The situation is still rather serious: this week, Russia’s Ministry of Justice said that 233 people died last year in Russian prisons, and 277 the year before. Moreover, about half of all inmates have HIV, tuberculosis, syphilis, or a mental disorder as a result of the poor conditions they are kept in.

In order to tackle the issue, Medvedev suggested widening the list of suspects in minor offences who will not be held in pre-trial centers.

“Russia’s penal system is very complicated,” Medvedev said. “It evolved during well-known historic events. The Soviet period influenced it a lot. It’s really harsh and often unfair. So we have a problem of heritage. Our task now is to make this system more modern and effective.”

Medvedev did not specify what minor crimes he meant, but evidently he talked about economic crimes which, just six months ago, were downgraded from serious to non-serious status.

Since the measure was taken, Justice Minister Aleskandr Konovalov said, the number of people held in pre-trial detention centers has gone down by 20 per cent.

“Around 30 per cent of those placed in detention facilities are then usually excused or given alternative punishments,” human rights activist Valery Borshchev told RT. “Hence the investigation has sometimes used detention as means of pressure.”

Experts say Russia should stick to the US example, with 18 different preventative measures aside from holding people in pre-detention centers, such as house arrest and electronic tracking systems.

“This measure has been long called for,” Viktor Linnik, editor-in-chief of Slovo magazine, told RT. “Our penitentiary system is overcrowded. Obviously, it doesn’t do very well in terms of correcting people. So if there is a chance for some offenders to stay out of prison, this is exactly what we need.”