The following is an exclusive translation of an article from the German newspaper Die Welt by Manfred Quiring, which takes a look at the current controversies over prison conditions and dying prisoners, and what President Medvedev is trying to do about it.

The remains of the Gulag
By Manfred Quiring

Russian prisons have a notorious reputation, and many inmates die while being held in detention pending trial. Dmitry Medvedev, president and lawyer, wants to change this.

Moscow – In the narrow corridor between the steel door to the outside and the turnstile that opens the path into the prison, the correspondent meets, as if by fate, Father Constantine. The light scent of consecrated wine gently hovers over the tall, heavyset, bearded man in his black priest vestments. “You’ve come at a good time,” he grumbles. “Today is a holiday in Butyrka. We’re celebrating the patron saint of the prison.”