Krasnokamensk Penal Colony IK-10 (formerly YG 14/10)

Location: Chita Region, Siberian Federal District (3,774 miles from Moscow). Security level, medium. Winter temperatures range from -10 to -28 degrees Fahrenheit (-23 to -33 degrees Celsius). The extreme continental climate of the area means that winters are very cold and often dry while summers are very hot.

In October 2005 Mikhail Khodorkovsky was sent to a penal colony in Chita, a Siberian region bordering Mongolia and China, about 3,774 miles (4,700 km) from Moscow. The region is home to the only large-scale producer of natural uranium in Russia. Getting to the prison colony from Moscow requires a six-hour plane ride to the nearest city, Krasnokamensk, plus a seven hour car ride to the camp. The time difference between Moscow and Chita is approximately 6 hours.

Krasnokamensk, the newest district within the Chita Region, was established soon after large uranium deposits were found in the area, and the construction of mines and chemical plants began. In the late 1960s, IK-10 was set up as a penitentiary labour camp in this area, where convicts worked to build the uranium mines and chemical processing plants. Today the medium security penal colony IK-10 (formerly YG 14/10) houses approximately 1,000 inmates, many serving sentences for theft and fraud. The average age of the prisoners is 24. Many prisoners work on the construction projects for the nearby Priargunsky plant, a Soviet-era uranium processing facility. Convicts are also assigned to projects in the car repair, carpentry and sewing workshops. An official for the Federal Penitentiary Service stated that Khodorkovsky might not be assigned labour duties because of a shortage of jobs at the prison.

The Krasnokamensk district and the settlement of Oktyabrsky are seriously contaminated by technical waste and radiation. Uranium production is negatively affecting the health of residents in Krasnokamensk, with an increase in tumour-related diseases. Concentrations of radioactive elements exceed appropriate levels, and spills from storage centres enter ground waters and migrate towards potable water reservoirs. A report produced by the Human Rights Monitoring in Russia project declared both Krasnokamensk and Oktyabrsky areas of environmental catastrophe. Life expectancy in Krasnokamensk is 42 years (Source: Human Rights in Russia and Nezavisimaya Gazeta).