A 26-year-old Belarusian man escaped from Moscow's Butyrka prison on Monday. Officials were at a loss as to how he managed to make his way to freedom.
Some said the 26 year-old Belarusian national scaled the outer prison wall, which was covered with razor wire, while others suggested he "jumped over the prison fence and the razor wire like a contestant at the Olympics."
Below are facts about the prison and escapes from it:
* Butyrka is one of Russia's oldest penitentiary facilities. Though the modern building was constructed in 1879, the prison is mentioned in official documents which date back to the 17th century.
* Until early 20th century Butyrka was considered an "escape-proof" prison. Though there are rumors that revolutionary Felix Dzerzhinsky was the first inmate ever to escape the prison, but they have never been confirmed by official documents. According to the legend, the future Cheka (forerunner to the KGB) head left the jail after hiding inside a garbage container.
* In 1908, U.S. stunt man Harry Houdini made a bet with Moscow authorities that he could escape from any prison in the Russian capital. He was restrained with shackles and locked in an iron box in the Butyrka prison, but somehow managed to escape in 28 minutes.
* There are reports of several unsuccessful jailbreaks from 1905 to 1913. In 1909 a massive prison escape was prevented following a tipoff from an inmate.
* There are no reports of escapes from Butyrka in Soviet times, but this may be due to the Soviet authorities reluctance to make public "bad news."
* In 1992, two inmates managed escaped from the prison's roof yard by lifting steel bars and jumping to the roof of a nearby furniture factory. They were caught several days later.
* Natalya Sorokozherdeva was the first woman ever to escape from Butyrka. In 1996 she swapped places with her cellmate, who was due to be released soon, and left the prison under a false identity. She was detained three days later.
* Later that year two inmates used a rope to escape from the prison yard on the roof. They were detained several days later.
* Three inmates escaped from Butyrka in September 2001. They dug through the concrete floor with iron spoons, and escaped through the sewage collection system. Two were caught soon after the jailbreak; the third was at large for 18 months.
* Another inmate "simply walked out of the prison" a month after the incident in 2001, apparently after bribing several guards. He was recaptured two months later.
MOSCOW, March 23 (RIA Novosti)
