In the prison where dissident Aleksandr Skobov is being held, up to 75% of money transfers sent to inmates are being confiscated.

At Penal Colony No. 2 in Yelets, Lipetsk region (a city in western Russia), up to 75% of money transfers sent to inmates by their families are now being withheld. This was reported on the support group channel for dissident Alexander Skobov, who is currently serving time there for his posts and for participating in the “Free Russia Forum.”

According to Skobov’s support group, this has been happening for several months. Two female relatives of inmates at the same prison told “The Agency” that the administration has also been deducting money from their loved ones’ personal accounts.

One of the women specified that her son encountered this for the first time only in January: the administration deducted 75% of the amount on his account. Under his regime, he’s only allowed to spend 7,900 roubles a month (approximately US$85). He used this money to buy hygiene items and food.

“We simply can’t afford to send enough money so that, after 75% is withheld, he still has 7,900 left in his account,” the mother of the inmate says.

Another relative reported that out of 15,800 roubles (about US$170), nearly 12,000 (about US$130) was taken: “In practice, they took everything. Everything is expensive at the prison shop; even before, 7,900 wasn’t enough for a month.”

In December 2025, Alexandra Popova, wife of convicted poet Artem Kamardin, said that the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) would now be deducting up to 75% from his account as payment for the costs of his upkeep. Kamardin is serving his sentence at Penal Colony No. 4 in Vladimir region (a city east of Moscow).

“In the worst case (if they deduct 75%), I’ll have to put 40,000 roubles (about US$430) onto Artem’s FSIN account every month so he can spend 10,000 (about US$110) in the prison shop,” wrote Popova. So far, she has not reported deductions from his personal account.

The Penal Enforcement Code allows up to 75% of the amount held in an inmate’s account to be withheld to cover the costs of their maintenance in a penal colony or prison (for minors, pregnant women, women with children at the prison nursery, and people with first- or second-degree disabilities, the limit is 50%).

Until October 2025, the law stipulated that these expenses were to be deducted from personal accounts only of inmates “evading work.” For others, the money was deducted from their wage or old age pension. In October, amendments came into force allowing these expenses to be deducted from “other income” of prisoners.