Abstract
Although the political and economic bankruptcy of the erstwhile Leninist regimes in Central and
Eastern Europe has triggered radical societal transformations, the effect on daily prison life
remains largely uncharted. This semi-ethnographic study, one of the first of its genre in the
region, documents a prisoner hierarchy in post-Soviet Ukraine. Originating in the slums and prisons
of the Russian Empire and solidifying in communist gaols and labour camps, the Ukrainian prison
underworld continues to evolve. In this article, I argue that the post- independence shifts in
penal policies and prison practices, combined with changes in prisoner demographics, have been
altering the Ukrainian prisoner power structure. I contend that whilst functional and deeply
institutionalised, the prisoner hierarchy is facing serious challenges, not least a legitimacy
deficit, and I discuss the potential repercussions for internal power dynamics
and prison order.