Russia Building Europe’s Largest Prison – Kresty-2

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Russia will open Europe’s largest prison in 2016. The detention center, known as Kresty-2, will replace one of Russia’s most notorious jails–the 120-year-old Kresty prison, in which Soviet-era dissidents such as Leon Trotsky were held. The first five facilities of the new facility were commissioned Friday.

“It will be the most modern prison in Russia and the biggest in Europe,” said Gennady Kornienko, head of Russia’s prison service.

The facility will be located in a suburb of St Petersberg, Russia’s secont largest city, and will cost 12 billion rubles to build.

Russia Building Europe's Largest PrisonKornienko said that the prison would hold 4,000 inmates. The prison will also have over 150 visiting rooms, four large courtrooms, and elevators–a first in Russia.

Kresty-2 inmates will have 7 square meters of living space, which meets European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) standards.

Currently, the largest prison in Europe is France’s Fleury-Merogis, which houses 3,800 inmates.

By Andy Stern