Correctional Colony No. 2 (IK-2) in Pokrov, located in Russia’s Vladimir Region just over 100 kilometers east of Moscow, will soon cease to exist, according to a Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) comment cited by media outlet Chesnok. According to FSIN, the shutdown has already begun and is expected to take close to a year.
IK-2 was a general-regime correctional facility designed for first-time offenders. It had a capacity of 971 inmates, organized into 16 units with varying living conditions. The facility’s infrastructure included a visitation area, library, sports facilities, a chapel, and an educational-consultation center.
Among its most prominent inmates was the late opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who served time there between February 2021 and June 2022, after which he was transferred to the IK-6 maximum security prison in Melekhovo, where he remained until mid-December 2023. Navalny was ultimately transferred to the IK-3 “special regime” penal colony near the town of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Region, approximately 1,900 km (1200 miles) northeast of Moscow. He was declared dead at IK-3 on Feb. 16, 2024. The official cause of death was listed as a “combined disease,” with cardiac arrhythmia cited as the primary condition.
As The Insider later established based on documents in its possession, the authorities intentionally removed references to symptoms that did not fit their official version. Earlier drafts contained information indicating that Navalny had been poisoned.
During his imprisonment at IK-2, Navalny was repeatedly denied proper medical care, which led him to carry out a hunger strike. He also filed a lawsuit against the prison administration for refusing to provide him with reading materials — in that instance, a copy of the Qu’ran — and reported that 20% of the inmates in the facility were suffering from tuberculosis.
Following the closure of IK-2, all inmates will be relocated to other correctional facilities within the region. The future use of the site’s land and buildings has not yet been determined.
