Thread: Место Лишение Свободы

What exactly does Место Лишение Свободы mean? I know that it translates to "place of deprivation of freedom", but what does it mean in terms of the Russia justice system? Is it a serious form of punishment -- actual prison? Or is it minimum security prisons or prison camps? Or is it even just house arrest? Or is it just a generic, catch-all term that means only that they were incarcerated in some capacity (any of these things I listed above)?

Just prison.

Место лишения свободы - a place of deprivation of freedom, official term for a prison or a colony/settlement.

Это дома с женой...

Originally Posted by JJ

Место лишения свободы - a place of deprivation of freedom, official term for a prison or a colony/settlement.

So it can be any kind of prison facility, then?

Yep.

"Места не столь отдаленные" also has the same meaning.

Originally Posted by Bisquit

"Места не столь отдаленные" also has the same meaning.

How does that translate, "Places not so remote?"

Originally Posted by Бармалей

Originally Posted by Bisquit

"Места не столь отдаленные" also has the same meaning.

How does that translate, "Places not so remote?"

Exactly. But when you say that in russian, there is a whole lot of implications.

This generally means that no one can guarantee that he'd never go to jail, so all those places (jails) are not that remote as they appear to be.
There is also a proveb -
"От сумы и от тюрьмы не зарекайся".
The closest equivalent would be "never say never".

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by Бармалей

Originally Posted by Bisquit

"Места не столь отдаленные" also has the same meaning.

How does that translate, "Places not so remote?"

Exactly. But when you say that in russian, there is a whole lot of implications.

This generally means that no one can guarantee that he'd never go to jail, so all those places (jails) are not that remote as they appear to be.
There is also a proveb -
"От сумы и от тюрьмы не зарекайся".
The closest equivalent would be "never say never".

So it kind of implies that prison isn't so far removed from society, so if you end up there, it isn't so bad?

There is also another cultural explanation. In Russian Empire criminals weren't just imprisoned but they were also banished to some places that are remote from capitals (Moscow and SPb). These places were divided in two sorts based on their distance from capitals: "места отдаленные" и "места не столь отдаленные". That is the possible origin of this phrase.

As for "От сумы да от тюрьмы не зарекайся" it simply means that one should always be ready to get poor and be a vagabond or to be imprisoned. In Russia life is so unstable that no one can be sure of one's future. This proverb also reflects the weakness of our justice system.

How does сумы translate? I couldn't find a definition...
And thanks for the background -- that makes much more sense when you apply it in that context.

Originally Posted by Бармалей

How does сумы translate? I couldn't find a definition...
And thanks for the background -- that makes much more sense when you apply it in that context.

Сума = bag. "С сумой пустить кого-нибудь" (literally "make somebody go with a bag") - заставить нищенствовать, довести до разорения (make somebody go begging, beggar, ruin somebody financially)

So "От сумы да от тюрьмы не зарекайся" = "Don't say/think you will never become a beggar or get in jail"

Originally Posted by Vadim84

Originally Posted by Бармалей

How does сумы translate? I couldn't find a definition...
And thanks for the background -- that makes much more sense when you apply it in that context.

Сума = bag. "С сумой пустить кого-нибудь" (literally "make somebody go with a bag") - заставить нищенствовать, довести до разорения (make somebody go begging, beggar, ruin somebody financially)

So "От сумы да от тюрьмы не зарекайся" = "Don't say/think you will never become a beggar or get in jail"

Got it. Спазипа!

[quote=Бармалей]

Originally Posted by Ramil

Originally Posted by "Бармалей":2jf1d9c7

Originally Posted by Bisquit

"Места не столь отдаленные" also has the same meaning.

How does that translate, "Places not so remote?"

Exactly. But when you say that in russian, there is a whole lot of implications.

This generally means that no one can guarantee that he'd never go to jail, so all those places (jails) are not that remote as they appear to be.
There is also a proveb -
"От сумы и от тюрьмы не зарекайся".
The closest equivalent would be "never say never".

So it kind of implies that prison isn't so far removed from society, so if you end up there, it isn't so bad?[/quote:2jf1d9c7]

The orange part is slighly wrong.
Don't think that you are safe of getting poor or imprisoned. This can happen to anybody. ($hit happens).
Literally about that phrase: when you get overconfident in smth. you start to think that you're far from any failure and "the places" we speak are far away from you. Remember - anything can happen to you at any moment.