In Perm Krai, the number of inmates in one of Russia’s largest penal colonies decreases threefold
"I believe the main reason is the deployment of prisoners to the war zone. Of course, there are other reasons as well, such as transfers to correctional centers, or the assignment of alternative forms of punishment not involving imprisonment," Asaulenko explained to "7x7."
Penal Colony No. 10, a high-security facility in the Chusovsky District of Perm Krai, is regarded as one of the largest penal colonies in Russia, with a capacity of nearly 2,300 inmates.
According to Asaulenko, the number of inmates in Penal Colony No. 37, located in the village of Polovinka, Perm Krai, where former law enforcement officers serve their sentences, has also significantly decreased — from 400 to 180.
In November 2022, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) stopped publishing statistics on the number of inmates in Russian penal colonies. Journalists from Mediazona have linked this to the recruitment of prisoners by Wagner PMC.