Social Center for Assistance in Reforming Criminal Justice
The center was first organized in 1988 under the name “Imprisonment and Will.” In 1991 it changed its name to
“The Social Center for Humanizing the Penitentiary System.” In August 1993 the organization officially
registered as the Social Center for Assistance in Reforming Criminal Justice. Activities in the past have included
presenting a report to parliament in 1992 entitled, “On Carrying Out Changes and Additions to the Corrective
Labor Code, the Criminal Code and the Criminal Justice Code of the RSFSR.” In the same year the center
organized an international conference in Russia on the theme of “Prison Reform in Former Totalitarian
Countries.” In 1993-1994, members of the center were involved in preparing a manual on applying international
standards of treatment for prisoners, entitled “Putting Standards to Work.” In 1994 the center prepared a list for parliament of proposed federal actions in the sphere of human rights.
The center maintains a working relationship with numerous state bodies, including the Presidential
Commission on Human Rights, the Presidential Commission on Judicial Reform, the State Legal Administration
of the Presidential Administration, and various parliamentary commissions.
Today the center describes its mandate as, “to build in Russia an effective system of criminal justice, providing principles of social justice, crime prevention, personal safety for citizens, and a humane manner of
imprisonment.” It lists as its principal activities:
- Structural and legal reform of the criminal justice system
- Development and support of civil society in Russia
- Construction of a system allowing for societal control of law enforcement bodies and guardianship of the
imprisoned
- Defense of the rights of the detained and imprisoned
- Legal and spiritual education of the population
- Sociological research and analysis
The center has produced dozens of books, brochures and reports on problems
relating to criminal justice and the rights of the detained and imprisoned. (See the Resources section for a partial list of recent publications.) About 10 full-time employees and several volunteers staff the office.
Special projects of the center include:
- Oblaka (“Clouds”), weekly radio program on Radio Rossiya.
This weekly hour-long radio program is aimed primarily at the prison population, providing information on
prison reforms, legal issues affecting prison conditions and treatment, stories from prisons and labor camps
around Russia, general information on human rights work and human rights groups in Russia, as well as other
material of both practical and entertainment value. Surveys indicate that nearly 8% of the population in Russia
listens to Oblaka, not counting the prison populations. On average, the center receives between 300-600 letters
each month from radio listeners.
- Specialized Information Center: "Man in the System of Criminal Justice"
With financial assistance from the European Union (Phare/Tacis Program), the center has begun to develop an in-office library of materials relating to criminal justice and issues facing the Russian penitentiary system. The center has also begun to publish a monthly information bulletin.
In 1996 the Center plans to publish a manual, How to Help the Imprisoned, for human rights activists and people working on behalf of prisoners. As part of the project, the center is also seeking to expand their use of technology (including e-mail and the Internet) to enhance and expand research in the field of criminal justice
around the regions of Russia.
Social Center for Assistance in Reforming Criminal Justice
B. Zlatoustinskii per., 8/7, kom. 68 and 73
101000 Moscow
Tel: 095-206-84-97 or 095-206-86-84
Fax: 095-206-87-69
E-mail: [email protected]
Director: Valery Abramkin
Coordinator of Information Center and Network: Valery Sergeev
Coordinator of Oblaka Radio Program: Sergei Sayapin
This article is from the January/February 1996 issue of
Civil Society ... East and West
For more information or to order a
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The URL for this page is: http://solar.rtd.utk.edu/~ccsi/csew/96-01/rfrmcrim.htm
Last updated: May 2 1996
