Prison leaders in Belarus oblige prisoners to regularly clear the snow until clean asphalt is visible. They make them shovel and carry bags of snow for hours, without having the opportunity to wash or warm themselves afterwards. “I have never seen so much snow in my life. As soon as you arrive at the prison, while you are still in quarantine, you are assigned a job - in winter, they give you a shovel made of a wooden handle and a piece of plywood, and you start shoveling snow until clean asphalt is visible. And this is not about the usual clearing of the road, as is done outside. "In prison, they want not a single snowflake left on the ground," human rights activist Leonid Sudalenko, who was convicted for his activities and spent three years in a prison in Vitebsk, told DW.
According to him, political prisoners, whose number in Belarus exceeds 1,100, according to data from the human rights organization "Vyasna," are most often used for this work. "You cannot refuse, otherwise you will be punished with isolation or a ban on receiving visitors and shipments," he also told DW.
Long checks outside in the cold and complete isolation
“And clearing the snow is not the only duty. This means that you have to start at 4 a.m. - two hours before the others wake up - so that everything can be cleaned by then. Then you're drenched in sweat, but there's no way to wash yourself because there are very few showers and there's not enough time," says Sudalenko.
Three times a day, prisoners have to line up on the square for an inspection, which can last up to an hour. During this time, prisoners have to stand still and no movement is allowed. Even at temperatures of minus 20 degrees, the outdoor inspections are carried out in full.
However, it's the hardest for those punished with isolation, which is a common practice for political prisoners. “This also means torture through the cold, because the radiators usually don't work and there are no blankets. In the isolation ward, you sleep either on the floor or on a bare metal grate. "They even take your winter underwear away while you're there," says Sudalenko.
No breaks during snowfall
Former political prisoner Darya Afanasyeva spent two winters in the Gomel prison - the only women's prison in Belarus, where opposition activist Maria Kolesnikova also spent five years before being unexpectedly released in December 2025. "When you're on the morning shift from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and you see that it's snowing outside, you know there's no break. After regular work, you go out to shovel snow," says Afanasyeva.
Those who have money can buy a decent shovel, others have to work with whatever they're given. "Not only does the snow from the yard have to be shoveled down to clean asphalt, but it also has to be collected and taken out of sight of the administration. Women fill the snow into sacks, sometimes they use plastic shopping bags, which they drag along the ground or on their backs," Afanasyeva recalls.
For health reasons, she was forbidden to carry heavy loads. Nevertheless, she had to carry heavy bags of snow. "Nobody cares whether you freeze or get sick. One winter there were a lot of sick people - up to 40 percent of the people got sick, and quarantine was even considered. In the end, they simply stopped issuing sick leaves - that's how the prison management "solved the problem." By the way, the sick have to line up for their medicine outdoors, no matter how cold it is," she says. Sometimes, even in closed rooms, it is impossible to stay warm, and prisoners have to wear quilted jackets all the time, even to sleep with them, Afanasyeva added.
Women are only allowed to wear skirts and dresses
In addition, the rules in Belarusian women's prisons do not allow them to wear trousers. All year round, prisoners must wear a skirt or dress. They are allowed to wear leggings under them, provided by the prison or sent by their families. “Some women put tights around their necks instead of scarves to keep warm. However, if the guards notice them, they immediately take them away and simply throw them away. Women also put sanitary pads in their shoes, because the shoes they get in prison are not warm and do not protect them sufficiently from moisture and cold.“
The quilted jackets distributed in the penal colony are often torn. There is no point in asking your relatives for a suitable winter jacket, because they will not get it anyway, since the rules require wearing these uniform quilted jackets, the former prisoner also says. Interviewees from DW say that even years after they were released, they cannot forget the terrible winters in prison. “It is about survival - or torture. The prison authorities' demands are completely absurd, it is a mockery of people“, emphasizes Leonid Sudalenko.
Darya Afanasyeva says that when she hears news about snowfalls in Belarus, it immediately brings her back to the memory of the suffering in prison. “You can't even cover your face with a scarf to protect yourself a little, because it is considered a violation of the rules. "You can't take a break from the hard work in the sewing shop. Some even took on extra shifts just so they wouldn't have to shovel snow outside," she says.
Author: Darya Bernstein