Location: Kaisk, 145 kilometres from Nizhny Novgorod
The colony was built in the 1940s. It has a ward with
250 beds for the seriously ill.
The colony can accommodate up to 1,077 people at any
time. The average yearly number of prisoners was 1,240 in 1995, 1,890 in 1996 and 2,100 in
1997. As many as 70% of the convicts suffer from acute forms of tuberculosis (collapsed
lungs). Of them 80% require treatment in wards, but there are not enough beds. The colony has only 40% of the required number of doctors,
therefore the patients frequently have to wait in line outside for treatment.
The colony received just an eighth of its required
funding from the federal budget in 1997.
A total of 158 people died in the colony between
January 1 and October 21, 1997. The number of deaths is expected to increase to 340 in
1998. In the first 10 months of 1977, 600 prisoners released on completion of their
sentences had an acute form of TB, and 170 recovered.
Expenditures on food for convicts totaled 4,000 rubles ($0.7) per person per day, and
expenditures on treatment 2,000 rubles in 1997. By comparison, expenditures on treatment
at a city tuberculosis clinic were 50,000 rubles ($8.3) for bed patients and 20,000 rubles
($3.3) for out-patients.
The main form of production in the colony is sewn
items.
This is the colony most in need of aid. The
administration assists with care, but the colony's
remoteness is a major impediment. Charitable aid is rendered by public organizations and
individuals, mainly in the form of food and medicines.
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