The Russian government has approved requirements for FSB vehicles used to transport people held in custody. According to TASS, the document states that such vehicles must be black.
These vehicles must also carry the inscriptions “FSB of Russia” or “Border Service of the FSB of Russia”, along with the agency’s emblem. The approved rules say the contrasting stripes may be white, blue, and red.
The color schemes for official vehicles used by Russian agencies, including the FSB, are set by government resolutions and detailed in the relevant state standards. Until now, however, vehicles for transporting detainees had not been separately specified in those standards.
In 2009, a state standard for FSB vehicles was adopted, defining paint schemes for different purposes: black for counterterrorism vehicles, yellow, gray, and green for demining vehicles, and light gray, black, and green for vehicles used to stop violations of the Russian state border regime. Vehicles used to transport detainees were not separately mentioned either in that standard or in later versions that replaced it.
The new requirements come after changes in the detention system. In summer 2025, the State Duma passed a law restoring the FSB’s right to operate its own pretrial detention centers. The law took effect in January 2026.
Then, in April 2026, it became known that the FSB had been given control of seven detention centers, including Lefortovo and Shpalerka. The report also notes that the NKVD’s prisoner transport vans, known as “voronki,” were painted black as well.