Twenty years after the USSR, the shadow of the Gulag returns under Putin. From political purges to systemic abuse, this investigation enters the hell of “reform colonies”. Uncovering a landscape of torture and extortion, the film reveals how prison has once again become a weapon of state repression.
We follow the husband of jailed Pussy Rioter, Nadia Tolokonnikova, as he visits his wife in prison and see how Nadia is struggling to cope with life in a re-education camp. Sleep and food deprivation, regular beatings and rapes are all common and many prisoners never recover from their time inside.
Secret footage, recorded in prison, shows inmates being beaten while interviews with guards and inmates add a new dimension. Shocking, powerful viewing.
Directors: Madeleine Leroyer and Elise Menand
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Video “Russia: Inside the Modern-Day Gulag” was uploaded on 05/21/2026 to Youtube Channel Best Documentary