Corrective labor colony
type of prison in post-Soviet states
A corrective colony (Russian: исправительная колония, romanized: ispravitelnaya koloniya, abbr. ИК/IK) is the most common type of prison in Russia. Such colonies combine penal detention with compulsory work (penal labor). The system of labor colonies and camps originated in 1929, and after 1953, the corrective penal colonies in the Soviet Union developed as a post-Stalin replacement of the Gulag labor camp system.
Soviet Union
In the Soviet Union, the labor colonies were governed by the Corrective Labor Law (Исправительно-Трудовой Кодекс).
The Corrective labor Law of 1933 defined different types of labor colonies (Фабрично-заводские и сельскохозяйственные исправительно-трудовые колонии, Исправительно-трудовые колонии массовых работ, Штрафные исправительно-трудовые колонии).
In the late Soviet Union, the labor colonies were governed by Article 11 of the Corrective Labor Law and were intended for adult (16 years and over) convicts. The colonies were classified according to the regimen of severity: ordinary, reinforced, strict, and special regimens (колонии общего, усиленного, строгого, особого режимов), as well as the "colony-settlements" (колонии-поселения). Only ordinary and strict regimens (and colony-settlements) were provided for female convicts.
"Colony-settlements" were establishments introduced in 1960s for convicts with good behavior who served at least half of the term for those eligible for parole and who served two thirds of the term and not eligible for parole.
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