Prisons in the Empire: specific features of the Russian penitentiary system in the 19th and early 20th centuries (a case study of Olonets province)

The article describes the basic laws of the penitentiary system’s formation in the Olonets province. The author identifies main problems that existed in the operation of prisons in the province as well as the ways of interaction of various departments in re-education and social adaptation of prisoners. The changes occurred in the prison system as results of the February Revolution of 1917 were studied