Ekaterina Kuramshina, his partner, reports
On the 28th December, I and Vadim’s mother Olga Stepanovna visited Vadim in prison. At first glance, the visit seemed to be going OK. On arrival, the staff at the prison colony were very pleasant and the Head of the prison was polite and attentive. We have waited for this visit for over 6 months. But when we arrived in the visiting room we found ourselves separated by a huge glass screen behind which our loved one was sitting. We were asked to take a seat and were handed an ordinary telephone, on which we were expected to conduct the whole four-hour meeting. Apart from us, there were several prison guards in the room, whom we ignored.
Vadim has become very thin. Vessels in his eyes have burst. It was clear from how he looked that Vadim’s health has been damaged. He suffers from bad insomnia due to serious headaches. Although he has been to the medical officer on several occasions for treatment, all they do is wring their hands with inaction.
Vadim gave just one example of what life in the colony is like, which gave us the impression that his situation is full of stress. Because of his insomnia, he cannot get enough sleep. One morning, after yet another sleepless night, he got up at the morning alarm call and put his bunk in order. He dressed, drank tea and sat down on his bunk again.
As he sat down a bright light lit up over his bunk. As a reaction to the sharp pain in his head, he shut his eyes just as the guard entered the cell shouting “Kuramshin, are you still asleep?”. Vadim went up to him, pointed out he was dressed and fully awake, and that he would very much like to sleep as he had been awake all night, but that at that moment he had been merely sitting down. Nevertheless the guard wrote a report and the next day Vadim was called to write an explanation, which he refused to do.
We are worried that at any time, Vadim could be sent into an isolation cell. They try to catch him out on any excuse. They even follow him with a video camera hoping to catch him making some minor infringement of the regulations whilst taking exercise in the yard. Then they will punish him as they see fit, and undoubtedly send the videos on elsewhere to justify taking stronger action.
According to Vadim this is complete madness; someone high up, outside the colony, very much wants that he is not released from the strict regime colony into easier conditions. All he needs is one infringement and they will use that as an excuse to keep him in the harsh regime for another year. In March it will be exactly a year since he has been in the colony “Bur-barak”.
This affects literally everything that happens, both in the colony and outside. Our family is hoping that in March we will eventually be allowed a prolonged visit at which we will be allowed to be together for at least three days in conditions that are like a home (allowed under present prison regulations). But whether that will be granted or not can only be guessed at.
Vadim is prepared to stay at “Bur-barak” if for no other reason than that he can have family visits there. At least they do not beat him in the literal sense of the word. There are no visible bruises or wounds. They have instead decided to use moral pressure. It is very difficult not to see your loved ones for months on end. And even when it is possible to see them at the whim of the Head of the prison, to do so only through a thick glass window for a few hours watched all the time by guards.
He has not been given the medicines that we have sent by the parcel service, or, to be more exact, he was given them just a day before our visit. They have not given him newspapers for months on end, nor allowed him telephone calls, which other prisoners are allowed. We can list without end, for those who are interested, all the tricks they use, and neither the prison administration, nor Vadim himself, nor we, his loved ones can do anything as long as those above who decide the issue want to continue trying to destroy our lives.