The Vladimir Prison, colloquially known as "Vladimirsky Central" (Russian: Владимирский централ, from "Vladimir Central Prison"), is a prison for dangerous criminals, about 100 miles northeast of Moscow[1] in Vladimir, Russia. It was established in 1783.[2] Most are serving a minimum of 10 years, and some are imprisoned for life. This prison is the largest in Russia.
Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the complex served as an infamous prison for political prisoners of the Soviet regime. Among those who perished there was Polish politician Jan Stanisław Jankowski, commander-in-chief of the Estonian army Johan Laidoner, Lithuanian Roman Catholic bishop Mečislovas Reinys, Exarch of the Russian Catholic Church archimandrite Klymentiy Sheptytsky and German field marshal Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist.
Gary Francis Powers, a US U2 spy plane pilot shot down on May Day 1960 was imprisoned here until his release in February 1962. Famous Russian inmates here include Stalin's son, Vasily Dzhugashvili, Jewish Refusenik dissident Natan Sharansky, Ukrainian socialist federalist Serhiy Yefremov, and many others.