Issue # 22-2010. Content
The first section, “Social Punishment”, opens with official penitentiary statistics as per August 1, 2010. Yuri Alexandrov’s article “Legal Training” comments on the latest amendments to legislation regulating the judiciary, law enforcement and executive power. The FDPR chronicles describing incidents within the penitentiary system include Grigory Pasko’s article “The Best Have Been Fired. Who Stays?” providing details about the resignation of high-ranking penitentiary officers. A lengthy analytical story by Aidar Sultanov focuses on the problem of censorship in its present-day form that results in the list of publications banned in line with court decisions growing day by day, as additionally proved by an excerpt from the Sova Information Analysis Centre’s periodical report.
The section “In the Name of Law” features Sergey Pashin’s story “Judicial Anarchy” about the collapse of judicial reform. It is followed by an excerpt from the report “Corrupt Practices in Court” prepared by the Russian Lawyers’ Association. Then comes Leonid Golovko’s article “Getting Lost Like a Babe in the Woods” analysing the reasons for the failure of judicial reform, and Ivan Fedotov’s account of one particular judicial case that has gone all the way to the Strasbourg court. Another case is summarised in Natalia Novozhilova’s story “The Frame-Up”. G. Pasko’s analysis states that the Supreme Court ranks 203rd in Russia in terms of judicial openness to the press. The section concludes with Alexander Zimbovsky’s feature “We Just Want Your House” supplying details regarding a specific case won in court by human rights defenders.
The section “The Limits of Misunderstanding” opens with Lyudmila Alpern’s article “Changing the Paradigm: From Struggle to Conciliation”, giving an insight into the system of “reparative” justice and modern criminal policies. An excerpt from a new book by the renowned criminologist Nils Christie explains to the reader the nature of hostile divisions among people.
Finally, the section “Freedom of the Individual” features a story by Kirill Podrabinek entitled “That Didn’t Happen, After All”, dedicated to the trial over prisoner of conscience Sergey Mokhnatkin, followed by an excerpt from the book “Enemies of the Nation Beyond the Arctic Circle” with a review by Alexei Mokrousov.
In conclusion, the third edition of Rossiyski Tyuremny Zhurnal [Russian Prison Journal] is announced.
Nevolia. Issue # 22-2010. Print version (PDF, Russian)