Mykolaiv Pre-trial Detention Centre
The State Institution “Mykolaiv Pre-trial Detention Centre” is one of the oldest penitentiary institutions in the south of Ukraine. Its history begins in 1908, when a temporary penal prison was created in the city of Mykolaiv by order of the Main Prison Administration of the Russian Empire. The buildings of the former Mykolaiv Navigator School were converted to accommodate it. In terms of architectural and engineering solutions, the Mykolaiv prison was considered one of the best penitentiary structures in the Russian Empire at the time.
In addition to performing the functions of a place of serving a sentence, the prison was used as a transit point for persons sentenced by civil and field courts to penal servitude, exile, or long terms of imprisonment. Due to its strategic location in a large port city, it played an important role in the penitentiary system of the southern provinces.
The events of the revolutionary years and the Civil War directly affected the institution's history. In 1918, the prison was repeatedly attacked by armed groups of anarchists and Makhnovists, during which archival materials and documentation were partially destroyed. In February 1920, the Mykolaiv penal prison was liquidated.
In the following years, places of pre-trial detention and sentence execution continued to operate on the basis of the institution. On the eve of the Second World War, the capacity limit of the Mykolaiv prison was about 750 persons. During the hostilities, the institution was evacuated, and after the liberation of Mykolaiv in 1944, its operations were restored.
In the post-war period, especially in the 1950s and 1960s, due to an increase in the number of prisoners, the construction of new blocks, utility, and security facilities began. The engineering infrastructure was modernised, and new premises for holding persons taken into custody were created.
An important stage of development was 19 March 1974, when a pre-trial detention centre was officially created on the basis of the Mykolaiv prison. Persons sentenced to imprisonment were transferred to other correctional facilities, and the institution focused on performing pre-trial detention functions.
After the creation of the State Department of Ukraine for the Execution of Sentences in 1998, the institution was included in the new structure of the criminal-executive system of Ukraine. In accordance with the order of the SDUES dated 29 November 1999, the facility received its current name — Mykolaiv Pre-trial Detention Centre.
In 2004–2005, the reconstruction of certain facilities of the institution was carried out, including the construction of a new food service unit, the modernisation of visiting rooms, and the improvement of municipal and household infrastructure.
Today, the Mykolaiv Pre-trial Detention Centre performs the functions of a pre-trial detention institution and ensures the custody of persons taken into custody, as well as specific categories of convicted persons in accordance with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation. The institution operates vocational training workshops, where the production of paving slabs, carpentry products, and the sewing of special clothing is organised, which contributes to the professional training and employment of prisoners.
Over the years, the institution has been headed by leaders of the Mykolaiv region's penitentiary system who ensured its development and functioning. Among them is Oleksandr Vasylovych Shulha and other leaders who made a significant contribution to the development of the institution.
Currently, the head of the institution is Serhiy Mykolaiovych SHAMSHURA.
Contact Information
State Institution “Mykolaiv Pre-trial Detention Centre”
54030, Mykolaiv region, Mykolaiv, Laherne Pole Street, 5
Telephone: (0512) 37-83-37
E-mail: [email protected]
Head of the institution: Serhiy Mykolaiovych SHAMSHURA.