Siberian prison fends off competition to be named Russia’s best

With a well-stocked library, its own in-house pasta production shop and each room boasting a fridge and television set, it sounds like a description of a comfortable hotel.

But this is no Trip Advisor review and is instead a list of some of the attributes that have ensured a Siberian prison has been named as the best in the whole of Russia.

For Krasnoyarsk Number One Detention Centre (SIZO-1) has just been awarded the Best Jail of the Year 2014 in a competition run by the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service.

It beat off competition from a prison in Omsk, which finished in second place, with the third place shared between facilities in Samara and Moscow.

'Every prisoner gets four square meters in Krasnoyarsk jail,' reported the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service. 'Prison cells have all necessities like fridges, TV sets, kettles and a water supply.

'Inmates have good access to the jail’s library as well as a subscription to Russian regional and federal print media.'

The Krasnoyarsk jail is also equipped with state-of-the-art security and surveillance systems, including 500 CCTV cameras. A system called 'Face Intellect' is also installed as a separate security measure at the gates.

In addition it has its own flour, grain and pasta production shop, as well as a meat processing facility. 

The competition was held for all jails, except those in which inmates were being held for serious crimes including murder.

In assessing the prisons, officials looked at living conditions, the quality of technical equipment, the way parcels are delivered, the work of the guards, and the rooms for special prisoners.