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Russia · Orenburg Oblast · Sol-Iletsk

Black Dolphin Prison (IK-6)

Federal penal colonySupermaxmaleOvercrowded (100%)ModerateMedium
Verified 28 May 2026 · Data dated 1 Dec 2023
Fresh · 1d ago

Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.

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How to send mail, money, and visit Black Dolphin Prison (IK-6)

Step-by-step guidance using the Russia system — addresses, money services, visit booking, what to bring on your first visit.

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Photograph of Black Dolphin Prison (IK-6)

Russia's flagship special-regime colony for life-sentenced prisoners. Operates the strictest known regime in the Russian system.

Background

Federal Governmental Institution - Penal Colony No. 6 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Orenburg Oblast, commonly known as the Black Dolphin Prison (Russian: Чёрный дельфин, romanized: Chyorny delʹfin) and formerly known as NKVD Prison No. 2 is a prison in Sol-Iletsk, Orenburg Oblast, Russia, near its border with Kazakhstan. It is one of the oldest prisons in Russia, and one of the first in the Orenburg Oblast to accept prisoners with life sentences. It gets its unofficial name from a prisoner-constructed sculpture depicting a black dolphin, which is set in front of the main entrance.

Source: Wikipedia article lead, CC-BY-SA.

Capacity

700

Current population

700

Occupancy

100%

Year opened

1999

Operational

Facility profile

Operator

Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN)

Population held

male

Opened

1999

Region

Orenburg Oblast

Security level

Supermax

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

Inmates spend 22+ hours per day in two-person cells. Movement is escorted with blindfolds and stress positions.

Visiting

Short visits (up to 4 hours) twice per year; long visits (up to 3 days) twice per year. Often denied in practice.

Mailing

Mail screened by the colony censor; outgoing letters limited per month. Russian FSIN format with colony number required.

Practical info

Family parcels permitted to limits set by regime tier; pre-approval often required.

Known issues

Reports of psychological isolation regime. Memorial and OVD-Info have documented restricted access for monitors.

Notable inmates

Includes serial-killer Mikhail Popkov, Mikhail Buchin, and various terror-attack convicts.

Contact & address

Sol-Iletsk, Sol-Iletsk 461505
Official site

Conditions Risk Score

Derived signal — not a judgement. How it's calculated

16/100
Moderate concern16/100
Overcrowding
5/30
Oversight reports
6/30
Structural flags
5/15
Death signals
0/15
Conditions text
0/10

What the score is responding to:

  • · Operating at 100% of design capacity
  • · 1 oversight report in the last 5 years
  • · Substantial documented known-issues record

Compared to other facilities in Russia

1208 peers
Conditions risk scorethis: 16/100 · peers avg: 22/100 (27%)

Higher risk than 0% of peer facilities in Russia.

Capacity (beds)this: 700 · peers avg: 14914 (95%)

Reports

  • Russia Behind Bars1 Aug 2022

    Documented patterns of psychological isolation and movement-with-blindfold rituals applied to all inmates regardless of risk assessment.

    source

Data completeness

96%

How many of our profile fields are populated. We surface this so families and researchers know the limits.

Sources