Books by foreign authors were confiscated from prisoners at a St. Petersburg colony — they will be burned in a furnace

Books by foreign authors were confiscated from prisoners at a St. Petersburg colony — they will be burned in a furnace

A Fontanka source said this.

“In IK-6 in Obukhovo yesterday, all literature by foreign authors was collected, both in the library and in the hands of convicts, to be destroyed in the furnace. They were allowed to keep only the Bible and Russian classics,” he noted.

The St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region office of the Federal Penitentiary Service told the outlet that the colonies are conducting a routine monthly check of library holdings and convicts’ personal literature.

“The measure is being carried out in strict accordance with Russian legislation and the Russian Justice Ministry’s Federal List of Extremist Materials. During inspections, the presence of publications promoting the cult of violence, the criminal subculture, or containing instructions for making prohibited items and substances is also ruled out,” they added.

The Federal Penitentiary Service’s St. Petersburg office assured Fontanka that convicts’ personal books that are not on the list of extremist materials but have not passed inspection are not destroyed.

“They are handed over to relatives or placed in storage together with personal belongings until the owner’s release. Only worn-out library copies or books included in the federal list of extremist materials are subject to destruction,” the press service noted.

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