Category:
Sites of ImprisonmentArbatskii Arrest House
Address: 7 Stolovyi Lane, Moscow
The Arbatskii arrest house was located on the corner of Stolovyi and Nozhov lanes. As in every police building, one part of the building was built for the fire brigade and another part was constructed for the prisoners. This part of the building came to be known as the Arbatskii arrest house from 1916.
View of the Arbatskii Arrest House from the corner of Nozhovyi Lane. Photo: PastVu
In January 1919, the Arbatskii arrest house was built for 43 prisoners, and the real number of prisoners remained approximately within this range. This was unusual for arrest houses and camps, which were often overcrowded. The number of prisoners increased gradually. The Arbatskii arrest house was intended for the least dangerous prisoners. Perhaps because of this, there were almost no adult prisoners. This is evidenced by a report made in December 1920, which dealt with the conditions in which juveniles lived in Moscow’s prisons and arrest houses.
Location of the police house 258/239, darkened. Source: “Vsya Moskva,” 1904
In 1920, there were plans to open a shoemaking workshop in the arrest house, but there is no further information about its existence. Later, an envelope-gluing workshop was set up there.
Arbatskii Arrest House. Photo: PastVu
In 1923, the Arbatskii arrest house became a clinic where prisoners’ personalities were examined thoroughly, both in terms of personality traits that affect a person’s behavior, and socio-economic factors that might provoke the person to act illegally. After the closure of the clinic (no later than 1935), the neighboring fire station occupied its facilities.
View of the Arbatskii Arrest House from the corner of Nozhovyi Lane
Location of the police house 258/239, darkened. Source: “Vsya Moskva,” 1904
Arbatskii Arrest House