Dikanovskaya Correctional Colony (No. 12)

The State Institution “Dikanovskaya Correctional Colony (No. 12)” is a medium-security institution for the detention of men sentenced to imprisonment for a specific term for the first time.

The institution is located in the Industrialnyi District of the city of Kharkiv, on the territory of the historic Dikanivka area, and is part of the structure of the State Penal Service of Ukraine.

The history of the institution began in July 1956, when Camp Point No. 12 was established in the suburbs of Kharkiv among the marshy floodplains of the Lopan River.

At the initial stage of its operation, it consisted of two wooden barracks surrounded by a temporary fence and was intended for the detention of convicts engaged in economic and production work.

In January 1957, in connection with the reform of the system of corrective labour institutions, the camp point was reorganised into the Corrective Labour Colony of Intensified Regime No. 12 of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Kharkiv region. Even in the first years of operation, significant attention was paid to the development of the production base and the organisation of professional training for convicts.

In 1959, the colony was honoured by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR for the high level of organisation of social and educational work with convicts. This recognition was evidence of the effective work of the institution’s administration in the field of resocialisation and labour education.

In 1960, the construction of a production complex with an area of over 1,500 square metres was completed. With the assistance of leading industrial enterprises in Kharkiv, including the Malyshev Plant and the “Elektrostank” plant, the production workshops were equipped with state-of-the-art metalworking equipment for that time. This allowed for the production of a wide range of industrial products, numbering over a thousand different items.

In 1974, a large-scale reconstruction of the residential and production infrastructure was carried out at the institution. Outdated wooden barracks were dismantled, and in their place, modern three-storey stone buildings were constructed to house convicts, and communal and domestic facilities, production premises, and engineering networks were upgraded.

After the proclamation of Ukraine’s independence, the Dikanovskaya Correctional Colony became part of the national penal system, and subsequently, part of the structure of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Punishments and the State Penal Service of Ukraine.

Over the years, the institution’s production activity has been reoriented in accordance with economic conditions, with the main focus being placed on creating proper conditions for the work, professional training, and social adaptation of convicts.

With the onset of the full-scale armed aggression by the Russian Federation, Kharkiv became one of the most affected cities in Ukraine.

Despite systematic missile strikes and wartime threats, the Dikanovskaya Correctional Colony continues to function, ensuring the execution of criminal sentences, proper conditions of detention for convicts, and the organisation of their labour, medical care, professional training, and social and educational work.

Contact information State Institution “Dikanovskaya Correctional Colony (No. 12)”, 1 Leliukivska St, Kharkiv, Kharkiv region, 61030

Head of the institution: Volodymyr Spartakovych ARZUMANOV

Telephone: (057) 341-61-62 E-mail: [email protected]