The Gaol Castle

Dante’s words ‘leave hope those who enter here’ could illustrate vividly this place. The history of the Tobolsk gaol reflects tragic pages of the Russian history. Outstanding people like Petrashevski, Dostoevski, Chernyshevski, Korolenko were imprisoned here. The Tobolsk gaol was founded in the middle of the XIXth century as a transit prison. During the Soviet regime the prison still preserved its malicious function, since a lot of repressed victims were confined here. At present the prison consists of cells for criminals, and some reinforced regime barracks. The exposition of the prison presents the period since 1855 till 1989. This gloomy place displays vivid pictures of irreparability, as if warning the future generations against terrible mistakes of the past.