps, profited from the zones.

Today, camps in Russia also bring mostly losses, unemployment there is worse than in the wild. Slave labor could replace free labor only when relatively simple things were done in freedom that did not require initiative or creative imagination. Those times are gone - only those who react instantly survive in the market. But our criminal justice system continues to live on the inertia of Gulag times. And many people are still imprisoned in vain, to the detriment of them, society, and the victims, for whom they cannot even compensate for the damage - unemployment. These people form the caste of men.

The men do not claim any power in the zone, do not serve anyone, and do not cooperate with the administration. They cannot interfere in the affairs of thieves. Men do not have the right to vote in their “showdowns”. But there are, of course, respected people among them, to whom the thieves listen, not to mention the rest of the men. In a word, men are prisoners who are going to return to normal life after serving their sentence.

Goats

These are open employees of the camp administration. Those who agreed to accept some position - caretaker, club manager, librarian, zone commandant. Those who put on "jambs" - an armband. Those who joined the SPP - the “crime prevention section”, that is, the internal police of the camp. They are also called "bitches". "Ssuchenny" - agreed to work for the cops. The administration calls the goats an “asset,” “persons who are firmly on the path to correction.” Of course, the prisoners treat them badly. Traitors are treated poorly everywhere, and if you consider that in every zone there is a war going on between the administration and prisoners - sometimes a “cold” one, sometimes a real one - such an attitude will become understandable.

They fall into the hands of goats in different ways: some of their own free will, some are forced, some are intimidated. In some zones, the arriving stage is generally given padded jackets with bandages already sewn on. If you put it on, you'll get bored. If you don’t put it on, you rip off the bandage and they’ll put you in a punishment cell, and when you leave you’ll get the same padded jacket, the same offer, and the same punishment cell for refusal. And so on for many months in a row. Some survive - through hunger, through tuberculosis. Well, if you can’t stand it, you’ll become an asshole. You will do the same as all the goats - be on duty at the checkpoint between the "local areas" - fences inside the zone, or between the "residential area" and the "industrial area" - the residential and industrial parts of the zone. You will be handing over prisoners like yourself to the “godfather”, the head of the operational unit. And even if you don’t sign up for the SPP, but, for example, work in the library, you’re still a goat, and the lads won’t accept you. In the zone there is generally no upward movement, from the lowest caste to the highest.

You can greet goats, communicate with them, touch them, but they are not allowed into the common fund. In the camps, by the way, there is such a legend: there is a secret order according to which, in the event of war, all the goats must be shot as potential traitors. But this, of course, is just a legend. Although during the war, German punitive detachments were not composed of army soldiers and not even always of SS men, but primarily of policemen. The Germans were not so crazy as to corrupt their army with such things.

Roosters

The last caste is COOSTERS, they are also “offended”, “lowered”, “faggots” and so on. This is a caste of outcasts, untouchables, outcasts, among them there are also passive homosexuals. At the same level in the zone there is an intermediate caste - “chushki”, “devils”. The only difference is that they are not used as passive pederasts - they are simply untouchables.

Homosexuality has always existed in prisons; it was, as a rule, voluntary. But after some time - according to some information, with the reform of the "corrective labor" system in 1961 - a custom began to spread in the zones: punishment in the form of forcibly converting the perpetrator into a pederast. Some Gulag veterans believe that this custom was invented by the opera - it became their weapon in the fight against the deniers. There is a similar custom among some backward tribes in Africa - there boys who fail the test of initiation into men are given female names, dressed in women's clothing and resettled to the outskirts of the camp. That is, they are made as if they were not men. A similar thing occurs in some species of monkeys - the leader of the pack, as a sign of victory over the offending male, rapes him.

In the right concepts, there is a law: “they don’t punish you.” That is, prison law directly prohibits punishing anyone in this way. If a person is found guilty - and guilty only of prison life, and not of freedom - he can be fined - a pack of Belomor, a million rubles, etc. If they decide to do so at the showdown, he can be beaten, his bones broken, and finally killed. But you can't put it down.

I have already said that the omitted appeared in the prison community after the 1961 reform. Before this reform, there was one type of camp for all prisoners. The reform divided the camps into regimes: general, reinforced, strict, special. As a result, the pioneers, who began to be imprisoned in general regime camps, were separated from the repeat offenders. They found themselves in other regimes - so as not to have a bad influence on the pioneers. The pioneers were thereby separated from the experience of forced living together, developed over many generations, which the recidivists, among other things, possessed. This experience allowed (we are talking about the second half of the fifties) to at least live in peace. In the previous camps there were also people of all ages. And the struggle for supremacy there was to some extent mitigated by the existence of a large number of elderly and old people. Of course, they might not be afraid or respected, but still there are things that people do not do or try not to do in the presence of their elders - this is in every person. Now imagine: hordes of young men (and the pioneers, as a rule, are people of the same age, 20-22 years old), whom nature itself doomed to constant competition and finding out who is more important, stronger, smarter. Naturally, there will always be bickering between them, since they cannot at least separate for a while, relax, communicate with those with whom it makes no sense to compete - with old people, women, children. By the way, things are even worse in the minors precisely because there are no elders there. Even the prison administration understands this and puts “father” - an adult prisoner - in the cells of youngsters. And these “fathers” sometimes rob young children, which is why the position of “father” is considered a bad one.

Most people are imprisoned in areas for minors, that is, where they do not know the prison law, albeit terrible and cruel, but the only one under which people can remain human and simply survive. After juvenile detention, prisons produce the most children. For the same reason that registration is arranged - they believe that this is how it is supposed to be. In camps people are released much less often than in prisons. The stricter the regime, the less often. In general, the more difficult the regime in the camp, the easier it is for those who are in it.

They say it's better to die than to become a "rooster". They treat them very cruelly: they force them to live in trees, eat mice, put light bulbs in their asses - whoever cares. But this, again, depends on the regime. The wildest things happen to them in general mode, not to mention when they are young. It’s easier for them on strict. Every prisoner there knows his place. Usually in a strict regime, and indeed in any correct zone, a rooster is simply a rejected person. Everything is separate to him, and he doesn’t dare touch anyone. But if he was offended, if he was treated unfairly, he can complain to the authorities, and they will protect him, because experienced people understand: those who are muzzled by their own people will go to seek protection from strangers. That is, he will work for the administration, knock.

The roosters have separate places, separate dishes, separate work - a parade ground for revenge, washing toilets. You can't take anything from them. But you can give it, throw it so as not to accidentally touch it. Although there are exceptions here. When they are “used”, this is not considered defiling contact. In a punishment cell, sometimes you can only convey something through a rooster - if between the punishment cell and the residential area there is a “ban,” a forbidden zone. Only the one who levels it can be on it, that is, the roosters - this is their job. It is through them that the heat is transmitted. It is believed that in such a situation, neither the things that passed through the hands of the rooster, nor the one who received them, are “grinded”, that is, they are not desecrated.

In prison conditions, in special and strict regime colonies, there are usually few roosters - from one to five percent. In the intensive and general regime, their share can reach 10-12%, and in the minors - up to 20. The softer the regime, the more there are. In some zones there are entire barracks of them - “monkey houses”, “offenders”. But in normal zones they simply sleep at the entrance to the barracks and do not go further. Roosters usually have their own “godfather” - the chief rooster. This is an influential figure. After all, he can order some rooster to kiss, say, someone in front of everyone. The rooster, of course, can be killed for this, but the one he kisses automatically becomes a rooster himself. The chief petukh is at the same time an intermediary between the untouchable caste and the entire camp community. All claims of those who have been omitted, all their proposals are conveyed to the authorities (gangway) through this leader. Through him, this group of outcasts and people formally removed from normal life is controlled by those in authority. The head rooster is an optional figure; sometimes there are two leaders (“folder” and “mother”) or even more. It should be noted that the leaders of the roosters are people who are very informed about the internal life of the zone. They know many intrigues, they can know who the real “overseer” is (often the prisoner who appears to be the “overseer” is a dummy figure, and the real leader of the zone is not revealed), and much more.

Roosters become roosters for life. If a rooster comes to a zone where no one knows him - when he is transferred there, or from outside if he is imprisoned a second time - he is obliged to inform the lads about his status. There is no use in hiding this; sooner or later the rooster's past becomes known, and then the exposed roosters are punished, beaten, and often killed. After all, it is believed that such a rooster “grinded” all those who considered him an equal.

Since the beginning of the 90s, since prison morals began to rapidly spread in the wild, those who had been deported began to come from there, with a ready-made status.

By the way, among those left out there are not so many passive homosexuals and “prostitutes”, contrary to popular belief. Basically, as I have already said, they end up in prison for gross violations of prison law, for example, for snitching, for ratting (theft from one’s own), for lawlessness, for non-payment of a gambling debt. Those who themselves lowered or were the plowman of the cell in which someone was lowered without guilt are also very likely candidates for roosters. However, they can lower you for anything. They can let you down for having beautiful eyes. It is difficult to rape an adult man - he will resist. Therefore, there are a number of replacement rituals. For example, they touch the lips of a sleeping person h...m. Or they soak a towel with sperm and rub it over the face. Sometimes they deceive first movers: let me fuck you and you’ll get a pack of cigarettes. There are some smokers who can live without water and bread, but cannot live without smoking. So they sell them for smokes, or they just pick up bulls from the ground - they make a mess of themselves.

They can promise support and protection for “services” - whatever they want. It's called "talk the fuck out." Such deception is considered a major mistake: the deceivers themselves are then put down on a par with rapists and thugs. They can - and this is also the biggest problem - to frame an inexperienced novice prisoner who has taken a fancy to someone. Let's say they occupy all the chairs in the hairdresser except for one, which is scattered. A man, not sensing trouble, enters the hairdresser and sits on the only free chair. “Countryman, where are you sitting?! - What is it? - Yes, this is a place for fagots! - But I didn’t know... - Well, you never know, I didn’t know!”

Card debtors often end up lost. Those who have not paid a debt (and even in the form of a smoke) in the zone can simply be killed - this is not a will, they seriously punish for debts there. And so, in order to avoid punishment, a person voluntarily becomes a rooster. At night he takes his mattress and moves to the rooster's perch. Now, like any rooster, you can’t take anything from him.

- If a prisoner’s last name is Petukhov, for example, does this affect his position in the zone?

The surname itself has no effect. Now, if others don’t like a person for some reason, it will ruin his life.

“I’ve heard that those who are rejected usually include unscrupulous people or those suffering from skin diseases.”

Lies. Or a typical sample and “research by Fan Fanych”. Prison law seen through a peephole.

Skin diseases cannot be the cause of “sinking”. Of course, the leper himself will sleep separately and drink from his own mug so as not to infect the lads. But there will be no rejection from the lads - he is a full member.

As for the unscrupulous, this is a consequence, not a cause. It is very difficult for a rooster to maintain personal hygiene; he cannot use a common washbasin. And he does the dirtiest work. Uncleanliness is also a violation of prison law. But a person is unlikely to be released for this alone. After all, this happens all the time - where there is an unclean body, there are unclean thoughts and deeds, or simply disrespect for others. Well, where there is dirt, there are skin diseases - this is natural.

To finish with castes, we need to mention a few more groups. In addition to “chushkov” and “devils”, there are also “sixes” in the zones - servants. Sixes include people who are too weak or helpful. Both in prisons and in camps, excessive helpfulness is not honored. If you are asked to do something, say, wash someone else’s socks, and you agree, you will be a six. Even if you do it for a fee. In prison, it is customary to look after yourself. Anyone who cannot endure difficulties, who starts doing and doing everything for a piece of bread, does not deserve respect. But, you understand, this does not mean that you should not fulfill any requests at all. It all depends on the situation in which the request is fulfilled, and on who and how it is fulfilled. Sometimes even the person who served the mug of water becomes a six.

Other passive homosexuals differ from roosters - the personal lovers of thieves, all these Jackdaws, Svetkas, Mashki. They don’t beat them, they don’t keep them in a black body, on the contrary, they excuse them from work - so that they are soft. But they are also not allowed to do too much. It is better not to mess with these individuals.

The “sniffs” stay apart in the zones - orderlies in detachments, cleaners in headquarters, canteens, medical units, etc. This is also a low-respect audience, something like goats of the latest sort.

They say that in prisons and camps they don’t particularly favor those who are imprisoned for rape. What other articles, besides 131 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (rape), are considered shameful? If I was imprisoned for some of the “dirty” articles, is there any point in hiding it?

In general, people in the zone are already accustomed to “rape.” There are worse articles. For example, for evading treatment of sexually transmitted diseases. Also for homosexuality, for indecent acts against minors.

As for rape, the attitude towards those imprisoned under this article is not always the same. It happens that there was no rape - they just wanted to imprison a person and they imprisoned him, albeit under an article for rape (in the old Criminal Code it was the famous 117th, “youth” article). This is a fairly common case.

Previously, articles for vagrancy, hooliganism, and living without registration were also considered unprestigious. In general, respect in the criminal world is enjoyed by those who do their “work” without corpses, without violence, and so on.

I don't know if I should hide my article. Usually such things become known over time.

Ethane arrives. Reception of cases is carried out by employees of the Institution. They also provide security around the perimeter of the facility. They make sure there are no escapes. This is where their functions end. Everything else is run by convicts from the housekeeping staff

They are serving their entire sentence in prison. They are afraid to go to the colony because of their offenses against the criminal world. Many of them are sentenced to death by this very world. Among them there are thieves in law who were “punched on the ears” (in other words, they were debunked and defrocked). There are “roosters” (they hand out gruel), angry at the whole world and taking their anger out on anyone they can. They are much better off here than in the zone, here they are the authorities.

The first thing you smell when you get inside the establishment is the smell of fragrant soap. Everywhere, corridors and cells are washed with soap. And everyone, with the exception of employees and household servants, moves only barefoot. After placing the convicts in the cell, the prison guards (they are called “drivers” here behind their backs) declare that the hut is obliged to collect a tribute for “registration”. Two packs of smoke per person (you can’t smoke in the cells anyway), scented soap, toothpastes and other things that are very valuable in captivity. If tribute is not collected in the required amount, there will not be a good relationship. In any case, they conduct a search. Moreover, during the inspection upon arrival, the servants take note of who has what. They don’t touch anyone who hides “values”; they beat his cellmates so that they can deal with the offender later.

Since the “drivers” are allowed to do whatever they want with the prisoners and take away from them whatever they like, the household servants bear little resemblance to the prisoners. Everyone is well-fed, dressed in casual clothes, walks with rubber clubs and often uses them. The administration specifically turns a blind eye to lawlessness, since they like to send to this institution the so-called “deniers” - violators of discipline, fighters with the heads of the colonies. It’s very convenient: it seems like you can’t complain about the cops - the same prisoners are being pressured by the same prisoners. And the condemned write complaints against each other as bastards.

Those from the stage are immediately singled out. which is younger. They announce: “Oh, what a cute boy! Today we’ll fuck.” And in the evening the unfortunate man is raped. Some victims hang themselves after such a “procedure”, revealing their faith. Hundred mines present such suicides as natural deaths due to heart failure. The more desperate ones take their own lives the day before, without waiting for them to be turned into “roosters”. Although it is difficult, fellow inmates can interfere.

It happens that for sophisticated bullying they will put a young prisoner in a special punishment cell, where there is knee-deep water, and they will offer: “If you voluntarily give it to the butt, we will release you.” The unfortunate person stands in the water for several days; if he falls, he will choke. Every hour they tell him: “Turn your butt up and you’ll come out.”

After someone is “released”, even due to lawlessness, such a poor fellow will not receive sympathy from his cellmates. He will also be transferred to the “offended” cell.

The “drive” commands are performed by running. When they enter the cell, everyone stands at attention. The prisoner on duty reports the number of people. To have fun, they “chased” - often without a goal - to visit the huts. They like it when people hide their eyes. Having found fault with those who did not like them in some way, they will take you out into the corridor, beat you, and put you in a punishment cell. The most civilized address on their part is “pederast”, “goat”.

The daily routine is simple. At 6.00 - rise, filling the beds. You can’t lie down until 10 p.m., otherwise you’ll face execution.

The food is tolerable, but even here it is not without bullying. Balander is a “rooster”; taking food from him means “ending up” and also becoming “offended”. If you don’t take the gruel, you’ll be beaten or die of hunger. Well, thieves were allowed to eat from the hands of fagots and not be considered the same. Of course, what if they get there themselves?..

Also, when the “feeding trough” (the window in the door) opens, you have to have time to throw a white towel on its bottom in a second. We hesitate a little, the food distributor shouts: cell so-and-so has refused lunch. The whole house is under pressure. He literally throws the plates into his hands, God forbid he drops even one - they will kill him. Hot food in official bowls (bringing your own is prohibited). After two or three minutes the command follows: hand over the dishes. You can’t hesitate - you’ll be punished. No one has time to eat, especially those who were the last to receive the helmet.

They take people to do chores in the prison yard. Everything was “driven” under supervision. In winter - snow removal. It is not visible at all in the evening. A heavy stretcher is lifted along the marshmallow, which has an angle of forty-five degrees, to the level of the second floor and the snow is poured into a large cauldron below. Under the boiler is a stove. Other prisoners bring slabs from the sawmill to her for fuel. There is a pipe set aside outside the area - melted snow flows through it. Workers, exhausted from the high pace, are beaten, driven with batons, and forced to do everything by running. If someone falls and cannot get up, they kick him hard without much ceremony.

The head of the institution sometimes harnesses a trio of former thieves' authorities to a sleigh and, urging them on with a whip, rides around the yard.

In the summer they take us out to clean the yard. Or to scoop out the pool by hand. After scooping it out with buckets, they wash it and fill it with water again. Prisoners have to stand in cold water for hours. Some prisoners end up in the hospital after such a subbotnik, when they are already beginning to die completely.

The pool is used by both employees and drivers. The latter has created all the conditions. There is a gym, many of them are former athletes. There are TVs in the rooms. There is not enough freedom for women, but the latter are being replaced by “roosters”.

In the basement there is a workshop where artists, carvers and other craftsmen work. Profits from the sale of products and souvenirs go into the pockets of the administration. A small portion goes to the "gopers". They find master convicts to work with. They run the show.

The prison also strikes you with its “dead silence.” The people languishing in the cells speak only in whispers. Sometimes you can hear commands to “drive” and the screams of those whom they beat in the corridor.

There are no cases of disobedience. Any attempt is brutally suppressed. It is impossible to start a mass rebellion. There is no connection with other cameras - no shouting, no sending notes. And riots only happen where there is weak, soft power.

Not everyone, of course, forgets their grievances after going through this prison. But the “drivers” know that they can be waiting for them behind the fence. Because of this, they are afraid to be released. They are often transported out on bread trucks.

Another strange thing: why don’t the thieves touch the employees who organized and supported all this? This means that the rules of the game do not allow it.