The possibility to communicate with family and friends is, perhaps, all that connects the convict with the outside world. Social ties are strands of steel, they can unwind for thousands of kilometers, but they never break. In September last year, amendments to the Penal Code entered into force, in order to facilitate convicts’ communication with relatives. Those amendments allowed them to serve their sentences near their next of kin. The adoption of the amendments also plays an important role in the resocialization of convicts, because family support allows a person to quickly return to normal life after release.

A resident of Pskov called the Commissioner’s hotline; her son was serving a sentence in the Republic of Tatarstan. Due to the great distance, the mother could not at least occasionally communicate with her son.

Thanks to legislative innovations, the son was transferred to a correctional facility closer to home.