MOSCOW. March 14 (Interfax) - The number of people convicted of grave felonies grew in Russia in 2021, according to the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN).
"Despite a decline in the general population of correctional institutions, there is still a trend towards a larger share of grave felony convictions, which exceeded 67% in 2021," the service quoted FSIN head Arkady Gostev as saying at an expanded board meeting that summarized 2021 results.
Last year, the share of convicted murderers grew to 19%, the share of convicted rapists reached 4.8%, and the share of convicted drug dealers amounted to 23.2%, the FSIN said.
"In 2021, more than 130,000 inmates of correctional institutions had a previous criminal record. More than 20,000 inmates with an earlier criminal record were convicted of a grave offense," the statement said.
Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko said at the board meeting that "measures taken last year brought positive results and the population of correctional institutions was reduced by over 6%."
Gostev said, for his part, that the share of convicts doing paid jobs increased by 7%. As collections intensified in 2021, the payment of compensations grew almost 16% to 3.42 billion rubles.
Medical aid to suspects, defendants and convicts has improved, the FSIN said, adding that deaths from tuberculosis went down 28% and deaths from HIV/AIDS decreased by more than 13% last year.