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Russia · Tverskoy District

Butyrka prison

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Verified 28 Jun 2026
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  • Butyrka prison.jpg

    Photo by Stanislav Kozlovskiy via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

  • Butyrka's Bread.jpg

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  • Butyrka01.jpg

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  • Butyrsky castle (model).jpg

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  • Moscow, Butyrka Prison, 1890s.jpg

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Prison in Moscow, Russia "Butyrka" redirects here. For other uses, see [Butyrsky "Butyrsky (disambiguation)"). | | | | --- | --- | | | | | Location | Sokolniki District, Moscow, Russia | | | Opened | 1771 | | Managed by | Federal Penitentiary Service | Butyrka prison Butyrskaya prison ( Russian: Бутырская тюрьма, romanized: _Butýrskaya tyurmá_), colloquially known simply as Butyrka (Russian: Бутырка, IPA:[\[bʊˈtɨrkə\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Russian "Help:IPA/Russian")), is a prison in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia. In Imperial Russia it served as the central transit prison. Now it is a pretrial detention facility ( remand prison). During the Soviet Union era (1917–1991) it held many political prisoners. As of 2022[\[update\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Butyrka_prison&action=edit) Butyrka remains the largest of Moscow's remand prisons. Overcrowding is an ongoing problem.

Background

Butyrskaya prison (Russian: Бутырская тюрьма, romanized: Butýrskaya tyurmá), colloquially known simply as Butyrka (Russian: Бутырка, IPA: [bʊˈtɨrkə]), is a prison in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia. In Imperial Russia it served as the central transit prison. Now it is a pretrial detention facility (remand prison). During the Soviet Union era (1917–1991) it held many political prisoners. As of 2022 Butyrka remains the largest of Moscow's remand prisons.

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

Capacity

Current population

Occupancy

Year opened

1771

Operational

Facility profile

Operator

Population held

Mixed/unknown

Opened

1771

Region

Tverskoy District

Security level

Death-row facility

No

Conditions

No conditions summary available yet.

Visiting

No visiting information available.

Mailing

No mailing information available.

Practical info

Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.

Known issues

No major issues documented in our database.

Notable inmates

  • Fritz Noether
    Fritz Noether
    1884–1941 · mathematician

    Fritz Alexander Ernst Noether (German: [ˈnøːtɐ]; 7 October 1884 – 11 September 1941) was a German mathematician who emigrated from Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union.

  • Yevgenia Ginzburg
    Yevgenia Ginzburg
    1903–1977 · journalist

    Yevgenia Solomonovna Ginzburg (December 20, 1904 – May 25, 1977) (Russian: Евге́ния Соломо́новна Ги́нзбург) was a Soviet writer who served an 18-year sentence in the Kolyma Gulag.

  • Erica Wallach
    Erica Wallach
    1922–1993 · opinion journalist

    Erica Wallach (1923 - 22 December 1993) was a German political activist and teacher.

  • Władysław Anders
    Władysław Anders
    1892–1970 · military officer
  • Gleb Krzhizhanovsky
    Gleb Krzhizhanovsky
    1872–1959 · economist

    Gleb Maksimilianovich Krzhizhanovsky (Russian: Глеб Максимилианович Кржижановский; 24 January [O.S.

  • Aron Baron
    Aron Baron
    1891–1937 · anarchist

    Aron Davydovych Baron (Ukrainian: Аро́н Дави́дович Ба́рон; 1891–1937) was a Ukrainian Jewish anarchist revolutionary.

  • Vladimir Mayakovsky
    Vladimir Mayakovsky
    1893–1930 · poster artist

    Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (19 July [O.S.

  • Kurt Pflugbeil
    1890–1955 · military officer

    Kurt Leopold Pflugbeil (9 May 1890 – 31 May 1955) was a German general (General der Flieger) in the Luftwaffe during World War II who commanded 4th Air Corps and Luftflotte 1.

  • Yevgenia Ginzburg
    Yevgenia Ginzburg
    1903–1977 · journalist

    Yevgenia Solomonovna Ginzburg (December 20, 1904 – May 25, 1977) (Russian: Евге́ния Соломо́новна Ги́нзбург) was a Soviet writer who served an 18-year sentence in the Kolyma Gulag.

Showing 9 of 12. Source: Wikidata + Wikipedia.

Conditions Risk Score

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Insufficient data
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Data completeness

32%

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

Sources