In October, Russia fully launched the institution of staff assistants to the heads of penal institutions responsible for work with believers. Before that, the Federal Penitentiary Service, or FSIN, had spent more than five years running a pilot project in 16 penal colonies in Mordovia, Kamchatka Krai, and the Saratov and Vologda regions. After the experiment was declared successful, the authorities decided to extend such posts to almost all of the country’s roughly 700 penal system facilities.
Russian law formally prohibits the creation of religious organizations in the armed forces and in places of detention, but in practice that restriction is bypassed by introducing civilian positions within the relevant agencies. In predominantly Muslim or Buddhist regions, the posts are expected to be filled by imams and lamas, while members of other faiths, including Catholics, Protestants, and Jews, will still visit prisons privately.
According to the Russian Orthodox Church’s synodal department for prison ministry, more than 1,100 clerics are involved in the FSIN system, including over 700 on a regular basis. The system includes 638 churches and chapels, 326 Orthodox prayer rooms, and 68 temporary prayer spaces. At the same time, there are far fewer Muslim prayer rooms, and only a handful of spaces for Buddhist and Catholic prisoners. Human rights groups say Muslims, who by some estimates make up about 15% of the prison population, most often face religious discrimination from FSIN staff.
At the first stage, the authorities plan to add only 97 clergy members to the official staff, since the service budget cannot support around 700 positions at once. In 2023, the average monthly pay for these assistants was slightly above 4,000 rubles, excluding bonuses, seniority payments, food allowances, and access to FSIN medical and sanatorium services.
Cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the penal system began in 1990, and in 1994 Patriarch Alexy II signed a declaration with the Interior Ministry on joint work in places of detention. In 1995, a special prison ministry sector was created within the church structure, and in 1999 an agreement with the Justice Ministry led to the widespread opening of churches throughout the FSIN system. In April 2015, the Russian authorities also amended the law, effectively allowing access to prisons only for clerics from officially registered religious associations.
Another symbolic step came on March 12, 2024, when Patriarch Kirill designated Saint Pimen of Ugresh as the heavenly patron of FSIN. The article says the move was promoted by FSIN chief Arkady Gostev, who is under UK sanctions for complicity in recruiting prisoners for the Wagner private military company.