How to write a letter
A letter is the simplest way to support a political prisoner. It reminds them they are not alone, connects them to the world beyond the walls and shows the prison administration that someone outside is following their fate. Writing to political prisoners is legal: Article 91 of the Russian Penal Enforcement Code allows prisoners to receive an unlimited number of letters.
Who to write to
Choose someone you would genuinely like to talk to: shared interests, the same profession, a home town or an upcoming birthday are all good reasons. Elderly prisoners and those who don’t look Slavic often receive fewer letters; and if someone has no Telegram channel and is barely mentioned in the media, your letter matters even more.
If the person has a support group’s Telegram channel, read it before writing: it has the latest news about their case, interests and address. If you can’t choose, leave it to chance: the Telegram bot “Svobot” and Vestochka suggest a random name.
What to write about
There are endless topics. Think about what could cheer up and inspire the person you are writing to:
You don’t have to come up with everything yourself: retell an author you love, copy out poems, enclose an article, a short story or printed memes. On request you can also send learning materials: puzzles, drawing lessons, the rules of go.
How to start
Introduce yourself. Say who you are, what you do and how you spend your free time. Ask how they would like to be addressed.
Say why you are writing to them. Read about their case and interests: something in common is the best way to start.
Share your impressions. Describe your day, a book, a place. In a cell everything is grey and monotonous, so pictures of real life are precious.
Ask questions. Many political prisoners have a lot to tell. Ask what they would like to write about and in what form, and listen to the answers.
If you’d like a correspondence, leave a return address and ask questions. But even a letter or postcard without a reply lets the person know they are remembered.
Useful tips
Don’t write anonymously: if you don’t want to use your real name, choose a pseudonym and always sign with it.
Date your letters and number pages and letters: paper mail is slow and arrives out of order.
Keep copies or photos of your paper letters to remember what you wrote, especially if you write to several people.
Write legibly, in dark ink on white paper: many detention centres are dimly lit.
Enclose colour pictures, photos and drawings: cells lack colour.
A postcard is just a few short sentences: tell them about the picture and where you are writing from. It arrives in better shape in an envelope.
Send birthday and New Year wishes, but remember that Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses usually don’t celebrate them.
Don’t pity them or use clichés like “hang in there” or “everything will be fine”: write about good things instead, humour is welcome too.
Don’t blame the person for what they didn’t do, such as not leaving the country or not giving up their activism.
Censorship: what not to write
Prisoners have no right to private correspondence: every letter is read by a censor (within three days), and the same letter may get through in one prison and be blocked in another. So that your letter arrives and harms no one:
Write only in Russian: even a single foreign word or quotation can get the letter blocked. If you don’t know Russian, a machine translator can help.
Don’t discuss details of the criminal case or anything that could compromise the recipient, you or your friends: the letter may be passed to the investigator.
No codes, odd symbols, obscure abbreviations, swearing, threats or calls to violence.
Don’t criticise the government, the army or state institutions, and don’t write about fighting, weapons or casualties.
No erotic content or LGBTQ+ topics: for a prisoner in a Russian penal colony such an association is dangerous.
Nothing about guards, prison staff or ways of bringing in forbidden items.
Sometimes surnames are crossed out or poems blocked, while moderate political opinions usually get through. These rules also apply to everything you enclose: memes, stickers, writing on postcards. The better known the recipient, the more strictly you should follow them.
How to send a paper letter
From Italy
Paper letters can be sent from Italy too: Russia is in Poste Italiane’s Zone 1. There are two options:
- check how much it costs to send a letter to Zone 1, weigh the letter, buy stamps for the right amount, stick them on and post the letter;
- take the envelope to the post office: the clerk will weigh the letter, put the right postage on it and send it.
To get a reply, you need Russian stamps: check the current cost of a letter from Russia to Italy and enclose stamps for that amount or more, together with an envelope for the reply. Even if you have no Russian stamps, write your address anyway: prisoners sometimes use stamps sent by other volunteers, but they still need an address to reply to.
How to send an electronic letter
An electronic letter arrives in 2–3 days and doesn’t get lost on the way. It is printed in the prison and handed over with a reply form; the reply is scanned and sent to your email. It usually costs between 100 and 600 roubles, depending on the service and the prison.
| Zonatelecom | F-pismo | FSI-24 | Prisonmail | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sign-up with a foreign phone number | ✔ | ? | ? | ✔ |
| Payment with a foreign card | ✔ | — | — | ✔ |
| Sending photos | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Forwarding after a transfer | — | ✔ | — | — |
| All prisons | ✔ | — | — | — |
| Topping up the prisoner’s account | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | — |
| Mobile app | ✔ | — | ✔ | — |
No Russian bank card? Use Prisonmail or Zonatelecom. The Vestochka and Rosuznik projects find the address, send and pay for the letter to any political prisoner in their database and forward you the reply.
At our letter-writing events we write electronic letters together: come along, we’ll help you take the first step.
Safety
So far there have been no cases in Russia of people being prosecuted for writing to political prisoners. If you are worried, share as little as possible with the prison service: for electronic letters use a separate email address and a VPN.
Other ways to help
Prisoner’s account. Ask in your letters whether money is needed, send a small amount and check that it arrived.
Parcels. Never send them on your own: the total weight is limited. Coordinate with relatives or the support group, or help them with money.
Education. Send books and learning materials; the “Volnye slushateli” project helps prisoners study.
Donations. Support the “You are not alone” marathon and other initiatives: see the How to help page.
Based on the experience of our letter-writing events and on the guide “How to write letters to political prisoners” (PDF in Russian) by the Walls Will Fall project; its full web version has many more links and details.