Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 24, 1990                   TAG: 9006240288
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By Harry Wilson
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

2 SOVIETS SAY YOU'D JUST ROT IN THEIR JAILS

The network recently showed a prison in which inmates played volleyball, watched television, lived in a dormitory-like setting and never complained about the food. It was reminiscent of minimum-security facilities in the United States.

According to two Soviet criminal-justice experts, this is not an accurate portrayal of Soviet prisons.

Vasily Vlasihin, senior research fellow in law for U.S. and Canadian Studies, described prison conditions as "horrendous - cold rooms where prisoners are given bread and water only."

Andre Makarov, prominent defense attorney and reform advocate, added that the cost of feeding a prisoner is 27 kopeks (about 3 cents) per day.

Makarov said that prisoners have no rights and no access to attorneys. The prison administrator possesses the ultimate power: the determination of the release date. Drugs and women are available to those prisoners who can pay for them, he said.

The main goal of the correctional system is punishment, commonly thought in the Soviet Union to be the only effective way to fight crime. For example, 298 of the 300 amendments to the criminal code have increased punishment for various crimes, according to Makarov.

There are no attempts to rehabilitate offenders. Juveniles are often housed with older criminals. "The good man is driven insane and the juveniles become career criminals," Makarov said. Labor camps house prisoners who are guilty of more serious offenses, and the conditions there are even worse.

Prospects for prison reform are not good. Public opinion in the Soviet Union, like that in the United States, does not generally favor more humane treatment of criminals. Vlasihin said this attitude of "Shoot the bastards!" makes reforming prisons extremely difficult. It also slows the pace of general criminal-justice reform.

Will reform continue if and when Gorbachev is replaced? The answer is unclear. Valeri Savitsky, head of the Justice Administration department at the institute, believes true reform will require at least two full generations. Vlasihin is optimistic that reform will continue regardless of who is in power. "The more democratic institutions are now in place," he said. "The tide cannot be turned back."

Makarov isn't so certain. He fears that the groups that may rise to power if Gorbachev falls believe in oppression of minorities, often defined as any group that disagrees with them. Gorbachev "understands the need for reform," while others are frequently guilty of "political narrow-mindedness," Makarov asserted. There are a large number of groups with similar interests but with an unwillingness to unite.