Friday, July 23, 1976 37
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Russia's Notorious Vladimir Prison Reminiscent of Nazi Era
By JONATHAN
SCHENKER
Public Information Officer,
National Conference on Soviet
Jewry
(Copyright 1976, JTA, Inc.)
David Chernoglaz, former
Soviet Jewish prisoner of
cqnscience, spent the last
year of his five-year sent-
ence (June 1974-June 1975),
in Vladimir Prison.
The former inmate em-
phasized that every political
prisoner must spend the
first two to six months of
imprisonment in Vladimir
under a strict regime.
"The first 60 days one is
denied food," he recalled
soon after arriving in Israel
in August, 1975. The first
month one is allowed 400
grams of bread, boiled wa-
ter and salted fish for
breakfast. Often prisoners
refuse to eat the fish for
fear of being poisoned. Din-
ner consists of water with
some groats and supper is
three spoonfuls of porridge.
"I would dream of food all
night after fighting the hun-
ger pains all day," Chernog-
laz recalled.
"Confined to a concrete
cell, there was one small
electric lamp which hung
from the center of the ceil-
ing, burning day and
night. There was no venti-
lation, heat, running wa-
ter or sewage facilities in
the cell," Chernoglaz said.
Vladimir Prison is located
120 miles east of Moscow.
Since the activist's term,
conditions have hardly im-
proved. While restricted to
an 800 calorie a day diet,
prisoners are forbidden
from buying food in the
prison canteen or eat any
food one may have brought
with them. After the first 30
days, inmates are allowed to
spend only up to two rubles
a month on food, tobacco or
soap, walk a half-hour a day
outside one's cell and write
one letter every two months.
"Living under these condi-
tions, one's health is seri-
ously affected," Chernoglaz
continued. "The long peri-
ods in a closed cell and living
under the constant stress
obviously affect one's men-
tal processes. At any mo-
ment'a prisoner may be re-
turned to the 'strict regime'
as punishment. After the in-
itial 'strict regime' is com-
pleted, the prisoners are
transferred to 'normal con-
ditions' — the general re-
gime.
"The food one gets in this
stage contains no protein,
no vitamins. We ate only be-
cause we'd- no other choice.
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fainted and was dying on
the floor without aid. Only
after some hours passed did
the warden allow an un-
qualified nurse attend to
Suslensky.
To avoid possible com-
plaints, the prison adminis-
tration said Suslensky
feigned an attack of epi-
lepsy. The medical condi-
tions are deplorable."
Medicines in the Vladimir
hospital are unusable be-
cause they have been stored
so long. Prisoners requiring
surgery must often hold the
lamp for the surgeon while
being operated upon. Pris-
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mir include Leib (Arye)
Khnokh, Aleksei Mur-
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food consists of 450 grams
of bread, 15 grams of sugar,
a minimum amount of
cooked vegetables and cer-
eal, 30 grams of meat which
are often stolen by the
kitchen help, and 80 grams
of the uneatable fish which
we more often than not
threw away."
Conditions are slightly
better in the Vladimir hos-
pital. There is more light
and air than in the com-
mon prison cell where 3-15
inmates live together.
"But in fact," Chernoglaz
admitted, " the hospital
acts as a resting place for
prisoners who collaborate
with the prison adminis-
tration and the KGB. The
hospital is also used to
punish those the camp ad-
ministration does not see
as 'obedient.' "
"Any prisoner can be pun-
ished for the slightest in-
f r a c t i o n," Chernoglaz
pointed out. "For getting
out of bed one minute late
or having an argument with
the wardens, they are
placed in tiny punishment
cells, where the stench is
unbearable. The smell of
urine can choke a prisoner.
"I remember Yakov Sus-
lensky (who is still serving a
seven-year sentence), He
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