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Russia

A better life on the outside

20/06/2006: In Russia there are no resettlement programmes following imprisonment. Most released prisoners do not have any money and many have no place to go. The temptation to slip back into crime is great. A small workshop in St. Petersburg helps ex-convicts to return to a normal life.

An ex-convict making jewellery at the workshop

At the Fontanka Canal in St. Petersburg, a resettlement workshop for released prisoners has been established by the St. Serafim community. The staff act as social workers for the prisoners, offering psychological and legal counselling.

Employment at the workshop means access to propiska

Former criminals are offered employment at the workshop, producing wooden icons, silver jewellery and crucifixes that are sold to churches and kiosks. Working here, the ex-convicts can get the vital propiska - a residence permit that entitles its holder to seek legal employment and social benefits. Many lose their propiska while in prison.

One in every fifth Russian is or has been in prison. The majority of prisoners are men.