Characteristics of convicts serving sentences in penal colonies

Based on the statistical data of the Judicial Department of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation, the article examines the main features of personality of the convicts serving sentences in penal colonies. The purpose of the study is to analyze the dynamics of changes of the main characteristics of persons sentenced to imprisonment. The methodology is based on the systematic approach, that caused by the specifics of this special category. The content analysis methods, comparative and statistical methods were used. The study revealed that over the past 13 years, there have been significant changes in the structure of convicts serving sentences in penal colonies, both in number of convicts and qualification of the crime for which they were convicted, as well as in terms of the sentence imposed by the court and the age of those who serving sentences.