First statement by Konstantin Rudnev
Prisons must be abolished
A message from Argentina, after more than twelve years in prison.
First statement by Konstantin Rudnev
Prisons must be abolished
A message from Argentina, after more than twelve years in prison.
After more than 12 years in prison, Konstantin Rudnev is speaking to the world for the first time from Argentina. In his first video message, he talks about prisons, justice, family, and the future of humanity, and poses a fundamental question : Can prisons truly reform a person, or do they merely breed more evil?
- Spanish
Prisons must be abolished
Konstantín Rudnev talks about justice, family, and why the prison system doesn't reform people—it actually makes them worse.
- English
Prisons must be abolished
A first message from Argentina after more than twelve years behind bars — on justice, family, and the future of humanity.
The Truth About Prisons
I spent more than twelve years in prison in total. And I spent that time as a prisoner of conscience. Because I opposed the Putin regime, the war, and the horrors taking place in those countries.
And now, in Argentina, I've ended up in jail, too. And I can't help but tell the truth. I want to tell the truth about prisons.
Prisons are a relic of society. Prisons must be abolished. No one has ever become a better person while in prison. People only get worse. On the contrary, they become more hardened criminals. They become sick people. Some break down in prison and can no longer lead a normal life.
That is why prisons must be abolished and replaced with other preventive measures, such as house arrest, so that people can remain in their homes, within their families, so that children can grow up with their fathers, wives with their husbands, and elderly parents do not lose their children.
Only in this way—by being with family—can a person change for the better, because only religion or family can change a person. That is why prisons, which separate us from our families, turn children into orphans even though their father is still alive, turn wives into widows, and force parents to lose the child they do not see for years.
“Prisons like these cannot help change our society; they cannot help a person become a better person.”
That is why the sooner prisons are abolished, the sooner goodness and justice will prevail in the world. People should be with their families. And if we want to reform people, society must become kinder, more humane, and more religious. If society is more humane, more religious, and kinder, crime will also decrease.
Because crime stems from the fact that people are evil, and evil thrives in our society. That is why we must focus not on how to build new prisons and lock up more and more people there, but on how to make the world a kinder place, how to make the world a more loving place, how to make people more religious, and how to strengthen families.
Then both crime and prisons will disappear. Prisons are the scourge of our society. They destroy people, destroy families, make people worse, and must be eliminated.
Answers to Your Questions
Konstantín Rudnev responds, one by one, to the most common comments he received after his first post.
If a pedophile who rapes his children, or a person who beats his spouse, can they live as a family? And there are political prisoners all over the world.
Yes, of course, domestic violence exists, and so does pedophilia, but they account for a very small percentage of the total prison population. A very small percentage. It is best to keep those people separated from their families, so that there is no domestic violence, let alone pedophilia.
But why must 50 percent of these people be held in pretrial detention, without having been convicted at all? Their guilt has not been proven, and they make up 50 percent of the total. Why must they be torn away from their families?
I lived with these people for many years, and I saw that they are good people and good parents. They treat their children and their wives well. Their wives visit them, and their children visit them. They talk on the phone every day.
They have very strong family ties. They treat their children well. Even drug traffickers, even murderers. They have good families.
If they were with their families, they might recover more quickly and get back on the right track than if they were in prison among people like themselves. They become embittered and start to think that they simply weren’t skilled enough during that robbery or in some other matter.
And why should they be separated from their families? It is precisely the family that can set them straight. The love of their children, the love of their spouse, and the love of their elderly parents can heal their hearts and set them on the right path.
So, what should we do with murderers, thieves, and rapists? Give them a pat on the back and let them go home?
Yes, there are serial killers, psychopaths, people with psychological disorders, pedophiles, and people with clearly disturbed minds who are dangerous to society. But there aren't that many of them—at most ten percent, and often around five percent.
They need to be kept under different conditions—in some kind of treatment center that incorporates a religious component. A priest should visit them frequently, and a psychotherapist should work with them part-time to help them overcome their bitterness and cruelty.
And what about the rest? Why should they also have to suffer in prison and be held in the same place as those maniacs, pedophiles, and serial killers? What's the point?
What crime were you convicted of? Aren't you the person accused of leading a cult in Bariloche?
Yes, I am the person accused of leading a cult in Bariloche. But the fact is that I ended my activities there in 1999 in Russia. I was engaged in religious activities there. The organization existed only until 1999; after that, it was shut down. I simply gave lectures until 2010, after which I was imprisoned.
I was imprisoned because, in my lectures, I spoke out against the authorities, against Putin, against the war, and against the policies that oppressed the people. I was in Argentina for literally a few months and did not engage in any activities there. I did not organize any sect; I was simply taking a break.
However, I was arrested and charged with human trafficking, even though the victim herself has never seen me, and I have never seen her either. She herself denies being a victim. The investigation has been going on for a year and a half now, and there is no evidence.
You're speaking out against Putin. Our country, our laws.
War is a terrible thing. There are territorial disputes between countries, and there are historical events. But what do people who were born long after all that have to do with it?
They are bombing Ukraine right now. People are living in appalling conditions; they have no electricity, no water, and no heat in the winter. Why must we wage war over historical issues, causing such immense suffering to so many civilians?
We must resolve everything through diplomatic channels, not by bombing cities with missiles. Because among those people who are suffering, there are children. Russian soldiers are also returning home disabled, maimed. What is the point of all this?
I want a murderer to be kept away from society, not out on the loose.
If I were a murderer, I really would have to be kept away from society. But I haven't killed anyone, and the case files don't even mention a homicide.
There are different types of murderers. An electrician repairs wires, and someone, without realizing it, flips the switch and unintentionally kills a person. A car accident: the car skidded, crashed into another, and someone died. About ninety percent of these cases are unintentional.
Why should those people, who committed manslaughter, suffer the same as serial killers? At most, house arrest. They should be able to stay with their families and live a normal life.
So, what should we do with murderers, thieves, and rapists? Give them a pat on the back and let them go home?
That's what house arrest is for. The person wears an electronic ankle monitor. And if they leave the location of their house arrest, law enforcement is notified immediately.
There are no particular risks here. Most people have no intention of carrying out attacks. This only affects a small percentage of repeat offenders.
Article 210 stipulates that, prior to arrest, another non-custodial precautionary measure must be applied. This article is very often not complied with. It is an unprecedented situation for people to be held in pretrial detention for eleven, five, or six years.
Prisons serve to separate criminals from law-abiding citizens. Prison does not rehabilitate.
There are different types of crimes. Not all criminals are sadists, psychopaths, or people who harm others. This is especially true for first-time offenders, who often end up in prison by chance or due to circumstances.
For example, someone defended a young woman and got caught up in a fight, or hit someone in that situation, and was sent to prison. Their intentions may have been good—they wanted to protect someone else.
People are not classified in this way; the same approach is applied to everyone. The majority—approximately ninety percent—are not dangerous criminals.
But I don't want to spend my money on feeding and housing criminals. Prison doesn't reform people, but I don't want those bastards running around free.
You just don't know much about prison, about the correctional system. I was in prison for twelve years, and ninety percent of the people who end up in prison get there by accident, not because they're criminals themselves.
Someone defended a young woman, for example, and accidentally injured the rapist. Someone went too far in self-defense when they were attacked by bandits. Someone had an accident—they skidded on the ice. People who aren’t criminals by nature end up in prison.
One of the saddest facts is that 50 percent of the people in prison have not been charged. Their guilt has not been proven. Why do they and their families have to suffer because of this?