The Shlisselburg Fortress was built in the 14th century. for the protection of trade routes. In the XVIII century. it became a political prison reserved for individuals whom the tsars considered their personal rivals. The arrested Decembrists were also held there. In 1870, the Shlisselburg prison was closed. However, the rise of the revolutionary movement in the 70s of the XIX century made us think of Shlisselburg. The Alekseyevsky ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress, where the most dangerous persons, from the point of view of Alexander III, were placed, did not justify its purpose. As P. E. Shchegolev wrote in the preface to his book on the ravelin, S. G. Nechaev, who was sitting in it, "destroyed iron discipline, decomposed the jailers." 1 On December 4, 1882, according to a report by V. K. Plehve, the tsar ordered the construction of a new prison with the strictest regime in Shlisselburg, 60 versts from the capital, closed to all prisoners. any kind of visit: only political criminals and military guards were supposed to be there. "It pleased the Emperor to order the existing institutions for the detention of political prisoners in the St. Petersburg Fortress to be abolished", adapting Shlisselburg for this purpose "as the most appropriate in its position" 2 . The new prison was being built on an island in the middle of Lake Ladoga. The historian of the Shlisselburg prison compared it to Sakhalin, which they talked about: "all around is the sea, and in the middle is a mountain" 3 . Over 200 thousand rubles were allocated for the construction and equipment of a two-story building designed for 40 prisoners. By the beginning of the 20th century, when only 13 prisoners remained in the fortress, each of them accounted for up to 25 soldiers: the protection of one prisoner cost the treasury about 7 thousand rubles a year. Each convoy was thoroughly checked. Three years of service here counted for five. Non-commissioned officers served in Shlisselburg for 10 - 20 years ... Read more