Russia revamps prison uniforms with fresh colors and more ‘practical’ options. See the new looks.

Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has designed new outfits for inmates in the country’s prisons. In addition to modernizing the color schemes, the FSIN will now allow female prisoners to wear pajamas instead of nightgowns and give them real hats instead of headscarves. The Justice Ministry unveiled the new looks at a meeting attended by prison representatives and human rights activists. Meduza shares photos from the event.

Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) has developed a new set of prison clothes for inmates, reports the Russian Justice Ministry. The outfits were displayed on April 24 at a Justice Ministry meeting attended by FSIN representatives and human rights activists. 

The FSIN made changes to the color schemes and appearance of clothing currently provided to prisoners and introduced new items and footwear. Prison officials suggested the Justice Ministry choose green, burgundy, and light gray for women, and gray and graphite for men, reported Kommersant.

The Justice Ministry formed a working group to develop these new uniforms. One of the consultants, Eva Merkacheva, a member of Russia's human rights council, said the FSIN incorporated many of her proposed ideas, which were based on conversations with prisoners. For example, female convicts will now have the option to wear pajamas instead of nightgowns, leggings instead of woolen tights, and winter hats instead of headscarves.

According to Merkacheva, women complained about the headscarves the most. Merkacheva also hopes that women will now be permitted to wear T-shirts instead of button-up shirts, which are uncomfortable to work in.

Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko stated that the new prison clothes “will not only help improve the appearance of convicts but will also further efforts to create more humane detention conditions for them.”

According to Justice Ministry data, as of October 2023, there were 266,000 people in Russian prisons. The number of inmates has been decreasing for several years, but the pace accelerated in 2022 when Moscow started recruiting convicts for its war in Ukraine.