Slang words and expressions. Prison mail, or what is a “road” How does the road work in prison

Prisoner solidarity is a feeling of preferring the needs of the prisoner over others; one of the fundamental prison concepts.

Avtozek is a special vehicle for transporting prisoners. The literary norm is “paddy wagon,” but they don’t say that.

Butyrka - Butyrki, Butyrka prison.

Borzet - become impudent.

Hospital, Cross - hospital.

Bayan, the machine is a syringe.

BD is a big road, a route for prison mail and parcels to the hospital.

Gruel is what they feed you in prison.

Thank you; from the heart - used to mean “thank you.”

Nonsense conversation is an expression that serves as a basis for ending a conversation due to lack of mutual understanding.

Balander - prison food distributor.

To be close is to be friends.

Buns - buttocks.

Warm the rolls - sit back.

White, heroin - heroin.

Baul - any bag, bag for things.

Huckster is a merchant.

Red mullets are sweets without wrapper.

Bathhouse - shower.

The helicopter is the place in the cell where the gang gathers.

Vasya - a benevolent address, as if in jest.

In refusal - the position of the prisoner when he refuses to testify.

Vospet is a senior teacher.

To break out, to break - to voluntarily leave a prison cell under any pretext with the goal of not returning back.

The guard, the guard - the jailer.

The Thieves' Move is a thieves' ideology and way of life.

Thief, Rogue - the highest rank in the world of thieves.

Vint is a homemade drug, the manufacturing process of which involves the evaporation of gasoline.

They say the screw blows your brains out.

Screw - one who uses a screw.

Open up - open your veins.

In the Christmas tree - right, good.

Grab it by the skeebot - grab it by the collar.

The paddle is a spoon.

Clothing - clothing transfer.

Cargo, cargo (with emphasis on the second syllable) - a prison parcel transported through the bars using ropes; parcel via prison unofficial mail.

The bastard is a snitch, trash.

To race, to be at a race - to be in a state of partial insanity, to be very worried.

Glucose - sugar, sweets.

Glitches - hallucinations.

Dacha, wild boar - food delivery.

The road is the prison's unofficial post office.

Oak - table.

Dubinal - beating prisoners with garbage.

Far, far away - toilet.

The road worker is responsible for the unofficial prison mail.

Dushnyak is a difficult situation in a cell created by the administration.

Decel - a little.

Movement, movement - events.

Delyuga is a criminal case.

DPNSI - assistant on duty to the head of the pre-trial detention center.

Dnyukha is a round date for staying in prison.

To drive - to transport something to someone in need along the prison road.

Close - put in jail.

To dry out - to hide, to hide the past.

Hammer the pin - close the peephole of the chamber door.

Prohibition - alcohol, drugs; items prohibited to the prisoner.

The infection is drugs.

It's a bastard, a bastard - against the principles.

Zamutka - chifir; tea leaves for stirring - a portion of tea leaves sufficient for making chifir.

Sharpening is a large cutting object, regardless of the production method.

Application - a written statement.

IVS - temporary detention facility.

To be interested is used in the usual meaning of “to ask”, i.e. ask a question; and also have an interest in prison life.

Kicha, punishment cell - punishment cell.

Kumar - drug hangover.

Kum is a senior operative.

Kumovskoy, kumovka, subkumok, mother hen, seksot - informer.

Kradun is the one who lives by theft and follows the laws of the world of thieves.

Wheels are tablets.

A feeding trough is a folding window in a prison door. A jamb is a misdemeanor; flogging shoals - to commit incorrect, punishable, from the point of view of a decent prisoner, actions.

Killer whale - cassation appeal.

The picture is an episode of an accusation in a criminal case.

Merchant is a very strong tea.

Merchant, commerce - trader. A very despised category of people, one might say suit.

The horse is a weight tied to a rope to make it easier to catch in another chamber.

To mow is to simulate.

Kapotnya is a pre-trial detention center in the village of Kapotnya.

Specifically - a common expression that emphasizes the unambiguity of what is said and confidence in it.

Covered, covered - a special regime prison.

Krytnik is a prisoner who is serving or has served a sentence in a special regime prison. (The conditions of the special regime are similar to those of a pre-trial detention center, but in an indoor prison everyone has their own place).

Convicts, barefoot, punks, tramps - respectful treatment.

The Rat is a prisoner who stole from a cellmate.

Lave - money.

Breaking bread with someone means being close, sharing what you need, trusting.

Stall - a way to buy in absentia in the prison store.

Lepila is a prison doctor.

Matrosskaya - Matrosskaya Silence prison.

Maloletka is a prison or camp for minors.

Mothers are prisoners or women under investigation with small children.

To wet - to beat until you have enough strength or until you die.

A man - in a cell or zone, as well as in freedom, is the one who earns his livelihood through his labor. Not a highly respected status, but not a despised status either.

Garbage is a policeman.

Washing - razor.

Malyava - a letter intended to be sent via prison unofficial mail.

Monkey is a small mirror.

The garbage move is a garbage ideology and the same garbage way of life.

Masha is an offended, passive bugger.

Smear - make a bet.

To get into slang - to acquire the skill of slang speech.

Nogi - a prison employee or someone from their “household gang” who delivers, on behalf of the prisoners, little things or deliveries.

Diving into a cap means having oral sex. In a prison environment it is considered indecent. Anyone who confesses to such actions faces the fate of those who have been let down.

The general thing is that the material and monetary fund of the thieves’ world exists both in prison and in the wild. The general is the cornerstone of the thieves' ideology.

Netritsalovo is a prisoner who has taken the path of an uncompromising fight against the prison administration and garbage.

Obebon - indictment.

Dejected, offended - raped.

Offended, cockerel - a chamber where they collect those caught in a passive homosexual orientation, offended, downtrodden, cocks. For a decent prisoner, leaving such a cell does not mean breaking out.

To be upset is a restrained prison expression that summarizes sharply negative emotions.

Lift into the hut - transfer from the assembly to the cell.

Lower onto the assembly - transfer from the chamber to the assembly.

To omit - to rape (used in relation to a male person).

Asshole - anal opening; toilet.

From condom to loaf - there is everything you need.

Convict, convict - a cell for those who have received a court sentence (according to the law, convicts must be kept separately from those under investigation).

To be convicted is to receive a court verdict.

Sweep away - take away during a search.

To answer - to be punished by the verdict of the thieves' court; be prepared for such a trial.

Familiarization - familiarization with the materials of the criminal case before transferring it to court.

Monkey house - a police cell with a lattice door for temporarily detained people.

By choice - free.

Driven - nickname.

A bucket is not a toilet at all, as many people think, but a bucket or barrel.

An accomplice is an accomplice in a crime.

Palma - upper tier of bunks.

It's just an ass.

Position - state of affairs, state (in light of the presence or absence of thieves' control).

A decent prisoner is a normal, worthy person.

The search engine is an open letter sent around the prison with the goal of finding acquaintances.

Accept - arrest.

Cap - female genital organs.

Pizdoliz is the one who “drew into the cap.”

The rooster is a passive bugger; Moreover, an active homosexual position is not considered pederasty, and therefore calling an active homosexual a pederast is erroneous and dangerous.

Poluchalovo is a punishment determined by the thieves' court. The classic received - a series of slaps; has educational value.

Ration is a daily portion of bread.

Customization is a gift.

To inform - to say, to notify.

Sail - a hanging panel under the table for dishes; panel over the opening between the bunks.

Like a tramp - like a prisoner, like a brother, artlessly and from the heart.

Through a rotten vein (with a leather syringe) - an act of sodomy.

A first-timer is someone who is in prison for the first time.

The gasket is a provocation.

Glade - folding cardboard made from a juice carton, used as a field for food.

Fingers like a fan - criminal gestures.

Along the way - an introductory word, characteristic (like the word “purely”) for a self-confident prisoner.

Fit - donate, give any item free of charge.

To confuse is to make a mistake due to a misunderstanding of basic concepts.

To pass - to pass.

Petry is a prison on Petrovka Street.

Present - to present a claim, an accusation, guided by thieves' concepts.

Presentation - presentation of a claim.

Progon is an open letter from the Thieves or persons authorized by them, addressed to all decent prisoners (and not just some of them).

Priznanka - a psychiatric department of a prison for the temporary detention of those recognized by an expert examination as insane.

Recognized - a prisoner whose insanity has been recognized by an expert examination.

Shepherd - keep an eye on the prisoners.

Popis - to kill.

To be blown up - to rush, to move immediately.

Pyatak is the space closer to tails, a kind of central square in the chamber.

Squeeze the brakes - open the locks of the prison door.

Rybkin soup is a fish soup.

To get drunk is to get hungover, in the narcotic sense.

The eyelashes are thick metal louvres on the outside of prison bars.

Consumption by suit is an expression used with a hint of irony or joke, since the issue of belonging to any suit is of a very delicate, and even dangerous, nature; Without going into details, to the provocative question of what color you are, it is enough to answer briefly: “I am a decent prisoner.”

Rondoliki - bread fried in oil.

Expense is a word after which conversation is almost impossible; a conditioned signal to neighbors, meaning: we can’t talk now.

Accompanying is a prison letter or parcel, in the annex to which there are required marks on the time of receipt and dispatch of the parcel in each cell through which the parcel passed. The accompaniment is returned to the sender with a receipt. In some cases, escort is carried out by voice, when the person receiving the cargo or baby tells his name or nickname.

Shipmen are prisoners going to trial.

Day - punishment by imprisonment for 10 or 15 days.

Supervisor (of the position), pologenets - responsible for observing thieves' principles in a cell or in a part of the prison (for example, looking after the northern wing of a big specialist); in the wild - looking after the situation in a certain territory.

Stos - homemade card deck.

Thank you is a word used by prisoners in an ironic or negative sense. However, with good relations it is perceived in a normal sense.

Assembly - a temporary detention facility for prisoners in a prison.

Senior - the prisoner's address to the jailer.

A string is a metal strip from a pin.

To ask is to hold accountable for a wrongdoing.

To hide is to steal from a cellmate.

Dream Interpretations - sleeping pills; points on the body, pressing on which can cause an inhibited reaction.

Demand is the punishment determined by the thieves' court.

A glass is a narrow box in which you can only stand.

Sledak is an investigator.

To agree - to meet.

Stolypin - a special train for transporting convicts.

Bitch is a terrible insult, applied mainly to informers and cops.

To get burned - to catch the eye of a jailer with a prohibition or during a prohibited action.

Knock - work for the cops, give them information.

To knock - to convey information to the cops, to warn them.

Sleeping with someone means occupying one bunk (and taking turns sleeping).

A washer is someone who lives in a hut as a man and washes things.

Session - looking at pictures or a live picture of a sexual nature.

Date - date.

Serpy - Institute named after. Serbian.

Slightly - on a call (the jargon of the Butyrka prison).

The tube is the rectum.

Tubik - tuberculosis; prisoner with tuberculosis.

The brakes are the door of a prison cell.

Endured - the victim.

Tubonar - tuberculosis department of the hospital.

Hanging out - going here and there.

Hang out - convey; move.

Prison - you can’t ban it - an expression emphasizing free will.

Torpedo - money sealed in polyethylene, which is carried in the rectum.

The TV is a metal cabinet in the cell.

Warm your ears - eavesdrop.

A bullshit is one who does not keep his word, a deceiver (to drive away bullshit is to not keep a promise, to deceive).

Bullshit - deception; fake.

The pharmacist is a fraudster.

Fanych - mug; in the zone there is a samovar.

The owner is the head of the prison.

Hut - camera.

Hostess - aluminum mug; laundry soap.

Zinc is a signal, a warning.

To galvanize, to galvanize - to give a conditional signal, to warn, to notify.

Purely is a word that emphasizes the unambiguousness of what was said (“purely in a friendly manner”, “purely out of interest”, etc.).

Shmon - search.

Pin, pins - one or more holes in the door for observing the inhabitants of the chamber.

Shkonka, shkonar - metal bunks.

Helmet, helmet - bowl.

Shmal - anasha (from hemp pollen).

Stage - forcible transfer of the prisoner to prison or outside it.

Complete clarity is an expression emphasizing that the situation has been studied thoroughly and the correct conclusions have been drawn.

Prison mail- a system of methods and methods (“roads”) for transferring small-volume (determined by the size of the holes in the walls of the “cabura” or the size of the mesh of the bars) packages - “cargo” between cells of a prison or pre-trial detention center (SIZO). “Cargo”, as a rule, contains correspondence between prisoners in the form of small letters - “malyav”. In addition, in some cases, cigarettes, tea, basic necessities, etc. can be sent by mail. Russian prisoners call the prison telegraph “dear” - a sophisticated communication system that allows them to communicate with each other, despite the walls and bars separating them and security. In the official language of the prison administration, this is called “inter-cell communication” and is considered a serious violation of the regime of detention of convicts. The prison telegraph is as old as the prison it serves, so to speak. Prison mail is created and maintained exclusively by prisoners, since communication between prisoners in different cells is contrary to the principles of security and the Internal Regulations of prisons and pre-trial detention centers. For any attempt to establish inter-cell communication, prisoners can be punished - up to the punishment cell.

Methods of transmitting prison mail are called “roads” in criminal jargon, here are some of them:

"Road" by air

The “road” by air is a method of communication between cells by means of thread ropes stretched through the windows of the cells, made from loose knitted and knitted garments. The length of the rope is at least twice the distance between the cameras. The “road” by air can connect cameras located at a considerable distance (up to 50 - 70 m), as well as those located in separate buildings. Sometimes valuable “babies” are transferred from cell to cell and then, usually, the transmitting camera asks the name of the person who takes it. This “little thing” is called “control”. The correspondence of accomplices, authorities, and “supervisors” can be considered as such. The air route can also connect a prison cell with people on the other side of the freedom road fence - mainly for the transfer of prohibited items. In exceptional cases, the administration turns a blind eye to the operation of mail by air, so that prisoners do not make holes in the walls, that is, do not drill “holsters.”

"Road" through "Kabura"

The “road” through the “cabura” differs from the road by air in that communication is carried out through holes in the walls of the cells, and also in length - often this is the connection between neighboring cells. Making holes in the walls (the thickness of the walls is 0.5 - 1.0 m) is a labor-intensive process, so the road through the “kabura”, as a rule, if there are difficulties in building other “roads”. If there is no “holster” in the camera, then the first thing to do in the camera is to make one. A camera that doesn’t care about setting up the “track” arouses suspicion among the lads. The administration tries in every possible way to prevent damage to property, but almost always in vain. Drilling of the “kabura” goes on around the clock, in an organized manner and according to well-established patterns, using special tools and methods of distracting the supervisors.

"Road" on water

“Road” on water or “on wet” is a method of communication between cameras through thread ropes stretched through the sewer system. This method has one drawback - all “cargo” requires sealed packaging, so they are sealed in plastic bags.

"Road" by stage

The “road” along the stage represents the transfer of letters, money, drugs or other items during the process of transporting prisoners.

"Road" with your feet

“Road” with feet is a way of transmitting letters, money, drugs or other objects through people who have the ability to move around the territory of a prison (pre-trial detention center) or colony, or go beyond their limits.

Based on materials from the free encyclopedia

Almost all relatives of persons held in Russian pre-trial detention centers have to maintain illegal contact with the prisoners. These are the realities of our life. It is very difficult to get a meeting with a prisoner due to our laws and investigative practices. We are not Western Europe. Mobile phones in cells are constantly confiscated during searches, and keeping them can land you in a punishment cell. All that remains is illegal correspondence. In this regard, I would like to give some advice to relatives who are forced to deal with this matter.

Messenger, he's a man

As a rule, the initiative in establishing correspondence belongs to the prisoners themselves. In the cell, they undergo the “young fighter course” at an accelerated pace and learn about various ways of connecting with the will. Much less often, such channels are discovered by relatives themselves.

You should not try to use a lawyer for these purposes - it is more of a hindrance than a help. The 1990s are long gone, and today lawyers are hanging around on pre-trial detention center shifts like the latest sneaks. If the lawyer is found to have a note from the defendant, which he tried to take out, the lawyer will face very big troubles. They may also open a criminal case. Therefore, you should not set people up and ruin your relationship with a lawyer. He can convey a lot in words and generally has to do something else - legally defend your relative, write petitions, and so on.

The system for transmitting prison notes (or “”, as the prisoners themselves call them) is well established today. Most likely, the “legs” themselves will call you on your mobile phone.

“Legs” (aka “messengers”, “couriers”, “people”) are employees of the pre-trial detention center, located at the very bottom of the career ladder. They serve on watches and galleries, so they constantly communicate with those under investigation. In general, “pupkari”, or, as they are officially called, members of the rank and file and junior command staff of the Federal Penitentiary Service. It cannot be said categorically that almost all inspectors of Russian pre-trial detention centers earn extra money with their feet. But the vast majority do just that. For some guards, this is even the main form of income. And the ridiculous official salary is just a part-time job for beer.

Be careful, it might be a scam!

The behavior of “legs” when communicating with relatives of prisoners is always alarming. However, this is quite understandable. The “messengers” are keeping secrets as best they can, fearing exposure. After all, the FSIN Security Service is also not asleep and carries out certain operational activities. If exposed, the pre-trial detention center controllers face at least dismissal, or even a real prison sentence in the BS zone in Nizhny Tagil.

Therefore, the “messengers” are encrypted in every possible way, make appointments in remote places, and call back several times. They can even make an appointment in a public toilet at a train station. Your task is not to become a victim of a scammer. Never take your “legs” at their word. The most common deception scheme: the controller does not go to the relatives himself, but sends his friend, who has nothing to do with the prison. He convinces relatives that the prisoner urgently needs money, takes it and disappears.

By the way, some released prisoners also act according to the same scheme in order to earn a living. It is almost impossible to find such scum and punish them. Therefore, no matter what detailed information you are given about your relative, do not believe it. This information can be obtained in prison in a variety of ways. It is quite possible that the released prisoner hung out with your relative in the same cell, slept on the same bunks, and then decided to “spoil” the good-natured suckers a little. There are plenty of such scum in pre-trial detention centers today. At the same time, the “messenger” can be creepy, say that your relative has lost in the game, he is in danger of death, and so on. Don't believe it!

You can only trust “little things” written in familiar handwriting. Consider one more important point. Today, coded and encrypted texts do not come from prison.

Like: “...It’s very stormy here, I’m sending you, Anya, a big hello, my friend leaned back for the occasion.” This is what the unforgettable raider Fox wrote from the dungeons of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department in the film series “The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed.”

Those harsh times are long gone. Now the “malyava” must be extremely specific and written in simple Russian. If it is dominated by incomprehensible criminal jargon, then this is an obvious scam.

If the letter contains a request to transfer five thousand rubles, then there is no need to give ten thousand, as the “messenger” says. He already brings this in from himself. His percentage for services is already included in the amount stated in the letter.

If the “legs” report that your relative is in big trouble in prison, or even pass a note with such content, while demanding a large sum of money to solve the problem, do not believe it and do not panic. Something's wrong here. Large sums, if necessary, are, of course, transferred to the pre-trial detention center. But this is not done through ordinary guards. And the lawyer will definitely be aware of such a “topic”.

Small sums of money needed to purchase cigarettes, tea, and groceries are transferred through “pupkarei”. Or things needed in the cell: tracksuit, sweater, warm socks, shoes. If the “messenger” identified himself by a specific name, then he is definitely lying. He will never tell his real name.

There were cases when an ordinary guard called himself by the name of a pre-trial detention center operative and took money in order to “resolve the issue” of leaving a prisoner in the household services of the pre-trial detention center or sending him to the desired colony. In this case, the money, naturally, was embezzled, and the relatives then spent a long time looking for the person by name, who in this case was absolutely not involved in the matter.

Check and check again

If the note indicates that your relative in the pre-trial detention center has serious problems, for example, he lost money at cards or because of his fault someone drowned in a bucket, most likely these are fairy tales. However, such information needs to be verified.

The most reliable way is to send a lawyer to the meeting. The second is to go to an appointment with the deputy head of the prison for operational work.

In a conversation with the chief officer of the pre-trial detention center, you can tell everything. With only one exception. Never say that you received a note from prison. Questions will immediately follow - who brought it, what did it look like, can you recognize it from the photo? The pre-trial detention center may begin an internal investigation, and you will be dragged into interrogations and identification parades. And your relative will definitely be punished later. They might even put you in a punishment cell. After all, writing from a pre-trial detention center to freedom is strictly prohibited.

Just tell me - there was an anonymous call on a mobile phone. An unknown person called. This will always help to “spread the pedals”.

If you have any doubts about whether you are doing the right thing by sending money through a “messenger”, trust the doubts. And give the answer - there is no money now, it takes time to collect it. During this time, try to contact the relative who is in the pre-trial detention center and clarify all the questions. It is best to do this again through a lawyer.

There is no need to greet the “messenger” as your best friend and assistant, and treat him to tea and vodka in a cafe. He's definitely not your friend. His task is to snatch money, but he doesn’t care about you or the prisoner.

When delivering a note to a prison, make sure that it is not clear from its text who you are giving the answer to. No names, surnames, addresses, telephone numbers. The note may be confiscated by pre-trial detention center inspectors. And the prisoner will definitely get into trouble if it becomes clear that he previously wrote to be released.

And one last piece of advice. Never panic. Don't be discouraged. Get busy with something specific. Try to help a loved one who is in a pre-trial detention center, even if it’s just a little thing, but a specific little thing. Don't forget, you are not the first and not the last to encounter such a problem. And someday this will all end. Good luck everyone.

Vlad Suzdalev
Based on newspaper materials
"Behind Bars" (No. 7 2013)

Few people know that there is a clear distinction between the law of thieves and prison. Thus, the first refers to a set of unwritten rules and norms of behavior established in certain circles, which is mandatory for the so-called thieves in law. What are prison concepts and laws?

Prison law

Of course, you wouldn’t want anyone to experience what it’s like in their own skin. But if “the job is already done” and a person is sent to a prison camp, that is, to places of imprisonment, he should find out what prison concepts and thieves’ laws are.

Naturally, there is no clear term defined anywhere. Based on established unspoken rules, prison law is rules and traditions that are mandatory for all prisoners without exception. It is these norms that regulate relations among persons serving sentences.

Thus, the prison law is only a certain part. The only difference between them is that absolutely all convicts and prisoners are required to comply with the first. But the specific norms of the thieves’ law are observed only by “crowned” thieves and prisoners seeking to obtain the specified “status”.

What is it, prison law?

Prison concepts and laws, prohibitions are strictly observed by the “correct” prisoners. In essence, the meaning of the rules of behavior in places of deprivation of liberty is the same as the norms of life in freedom. It’s just that the prisoners express it in their own, more understandable, language (or jargon).

So, the basic prison concepts and laws of prisoners boil down to the following:

To allocate a share to the common fund, that is, to be able to share, to give what is yours.

Treat old people and parents with respect.

Do not snitch, that is, do not inform on other prisoners to the administration of the colony or prison.

Don’t “raft,” that is, don’t steal from your own people.

Do not bring charges without grounds or evidence.

Do not swear, do not insult without reason (surprisingly, in prisons it is prohibited to use obscene language).

Be responsible for your words. This means that you can’t just threaten someone: if you already said it, that’s what you need to do. There are no changes in situations, or “accidentally” in them.

All of the above laws are quite vital and humane, and also easily applicable (with some amendments) in everyday life in freedom.

There are also prison laws and concepts, rules that are quite difficult for an ordinary person to understand. For example, you cannot interfere. So, if one prisoner decides to commit suicide, the rest of the convicts cannot dissuade him. If he asks for a blade (to cut veins or throat) - they will give it.

It will also be strange for a law-abiding citizen that in prison it is forbidden to pick up anything from the floor. Even if a prisoner’s hat falls to the floor, it is no longer possible to pick it up, much less wear it.

"Crime and Punishment"

Failure to comply with the norms of prison law will not pass without a trace for any of the prisoners. It does not matter whether the prisoner belongs to the prison “elite” or is part of the most disreputable group of “inmates”.

For violating the established rules, the guilty convict (the one who “messed up”) may be subject to:

Beating up.

A blow to the ears (to hit the ears means to transfer a prisoner from the “thieves’ caste” to a lower one, that is, to the category of “men”). This can only be done by a thief in law or a convicted person with the same status.

Fractured limbs - arms and legs are broken, as a rule, by persons who have not repaid a gambling debt (and he is considered a saint in the zone), as well as by those who, without any reason, beat up a cellmate.

A violent act of sodomy, after which the prisoner automatically falls into the most despised “caste of the debased”; This type of punishment is widespread in places of deprivation of liberty where juvenile offenders are serving sentences, as well as in general regime zones. In high-security and special-security prisons, these cases are extremely rare.

The symbolic act of sodomy (in the zone this expression is replaced by the concept of “paraffin” and consists of passing the genital organ across the lips of the offender). The sexual act itself does not occur, but the convicted person is also transferred to the category of “roosters”.

Murder (this type of punishment is used quite rarely and only for committing particularly serious acts). For example, a prisoner can be killed for grand theft from a common fund or for a proven connection with law enforcement agencies. At the same time, the decision to kill is never made solely by one of the prisoners.

Types of prison concepts

Concepts are rules, a kind of code of honor. Conventionally, all existing prison concepts and laws are divided into two large groups:

Positive, that is, those that, according to prisoners, are correct and acceptable for themselves;

Negative ones are those that guide the lower categories of “prisoners” (for this reason they fall into the castes of “roosters”, “goats” and others).

Positive concepts, in turn, are divided into human and thieves. And the negative ones are “nasty” and cop (the complete opposite of thieves).

Are concepts the foundation of relationships?

It is on concepts that the relationships of persons serving sentences are built. Their communication is based on human concepts. It is these that are followed by the so-called decent prisoners, as well as other “castes” of prisoners, which will be discussed below.

There are also those who follow vile concepts, which are the absolute opposite of human ones. Usually these are “rats”, “hens” and “lawless men” - that is, prisoners who have committed an offense quite significant for the prisoners. This could be the theft of something from one’s own cellmate, denunciation of another prisoner to prison or colony staff, as well as groundless beating of a prisoner.

Colonies and prisons are places of confinement where mistakes are not forgiven. In this regard, a prisoner who has violated the norms of “human” coexistence is deprived of the opportunity to atone for his guilt. Such a prisoner will most likely be subjected to humiliation and bullying from fellow inmates throughout the entire period of imprisonment.

Thus, prison concepts and laws, rules of behavior are the platform on which relationships between prisoners are built. At the same time, human concepts, in meaning, are aimed at self-sacrifice, the desire for mutual assistance, sympathy, humanity and mutual understanding. Whereas the nasty ones are the complete opposite and are based on the desire to satisfy only their own needs and interests, to put themselves above others.

Basic Concepts

Many prison concepts and laws have already smoothly entered into life outside. In modern society, you can often hear terms such as “jamb”, “zapadlo”, “parasha”, “present”, “stuffy”, “steer”, “fuflyzhnik” and many others. Moreover, people who use prison jargon in their vocabulary do not always know the correct meaning of the concepts.

So, not everyone knows that the term “stuffiness” means the creation of conditions unbearable for normal existence. And a “jamb” is not just an accidental mistake, but a serious violation of prison law.

In general, almost all words frequently used in everyday life in the zone are designated by “their” terms. For example, street robbery is a “gop-stop”, murder is a “wet case”, language is a “broom”, a particularly dangerous repeat offender is a “mansion”, a prison corridor is a “continuation”, a showdown is a “showdown”, escape or hide - “get on wheels” and others.

Without knowledge of prison terminology, it is almost impossible for a prisoner to exist in places of confinement. Therefore, if a convicted person does not want to have unnecessary problems, he, as a rule, while still in the pre-trial detention center, begins to comprehend the “thieves’ language.” After all, without knowledge of specific prison terminology, it is impossible to understand, for example, the expression: “The overseer with a mandate presents it to authoritative thieves.” When “translated” into simple language, it means that “the head of the zone conveys the important information contained in the note to a group of prisoners revered and respected in the zone.”

Thus, prison concepts and thieves' laws (or rather, prison laws) are mandatory knowledge that a prisoner acquires while still in pre-trial detention centers (pre-trial detention centers).

However, the convict needs to know not only prison concepts and laws, rules of behavior, but also the so-called castes, that is, categories of prisoners (one of which the convict himself will necessarily belong to).

Prison "castes"

There are no prisoners who do not belong to one of the categories of prisoners. All persons held in places of deprivation of liberty are conventionally divided into groups or, as the prisoners themselves say, “castes”. A transition from a privileged category to a lower category is possible (for example, in connection with the commission of some act that prison concepts and laws, the behavior of prisoners classifies as a “jamb”). But the transition from lower to higher is excluded.

So, there are four main prison “castes”:

• thieves;
• men;
• goats;
• outcasts.

The first “caste” is the thieves. These are the so-called experienced professional criminals. Representatives of this group themselves do not call themselves thieves, but use such concepts as “lads”, “prisoners”, “tramps”, “travelers”.

This group is the top of the hierarchy, and not everyone can get into it. There are strict requirements for prisoners belonging to this “caste”. Thus, someone who held leadership positions in freedom, had any connection with government structures, or served in the army will never become a “vagabond.” Those who worked in the service sector (for example, as a waiter, delivery person, taxi driver) will not be included in the “caste.”

Several decades ago, “thieves”, while free, did not have to work a single day. They were also forbidden to marry or perform compulsory work in the zone. Currently, these requirements are not enforced in most prisons.

In addition to a “clean” biography and the status of a professional criminal, a prisoner who wants to get into this “caste” must comply with absolutely all prison concepts, laws, and traditions.

The thieves have enormous power in the zone and in prison (or as the prisoners themselves say, “in prison”). They are the ones who resolve all conflict situations and disputes that arise between prisoners and ensure that none of the convicts are unreasonably offended or humiliated.

Representatives of this group also have special privileges. So, they may not work and independently decide what from the so-called common fund they can keep for themselves.

It is from this “caste” that the “godfather” is selected - the main one in the zone. Moreover, if there is a recognized “thief in law” in prison, then he must occupy the specified “position”. By the way, “thieves in law” are a privileged, top group of prisoners. It includes only lawbreakers recognized by the criminal world who meet all of the above requirements.

If there is no thief in law in the zone, then the person performing his duties, that is, the “supervisor,” is sent there. He performs all the functions of a “godfather”.

Currently, in some places of deprivation of liberty, the so-called godfathers secretly cooperate with the administration of the colony: they establish such order in the zone as is necessary for the management. The administration of the colony turns a blind eye to many things for such cooperation: for example, to the fact that vodka, marijuana, and so on get to the “godfather”.

It is worth noting that the development of market relations in the country has not bypassed the place of imprisonment. Recently, you can become a thief in law for money, that is, you can buy this title. And, despite the fact that prison concepts and laws of clarity do not fit in with this fact, it is still impossible to exclude it. Such newly minted and not very ideological thieves in law are called “oranges.”

Who is there more in the zone?

The “men” caste is the largest, and, as a rule, it includes about 60-70 percent of all prisoners. This group includes the most ordinary prisoners who are serving sentences for minor (by the standards of criminals) punishments: fights, minor thefts and other similar acts.

The “men” do not have the right to vote in “showdowns”, they do not make any decisions in the zone, in a word, they simply serve their sentence, trying not to interfere anywhere, and after their release they plan to return to the life of an ordinary law-abiding citizen.

Who are the “goats”?

The next caste is the “goats”. It includes prisoners who, either voluntarily or by force, cooperate with the camp administration. They can hold the position of librarian, caretaker, zone commandant, that is, any position that actually exists in the state

This group includes persons serving a sentence either on their own initiative (for example, so that the administration writes in their personal file that the convict has taken the path of reform) or at the will of the colony administration. Thus, a prisoner can be persuaded, intimidated, or forced to work for the benefit of the prison administration.

It can be extremely difficult to refuse said work, so many prisoners can only accept their fate and follow the instructions of the colony authorities.

The rest of the convicts have a negative attitude towards representatives of this “caste”: they are considered certain “traitors”. And this is no coincidence, because many “goats” report to the prison administration about everything that happens among prisoners, that is, in their language, “knocking.”

“Goats” are not allowed to enter the “common fund”, but at the same time, other persons serving their sentences can greet them, talk to them, and touch them.

The worst thing

Last in both number and status is the caste of the “omitted”. The persons included in it are also called “roosters”, “offended” and other similar terms. Those prisoners who were “omitted” fall into this group (in this case, an act of sodomy does not necessarily have to occur; this process can be carried out purely symbolically).

Prison concepts and laws are not for this category of convicts. In the zone they are not considered people at all. Thus, it is forbidden to touch them (if an object needs to be handed over to someone “lowered”, it is simply thrown on the floor for the prisoner to pick it up), they use separate utensils, and they are not allowed to touch the things of other prisoners. In general, they live as a separate group that does not have any rights.

Statistics show that most prisoners fall into this group in areas intended for juvenile prisoners. They have their own prison concepts and laws, responsibilities, and sometimes even more severe ones than in real prisons and “adult” camps.

Epilogue

Life does not stop in prison. It continues to flow... There are just certain prison concepts and laws. A book that would contain all the standards of conduct for prisoners has not yet been written. And it is unlikely that such a thing will ever appear.

Despite many nuances and amendments, camp life is still built on generally accepted principles: do not steal, do not inform, do not lie, do not violate established norms and the order of communication between prisoners.

Prison concepts and laws, advice from experienced prisoners are what help the convict adapt to prisons and camps. By following the established norms of behavior and communication, the “inmate” will be able to acquire a “strong rear” and “sidekicks” in the zone and will be in relative safety.

Also, by fulfilling all the “instructions”, a person (if he, of course, has such a desire) will be able to achieve certain “heights” in camp life and even enter the category of privileged prisoners.

Respecting prison concepts and laws, the advice of “authoritative” prisoners, a convict who ends up in prison will most likely be able to find his “brothers in misfortune” and will not become an outcast. And no matter how strange it may sound, “criminals are people too,” most of whom adhere to the rule: “in any situation you need to remain human.”

Maintaining communication between cells in a prison is a sacred matter. It is considered normal for prisoners to take risks for the sake of other people's contacts. Oral messages, notes and small items can be transmitted.
One of the simplest are “legs” - a balancer or even sometimes a controller. During the distribution of food, while this process is going on, you can talk to such a prisoner, convey some information verbally, or even hand over small things or “cargo.” As you might guess, this method is not the most optimal - most likely, everything that the balancer hears will be known to the godfather (opera). Therefore, as a rule, only neutral information is transmitted in this way - a request for help with smoke or tea, a search for certain people. There is always a controller near the balancer at the time of distributing food, and this entire process occurs with his tacit consent, for which his godfather gave him permission. Cigarettes and other small items can often be transferred by the controller itself. How to be able to come to an agreement and what the “regulations” are in prison. The methods of communication depend on the structure of the prison itself - either it is one building, or several, where the windows open. When placed in one building, and also a well, with windows facing inward, everything is somewhat simpler. When placed in several buildings, and even significantly distant from each other, it is more difficult. In this case, you cannot do without the help of a household service.

Information can also be transmitted through several other channels. Firstly, when people from different buildings are taken to the courts, investigative actions are collected at the assembly, where the exchange takes place. Even if the right people don't end up in the same box, you can usually shout something through the door. They can punish you, but it usually goes away. Here in the boxes you can leave some notes in pencil on the walls - this is usually how they report their whereabouts (for example: Vasya Khersonsky, x.140, 05/20/2001), sentences, about leaving for a prison camp, looking for friends. The walls of the cells in the courts where defendants are kept during breaks, and even the walls of paddy wagons, are also covered with writing.

Every decent prisoner is obliged to take an interest in such examples of wall graphics, especially recent ones, and when returning to the hut, report everything that he could remember. The walls of bathhouses and exercise yards usually serve as such a kind of “bulletin board”. They are painted over periodically, but you can’t keep track of everyone. Often they try to make the walls in such places unsuitable for writing with the help of the so-called “fur coat” - rough relief plaster. But they still write - they just have to do it very small. Such records are a passive way of transmitting data, more or less designed for chance. The second way of transmitting information, already active, is communication, which occurs both by voice and by letter. Letters in prison vocabulary are called “little ones”, “fry” (probably due to their minimal size).

All communication can also be divided into monologues and dialogues. There are also entire “chat rooms” - when a question is raised to the entire prison or building or corridor - depending on the opportunity provided by their device. The phenomenon is rare and is carried out only on particularly important issues, when the issue of the danger of subsequent repression is often ignored - these are usually issues of rebellion, other forms of protest (hunger strike, mass complaints).

Monologues are “announcements”, i.e. announcements about some events. About the appointment or election of a beholder and his location, about searching, about recognizing (announcing) someone as a bitch, rat, chicken, rooster, balabol. This is often done when someone gets kicked out of their hut for a heavy joint. After such an announcement to the whole prison, it is unlikely that he will be accepted into any hut other than the “offended” or the “cop”. Such announcements can also be made in the form of “runs” - written messages that travel from hut to hut and are read aloud. Thieves' runs move in the same way - peculiar instructions and instructions on concepts and their interpretation, thieves' life. Such runs are written by crowned lawyers, signed by them and travel between zones and prisons. Those who copied it also sign - who, when, where. True, it is not possible for mere mortals to establish who actually wrote them and who corrected them - maybe he made graphomaniacs in his spare time...

Screams and conversations between huts are quite an individual matter, depending on the design and procedures (“regulations”) of the prison. In some places, just making one sound can send you straight to a punishment cell, but in others this is a completely common thing. You can talk through tails or through the brakes (door).

You can also talk with the help of some simple devices that reduce the risk of being heard in the corridor. This is primarily a “trombone”, i.e. an ordinary metal mug. You can experience its effect even at home (I remember that as children, my brother and I sometimes listened to “concerts” that took place behind the wall with our neighbors - I didn’t know then that I would have to “play around” in my adult life). A mug or cup (the latter is worse) is placed with the open side against the wall, and the ear is placed at the bottom. If you turn the instrument the other way around and press it tightly to your lips, you can “scream” even a meter-long wall. It is especially easy to talk this way through heating pipes - then you can communicate not only with the neighboring camera. The trombone is applied to the battery and forward - audibility is quite tolerable. To get in touch, there are conditioned signals - several blows on a wall or on a pipe. Communication occurs according to the rules of single-channel communication - in order, only when transmitting the handset they usually say not “Receive”, but “Speak” or something else.

Another way is to talk through “hollows” - holes in walls or ceilings. They are picked using improvised means - handles from spoons or instep supports from soles, metal strips from shkonars. They preliminarily agree with their neighbors on the coordinates of the point (for example, ten (match) boxes from the window, seventeen from the floor) and move simultaneously from both sides. At the next big bust they are closed up, and everything starts from the beginning. Fortunately there is enough time. Cargo movement also occurs through the holsters. Sometimes the holsters are large enough to even shake hands.

Sewer pipes are also used for communication. The riser runs from top to bottom through all floors and to it from two sides - two adjacent chambers, drains from toilets and washbasins converge. To talk on such a “phone” (that’s what this method of communication is called), you need to remove the water plug from your glasses or toilet. To do this, use a rag, soak the water with it, and then twist the rag into a container or washbasin. This type of activity, by the way, is not considered “inconspicuous”, despite direct contact with a taboo subject. If there is an offended person in the house, then this is entrusted to him, but if not, then normal boys are not prohibited. It's a common matter. When there is no water, then, leaning almost close to the glass, you can calmly conduct a dialogue even through several floors. The "pipe" is also intensively used for the transfer of goods. To do this, you must first “come to an agreement”, i.e. install the road - stretch the cord through the pipe from chamber to chamber. First, they make a “hedgehog”, which is several connected fragments of toothbrush handles or plastic fountain pen bodies, which are bent over the fire in the most bizarre way, forming hooks and spirals. If you need to get in touch with a neighboring cell, then such hedgehogs with cords of sufficient length tied to them on both sides are thrown into the hole and then, at a prearranged signal - hitting the wall - they are simultaneously drained with a large amount of pre-prepared water. The hedgehogs go into a common pipe and, under the influence of the water flow, hook and twist around each other. All that remains is to carefully pull them into one of the chambers and the road is ready. If you need to catch up on different floors, then the upper ones first lower the “hedgehog” to the required height, and the lower ones drain the water. Then the cargo, tightly packed and sealed in cellophane, is tied to the road (cord) and transported to its destination. After use, leave a control - a thin cord, which is secured and left until next time. If necessary, a working strong “rope” is tied to the control and the load or small items are driven. In this way, they most often contacted the punishment cell and death row - there were no other roads there, due to increased control. In Kaliningrad, the main enemy of this method of transmission was not the administration (which could not resist it in any way), but... rats. They laid their paw on the transit and took tribute, attacking the cargo, instantly gnawing the ropes. For them, traveling through sewer pipes was not difficult, and sometimes they “surfaced” in the toilet bowl in the middle of the night and could snatch food that had been carelessly left behind.

The most common method of communication is external roads along the outer walls of the prison and between buildings using the so-called. horses - homemade ropes and cords, the manufacturing technology of which is a whole art. The most difficult thing in this matter is to agree and establish a road. The easiest way to do this is with cameras located one above the other. The upper ones lower the horse, the lower ones use a hook (a bent plastic handle on a long stick twisted from newspaper and glued with bread paste, which is called a fishing rod) to pull it inside. To get along with a neighboring house on the same floor, you need more ingenuity. If you can stick your hand through the grating, then tie a weight to the end of the rope and, unwinding it, throw it onto a fishing rod exposed from a nearby window. You can also hang a weight on a fishing rod on a rope of sufficient length and begin to gradually swing it until it is caught with a fishing rod from the camera window located diagonally below. Then all that remains is to raise the horse one floor up and the side road is established. If at least someone has installed such a side road vertically, then by passing horses to each other vertically, each floor can install such roads. During the day, they leave controls - thin cords that can be easily removed if there is a threat of a riot. The controls are still periodically removed, but new ones are made on the same day. In general, monitoring the roads is the sacred duty of the right guys - the lads. Nobody cares how - roads must be installed or ready at any time. Otherwise, the camera is “frozen” and excluded from the “road map” that the “road workers” keep in their heads, and its population falls under suspicion. When getting from a frozen hut to a normal one, anyone claiming to be a “normal” guy will have to answer why they didn’t have a connection and what they did to establish it. What is transported along such roads depends on the throughput of the gratings - the size of the holes in them. To counter this movement, the administration is using several methods. One of them is the installation of metal blinds (“cilia”, “accordion”) on the outside of the windows, with a clearance of no more than 2 cm. Such cilia also block the view, giving the already gloomy cells a gloomy look.

The second option is shields (aka muzzles). They are all-metal shields, sometimes with a small number of small, about 1 cm, holes, larger than the window in size and attached opposite the window at a distance of 10-15 cm, thus allowing a little air to pass through.

Another means of combating such a prison communication system is tin canopies over the windows, which prevent the installation of vertical roads. The edges of the visors are made jagged, so that the loads get stuck and the ropes fray.

Also for this purpose, lattices with very small cells (“minced meat”) or chain-link mesh are used - this, as a rule, is an additional means for the eyelashes.

The prison people, for their part, of course, invented many antidotes to these measures. Rags are thrown onto the visors. The cilia are unbent with strips or pipes broken off from the shkonars, the edges of walls and window sills are chiseled to widen the passage, even to the point of sawing the minced meat or cilia.

There was some kind of agreement between the prisoners and the administration - if the hole does not exceed the diameter of a plastic one and a half liter bottle, then they do not seem to notice it. I was struck by the episode when window frames were put in for the winter. The sergeant came in and looked - “so, where are you racing your horses here?” and showed it to the convict carpenter: “put the window on that side.” That's what he did - the window ended up where a hole was cut in the minced mesh and the eyelashes were straightened. Given the terrible overcrowding of the cells, the administration was forced to make concessions so that the prisoners would not complain or rebel. The prisoners also valued the compromise reached and tried not to become impudent anymore.

Sawing and straightening took place according to the principle “if not caught, not a thief,” i.e. If you managed to make it through the road, well done, take advantage, if you get caught, it’s a punishment cell. From time to time, the administration tried to make these moves, but the prisoners, with the tenacity of an ant, gnawed at the bars again and again, defending their piece of freedom. A piece of hacksaw blade (“shark”) could be obtained along the same roads from fellow prisoners.

There are other ways - using salt. By the way, salt in large quantities in prison for this reason is still considered a prohibited item and is given into the cell only with the permission of the police department. One of the methods helps to compress fairly thick strips of metal of the eyelashes, forming a larger passage in one place. To do this, make a very saturated salt solution and soak a towel in it. Then the eyelashes are tightly tied with it. As the towel dries, it contracts and this force is enough to bend the strips of metal. If necessary, repeat the procedure.

Another way to use salt is to soak a thin, durable rope in a saturated solution. After drying, the salt crystals transform this cord into a good flexible hacksaw blade - a “string”, like the one used by plumbers and special forces. In medicine it is called Gigli's saw. The basis of such canvas in the prison version is of course less durable and they need to be constantly changed, for which they are made in excess. It is quite suitable for sawing thin lattice rods - minced meat and especially chain-link mesh. If you install a candle near the sawing site so that it constantly warms the metal, then with such a saw it is quite possible to saw through thicker rods. This, of course, requires a lot of time, but this is exactly what the prisoner has in abundance. To prevent this, in prisons, every day or once every few days, “tapping” is carried out - a controller with a wooden hammer on a long handle knocks on the bars and beams, identifying possible weaknesses in the structures by the sound.

Cable cars can be short (with adjacent chambers along the walls) and long - with adjacent buildings. To install a long journey (usually this is done naturally at night), a thin, lightweight control, usually made from a thread of semi-synthetic socks or women's tights (the latter is a big shortage in prison). If you use socks, then, when unraveling them, carefully separate the synthetic thread (lycra, polyester) from the cotton thread, and use a special technology to weave a cord of almost unlimited length.

Then they make a “gun” - a long tube is rolled from newspapers, which is glued with paste. A “bullet” is made - a paper funnel with a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the “gun”, on the end of which a small weight of bread crumb and the end of a control are attached. Then, using the principle of a blowgun, the “bullet” is fired in the desired direction by the force of exhalation. With a short distance and guaranteed accuracy, the little ones themselves are sometimes even “shot.”

If it hits the eyelashes, there is a possibility that the “bullet” will get stuck there, but at large distances, a “cornice” is arranged on the opposite side - “fishing rods” are stuck out from two adjacent windows and a rope is stretched between them. Now it is enough to get into the gap between the windows above the “eaves”, and the “bullet” falls on it and all you have to do is drag it inside. In my presence, experienced prisoners “shot” the first time at a distance of up to 70 meters, which was between the buildings. Such “guns” were also made with a 90-degree bend - then they can easily establish a connection with the side cameras. In general, guns should be long enough, and in order to be conveniently hidden, they were made collapsible - several short tubes - elbows, which, if necessary, are connected into a long - straight or curved "gun".
For long roads, fairly strong ropes are used, which are made mainly from sweaters. To move between buildings at a distance of 70 meters, you need a rope of double length - 140 meters. Its strength is such that it can easily support the weight of a person. They told about a case when prisoners, saving the road, pulled a guard along the wall to the third floor, who tried to tear it off the ground by grabbing it and wrapping it around his arm. And just shortly before my stay in the Kaliningrad prison, one of the guards was thrown from its roof from the fifth floor, who tried to catch the road with a cat. He fell to his death. Later, to break off roads, crampons with sharpened inner edges of the hooks were used so that the ropes would be cut on them, and when going out onto the roof, the guards now secured themselves with safety ropes.

Usually in prison, all the methods I described are used for communication based on specific conditions. Somewhere the cargo goes through “holsters”, somewhere through “pipes”, somewhere through the air, somewhere with “legs”. Such a system made it possible to deliver any mail in Kaliningrad (I even transported quite thick books, I just removed the hardcover, sent shoes and clothes) to any prison cell (except for the punishment cell and death row - roads were built there on certain days) for at most 20 -25 minutes. I have never seen such a well-functioning system again.

Evening - after 20 o'clock, the most active activity began. "One four zero! One four zero! Form up!" (hut numbers are pronounced this way, and not “One Hundred and Forty” - this method is more reliable, and in case of poor hearing it is easier to distinguish). The road workers began to move - side roads were built or restored according to controls, along them the ends of long ones were transferred from corps to corps, where necessary - the roads were “shot”. There were several key long roads to which the corps mail flocked and then left in batches to another. Often long roads overlapped each other during the construction process - then it was necessary to transfer them and change places. The end of the road went around along short side roads - for example, up two huts, to the right two huts, down three huts, left two huts, up. This entire process was coordinated by experienced road workers, often from the opposite building, who had a better idea of ​​where the overlap was occurring and how to get around it. In general, within an hour, all the roads, as a rule, were in full combat readiness and worked until the morning - about 7 o'clock. At night, in the light of searchlights, the picture was very interesting - a web of one and a half dozen roads between four buildings, along which there was always something moves. Sometimes at night the guards would conduct raids - they would suddenly run out with cats onto the roof or into the yard. The first person to notice them shouted “Garbage!”, then this cry was picked up by the others and within less than a minute all the roads, especially the long ones, were closed. A reserve could simultaneously break into one of the key huts with sabers drawn, cutting his way through the mass of bodies to tails. In the seconds it took to open the door and get through to the window, the road workers usually managed to throw off the road and destroy the little ones that remained unsent. The work of a road worker was thus associated with self-sacrifice - it was easy to get hit by a club or end up in a punishment cell. For such work they received cigarettes and tea from the common fund, and the prisoners usually gave them something from their transfers.

In any case, one cannot count on the reliability of the system and should be written with caution. From time to time, mail is intercepted, the cops set up their huts on the road, reading and photocopying the necessary little things (then sending them further so that suspicion does not arise), they recruit road workers who read the little things to the necessary recipients. When someone needed to write about something serious (to come to an agreement with an accomplice, for example), they established a direct path, if technically possible, and communicated without intermediaries.

The system of conditional signals is interesting. Three hits on the wall meant “take the horse” or “give the horse”, i.e. either accept the cargo or leave the road so we can send the cargo to you. Two blows - “took the horse” (not always used). One blow - “take the horse” - the load is unhooked or attached, you can pull. Several random blows in response to three blows - “expense”, i.e. means that I can’t accept it now - I’m “fussy” or busy. Four strikes - "come out on heads" - talk to your neighbors. Five strikes - go to the “phone”. The blows are made measuredly, with a draw. Several quick and often more than five blows are akin to a strong swearing when the road workers began to flog the joints. The more impacts and their frequency, the stronger the disturbance. Gratitude to neighbors for their help (“warming”) was expressed in a similar way, only the blows were more uniform. With slight variations and rearrangements, a similar system exists in all prisons. Impacts can also be made on pipes, but this is not entirely convenient, since the sound spreads through them to several cameras, and it is not always clear to whom exactly the message is addressed.