St. Petersburg’s historic Kresty Prison building up for sale
St. Petersburg’s historic Kresty jailhouse, built in the 19th century and notorious for the many political prisoners who had been kept there, is reportedly up for sale.
The local news outlet Fontanka writes that the former prison complex and its grounds on St. Petersburg’s Arsenal Embankment have been handed over to Dom.rf, a state corporation acting as the federal government’s agent in state property sales. Last November, Fontanka reported that 80 percent of sale proceeds would go to the Federal Penitentiary Service.
St. Petersburg state property is never too far from scandal
- Russia’s chief federal investigator launches criminal case against security guards who wouldn’t let him onto construction site
- Prigozhin blames St. Petersburg Governor Beglov for ‘irrecoverable losses of cultural heritage,’ instigates negligence case
- Snow, trash, and ‘influential people’ St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov is under more pressure than ever before. Is his departure imminent?
Kresty stopped operating as a prison in 2017. Until last October, a residence-type penal colony was housed in the prison complex. To replace Kresty, a new penitentiary called Kresty-2 was built in the nearby Kolpino district. The new facility is now the largest penitentiary in Europe.