The territorial organization of correctional institutions in Russia

In this article the present-day territorial organization of correctional institutions of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russian Federation and the history of its formation from the 19th century are considered. The major emphasis in the historical consideration is placed on the economic premises for the territorial location of these facilities: industrial and civil construction, mining development, and other tasks of infrastructural development of Russia’s territory. In the analysis of the current state of affairs the diversity of correctional institutions (pretrial-detention facilities (PTDFs), prisons, correctional colonies of different regimes, fostering and educational facilities), their distribution by size class and type of settlements, with the differences between Russia’s central and peripheral areas taken into account, and the relationship between the territorial distribution of the population in Russia and territorial distribution of the network of correctional institutions are considered. Particular attention is given to correctional institutions that are located in scarcely populated territories (less than five people per 1 km2) with low transport accessibility, as well as their general economic influence and the influence on local labor markets. The industrial specialization of correctional institutions and its dependence on the location of these facilities in urban and rural areas is analyzed.