Main content

Rock climbing in conflict; women in Russian prisons

Russian Women Prisoners: Laurie Taylor hears about the harsh impact of penal geography on female inmates. Also, Bolt Wars: rock climbers clash over the need to reduce risk.

Russian women prisoners - in the light of Pussy Riot's imprisonment, timely research on Russia's distinctive penal geography. The sociologist, Judith Pallot, talks to Laurie Taylor about a study based on extensive interviews with prisoners and officers in different regions of Russia. She finds that the vast distances between prisons and womens' homes imposes harsh penalties on women and their families. They're joined by the criminologist, Dr Sharon Shalev. Also 'Bolt Wars': Lisa Bogardus spent 16 months researching and observing the rock climbing world. She describes a battle for the cliffs in which climbers clash about the need to reduce risk and danger.
Producer: Jayne Egerton.

Available now

28 minutes

Lisa Bogardus

Independent Researcher

Paper Abstract: The Bolt Wars: A Social Worlds Perspective on Rock Climbing and Intra Group Conflict”
Journal of Contemporary Ethnography
vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 283-308, 2012
DOI: 10.1177/0891241611426429

Judith Pallot

Professor of the Human Geography of Russia at Christchurch College, Oxford


Find out more about Judith Pallot


Gender, Geography, and Punishment: The Experience of Women in Carceral Russia
Judith Pallot, Laura Piacentini, Dominique Moran
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN-10: 0199658617
ISBN-13: 978-0199658619

Sharon Shalev

Research Fellow at the Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford and Associate of the International Centre for Prison


Find out more about Dr Sharon Shalev


Supermax: Controlling risk through solitary confinement
Publisher: Willan
ISBN-10: 1843924080
ISBN-13: 978-1843924081

Broadcasts

  • Wed 30 Jan 201316:00
  • Mon 4 Feb 201300:15

Explore further with The Open University

Explore further with The Open University

BBC Thinking Allowed is produced in partnership with The Open University

Download this programme

Download this programme

Subscribe to this programme or download individual episodes.

Podcast