In women’s prisons in Russia, there is no internet or even telephone access, explains Olga Romanova, founder and director of the organization Prisons Behind Russia. Prisoners are cut off from the outside world and know nothing except what they see on state television or hear from prison staff. Some have been living this way for more than a decade, making them easier to manipulate.
One of the consequences is that many women in prison in Russia are desperately waiting for an envoy from the Ministry of Defense. If the envoy does not show up or the departure for war is delayed, they write to Olga Romanova’s organization, which provides legal and financial assistance to prisoners.
In this way, Romanova receives letters every day from prisoners asking how to get to the front as quickly as possible. To stand out from the crowd, some of them even write letters to her in rhyme.
Romanova is against a full-scale invasion of Russia, so she does not help her compatriots at the front or those who wish to go there.
Russian prisoners have been at the front since the summer of 2022. Until February 2023, the recruitment was carried out under the auspices of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group. After his death, the Ministry of Defense took over. Initially, only men were recruited, encouraged by the possibility of a presidential pardon after six months of service.
After the new law comes into effect on October 1, 2023, prisoners will have to remain at the front until the end of the fighting and can only hope for a conditional release. But even this offer is tempting, Romanova said in an interview with the Ukrainian TV channel Freedom. By December 2023, at least 160,000 of Russia’s 400,000 prisoners will have gone to war.
Different prison environments for men and women
The recruitment of women began in December 2022. The first group of 50 female prisoners was sent to the front, and others followed. Olga Romanova tries to explain the choice of women: “Men go to war to get amnesty or parole (…). They do not believe in the official position or the views of the opposition. Women, on the other hand, believe in propaganda. They go to the front not to earn money or get parole, but to die for Vladimir Putin.”
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This strange imbalance is partly a result of the different conditions in male and female penal colonies. One example is that the Internet and cell phones are banned in both types of facilities, but men have access to them.
Another thing is that women’s prisons follow formal rules, while men’s prisons follow a strict informal hierarchy where prisoners and authorities work hand in hand. Above all, there is a kind of joint management of access to the outside of the prison.
In fact, these men’s prisons are usually “sheet committee“, the most respected group of recidivists who deal directly with the warden. It is this small committee that oversees contact with the outside world and regulates relations between inmates.
Especially by distributing telephones. sheet committee Keeps inmates informed of events beyond the prison walls.
Zoya Kosmodemyaskaya
As they head to the front, female prisoners might want to emulate the famous Russian partisan heroine Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who was murdered by the Nazis during the “Great Patriotic War” (what Russians call World War II) of 1941-45.
This woman is the stuff of myth in Russia. 2021, movie Joya Screened in all Russian prisons. Depicts the story of an 18-year-old young woman who volunteers to fight behind enemy lines after the German invasion began in 1941. Captured by the Germans far from Moscow, she is tortured and hanged.
Interpreted by Tamara Eidelman, a teacher with 40 years of experience. Joya On the YouTube channel, he said, “Instead of sympathizing with the teenage girl being tortured by German soldiers, the filmmakers encourage viewers to admire the way she puts the noose around her neck.”
What the public forgets is that the Soviet command sent Kosmodemyanskaya and her friends on a suicide mission. This episode perfectly illustrates the Soviet Union’s contempt for human life.
This film and other films about the 1941-45 war were generously funded by the Russian Ministry of Culture. Led by Vladimir Medinsky, the ministry supports projects that shape public opinion by glorifying war heroes. Russians are portrayed as peaceful victims of aggression, forced to defend their homeland, rallying around a leader and ready to die for him. There are clear parallels between the Great Patriotic War and the current conflict. Russians are asked to believe that they will be attacked by Ukraine and NATO in February 2022.
Women volunteers are recruited especially in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk territories, the Republic of Mordovia, Lipetsk and Leningrad regions.
It is impossible to determine the number of female prisoners sent to Ukraine, as women’s prisons operate in isolation. According to Olga Romanova’s estimates, 1,000 women were on the front lines in December 2023. This figure is rough and conservative. It is likely that many more women have joined since then.
Little is known about the daily lives of these women, who call themselves “wolves.” The most popular professions are nurses and cooks, but most female prisoners are not suited to such roles. Instead, after a month of training, they are usually enrolled in the infantry, fighting alongside men, but in separate units. The Defense Ministry is ready to enroll any volunteer, regardless of health, physical condition or age. Even tuberculosis and HIV are not obstacles to recruitment.
The families of these women rarely hear news of their loved ones at the front. Information about the women’s units often comes from Ukrainian soldiers who notice the presence of women in enemy trenches.
The influx of new recruits has slowed in recent years. It has become difficult to find commanding officers who can maintain discipline among both female and male inmates.
