"To Avoid Despondency" — a collection of positive letters from pretrial detention center by political prisoner and journalist Olga Komleva
«Sometimes I get advice on how to stay strong here in prison. And in this advice, I see the anxiety that remains despite my eight months of positive writings from the pretrial detention center.», - confessed Olga Komleva in one of the last letters from the Ufa pre-trial detention center No. 1, which was published by her support group the day before.
In this letter, dated November 29, Olga shares her "feminine method" for maintaining spirit, based on the "three pillars": exercise, rest, and nutrition.
«In everyday life, there is often no time for rest, food is often eaten on the run, and many people completely forget about physical exercise or just a walk.", the author noted.
Let us remind you, Olga Komleva under arrest Since March 27. She is accused of participating in an extremist group (she was a volunteer at Navalny's Ufa headquarters) and of discrediting the Russian army. The trial has begun in October.
Already in the first letter from prison Olga demonstrated optimism: "I was afraid of some kind of pressure or dominance. But here it's light, clean, and no one is dominating <> yesterday I asked if it was possible to sing during a walk. They allowed it».
In early April, the prisoner sent a third-person account in which described experience of traveling in a paddy wagon: "They were laughing! They were joking, laughing out loud, even as they were being led out of the police van to the pretrial detention center. All these men are under arrest. They might end up in prison for a few years... And they were laughing! The anger and despondency in her soul had to make room for themselves and think.».
"Sketch No. 1" was written On April 11th, it contained a recommendation to try adding peanuts to borscht. Olga got the idea from a Korean blogger. Six months later, in "Sketch No. 38" (November 21st), Olga reported, who is studying the Korean language.
In May Olga confessed, that she's not very good at drawing, and she amuses herself by coloring, using only a simple pencil. And yet, she's so good at illustrating her "sketches" that her husband even shared one of her drawings with her. Vladislav Komlev moved at a football game (and wore it on a date with his wife).
You can support Olga by writing to the following address: 450015, Republic of Bashkortostan, Ufa, Dostoevsky Street, 39, Federal State Institution Pre-trial Detention Center No. 1 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the Republic of Bashkortostan, Olga Yuryevna Komleva, born in 1979.