The most vulnerable political prisoners
06.03.2026
Hi! This is Ksenia Fadeeva.
Today is 6 March, and the day after tomorrow is International Women’s Day. Of course you know as well as I do that it isn’t a celebration of spring and “lovely ladies” but a day of women’s struggle for their rights.
Unfortunately, for now we’re at a point in history where our fellow citizens’ rights are worth nothing, whatever their gender. One of the most vulnerable groups in Russia today is women political prisoners — there are hundreds of them.
On top of all the suffering and deprivation men endure in prison, women also face gender-specific pressure.
It’s easier to pressure women with the threat of cutting off contact with their children, and solidarity among prisoners works worse in women’s colonies than in men’s (most women cooperate with the administration because they want to get home sooner).
Absolutely all prisoners in women’s colonies must work; refusing isn’t allowed. Most women work in sewing workshops. Do you know how much a prisoner earns on average for her hard labour? One and a half to two thousand roubles. Constant sitting gives women bedsores, and working with fabrics treated with toxic impregnation causes lung disease.
And this is what the hygiene kit given to each prisoner for a month looks like: 1 small tube of toothpaste, 10 sanitary pads, one roll of toilet paper, 1 bar of soap.
I want to say something separately about the soap. I still remember its “aroma”. Prisoners call it “dog soap” because of its revolting, nauseating smell. But I think that’s unfair to dogs. Believe me, any dog, even one that isn’t very clean, smells much better than this “hygiene product”.
Do you see shampoo, a toothbrush or a razor in this kit? You don’t, because there aren’t any. In the prison service’s view, women in prison don’t need any of that. Basic things that you could hardly call luxuries — deodorant, any kind of cream, conditioner — are literally a dream for most women in prison. Under the internal rules, a shower is allowed twice a week. Washing your hair in the sink in the barracks can easily land you in a punishment cell.
In these conditions it is very hard to keep your human dignity. You are already crushed by being isolated, far from your family. But that seems not to be enough for this inhuman system: women’s will and dignity are crushed by the simple impossibility of keeping their own bodies clean.
If it sometimes seems to you that there are so many political prisoners, and the conditions they’re held in are so terrible, that your small donation can’t help at all, please know that this isn’t true.
Ahead of 8 March, I’m asking you: please set up a recurring donation of 8 euros!
Hygiene products run out, so women need our support every month. Your 8 euros means a nice-smelling shampoo, decent soap, sanitary pads, hand cream, a razor, deodorant. Or shower gel, wet wipes, a toothbrush and toothpaste, body lotion, a sponge.
These are all very simple things we can’t imagine our lives without when we’re free; in prison they become not just hygiene products but enormous support, because thanks to them you can look and feel like a human being.
Thank you for your empathy and your readiness to help.
Kind regards,
Ksenia Fadeeva