"Uncle Volodya, we don't need prisons!" Kaluga activists asked Putin to cancel plans to build a mega-prison among the plots for large families.
Since March, residents of several villages and hamlets defend They protested their lands against the construction of a 3000-bed mega-prison. They recorded a video message to Putin outlining their protest.
According to Kaluga residents, all the conditions for the normal detention of pretrial detainees are already in place in Kaluga: there are pretrial detention centers and correctional facilities, which have been well-renovated. The new mega-prison is planned for construction in an open field, in an undeveloped area.
43 hectares of water protection forest at the source of the Yachenka River are under threat of logging. People also fear for the safety of children.
Children from large families who were given plots of land in the surrounding area added:
"Uncle Volodya, we don't need prisons, we need schools, we have afternoon classes. We need kindergartens, cultural institutions with lots of clubs.".
Activists noted that the mega-prison's construction would cost 13 billion rubles. That's twice the annual budget of Kaluga. With this money, Kaluga residents could solve all the problems that have accumulated over many years.
Video: Yana Ivanova
