Organization of the activities of the prison guards of the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century

Soloveichik Maksim Vyacheslavovich PhD in Pedagogy Associate Professor of the Department of Organization of Police Work, St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia 192283, Russia, Saint Petersburg region, Saint Petersburg, Pilutova str., 1, room 410 soloveychik1977@gmail.com Other publications by this author

The relevance of the study of the organization of the activities of the convoy guards at the end of the 19th century is determined by the difficult situation in modern places of detention while ensuring security measures. This is confirmed by the illegal situations occurring in them.

For example, on July 16, 2024, two of its employees were taken hostage in the Rostov-on-Don detention center, and on August 21 of the same year, prisoners in custody in the Kemerovo region also took three employees of this institution hostage.

It cannot be argued that such examples are a pattern in the activities of these law enforcement agencies, but they should encourage their representatives to look for ways to improve the effectiveness of the service to ensure the security of places of detention, including in historical examples of its organization.

This confirms the importance of the study and its practical significance in the field of ensuring the safety of society from the consequences that may occur as a result of illegal acts in places of detention of modern times. According to the author, in order to reduce the number of cases of violations of the order of stay in places of detention of modern times, it is necessary to study the historical experience of prison guards of the late 19th century to use positive examples and exclude negative ones in modern official activities to ensure the safety of detention.

In this regard, the author defines the purpose of the study – to study the experience of convoy guards at the end of the 19th century in order to identify positive elements of ensuring the safety of detention in modern conditions.

To do this, the author plans to solve the following tasks:

- to study the normative legal documents of the prison guards of the late 19th century in the Russian Empire, regulating the provision of security for the protection of detainees;

- to study the memoirs of contemporaries characterizing the activities of the convoy guards of the studied period in the field of security;

- to study the works of the scientific community devoted to the activities of the convoy guards in the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century.

In Russia, by the end of the 19th century, there was a professional service for the protection and maintenance of persons under preliminary investigation in prison.

This is confirmed by a significant number of works by the scientific community on the topic of the article of the specified period and modern ones that touch on this topic in their research. The following works can be distinguished among them.

In 1896, the Saratov prison inspector prepared the "Rules of the service of prison guards and wardens", on the basis of which it was supposed to serve prison guards. In the introduction to them, it was said that in order to ensure the most correct performance of the service, it is very important that prison guards know in detail and accurately the requirements of those duties that they are assigned to perform.

V.I. Kardashov devoted his works to describing the lives of famous Soviet statesmen of the Soviet state, who spent their youth, including in the "royal dungeons", where there are descriptions of the regime of detention in prisons of the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century.

Kann P.Ya. created a detailed study of the activities of the Peter and Paul Fortress from the beginning of its existence to becoming a museum of national importance. The time described in the article is represented by the activities of the Trubetskoy Bastion prison, whose employees were also part of the prison guard.

In 2002, a team of authors created a work entitled "The Internal and Convoy Guards of Russia 1811-1917. Documents and materials", where the time period studied in the article is documented.

Margolis A.D. considering the number and placement of exiles in Siberia at the end of the XIX century, describes the features of the prison guards.

Sysoev A.A. considering penitentiary recidivism as a manifestation of criminal criminality in Eastern Siberia at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries, in his work he makes an assumption about the state of crime in the studied period, which coincides with the one considered in the article. This makes it possible to imagine the crime rate at the time when the Russian prison guard carried out its activities.

Antipov A.N. studies the history of the emergence and formation of the prison system in Simbirsk, and Goryushkin A.M. exile and hard labor in Siberia at the beginning of the XX century.

When studying the works of these authors, it becomes clear that the organization of the activities of the prison guard for the protection and detention of prisoners during this period was organized professionally and in a regulated manner.

Therefore, to compare tactical techniques for the protection and maintenance of suspects and accused of committing a crime, the works of such authors as Sinitsyn E.I., Arkhipov S.N., Spasennikov B. A., Chepik I.V., who study the current state of protection and maintenance of suspects and accused of committing a crime, were studied.

Describing the activities of the prison guards, it is necessary to understand what level of criminal activity the prisoners, namely, the suspects and accused were called at that time, were placed in prisons at the end of the 19th century.

There are two directions of illegal acts of that time – criminal and political. Without touching on the detention of leaders of the criminal world and political movements in prison, let's look at what ordinary Russian citizens of the studied era could have been imprisoned for.

At the end of the 19th century, Russia was in the midst of social upheaval. As Gorelov I.P. and Nikiforov A.L. note in their work, all major cities of that time were gradually populated by visitors from the agricultural regions of the country, which entailed a certain social marginalization, that is, the weakening of these people's connection with their social environment, at the same time, the perception of traditions and norms of a new one. Social control over the villagers who came to the city was weakening. What seemed unacceptable in a rural community is tolerable in a city, sometimes even necessary. ^{[1, pp.134-135]} The results of the weakening of control could not but affect the general criminal situation in the country.

An eyewitness of the late 19th century notes that mass fights were not uncommon between residents of the outskirts of cities, where people who came to work from villages usually settled, as one of the types of entertainment. There were up to a thousand or more people participating on both sides. Bolts, nuts, and rivets were used in fights. At first, teenagers threw stones at each other. The passion flared up more and more as the decisive moment of the fight came in the evening. The police managed to detain three or four people, and sometimes she had to retreat. ^{[2, C. 24]}

The situation was no better with the political climate in the country. The confrontation between workers and owners of large industrial enterprises was growing. For example, in St. Petersburg in the spring of 1896, a powerful strike of textile workers unfolded. Seventeen paper mills stopped working at the same time. Crowds of workers besieged police stations, setting out political demands. The mayor's office responded with arrests and prisons overflowed with prisoners. ^{[3, C. 218]}

One of the participants in the terrorist political opposition to the current government, imprisoned in the Schlisselburg fortress, wrote in his book "The Terrorist Struggle" how he firmly believes that the terrorist movement will bypass all obstacles lying in its path and by the triumph of its cause will prove to all opponents that it fully satisfies the conditions of modern reality that bring this kind of struggle to the fore. ^{[3, C. 17]}

Without delving into the political and social causes of illegal acts of that time, we understand that in order to keep and protect a significant number of people who committed illegal acts previously described, without incident and violations of the regime, the prison guards had to act clearly and professionally, and the specifics of these actions will be discussed in this article.

According to the author, it is necessary to begin with a description of the prison premises of the studied era in order to understand how their internal and external structure contributed to compliance with the requirements of ensuring the safety of prisoners and the prison guards themselves.

As an example, attention should be paid to the prison built in 1892 in St. Petersburg, the so-called "Crosses". It was built in the form of two huge corridors intersecting at right angles. In the corridors, instead of ceilings, there is a free viewable space, formed in such a way that it is not possible to get acquainted with the guards or civilian staff, as well as just exchange words – everyone was always visible from everywhere. Each supervisor felt that he was being watched by everyone who saw him and did not enter into conversations. ^{[2, 73-74]}.

In turn, the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress, as one of the prisons of Russia, was built in the form of a pentagonal two-story building. On each floor there were cameras, according to an eyewitness in 1897, measuring nine paces in length, six in width. The window is at such a height that it cannot be reached by hand, and the table and bed are screwed to the floor. ^{[3, C. 199]}

Thus, it can be seen that prisons during the specified period as places of isolation, from the moment of construction, are being built taking into account the necessary security measures. The same goals were pursued by her external prison guards.

As stated in the "Rules of the Prison Guards and Wardens Service", the prison guards should not have left the entrances to the prison unlocked under any pretext. Before opening the entrance to let anyone in, an employee of this unit should look through the entrance window to see who exactly wants to enter and, having let someone in or out, immediately lock the entrance and keep it always locked. Without the permission of his immediate superiors, the representative of the prison guard was not supposed to let strangers into and out of the prison, much less prisoners. ^[4]

All those entering and leaving the prison, excluding only the commanding officers and honorary visitors, had to be searched to verify whether they were carrying prohibited items into the prison and, if they turned out to be, then they should be seized. This is how one of the prisoners in the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress describes the search procedure. Upon arrival, he was asked to undress. The thoroughness of the search exceeded the most ardent imagination. Not only the oral cavity, but also the hair were examined. ^{[4, p. 206]}

Another prisoner testifies that he was led into a cell and offered to undress, where he quickly, with the assistance of half a dozen skillful hands, freed himself from his suit. So far, the author of these memoirs has not been subjected to such a thorough search, which indicates the thoroughness of the inspection measures carried out by the convoy guards of that time.^[4]

On duty, prison guards were not supposed to sleep, eat, smoke or engage in any work or conversations with other persons. They were charged with the duties of bypassing the post and monitoring the outer parts of the prison building and the fence in order to prevent any possibility for the prisoners to escape. They had to make sure that the prisoners did not spoil the exterior grilles, did not throw anything out of the windows, and that through the windows there were no relations, conversations and transfers of prisoners among themselves, or between prisoners and strangers. ^[5]

The prison guards had to pay special attention to the fact that all the doors that were ordered to be locked were really locked, and wherever the prisoners were, they were supervised.

This requirement shows its obvious similarity to the security of detention facilities for suspects and accused of our days, when due to unfair service, employees can allow escape. ^[6]

At least once a week, prison guards conducted a detailed search of all cells and rooms where prisoners are, seized all prohibited items and presented them to their superior. Prisoners were not allowed to have stabbing and cutting tools, a towel was taken away at night, forks and knives were not allowed, spoons could only be made of wood, glassware was not allowed. The guards were also thoroughly searched upon leaving the prison to exclude elements of collusion with the prisoners.^[7]

This requirement is also fully consistent with modern security measures in penitentiary institutions of our country, which indicates elements of similarity in the service of modern security and convoy units. ^[7]

The prison guards of each institution had to always know exactly how many, where and at what work the prisoners were. During the entire time of work, the prisoners must be monitored for maintaining order, for diligently performing their assigned work, as well as for cleanliness in the work premises, for the integrity, safety and careful use of state property located in the workshops. ^[8]

If the prisoners are allowed to do any work in the cells, or when the workshops are located in the common prison corridors, then the officer on duty in this department must monitor the diligent execution of the prisoners' work and daily, after completion of the work, carefully inspect the cells and workshops, search the prisoners and take away all the objects of work and tools from the cells, so as not to leave in the cells at night, and lock up the workshops. ^[8]

During the night, the officer on duty observed that the prisoners observed complete peace and did not disturb it even by talking to each other. As noted by eyewitnesses in custody, it is so quiet only in a coffin. Rarely do the spurs of a prison guard officer ring, the keys rattle, the bolts of the door open, and then everything again plunges into the silence of the grave. ^{[8, C. 210]}

All premises where prisoners are engaged in work, upon completion of work, must be inspected to ensure that there are no prohibited items, or whether the prisoners have made any preparations for escape and whether the premises for work are locked. ^[9]

In prisons where there is a school for prisoners, it is necessary to control the withdrawal of prisoners to school at the appointed time and have general supervision over the maintenance of order by prisoners at school, as well as the return of prisoners to their cells or to work, inspect the school premises and lock them up. ^[9]

Internal posts were established for service inside prison buildings, in the corridors of each of the prison departments, at the arrest cells.

The prison cells had to be always locked and the attendant had to have the keys to the cells located in his department, so that he could enter the cell at any time for inspection. The attendant had to keep the keys to the cells with him at all times, in no case put them anywhere and leave them in the keyholes of the doors. The doors of the cells were locked with an improved lock, in addition, a wide iron bolt was placed across the door. The bolt, in turn, was locked with a huge padlock. The whole procedure of opening or locking the door stretched for several minutes and was accompanied by a crash. ^{[9, C. 210]}

The duty officer was obliged to know the number of prisoners in the cells located in his department, to which category they belong, as well as how many prisoners, which ones and where they were released from the cells. Every morning, after the bell for the prisoners to get up and morning check-up, the duty officer made sure that all the prisoners got up, folded their beds and mattresses, took the latter to the place where it was installed, to the specified place, and washed. ^{[9, C. 210]}

As a rule, a large window was cut in the doors of prison cells, through which prisoners received food. At 7 o'clock in the morning, the window was opened and breakfast was served through it. At 12 o'clock the window rattled again – it was lunch. Dinner was broadcast at 6 p.m. Bars on the windows, heavy locks and rattling bolts and bolts were complemented by an elaborate security system. ^{[9, C. 213]}

Before cleaning the cells, it was necessary to observe that the prisoners prayed to God. The prayer for the Orthodox should be read loudly and clearly by someone who knows the prisoners. During prayer, prisoners must observe complete deanery.

After prayer, the duty officer handed over the prisoners who were taken out of the cells to work (outdoor, household and workshops), as well as to school, and takes them back with a bill when they return to the cells.

Both when handing over prisoners being taken out of their cells and when returning them back, the officer on duty at the department searches them and selects all unauthorized items, presenting them to the head of the institution. While on duty, he is obliged to observe the prisoners in the cells through the holes in the doors, so that they do not violate the order established for them, not allowing them noise, shouting, swearing, singing, all sorts of fun and any kind of riot. ^[10]

He must not allow prisoners to smoke tobacco and play cards, checkers, dice or any other games and carry money and all kinds of tools that can contribute to the escape and causing bodily harm. The prison guards were not supposed to allow the sale and assignment between prisoners of their belongings, clothes, shoes and food items. ^[10]

All the irregularities noticed had to be eliminated immediately, and the unauthorized things had to be selected, then reporting this when changing their own. If the officer on duty could not stop the riots between the prisoners with these measures, then he should call others for help with the installed signal sign. ^[10]

Those accompanying the prisoners for a walk, having accepted them according to the bill from the officer on duty at the department, had to ensure that the prisoners walked in the prescribed manner and in a place designated for a walk, not allowing them noise, singing, shouting, quarrels, swearing, fighting and any kind of games and running. The main duty assigned to escort prisoners anywhere is to keep prisoners under the strictest supervision.

Those appointed to accompany the prisoners to external work must receive the prisoners with an account and, during the work, observe the preservation of order between the prisoners and their diligence in their work, and especially ensure that there are no attempts to escape the prisoners.

When escorting prisoners around the city, it was necessary to ensure that the prisoners walked in order, in rows, and lead them along the middle of the street, and not along the sidewalks. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that prisoners do not engage in conversations with strangers, do not enter private houses and all kinds of institutions, do not ask for alms and do not accept money and any things and objects from strangers. In case of disobedience, as well as in the case of a riot of prisoners, the prison guards could immediately place the guilty prisoners in the punishment cell. ^[11]

Representatives of the prison guards were strictly forbidden to enter into transactions with prisoners, deliver any items to them and accept gifts from them. Their shifts were planned so that they were planned in various combinations in a breakdown. It was always necessary to enter the cell together, watching not only the prisoner, but also each other. ^{[11, C. 212]}

Those appointed to be present at the appointed time at the meeting of the prisoners with the persons visiting them were obliged to ensure that the visitors did not bring or transfer any things or objects, letters, notes, papers, money, except food, while they must strictly inspect the transferred products so that they did not hide any- or prohibited items. It was also necessary to monitor the conversations of visitors with the prisoners, preventing shouting, quarrels, and swearing between them; to ensure that there was nothing criminal or forbidden in the conversations, and that visitors did not communicate with the prisoners by signs. ^[11]

In case of violation of these rules by visitors or prisoners, these visitors are invited to immediately leave the visiting room, and the prisoners must be taken to the cells. The forbidden things brought are taken away. After the time appointed for the visits, which is notified by the bell, the prisoners must be taken to their cells, and visitors are invited to leave the visiting room, which must then be carefully examined to see if any prohibited things or objects are left in it.^[12]

In the team of each prison institution there were employees who make up the armed force in case of any riots among the prisoners and misfortunes in prison, which cannot be stopped by the forces of the duty officers on duty, and are obliged, at the first call, by an established signal sign, or a verbally given order by the Head of the prison, to appear at the scene to provide the necessary assistance and assistance. ^[12]

Prison guards who were in their apartments during their free time were obliged to immediately report to the prison at any time of the day or night at the request of the head, as well as in the event of a fire in the prison or riots caused by prisoners.

It should be noted that prison guards held the positions of wardens and wardens, whose positions were established to supervise the women's department of the prison to supervise female detainees. Upon taking office, supervisors and supervisors must give a written commitment to the conscientious performance of their assumed duties and submission to penalties for non-fulfillment of service requirements, the form of which it would be appropriate to give in the article some excerpts. In the obligation, the undersigned was informed that he must comply with all the rules prescribed for prison detention, carry out his duties honestly and be constantly sober. He could voluntarily leave the position after serving for at least one year and warning about it no later than two weeks in advance; earlier in the year he could leave this service only due to illness, conscription, or other reasons recognized by the head of the institution himself as respectful. The future supervisor undertook to observe this obligation sacredly and inviolably. ^[13]

Prison guards and wardens wore uniforms and uniforms. The latter was worn by them only when serving in the performance of official duties at the place of detention. When leaving the prison without prisoners, the weapons had to be removed. ^[13]

Prison guards had to faithfully fulfill the duties assigned to them, observe sobriety and complete decency in their behavior, be unconditionally respectful in their treatment of their superiors, be polite to their equals, and they should treat prisoners calmly, with restraint and justice, by no means allowing themselves any violent actions and the use of abusive words. At the same time, it is strictly required from prisoners, without distinction of categories and their rank, the exact execution of all established rules. ^[13]

The prison guards, while on duty and escorting prisoners, had the right to use weapons with due diligence and, if necessary, in the following cases:

- to protect the prisoner or post they are guarding;

- to protect himself from being attacked by prisoners;

- to stop such riots and riots between prisoners, which threaten the danger of general indignation of the prisoners,

- against a prisoner making an escape.

But if in these cases it is possible to avoid the use of weapons by calling for help or preventing a crime, then prison guards were obliged to do this.

In the rules for the use of firearms by prison guards in relation to prisoners of the studied period, we can discern echoes of modern requirements for the use of security guards and escort units in relation to suspects and accused of committing crimes. ^[14]

However, despite the rather strict regime of detention, there were prisoners who violated it. For example, in one of the letters from the commandant of the Trubetskoy bastion of the Peter and Paul Fortress to the director of the police department, you can read that while being held in the fortress, one of the prisoners was put in a punishment cell for a day and transferred to another cell. The penalty had little effect on him. Using the permission to have writing materials, he tore off the margin of the book and wrote a note to the next cell. He put what he had written in the spine of the book and, by knocking, informed me which book should be requested from the library in order to find what was written there. ^[15]

Unfortunately, the modern practice of similar penitentiary institutions is also supplemented by examples of violations of the detention regime, or even attempts to escape by suspects of committing crimes from custody. ^[15]

Summarizing the above, it would be appropriate to pay attention to a number of factors that could be implemented in the organization of modern security measures in places of detention of suspects and accused of committing a crime. First, it is the selection of qualified employees of places of detention when hiring. Secondly, there is an end-to-end control system not only for persons in custody, but also for employees of places of detention. Thirdly, the organization of events to promote the image of an employee of the security units of places of detention in modern society.^[16]

Thus, it can be said that the organization of prison guards in the Russian Empire reflected the economic and political situation in the country, when, despite a significant number of illegal manifestations on the part of society, the state is forced to create protective institutions, which include, including places of detention, which were prisons of our Fatherland at that time.

Unfortunately, the current situation in our country seems similar to the author, which allows us to make an assumption about the need to take into account the historical experience of our ancestors when organizing similar types of modern service.

At the end of the study, we will summarize the following results:

- at the end of the 19th century, a professional prison guard was formed in the Russian Empire, which carried out law enforcement activities to ensure the safety of persons held in prisons;

- based on the analysis of the documents of the studied era and the memoirs of contemporaries, it can be concluded that the prison guards carried out official activities with various results, which were taken into account in the regulatory regulatory legal documents of the studied era;

- it is necessary to adopt the positive experience of the prison guards of the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century in order to effectively ensure the safety of modern detention facilities.

At the end of the study, the author would like to note that the experience of the official activities of the prison guards of the Russian Empire at the end of the 19th century should be used in organizing training for employees of modern detention facilities so that they are worthy legal successors.