Lefortovo Prison
Moscow
Russia
Pre-Trial Detention Centre
Active
Lefortovo Prison
Overview
Lefortovo is one of Russia’s most notorious detention centres, operated by the FSB in Moscow. After being taken captive from Azovstal and spending several days in Olenivka, a group of Azov officers was transferred there. They were not informed of their destination, and only later realised they were being held in Lefortovo.
Torture & Abuse
While physical violence was not systematic in Lefortovo itself, prisoners were kept in total silence, a lack of human contact, and a denial of any sensory or temporal orientation. Azov’s then-chief of staff, Bohdan “Tavr” Krotevych, described his cell door never opening again after the initial interrogations, not even for a single walk for around four months. At the same time, Krotevych said that other POWs were tortured in Lefortovo prison.
Food & Sanitation
Food was passed silently through a small metal window in the cell door. The cold was extreme in May and September, with no heating or adequate clothing provided. Washing was limited to a basic sink in full view of surveillance cameras. No showers were available. Hygiene products were minimal.
Psychological Pressure
Detainees were held in total isolation, with no communication between prisoners and no interaction with guards beyond basic commands. Interrogations involved psychological manipulation, such as claims that fellow Ukrainian soldiers were betraying Azov.
Lefortovo is one of Russia’s most notorious detention centres, operated by the FSB in Moscow. After being taken captive from Azovstal and spending several days in Olenivka, a group of Azov officers was transferred there. They were not informed of their destination, and only later realised they were being held in Lefortovo.
While physical violence was not systematic in Lefortovo itself, prisoners were kept in total silence, a lack of human contact, and a denial of any sensory or temporal orientation. Azov’s then-chief of staff, Bohdan “Tavr” Krotevych, described his cell door never opening again after the initial interrogations, not even for a single walk for around four months. At the same time, Krotevych said that other POWs were tortured in Lefortovo prison.
Food was passed silently through a small metal window in the cell door. The cold was extreme in May and September, with no heating or adequate clothing provided. Washing was limited to a basic sink in full view of surveillance cameras. No showers were available. Hygiene products were minimal.
Detainees were held in total isolation, with no communication between prisoners and no interaction with guards beyond basic commands. Interrogations involved psychological manipulation, such as claims that fellow Ukrainian soldiers were betraying Azov.
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