Officials from Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service in the Sverdlovsk region are sick and tired of the bad rap Russian prisons get in popular culture, and they’re taking steps to correct the public’s vicious misconceptions. On Tuesday, the agency even supplied local reporters with photographs showing inmates in Nizhny Tagil in a yoga class.
If you think that’s impressive, feast your eyes on the immaculate floors and walls featured in the images. In one of the photos, you’d swear you were looking at something unreal, and that’s because you are: the picture was clearly modified (primitively) in a graphic editor (probably Microsoft Paint), according to the website TJournal.
Not especially careful to cover its tracks, the prison service also distributed a short video where the real-life stains, wear, and tear are visible on the yoga room’s walls and floors.
According to the prison’s press release, an inmate with 15 years of yoga experience is responsible for teaching the classes, which are held twice a week. The lessons are conducted “with support from the facility’s education department.”
Prison officials did not respond to TJournal’s request for clarification about the clearly edited photograph.