Prisons in Eastern Europe

Abstract

In the period since the fall of the Berlin wall the history of imprisonment in Eastern Europe and the countries of the former Soviet Union falls into two distinct parts. In the first, the euphoria following independence and the winning of new freedoms focused attention on prisons largely because they symbolised past oppression. It was not enough that high profile political prisoners should be released; there was also a need to expunge at least the worst excesses of the past. In some cases the responsibility for prisons was transferred from Interior to Justice departments. New prison directors were appointed, existing staff in greater or lesser numbers were dismissed or chose to leave, and with at least one eye to membership of the Council of Europe, new legislation and penal executive codes were introduced or planned. Prison populations fell, in some cases dramatically.