It gets its unofficial name from a prisoner-constructed [ 2 ] sculpture depicting a black dolphin , which is set in front of the main entrance. Originally, Black Dolphin was a jail ostrog for those sentenced to life at hard labor , since at least After the suppression of Pugachev's Rebellion in , the prison was updated for the deportation and confinement of robbers.
The prison houses approximately of Russia's worst criminals , including child molesters , murderers , terrorists , cannibals , and serial killers. The prison began accepting these inmates on 1 November Inmates are kept isolated in cells that have a set of three steel doors.
For 90 minutes a day, they exercise in a large cage; during this time, cells are searched for contraband or illegal items. Inmates are also under hour surveillance and supervision; they are forced to stand and forbidden from resting or sitting on their bunks from the time they awake until bedtime roughly 16 hours. When prison officers make a command to the inmates, they must respond with the words "yes, sir.
The prisoners are fed soup four times a day, [ 3 ] [ better source needed ] and are only allowed books, newspapers, and a radio. Prison guards place blindfolds on arriving inmates so that they cannot map out the prison or plan escapes.
The inmates are also blindfolded whenever they are transported between buildings. Black Dolphin prison officers have a unique form of escorting inmates: Prisoners are kept bent over at the waist while a guard holds their handcuffed hands behind their back, higher than the hips.
